Evening Republican, Volume 15, Number 123, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 24 May 1911 — Page 2

Work of the Military Spy

NCE ln * while an 4_y ■■ .... £ W army or navy offi ‘ fl . fl cer is arrested .for H I spying or attempt W fl toss to obtain >" tary secrets from a foreign govern* ■ meat. Practically every government, including the Unit 43aj~y£a|»--.. ‘ ed States, has a law which makes this a crime. Usu ally there is more * ’ - or less secrecy •bout the officer’s arrest and trial. His government repudiates his activity, and if he is sentenced to a term of Imprisonment he receives no support or aid from his government. Within the last few months two* British officers. Captain Brandon and Captain Trench, have been arrested and tried and imprisoned in Germany for gathering military information in that country which might be valuable to Great Britain In case of hostilities. A German officer, Lieutenant Helm, was arrested in England for sketching and photographing British fortifications. In the Philippines two Japanese officers were arrested while attempting to bribe a private to furnish them with photographs of the fortiflcatiohs of Corregidor, Manila bay. These, incidents are only indications of a general system of secret military espionage which is in progress in* all parts of the world. Although they will not officially admit it, practically every government has a secret service of army and navy officers whose duty is to travel in foreign countries to gather information which might be useful in time of war. Because of the shortage of officers the United States has only engaged in this practice in time of actual hostilities. Military espionage is, of course, a delicate subject, and it would be a gross violation of international propriety for any government to admit that It had secret agents spying on its neighbors. However, It Is a well known fact that this system exists. Not long ago officers of the war department had an experience which is ■till a mystery. One of the most important secrets of the army in recent years has been the details of the fortifications of the Island of Corregidor, which is situated at the mouth of Manila bay. A British subject in the city of Calcutta found on the streets of that city a small packet of blueprints containing information of the defenses of Corregidor. Recognizing the character of the documents he turned them over to the American consul general there, who in turn forwarded them to the state department at Washington. Finally they found their way to the war department, where the blueprints were critically examined. The officers of the department were amazed when they found that the blueprints contained all tne important details of the defences of Corregidor. They were duplicates of the original plans, the whereabouts of which have never been ascertained. They were on a small scale, evidently made * ith the idea of carrying them in * pocket, and were very finely and accurately drawn. On some of the blueprints were tabulations giving tne heights of the guns übove the sea level, the location of searchlights, fire control stations and other highly confidential information. The blueprints were not copied from any drawings or charts prepared by the United States, but were evidently made from careful and painstaking research from the official and confidential records of the government. The maker of the blueprints was never identified. Officers of the war department are confident that the blueprints were based upon Information which had been abstracted and deliberately sold to a foreign government But the most careful and comprehensive investigation which was made by the department failed to disclose the identity of the supposed traitor. About a year ago two Japanese officers attempted to obtain photographs of the Corregidor fortifications by bribing an enlisted man of the American army. To the private, who was tn the engineer corps, was offered |25,000 if he would agree to supply the officers with the photographs they deaired. He agreed to do this and as he was the official photographer of the corps no suspicion was aroused when he made the photographs. He revealed his knowledge to the military authorities in Manila, however, who instructed him to proceed with the deal. A trap was teid and the two Japanese officers were captured when they were about to receive the photographs from the private. There was no law under which they could be prosecuted and they were released from custody. (Since then, however, congress has passed a law covering such cases. Early In 1908 the police department of New York reported to the war department that maps and military information of a confidential character had been found ip a trunk belonging to an American who, the police believed, had been employed by a foreign government. His arrest had been made in connection with another offence end the discovery of these papers was in 1997 an American ambassador st

a foreign capital reported to the state department that an army officer of the country to which he was accredited had been detailed to visit the American countries secretly to ascertain the strength of their forces. His mission was thwarted, however, by the information furnished by the ambassador. The military authorities of every first-class power are constantly preparing for war. Naturally they are anxious to know what their neighbors are accomplishing in military science. Here develops the function of the modern military spy. Fiction writers clothe the spy with a veil of mystery and a supernatural cleverness which enables him to get out of all dangerout pitfalls into which he falls. But the real flesh and blood spy is a different person. In these days of modern and scientific warfare the spy has become a technical expert who must be thoroughly versed in every branch of his art. He must be tactful and above all close mouthed. The procedure in sending out a spy is something like this: If the German government wishes information which it cannot get In the regular channels of information, some officer is eent for. He is summoned to the war office to receive his Instructions. In the case of confidential work abroad he receives oral orders so that he will not have any documentary evidence In case he gets into trouble. Having received his instructions he starts out, sometimes so secretly that even his family do not know where he Is going. Usually he speaks the language of the country to which he is bound. His real identity for the time being is forgotten, and he travels under an assumed name. If necessary, he uses a disguise to cover his movements. If he Is a good spy he returns with the

Ancient City of Arizona

Mining Engineer Finds Relics of a Town Which He Insists Are 10,000 Years Old.

Still another “oldest city in the world” has been discovered. When T. Hewitt Myring found vases in Peru in ruins which were said to be 7,000 years old It was imagined that the remains of early civilizations had been pushed as far into antiquity as they would ever go.

But A. Lefave, a mining engineer, has found the relics of a town In an Arizona tableland near Phoenix which he Insists are at least 10,000 years old. The buildings are on a level stretch of country where neither silt nor wash was possible, and yet the ruins were covered with ten feet of prairie dust, which the discoverer claims required ages to accumulate. The buildings of sandstone show great architectural skill, and In the walls were found a box of cotton bolls and a sealed jar of corn, both well preserved. The Arizona climate does not permit the growth of cotton In the present age, so Mr. Lafave assumes that sufficient time must have elapsed since the cotton which he found was grown to have wrought a complete change in the character of the country. This period he also gauges as something like . 10,000 years. He is satisfied that the ruins are older than those of Nineveh or Babylon. He believes that the .race which built this town was possessed of a

desired Information and no questions in regard to the methods that he employed are asked. If he is captured while engaged in his work he Is punished for attempting to obtain the military secrets, of a foreign governments and his own country lets him severely alone.

The cipher code books by means of which diplomatic correspondence -is carried on are often sought after by these secret agents. Several years ago the code book of the American legation at Bucharest “disappeared.” Its loss was reported to Secretary of State Elihu Root by telegraph. Mr. Root sent for the chief clerk of the department “Mr. Smith,” said the secretary, “the code book at Bucharest has been lost I believe It Is about time for us to have a new code for our diplomatic correspondence.” Some months later the missing book was offered for sale to the Japanese ambassador at St Petersburg, who purchased it for a small sum and as an act of comity turned it over to the American ambassador there. A young man several years ago appeared at the American embassay in Berlin and offered to sell to the ambassador a copy of the state department’s code book which he said he had In his possession. He left several specimen pages to prove that his book was genuine. A comparison with the embassy’s code book proved that he had the real codq, but where he had obtained It was a mystery. The ambassador knew that a new code was in course of preparation and would shortly be distributed by the department. The offer was politely declined on the ground that the embassy had a code book of Its own and did not need another.

high civilization from the abundance of artistically wrought pottery and that it subsequently was broken up by internal dissension and possibly degenerated into the cliff dwelling tribes.

Porcupine-Eating Lions.

Lions have queer appetites. Recently a handsome animal was found dead on the banks of the River Rahad, close to the village of Mafaza, Sudanese Africa, and in his jawa was a porcupine, whose quills had pierced his mouth and throat, and were evidently the cause of his death. Another Incident illustrating the king of beast’s partiality for this prickly morsel, is reported by a* hunter in the Sudan. He says: “I shot a fine male lion the other week, and on skinning it found under the skin of the near forearm two of the sharp ends of porcupine quills about two and a half and one and a half inches in length, and a third similar piece under the akin of the off forearm. At the time I mentioned to my native hunter that I thought the presence of porcupine quills in the skin of the lion remarkable, but he said that it was a wellknown fact among the natives that lions are in the habit of eating porcupines.”

Chance to Save.

Ted —Would Jju marry a girl whc sued you for breach of promise? Ned —That would depend on wheth er she won the suit. —Lippincott’s.

PLAYERS FEAR NO PITCHER

Diamond Stars Htt Often, Yet Continue to Hug Plate—Unable to Move ' Out of Danger. Why is it that some people are so constituted that when standing on a high building or at any upper story window it is with only the greatest restraint that they keep themselves from jumping? Why this desire to fling oneself to certain destruction? There are other similar elements in other makeups that are no less certain to bring dire results. One of these comes in baseball, and no fewer than three of the real stars of the two major leagues are victims of a strange force that may ultimately lead them out of baseball forever. * • , . Ordinarily when a batsman grabs up a bat and steps to the plate he is cautious about getting hit by one of the shoots that are served up to him. One that looks too close for comfort causes him to fall back, and in hundreds of players this tendency, this involuntary movement due to the innate desire for self-preservation, leads the batter to shyfoot. However, the three players referred to are not of this kind.

Frank Chance, the leader erf the Chicago Nationals, is one of the ball players who when poised at the plate looking over the slants of the opposing pitcher, cannot get out of the way when they see a pitched ball coming at them. Some unknown force holds him motionless. He is aware of the fact that the sphere is traveling toward him, and he realties his danger, but try as he will he is held motionless. On several occasions Chance has been cracked on the head, and with bad results.

Jake Stahl, the Boston American first sacker, who retired this season, had a stripe of the same whatever-lt-is in his system. He was always glued to the spot when the ball started for him. He, too, felt chained to the exact position in which he stood, and several times he suffered in consequence of this strange mesmerizing influence power the approaching ball had over him. Syd Smith, the catcher acquired from Atlanta by the Cleveland Americans is the third of these players.

Jake Stahl,

Smith says he realises what it, all means, and just what is going tohappen in case he does not get out of the way when the ball is coming straight toward him. He says he has tried to get out of the way, but actually does not move an inch. He cannot account for the fact nor the feeling that keeps him in harm’s way.

BARNSTORMING TRIPS BARRED

Connie Mack. Is Pleased at New Rule— Incidentally He States Hi's Team Will Lead Again. Connie Mack is of the opinion that the »w regulation prohibiting barnstorming tours by the world’s champions is a good thing. At the same time he declares that the Athletics had his full consent to go to Cuba last fall, and he is only sorry that Collins and Baker did not go along so as to make a stronger combination, one that perhaps the Cubans wouldn’t have beaten so decisively. “But the work of a baseball team on such a trip should not be taken too seriously, ** Mack adds very property. “The players consider themselves on a picnic, following « season that has been anything but that sort of an affair, and It does not take many days for them to fall off. They do not care to take chances, quite naturally, and In consequence lose form.** Connie concluded by saying: “There will be no barnstorming for my team next fall; the rules won’t permit it,” in which remark he serves notice on fifteen other major league managers that the Athletics are to be on the top of the pile at the end of the 1911 world’s championship battles.

Moore Trims Giants.

Earl Moore apparently retains Ma ability to put ths Kibosh on * the Giants.

GLOVE DOES NOT IMPROVE PLAYER

Men sit and argue about the difficulty experienced by players in fielding in former years, the days before* gloves were used on the infield or in the out. And they claim that players have it so much easier today because their hands are protected by gloves. The stars of years gone

Scattering Notes of the Diamond

The Millers are still a pretty good team in the American association. Joe Cantillon already has them going at their last year’s clip. Luderus would look much better to the Chicago fans if he was still a member of the West side team. Jimmy Slagle, who resigned his place with the Baltimore Orioles this spring, is now a Chicago business man and lives on the West side. Konetchy, the tall first-sacker of the Cardinals, is able to stop the ball if it comes within ten feet of him without taking his foot off the bag. Rube Waddell is showing that although his arm is not good enough for the majors he can keep the minors in subjection with it. Although third basemen are said to be scarce as hens’ teeth, Fred Tenny has three of them. Frank Schulte keeps up his reputation as a slugger. Hal Chase’s men appear to be living up to predictions. ' Gessler is finding his batting eye and says he wijl have a good season. A glance at the percentage column shows some familiar names in the second division. Jimmy McAleer is trying to demonstrate the inaccuracy of the assertion that his rise with the Washington team last year was a mistake. Ralph Pond, the college speed boy, who promised to make a sensation with the Boston Red Sox, but didn’t and was released to Sacramento, says he doesn’t like the west and wants to play with Brockton, Mass. Dr. Andy Coakley, the former major league pitcher, who was recently reinstated is coaching the Williams College baseball squad. Coakley says he will stick to the coaching game and play Independent ball in the future. Manager Kittridge of the Saginaw, Mich., team is giving a try-out to a youngster named Fryer who is only 17 years old. He is a left-handed pitcher and last year, then but 16 years old, pitched some fine ball in New York state semi-pro ranks. Another Italian has broken Into the game. He la Tony Cftrano, an amateur of Baltimore, who gets a trial with the Orioles.

One chief joy of the bleachers Is that the man who couldn't hit a barn with a hammer, nor throw a fit, is able from that point of vantage to call a five-thousand-dollar pitcher a “mutt.” Frank Selee, the great baseball leader and scout, who brought out two world pennant winners, dug up Roy Corhan. Selee was impressed with young Corhan’s fielding. Sevesgl others have been Impressed by the same thing since he went to the White Sox. Joe McGlnnlty is finding that Giant tactics are not relished In the Eastern 'eague. _.

Owen Bush, Detroit Shortstop.

by have nothing on Owen Bushj Nap Lajoie, Hans Wagner, Matty Mclntyre and other star players. They all do their best fielding while wearing gloves through which the bare hand protrudes. Were it not for habit, these same players might just as well be playing without gloves.

FEW AGREE ON CLOSE PLAYS

Always Division of Opinion Among Players Sitting on Bench— Scorer is Criticised. Ball players will always find objections to the scorer who sits in the press box. No matter whether that scorer has a sublime knowledge of baseball or whether he is just tackling the rudiments of the game, he’ll draw the criticism just the same. The player says the scorer knows less than nothing about the game, and the scorer, a bit more charitable, says the players know nothing about scoring, so there you are.

Truth of the matter is that few men will agree on a close play. There is always a divided opinion. Just to show how ball players themselves are unable to agree with one another, although they blame the scorers for not agreeing with them, take an incident one day this spring at Memphis. The Tigers had an off day and attended a game between the Cubs and Memphis teams. Cobb and Moriarlty were seated In the front row with score cards. Some of the things that happened: In the first inning a Cub batter lined the ball into left. The outfielder hesitate a fraction of a Second, after which he tore in after the ball. It hit his gloved hand about a foot above the ground. “Hit,” said Cobb, “That was an error,” judged Moriarty. “Why was it?” “He ought to have had It.” “Nothing of the kind, ‘Morrie.’ That ball was a bad one and low, and he only got one hand on It anyway.” “He didn’t judge It quick, did he? He misjudged It, and he had time to get both hands on it If he had started

right away; which he didn’t. It*s aq error with me.” ' "Well It goes as a hit here.” Two or three other plays came up during the afternoon, and in only one Instance did the two scorers agree. Every other close play brought a division In opinion.

Tris Speaker has not lost his bat ting eye. He batted .415 on the Red Sox training trip and is continuing the work In the league season.

Capt. Moriarity of Detroit.

Speaker Batting Hard.