Catoctin clarion. [volume] (Mechanicstown, Md.) 1871-1940, 1919-02-27
HOLLAND HOUSED
10000 HUN. SPIES
Placed There to Keep In Touch
With Britain.
Use DUTCHMEN AS COUR|ERS
Garry Messages to Enemy Agents In
EngIand-Loose Passport System
Made Things Easy at First-some Of
the Spies Were Highly Educated
Men, Others Were Mere Shadowers
and Touts-Dangerous Band Broken.

the Spies Were Highly Educated
Men, Others Were Mere Shadowers
and Touts-Dangerou Band Broken.
There were 10000 known German
agents in Holland during the war.
Dutch police inspector explained to
the New York Sun that to expel them
would simply mean that their places
would be taken by other and unknown
agents.
They drifted into Holland on vari-
Gus preteXts. Some were highly edu-
Gated men, capable of moving in the
best society; others were mere shad-
overs aud touts. They took up all
sorts Of positions. The case of the
porter at the Hotel DIES Indies, the
Waldorf Astoria of The Hague, who
proved to be a brother of the then
German ambassador at Constantinople,
Is already known. But that Is only
one of hundred # similar incidents.
The chief task Of this army of men
was of course to keep in touch with
Great Britain. In the early days OF
the war there was no more difficulty
in this than If there was no war
British passports in those days were
not worth the paper on which they
We're produced.
A young journalist who was In llol-
land but had no passport got one from
the local Consul Ga Dutchman OF
cOurse) simply on the production of a
letter from home. Later on 1t was
rendered very difficult to get British
passport, but curiously enough the pre-
vous issues Of useless paper were not
withdrawn until the war had been In
progress for three full years. 1t need
hardly be said that the German secret
service made good use Of the careless
ness.
Lack Of Cooperation.
Again the spies benefited from the
lack Of cooperation between the dlf-
ferent British departments. Thus In
one large town the British community
was unofficlally warned against patron
izing a certain music dealer, who was
q known German agent. Yet that man
was one of the few Dutch music deal
ers who had a license for the import
of British music.
Dutchmen We're largely used as cou-
riers between the German agents In
Holland and the spies in Britain. Loose
women and night clubs were employed
as a means Of ensnaring young men
for this purpose.
Another aspect of the activities of
these human moes was that OF gather
ing information in Holland. The Or
ganization behind them was marvellous.
Enormous prices were paid to Dutch
telegraphers for copies Of entente
code wires passing between the lega-
tions and Downing street or the Quay
dOrsay. SO rampant did this evil be-
come that the Dutch authorities had
to insist on each operator submitting
to a search before going on duty and
again afterward.
Photography was used to an extraor-
binary extent. Passengers boarding
the boats for England were snap
shotted and the photos all carefully
filed. Photography was chiefly used to
ensnare possible victims. On one occa-
sion French attache, riding in the
woods near Wassenaar, encountered
lady who had been thrown from her
horse With the gallantry of his race,
he went to her assistance. A few days
later he was confronted with photo
graphs of himself kneeling beside the
"injured" lady. He was told that the
lady way not injured at ALL and would
tell her own story.
Dangerous Band Broken Up.
With the threat Of exposure as a
lever, great effort was made to turn
him into traitor. Fortunately, he
acted promptly and with courage, and
in consequence a dangerous band was
broken up. This was by no means an
isolated instance.
One characteristic of Teutonic meth
ods was the adoption OF great precau.
tions to set the odium, in the event of
discovery, thrown on Britain On one
occasion an English" yacht, manned
by "Englishmen," was found strand
ed in forbidden waters near the mouth
of the Scheldt. The yacht was seized
and the crew arrested. On board was
found fairly complete plan Of the
Dutch mine field protecting the mouth
of the Scheldt. The odium was thus
thrown on Britain. Happily, a few
DAYS later the plot was discovered and
the psuedo-Englishmen found to be
Teutons from Hamburg.
Finally, an instance may be given OF
how the practice of spying has been
ingrained in the German people. A
Dutch family living at Harlem had a
German boy Of eleven staying with
them in the summer Of 1917. They
found that the youngster was keeping
a note Of all that WAS said In the con-
versation about Germany. When asked
the reason of this, the boy said that
he had been instructed to do so by his
school-teacher, so that anybody who
spoke against the kaiser could be
found out and punished. That from a
boy Of eleven