Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1919-03-20

with them. Inc IacLS were euLlIS1J
unimportant and sometimes they were
not facts at all, but they served their
purpose and revealed the identity of
still more members of the German
service.
Darkened Hun CounseIs.
There were occasions when they
served an even greater purpose, for
they were sent all the way to Ger
many, or were allowed to go, where
they helped to darlen the counsels OF
the kaisers adviser and set the Ger
man headquarters hard at work pro-
tecting themselves against a peril
which did not exist. Meanwhile the
British intelligence department wen,
cheerily on with their real business,
and prepared various little surprises
for the Hun, and delivered them in
due course, such surprises, for in
stance, as the tanks, of which the Ger
mans knew nothing until they were
upon them.
Undoubtedly the failure of the enor-
mously costly German intelligence sys-
tenn had much to do with the ultimate
defeat of Germany. They were beaten
at their own game. Brig. Gen. G. X.
Cockerill, who has been director Of
special intelligence, has just disclosed
some secrets in farewell message
to the staff, which numbers more than
5000 persons.
'The detection and conviction OF
enemy spies," he says, ''has been your
primary business. 1t is satisfactory
to note that in most cases the arrest
of the spy has followed quickly on his
entry into this country. You have
been, in. point of fact, the chief agency
in preventing the leakage of naval and
military information. To mention but
a few instances of your success, the
Y thdrawal from Gallinoli. the con-
,ruction of tanks the preparations
for the offensive at Cambria, and also
for the recent counter -offensives which
destroyed the German armies, were
all known to numbers of people in this
country but were concealed from the
enemy. There is, / am informed on
the best authority, no evidence that
enemy submarines have ever received
information of the departure Of ship
ping from British ports. Thanks large
ly to your efforts, no act of destruction
or incendiarism has been committed
by enemy agents in this country. This
is the more remarkable when the num-
Der of enemy aliens at large is con-
sidered. You have obtained fnfOrma-
ton of incalculable value to the naval
intelligence, the military intelligence,
and the war trade intelligence depart
mentS. =
Piled Up contraband Evidence.
eft will interest you to know that
in practically every case of contra
band which has been brought before
the prize court, the evidence on which
the creWn relies has been furnished
by you. The significance of this state
ment will be better appreciated when
it is added that the estimated value
of prize cargoes, exclusive of ships, is
over f3O,O00,0O0. You have, moreover,
stopped enemy remittances to the
value of about f7OO00,O0O, and you
have completely destroyed the enemy's
oversee communications, so far as they
were vulnerable. 1 am conscious that
there are many other activities of the
directorate that I have not touched
upon. Important decisions have been
given in the realm of military inter-
national law, much trouble has been
taken in the selection of intelligence
personnel for the field, and investiga-
lions demanding technical qualifica-
tons of a high order have been con-