Great Falls tribune. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1921-current, 1922-09-29

SECRET AGENTS IN WASHINGTON

Washington, d. c., Sept. 26--Nov-
elists could we'll afford to withdraw
their attention from abroad and con-
centrate on Washington for material
for those thrilling stories OF espionage
and political intrigue which the p1bIc
SO eagerly devours. For a long tiuie,
the popular novelist has delighted TO
let his characters get into all kinds or
scrapes and have hair-Dreadth escapes
and discover important secrets or
state in such places as Geneva, Petro-
grad, Monte Carlo and Rome. Ihey
could do just as well at Washington.
Since the war, Washington has be.
come in a certain sense the capital OF
the world. With all nations looking
to the United States as the leader OF
international activity, u NATIONAL
capital has taken on increased impor-
lance.
Washington as a headquarters for
diplomatic activity has long had con-
siderable vogue, but never SO much as
at present. The increased business OF
this character started with the war,
when the pr~opagandists and diplomats,
| special commissioners and plenipoten-
tiaries of all principal nations came
here as steel is drawn to a magnet.
| Nearly all of them have stayed and ply
their trade as diligently as ever.
The treaty of Versailles provided Tor
several new states in pursuance OF the
/ doctrine of self-determination WHICH
| President Wilson introduced at the
| peace table. All of these nations were
born in turmoil and have been encoun-
tering difficulties in holding their hard
won identity.
The opinion has become fixed in
| Europe that a government can accom-
plish anything by convincing the Amer
lean public of the justice of it's cause.
1t seems that the whole world bows to
the collective American Mind and. IN
| consequence, every effort is made to
appeal to that Mind.
Bureau Suppiants Junta
The foreign Hobbies frequently take
| the form of information bureaus. Such
countries as Esthonia, Latvia, Lithu-
ania have bureaus with headquarters
at Washington whence millions OF
words of information" are sent broad
cast to the American press, showing
| the DEVELOPMENT of each country, stat
ing its nationalistic aims and frequent
ly holding up to scorn the conflicting
aspirations of other peoples. The In
formation bureau is the successor OF
the old-fa shioned diplomatic agency or
junta which used to be in vogue here.
There is no doubt that these bureaus
make a substantial impression through
out the country, and it appears their
home goyernme nts are well justified in
believing that the American press is
| as important, If not more so, than the
department of state in connection with
American affairs.
The in the last year
have had q good deal to say about the
Chita government. It Will be recalieo
| that the conference on the limitation
of ornaments devoted no little atten-
ton to this small nation, officially
known as the far eastern repubnc.
! Much of this attention, this Worldwide
| publicity, arose from the efficiency Oh
the Washington information bureau
maintained by the Chita government
which at psychological moments ISSUED
statements to the press or, IN other
words. TO that vague collective factor
in world affairs, the American Mind.
The development has gone so lar
that several of the old established EN-
bassies maintain on their diplomatic
staffs highly trained newspaper CORE
/ snondeuts. Sometimes these are
brought from the home countries and
have such impressive titles as press
attache. More frequently they are
| American journalists employed in this
| country. 1t is the general opinion that
| the best results are obtained from the
American newspaper man because. he
is more familiar with the American
mind and knows more accurately now
it can best be appealed to.
All readers of American newspapers
have seer q great deal of agitation
concerning Philippine independence.
This springs largely from the informa-
ton bureau maintained at the expense
of the taxpayers of the Philippine
Islands, for the sole purpose of telling