The Washington herald., 1922-07-20
SPYING APPEARS
CHIEF BUSINESS OF
BALTIC VISITOR
information About Soviet
Russia Sought by
Europe.
By OTIS SWIFT.

glass of IS per cent vodka.
This was, of course, inadvisable.
Sixty-five per cent vodka. VIII ch
shriveis and withers the mouth OF
the uninitiated. Is apt TO produce
strange results. Under It's infiu-
ence men speedily burst into either
tearss song or profanity. Some
pass out cold. In this case the dis
tinguished European burst into
| conversation.
1 Yes, ! know America WELL" he
said. you see. l used to be q spy
there. Ny government sent me
over to look at the navy yards.
J was also checking up the new wire
less plants. Yes. it's a beautiful
country.
Spy Not Novelty.
I The American guest exhibited no
/ surprise at this statement. There
is nothing surprising about meeting
a spy in the Baltic. After a few
weeks in this part of the world one
absorbs an impression that ali
strangers may be divided into two
classes: spies and people spy .ng on
spies.
For the Baltic states, called into
being to serve as bulwark against
Bolshevism. now serve as an ad-
yanced listening post for Europe.
In this listening post some OF Eu-
ropes most acute listeners sit with
one ear to the ground. trying to
interpret the whisperings and rum
bling that come from within Soviet
! Russia.
In pre-war days the Baltic sea-
ports of Riga. Reval. and Helsing-
fors used to export timber. fax, po-
tatoes, horse hides. and sheep CUTS.
these last being used for external
i coverings for sausages, frankfurt
ters. and liverwurst.
Export Information.
Now these cities all export infor-
nation. The commodity Is intense
ly in demand Every one wants In
formation about Russia. War Of
fices in European capitals want in
| formation about the Red army
Foreign offices want information
about Russia's internal and ex-
ternal politics. Business men want
to know about railroads. mines, and
factories. And apparently. to Judge
from the omnipresent spy stories
afioat here, a large body of investi-
gators are busy collecting the in
/ formation wanted.
These spy stories cannot be veri-
fed. No first rate spy advertises
his calling except when 65 per cent
vodka disorganizes the functioning
of his conscious mind. But strang-
ers (and 1t is extraordinary how
many strangers of varied nationali-
ties force their inauisitive acquain-
tance upon a new arrival in the
Baltic) are prone to relate weird.
vivid. and startling spy stories when
mellowed by vodka of even 40 per
cent.
Many Spy Stories Anoat.
You see, I'm up here as a busi-
| ness man myself" explained one
practically accentless European last
last night. But I've heard some
great spy stories going around. I
met a fellow once who told me
about a fellow he met. This fell
low. the other fellow. was an avia-
tor. you see. He took his plane up
from--well. the country he came
from-one day and didn't return to
the hangar that night. He had
flown straight to Petrograd--few
his plane straight into a Bolshevik
| hangar. and told them he was a
Bulgarian army aviator who had
deserted and wanted to become a
Bolshevik. He stayed there three
days, got all statistics and plans Of
the Bolshevik aviation program. and
I L.
| came from
Then / met another fellow. He'd
just come out of Russia, disguised.
and wanted to sell the minutes of
the latest Communist meeting in
Moscow for $50. Another fellow
had the secret telegraphic code of
the Bolsheviks-all in a bound book
And another fellow"
Tales Unconnrmed.
To repeat, these stories cannot be
verified. But according to rumors
and whispered gossip, there would
seem to be an open market in the
Baltic for the disposal Of informa-
tion about Russia. Unofficial spies
are said to earn a good living by
selling such Information. 1t is said
that some of these people. having
obtained information in Russia.
come out and syndicate 1t. selling
the same material several times
over to different governments. These
are the free lance spies, the unat-
tached adventurers who are anxious
to turn an honest penny whenever
possible. But it is also said that,
commanding these people. there are
number of superspies. master
/ minds, whose mysterious comings
and goings and vivid adventures
make movie plots seem tame.
True or untrue, the stories are
told here today. 1t is another
phase of the still lingering war
fever of a nervousiy convalescen;
! Europe. To American ears il has
an impossible. dime novel sound,
but here. on the spot. it seems to
have more OF a tingc OF reality.
For the Baltic states are Europc's
listening post. The job is being
done very much on the quiet. but
when the third glass Of vodka has
beer drunk, some one is always apt
to say: .
Il know a man, who knows a man
| lvho--ssshhhh