Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-04-20
the Spies We Doing the Nigh Before 4mericnns First 4Hack

was perhaps no single organization, "the Ger
man secret SERVICE" in the sense that many
understood There were several German secret
services.
The secret army had its recruiting service,
with special agents, retired officers, women, but
mostly officers or non-commisSioned officers IN
valided out of the Army. Rank and file re-
cruits for spying in allied countries came
largely from two classes: The first, persons
of allied nationality but weak in loyalty or
character in internment camps in Germany
and Austria, or Holland and Switzerland, who
yielded not only to money inducement but to
promises of better treatment for relatives and
friends in the same camp; the second, allied
prisoners of war in the German prison camps.
When they accumulated some American pris-
oners of war-the total was $3.50 contrasted
with 1920 prisoners we took-the Germans
tried to weaken their loyalty and possibly TO
recruit spies among them. Rev. G. C. Jatho.
who did gallant chaplain's work at the Rastatt
prison camp, tells of German agents working
among American prisoners. propaganda
newspaper containing false news in English was
circulated among them. German official
photograph shows IAN American journalist"
whose unfamiliar countenance is not helped by
Teutonic haircut interviewing American pris-
oners.
Did any Americans turn traitor and join the
German secret service? Col. Nocolai says not,
and so far as this writer knows positively, he
tells the truth, at least for the Military Intelli-
gence. But there were diplomatic, naval and
interior services. In fact, some American secret
service officers suspected strongly that one Ger
man-AmeriCan, at least, was working against
them in the German secret service in Spain.
HIS name was Otto PRESS and he had been
in the Philippines, first in the American
Army then in the Philippine Constabulary It
was known that he had re-entered the German
Army. 1t was rumored that he had been killed
at Tannenberg, yet there were indications that
he or some one very like him. familiar with the
American Army, was with the Germans in
Spain. That neutral country was of greater
Importance in the allied scheme of things than
the world outside realized. It's lead supply
helped greatly to feed allied rifles and machine
guns SO the Germans tried by fair means or
foul to divert the stream.
1t was important that Spain at least remain
neutral-one reason why famous and fasci-
mating French actress took trip to Spain, met
a very high Spanish parsonage and, like the
Northwest Mounted, got her man. But that
concerns secret service other than ours
The Americans were so sure that their secret
foe was Otto PRESS that Maj. John w. Lang,
our military attache, once told a beggar who
stood outside his Madrid office: Go tell Otto
to call you of. We know you" The beggar
went The Americans in Spain thought Otto
might be "GroSkanon, the American" reported
high in the German service in Spain. But no
American in Spain knew PRESS, even by sight.
SO Gen. Van Deman who did know him. was
preparing to 60 to Spain when the armistice
came-perhaps just in time to prevent drama.
THERE are traces of two others who played
the German game, and were known to
some as COMMUNICATIONS: One Bunden Of
helped prepare the way for the German inva-
sion Of Belgium In 1914. There is no direct
evidence that they ever worked against the
Americans. We do not know that the sergeant
who tried to warn the Germans before Cam
tgny was anything more than a traitor One
American in Europe against whom such evi-
dence incontrovertibly exists had neither the
German nor any other hyphen, but was a ma
tve-born American.
1t seems strange that the Germans did NOT
honeycomb the A. e. F. with spies who had
lived in the United States long enough to be.
come indistinguishab1e from Simon-pure Amer
leans The reason was partly that our counter
espionage measures in the United States and in
France worked well, partly that the secret war
ended In German defeat especially that part
between Germans and Americans.
FOR some time 1t was more aggressive war
on their part than on ours They had a
stronger reason for seeking information and
their system for getting it was in existence ours
was only starting. Their network of secret lines
reached out from Berlin east. west north, south,
to branch centers at Bucharest, Lemberg, War.
saw, Wilma. Antwerp. Brussels Strassburg LORI
rach and Lindau, besides many others, espe-
cially on the Swiss frontier, like Constance with
Its two suburbs Emmisrofen and Kreuzlingen
across the border in Switzerland offering an
easy Jumping-of place. Presently there spread
through this network the word: Find out
about the Americans"
Watch for the next spy story II tells how tina