The Waterbury Democrat., 1933-12-20


 said they seized a secret wireless station.
 Last night they made their ars rests. It was intimated that other arrests would follow on volumin ous evidence.
 Police asserted that the leaders of the spy group posed as medical students in their work of obtain | ing secret data on the new Frenen defenses that have just been com pleted - the most nearly impreg- fable defenses ever conceived, con- stituting a ring of steel forts along the German frontier.
 Amazing Defenses Extreme care has been taken to keep secret the details of the new French qualifications, which could be likened to a great invisible wall along the frontier. There are sub- l terranean forts and shelters ana | machine gun posts, gun emplace- ments, communicating passages, all designed to keep French soll
 inviolate.
 | It has been common knowledge that in recent years European na- tions had built up their espionage | organizations to a degree compar. able to those before the Wofio
 war.
 Spies and counter spies are ac, tive at all times in France and other European countries. Often the counter spies keep known agents of foreign governments un- der surveillance for years, inter- | cepting their messages and Tor warding them on to thelr destlha- | tions.
 At the outbreak of the World war the British Scotland Yard ar rested every German spy Tn Eng land except one who escaped py | steamer to the continent. Among those arrested were 2 famed international spy known as Madame Stahl, a young Bremen woman school teacher and an ln- terpreter at the Navy ministry.
 After eight months of inquiry police raided various small hotels in Paris, taking the prisoners whose possessions were packed IT valises as though in proparation for flight. Louis Martin, the governmen. interpreter, tainted when he was
 arrested. He had 27,00o Iranci (about s1,620) in his possessioInc x
 The two Americans had St,VuS francs (about $1,S60) of whlcn 12,OO0 fancs was hidden in the woman's underwear, Switz was described as the son of Theodore A. Switz of Madison Wis. and was born in East Orange Police said Mime Stahl, also known as Lydia Techkaloff, was born m Russia and operated in Russia Finland. England and Germany.
 Other prisoners included Ben iamin Berkowitz, described as 9 | iloumanian-born Canadian Com- Inunist agitator, who police believ- ed shared leadership In the plot with Mme Stahl; his wife, Clara, | described as a painter; a youne Polish couple, Noise and Chana Salman, medical students; Bouchan Narandish, Serbian journalist, and Marie Madeleine Mermet, 23s Paris teacher.
 Mime Stah1, who is AS, was be- lieyed to be the real brains or the plot, police said. They seized I'm. | nortant sums of money, secre' documents, photographs and radio
 apparatus in possession of all the prisoners, and also captured secret radio broadcasting station.
 Police said their suspicious were aroused by Switz's movements and his secret meetings with two Russians who fled from the country
 when shadowed. Switz increased Il his vigilance but remained, en' abling detectives to trace his ac'
 complices. ..,...
 Mime Stahl and Martin, police saidN made repeated voyages t
 Finland, while Mile Mermet, iivinl in the outskirts of Paris, allowed the plotters to use her home Tor
 secret radio station and Q iabora' tory. including film equipment.