Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-09-15

with blankets He had known that the Ger
man police were keeping tabs on his corre-
spondence, especially with leading Spartacists.
Now he seemed in for closer attention. The
steps drew nearer. Luckily he had only started
the report, which was on thin tissue paper.
Only one thing to do-swallow 1t. He gulped
the last bit of pulp as there came bang on
the door
"Herein!" he called, and policeman entered
tWhat are you doing with your windows COW
cred up?" he demanded.
"Oh, just day dreaming" replied Al
innocently.
Day dreaming!" the policeman calculated
"At half-paSt in the morning? I'll have to
look around"
But he found nothing, and disappeared.
Next evening came a telephone call from Az
This companion agent had reached Berlin after
arguments with the German police over some
all!leather ladies' shoes he was bringing in to
play the same role as the scarcely more rare
chocolate and soap. His camouflage was also
that of newspaper correspondent, but for
financial paper interested in business conditions
in Germany. While Al gathered political and
military information, Az had gathered
economic But now he was scared.
Come to the Adlon," he said. There's food
for you"
That was the prearranged signal for danger
at least important news. And SO it proved
AZ Hdu ildu u WdHlIlS lTOm lne ANlerl-
can woman agent, that he was suspected by the
German police. Then he had found that he
was being followed
Their chief warned both men to be ready to
leave on moments notice. to do no more
work" make no more reports but otherwise
live normally. Now whenever Al went out he
saw that he was being followed. not by one
man, but by several. With a flood of relief he
received another telephone call:
There's a food package for you at the
Adon-a big one"
Next day they were on their way out Of
Germany.
CO. gave both high praise Al was pro-
NOTED, and his chief recommended him for the
Distinguished Service Medal. He never got it.
But he did get on his service record the nota-
ton, Intelligence service in enemy country
which is rare.
SIMILAR notations could have appeared also
upon the records of four, perhaps five,
American newspaper correspondents had they
not been, SO to speak, fired from the A. E. F..
They were lucky The French wanted them
shot. And they had been doing some highly
valuable spying in Germany
That was in the last analysis the most not
able upShot of an ambitious attempt at great
international news beat. The five who started
were Herbert Corey, then of the Associated
Newspapers; the late Lincoln Eyre, then of the
New York World; Frederick C.. Smith of the
Chicago Tribune, C. c. Lyon of the Newspaper
Enterprise Association and George Seldes,
whose recent book You Can't Print That" tells
how, ignoring Army regulations delicate inter-
national relations and real peril to their own
skins they penetrated the German lines after
the armistice and interviewed Hindenburg.
Then Seldes turned back.
The four others went on to revolutionary
Berlin, interviewed the heads of the government
barely fortnight in power, and returned to
tell of 1t. Uniformed as American accredited
war correspondents, in an Army automobile,
they got safely through the homeward bound
throngs in field grey" who mistook them for
food commission" summoned by the Amer
lean Elijah to feed Republican Germany
Red-badged revolutionsts lording it over coll
onelS and generals of the old army commanded
Hindenburg to give the Americans an interview
and after protest, he did. Then as Seldes re-
turned to Trier and the harsh bosom of an en-
ragged B-2-D, A. E. F., Corey, Eyre, Smith and
Lyon went to Berlin chaperoned by the Work.
mems and Soldiers Council
There they spent a nerve-wracking week,
dreading machinery bullets broadcast in
street fighting, or a knife from some fanatic
whose war ardor had not cooled, watched day
and night, mserably fed, yet gathering great
news Of great event with little competition
the leaders OF the German revolution had
fallen for the same argument that Al used;
Let us tell the world the truth about what has
happened" Ebert, HaaSe, Schedemann a host
OF smaller fry, they interviewed, questioned,
weighed each night as they talked things over
behind locked doors with stuffed keyholes
Their half-buff had gone 100 per cent with