Evening star., 1937-06-05

and the constant progress along the
lines Of electrical communication
seem destined to exert an ever-An-
creasing influence on cryptography and
to ordain that 1t will continue a
definite essential in the conduct Of
international affairs. So, although
the word was not included In tho
dictionary until after the World War,
it's there to stay!
The first book on cryptography Of
which we have any record Is that
written in 1918 by a German monk,
Irithemius. Neither the simple friar
nor later scholars could foresee the
far-reaching ramifcations Of his sub
Ject, however. and literature dealing
with 1t was still in very elementary
form in that fateful month of August,
1914.
But conditions changed, almost
overnight. The war brought such a
propulsion into the future that secret
writing developed very rapidly and
grew into complexities undreamed of.
When the United States entered the
war, 1t was in q worse plight even
than Its European allies. It had
practically nobody to read enemy
ciphers and the few people who were
capable OF this work were not banded
into unit but were scattered through.
out the country. And that Is where
Mr.. and Mrs. Friedman enter tho
picture. Both were college e-trained
and both had topographic expert
| ence, through research on the bi.
literal cipher Of Sir Francis Bacon.
| They were given the task of forming q
unit which could decipher enemy In.
forma ton.
We had a lot Of pioneering to d."
Mrs. Friedman said reminhcently.
Literary ciphers may give VI tho
swing OF the thing, but they are In
no sense scientific. There were no
precedents for us to follow We simply
had to roll up our sleeves and chart
q new course"
A ND they've been charting courses
along that line ever since. Mr..
Friedman solved German codes at
general headquarters. came out of tho
war major and since then has re-
mained our pre-eminent authority on
codes and ciphers. He is now chief of
the Signal Intelligence Service OF the
Army and has been made lieutenant
colonel in the Signal Corps Reserve.
Mrs. Friedman has seen service with
the War and Navy Departments, the
old Prohibition Enforcement Unit Of
the Treasury, and was with the Gus
toms Service just before coming to the
Coast Guard. She says that they take
me because they can't get my hus-
band" 1t goes without saying that
modesty Is one Of her dominant char.
acteristics.
The Friedman talent for crypt an
alyss seems to be shared by 13-year-
old Barbara, who startled her parents
WITH code messages at the tender age
OF 3. They were at the International
Radio-Telegraph Conference in Ma
drld at the time. Even before that,
though she had rebelled at her Sum-
mer camp directors habit of reading
all outgoing mail and had enciphered
her letters home, knowing full we'll
that the worthy lady dared not delay
tnem. James Ramsay, who Is 10, bus
les himself with the simpler things of
llle, such as aeroplanes, guns and
boats. He has made at least 200 diff
lerent planes, his mother says.
Some women might think that fill-
ing an executive position, managing
home and supervising two such ac-
nN~
Ramsay seem to be, was enough for
any one person. Not so Mrs. Fried
man, who manages to find time for nu.
merous other activities. She has been
member Of the Executive Board OF
the District League Of Women Voters
Tor about II years and but recently re-
signed as vice president, after long
illness. Resents what she terms the
"step-child attitude" of Congress to-
ward the District OF Columbia.