Evening star., 1937-06-05


her to lust let me come over and
watch the next time that you and your
stan are working out problem"
Come ahead" was the reply, "bu.
don't be disappointed II all you see
is = group OF people sitting around a
bare table, chewing the ends of their
lead pencils"
The matter-of- way in which
Mrs. Friedman speaks Of her LOB"
does not mean that she underSstimates
the significance OF the work. Her life
since the World War has been a sue
cession OF important jobs and she
regards her present assignment as one
OF the most important OF them all.
But there are no huzzas about It..
Il came to the Coast Guard to set up
= school for the analysis of cryptic
grams. or secret messages, and to en-
doctrinate certain pupils with this
knowledge" is the simple statement,
1t Is fortunate that We refused to be
discouraged by this brief pronounce
ment. for 1t merely skins the surface
OF Mrs. Friedman's achievement. The
Coast Guard is but one of six law
enforcement bodies Of the Treasury
Department. Under her able leader
ship, the Cryptanalytic stafY does the
DECIDING not only for their own par
ticulAr division, but also for the other
Agencies-Internal Revenue. Alcohol
Tax, Secret Service, Customs and the
Narcotic Bureau.
THE great bulk Of the work has to
DO with smuggling. That In
evltably reminds us Of narcotics and
alcohol, but they constitute only two
OF many classes Of commodities that
enter the country illegally, We are
told. What else? Jewelry, perfume,
clothing-"almost anything you can
name" said our informant. The
value OF smuggled articles annually
makes a staggering total. The chief
OF the Coast Guard cryptanalytic
section thinks that there are several
reasons for this great volume of illegal
entry. Some people try to get things
past the customs ofhcials merely for
the sport of It," she said. Others
however, and this includes the greater
number Of the offenders, do 1t to
avoid the payment OF duty. People
began smuggling on q large scale
during the prohibition era and they
are still hoping for something else
which Will be Just as profitable AZ
liquor was"
Mrs. Friedman, who Is q veritable
nemesis OF the smugglers, has testified
IN behalf Of the Government on more
than one occasion. Such an instance
occurred during December, 1884, and
January. 1885. in the international
arbitration here Of the I'm Alone case.
which dealt with = Canadian rum
runner, sunk in the Gulf of Mexico
by the Coast Guard in 1929.
Obviously. = profession in which a
person must be equally prepared to
act as judge, jury or learned witness
demands a versatile incumbent One
must be, first Of all, a specialist in
languages, for the initial step in the
analysis Of secret message Is to
ascertain the language in which it Is
written.
The next step is to determine
whether or not the communication is
simple or involved. Then comes the
question Of whether the material Is
in cipher. And, if it Is. that's where
your troubles begin. Lots of times
you work hard at something and get
out , message which may have been
put into secret form by extremely
complicated processes" explained
Mrs. Friedman. and then, when you
get it all worked out. 1t says some
thing like send Andrew q new glass
eye"
THERE is no prospect that the path
Of the cryptanalyst will be any
smoother as time passes, for his field
is primarily product of the twentieth
century. The rapid growth Of gov
ernments. the expansion OF commerce