The New York herald., 1922-11-26

tQere is not a Cnancellery on the
Continent that doesn't receive
some new proof daily that political intrigue
is Just as amazingly perfected by the ma
tions of Europe as in the days before the
war when Bern was the center of the
worlds espionage"
This analysis of the espionage problem
as it exists to-day was given to me re-
Gently by one of the French Governments
spy detectors, an agent who for more than
twenty years has spent most of his time
In the company of Frances enemies, and
In scores of cases has succeeded in OBJ
tanning evidence which has resulted in the
arrest and conviction OF notorious adopts
of that most reprehensible profession-es-
pionage He has worked in Bern during
the social exploits of the notorious Lady"
Beckley, who was not a Lady" at all
but an erstwhile waitress whose beauty
the Austrian Government found advan-
tageous as lure for unsuspecting diplo-
mats. The series of documentary thefts
by the former German officer known as
Karl the First" long suspected to be the
working chief of Germany's spy system,
were unraveled by my informant, and
Karl the First" only escaped capture in
foot race over the F'raneo-Swiss from
tier. During the war the trail of the
beautiful half breed danseuse Mata Hari
was first picked up by the French agents
at Bern through a careless bit of CONVEX
sation between two minor German spies
ON the platform of street car, and for
nearly year the ablest of French detec-
tives secured the espionage haunts of
Bern, Lucerne and finally Geneva for
missing details of evidence which finally
sent Mata Hari to the execution post, with
a squad of blue clad roius appointed to
wreak the army's revenge upon a proved
traitress.
"Yes, there are thousands and thousands
OF spies working in Europe to-day, but
their personality and their methods are
not OF the same finesse as in the old davs.
continued my informant "The militarv
spy. as developed by Germany, has no
place in the new system. He was always
swashbuckling sort of individual appar-
emily trying to conceal his profession by
fashy, goose stepping demeanor. and
after little experience our agents were
able to pick out his ilk nine times ont of
ten. To-day any military spying that is
done Is on the inside, and while every
European army has a certain number of
recruits from other lands who are pledged
10 keep their own country informed as to
new discoveries, this phase of espionage no
longer worries US. 1t is virtually impos-
sible to keep knowledge of new inventions
even from the ordinary public.
THE bigger problem is to keep our
political secrets safe, and since the up-
heaval of nations during the war this is
found to be almost impossible Instead OF
the big Powers being directly responsible
for the general policies of Europe, as be-
fore 1914 the little Balkan and Central
European nations now play a part in the
big game. and their cards are stacked lust
as carefully as in the old diplomatic com
petition for power in which England
France. Russia and Germany were the
bidders. And this has resulted in one note
worthy change. e., no longer are the
hotels of Bern and the various salons of
the Swiss capital the centers for interna-
uonal spying! Instead the field has been
divided, with Vienna as the rendezvous for
the petty. political intrguers because of
its comparatively low cost of living. and
Geneva as the favored scene of the Old
style Of diplomatic espionage for no other
reason than the presence of the League
of Nations with its constant ctraap, of din