New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1919-02-02

spark was acting up. The
French Intelligence Depart
ment, with receivers all tuned up for Nauen
and Madrid, could make nothing out of the
supposed message. ct is F. T. Bronsdon.
recounting the incident, in Popular Me-
chanics").
Nothing there!" was the verdict of the
wireless expert
Headquarters thought differently. The
Germans had known far too much concern
ing Allied troop disposal in the Somme adj
vance. News was getting across constantly:
some of it was acted upon by the Boches
before ever Allied troops in advanced posi-
tions could know of the changes made.
Careful sitting had made a practical cer-
tainty of the theory that a neutral country
was sending the news by powerful wireless.
Further investigation had disclosed that in
Madrid, Spain, an instrument was using the
same wave length used habitually by Nauen.
the great official station Of the German
empire. little observation showed fur
Their that, at irregular times both of these
stations sent out these queer buzzings. 10
looked suspicious, to say the least
For weeks afterward the Allies kent ex-
perts busy on the strange problem. Every
being that perhaps some special receiving
apparatus had been invented which made
the buzzng tumble intelligent. The Brit
ish who were called in to wrestle with tbe
problem were unanimous in the opinion
that the noise, which never lasted more
than fraction of minute, was due purely
to some imperfections in the sending sta
tions. No message of any kind, except nos
the war, could be sent in this manner
surely no data concerning the movements
OF divisions army corps, Cor the names OF
THESE alone would take more spark than
was wasted on the whole of each of these
mystery messages" The French were mo-
lite, but unconvinced
Still the buzzing continued from Nauen
and from Madrid, though more often from
the latter The leak, also, was growing
worse. 1t had become so bad that the
french organized phantom attack under
General Debeneau. With only that general
and headquarters staff in "on the know"
three DIVISIONS were scheduled to hammer
the German front on certain August morn
ing Two days previous to the imaginary
attack the Germans this front abandoned
three moderately dangerous positions which
they had held stubbornly to that timeI
Patrols sent out to reconnoitre reported a
huge force of stosstruppen grimly waiting
TO annlhilate the three divisions. which
naturally never went over the too
Foslfive orders went out TO tune Up on
Madrid. Obeyng this mandate the mel
iigence Department finally discovered tho
'flck. certain INVESTIGATOR ut his wits
end attached phonograph with q blank
ord h.
investigating Madrid When the buzzing
came 1t was inscribed the soft wax Of
record This first attempt yielded no spe-
citic result, but it furnished hint. RIM
ming the record at two or three revolutions
minute, several experts thought they de-
tected certain letters.
Immediate another trial was made. This
time the blank record was run 800 revolu-
tions to the minute
The buzzing was caught When the record
was rerun at lower speed the code message
was obtained, Then, of course the prob
lem was simplicity itself; no German ever
yet has been able to evolve code which the
Federal Intelligence Department could not
decipher in its sleep. The message. as ex-
pected. gave a wealth Of details that no
German supposed to know Soon after
Nauen came through with questions which
Madrid would answer soon as possible.
The scheme really was simple. In each Of
these stations reels for holding perforated
tape message had been attached to the wire
less sending apparatus. mechanism es-
sentially like that which reproduces from
music rolls on player Piano took the meg
sage from the perforated roll and sent it
out in ether at from 500 to 400 words
a minute At either end a photograph
picked up the seemingly meaningless tumble
and ordinary steel needles reproduced it.
1t is doubtful if the Germans ever found
out that the French were on to their scheme,
for on occasion, until nearly the end of the
war the device was used. Needless to say
there always was third party ION the line"
and it is certain that none Of the Informal
ton that subsequently went through ever
bothered the Allied armies. Through vari-
Gus ruses. and through the leading questions
asked by Nauen the French were able to
pick up many spies that they never would
have suspected under ordinary circum-
stances thus closing up most OF Fritzs re-
liable sources of information.