Evening Republican, Volume 18, Number 272, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 17 November 1914 — Page 3

Revelations of the Kaiser’s Personal Spy

By Dr. Armgaard Karl Graves

Who, for a Number of Years Prior to His Arrest and Betrayal in England in 1912, was Emperor William’s Most Trusted Personal Spy.

The Making of a German Secret Agent The average man. or woman has only a hazy idea of what European secret service and espionage .really means and accomplishes. Short sto-, ties and novels, written in a background of diplomacy and secret agents, have given the public vague impressions about the world of spies. But this is the first real, unvarnished account of the system; the class of men and women employed; the means used to obtain the desired results, and the risks run by those, connected with this service.. And before continuing with the narration of my own mission as the kaisefs, personal spy, I think it well to give my readers this general Insight of the spy system of Europe, and particularly of the German empire. Since the days of Moses, who employed spies In Canaan, to Napoleon Bonaparte, who inaugurated the first thorough system of political espionage, potentates, powerful ministers and heads of departments have found it necessary to obtain early and correct Information other than through the usual, official channels. To gain this knowledge they have to employ persons unknown and unrecognizedln official circles. A recognized official, such as an ambassador or a secretary of legation, an envoy plenipotentiary or a consul, would not be able to gain the-information sought, as naturally everybody is on their guard against him. Moreover, official etiquette prevents an ambassador .or consul from acting in such a capacity. But European governments must keep a stringent watch on one another’s movements, and this is possible only by an efficient system of espionage, by trained men and women, willing to run the risk to this sort of work. For risks there are. I have been Imprisoned twice, once in the Balkans at Belgrade, once in England. I have been attacked five times and bear the marks of the wounds to this day. Escapes I have had by the dozens. All my missions were not successes, more often, failures, and the failures are often serious, verging on the fatal. For Instance:

Into a Hornet’s Nest. Early In the morning of June 11, political plot which had been brewing in Servia ended with the assassination of the king, queen, ministers and members of the royal household of Servia. I shall ndt go into the undercurrent political significance of these atrocities, as I had no active part in but I was sent down by my government later to ascertain as far'as possible the prime movers'in the Intrigue which pointed to Colonel Mashin and a gang of officers..of the. Sixth regiment. All these regicides received Russian pay, for the Karageorgevlch had become dangerous to’ Russia because of his flirting with Austria. Besides, his own Idiotic behavior and tile flagrant indiscretions of Queen Drags had by no means endeared him to his people. , . I stuck my nose into a regular hornets’ nest and soon found myself in a most dangerous position. I was ar-, rested by the provisional government on the order of Lieutenant • Colonel . Nlglitsch on a most flimsy charge of traveling with false passports. In those timefe arrests and executions ■were the order of the day. The old Servian proverb of “Od Roba Ikad Iz Groba Nikad” (Out of prison, yes; out of the grave, never) ..was fully acted upon. There were really no incriminating papers of any description upon me, but my being ’seen and associating with persons opposed to the provisional government was quite enough to place me before a drumhead courtmartial. - '■•‘“i: I f was sitting in the Case Petite Parisian with Lieutenant Nikolevltch and M. Krastov, a merchant ’of Belgrade, when a file of soldiers in charge of an officer pulled us out of our chairs and without any further ado marched us to the citadel. The. next morning we were taken separately into a small room where three men in the uniform of colonels were seated at a small iron table. No questions were asked. “You are found guilty of associating with revolutionary persons. You were found possessing a passport, not your own. You are sentenced to be shot at sundown.” The whole thing appeared to me first as a joke, then as a bluff, but looking closely into those high-cheek-boned, narrow-eyed faces with the characteristically close-cropped brutal heads, the humorous, aspect dwindled rapidly and I thought it about ; time to make’a counter-move. Without betraying any of my inward qualms—and believe me, I began to, have some —I said quietly : “I think you will find it advisable to inform M. Zolarevitch” (then minister of war) “that Count Weringrode sends his regards.” -I saw them looking rather curiously at one another and then the center fnauisitor fired a tot of questions at Wt?>'• if♦ tar’-*'!- •'i _ • i

(Copyri«ht. 101*. br the Wbaelar Syndicate, IbgJ

me, in answer to which I only shrugged my shoulders. v ' “That’s all I have to say, monsieur?’ I was shoved back in my cell. About four that afternoon one of the offlcefs came to see me. “Your message has not been sent. My comrades were against sending it, but I am related to Zolarevitch. So if you can show me some reason, I shall take your message.” I gave him some reason, so much so that he did not loee any time getting under way. In fpct, It was a very pale, perturbed officer who rushed out of my cell. , Face to Face With a Firing Squad. I didn’t worry much, but when at about 7:30 the cell door opened and two sentries with fixed bayonets and 'cartridge pouches entered, placed me in the center and marched me into the courtyard, where ten more similarly equipped soldiers In charge of an officer awaited me, I felt somewhat green. I know a firing squad when I see one. I knew that if my message ever reached responsible quarters nothing coulcThappen to me; but these were motley times and all sorts of delays might have happened to the officer. ’ “Right about wheel,” and myself in the center, we marched out of the courtyard to a little, hill to the west of the citadel. An .old stone; building—probably a decayed monastery, for I noticed several crumbled tombstones —had evidently been selected for the place of execution. On a little rough, four-foot stone wall we halted and the officer, pulling out a document, began reading to me a rather lengthy preamble ■in Servian. Up to then not a word had beep spoken. I let him finish and,, thetf politely requested him, as I was not a Serb and consequently did not "understand his lingo, to translate it into a Civilized language, preferably German or French. He seemed somewhat startled and gave me to understand that he was led to believe I was a Serb. I used some very forcible German and French, both of which he was able to understand, pointing out to him that some one, somewhere, had made a thundering big blunder, which somehow would have to be paid for. He was clearly ill at ease, but said, “I have to obey my instructions." I had told him of my message to the minister of war, and, although it was quite obvious that I-was Sparring for time, he seemed In no way inclined to rush the execution. Five minutes went; ten minutes went, and, looking at his watch, which showed five minutes to'eight (although it was fast getting dusk I could see that watch dial distinctly),, shrugging his shoulders and saying, “I can delay no longer,” he called a sergeant, .who placed me with my shoulders to the wall and offered me a handkerchief. I didn’t want a handkerchief. A few sharp orders and twelve Mauser tubes pointed their ugly black snouts . directly at me.

I hate to tell my sensations just then. Frankly, I felt nothing clearly. The only thing I remember distinctly was that the third man in the second file held his gun In rather a slipshod maimer, aiming it first at my midriff, next pointing it at my nose—which, strangely, enough, caused me intense annoyance. How long we stood thus I don’t know. The next thing loremember was a rattle of grounding arms and the sight of two other officers, excitedly gesticulating with the one In charge of the firing squad. All three presently came towards me and one, pulling out a flask of cognac, with a polite bow offered me a drink. I needed it, but didn’t take it. All this time 1 had been standing motionless with my arms folded across* my breast. I heard one say to the other, “Nltchka curacha" (no coward). If he had only known! Indeed, had I anticipated such an experience, had I known the things I know notg, I doubt If I would .have ever been persuaded to enter the German secret service; I doubt if I would have been so pleased with the results of my visit to Koenigergratzeretrasse 70, where the intelljffihice department of the admiralty is quartered. For it was in the admiralty that I began my career as a German secret service agent. - - - The Rules of the Service. I did not enter the service out of pure adventure or for monetary rear sons alone. Money has never appealed to me as the all-powerful thing in life. I have always had enough for creature comfqrts, and as for adventure I had had my fill' during the Boer war and my world wanderings. No, I joined -the German secret service for quite a different reason. I was thinking of the influences that had pressed me out of my destined groove, by, every human right my own. I remember how sanguine I was that through the service I ought to gain the power 1 had lost. But had*occult powers been given I never would have taken up secret service work. But one is not quite as wise at twenty-four as at thirty-nine.

. •' « THE EVENING REPUBLICAN, RENSSELAER, IND.

I shall never forget the initial instructions I received from Herr von Stammer, private secretary of Captain Tappken, then head of this department of the secret service. A very astute and calculating gentleman, is Herr von Stammer. Suave, genial, talkative, he has the plausible and unstudied art of ext/acting-informatibn without committing himself in tura. A jnarvelous encyclopedia of devious secret service facts, an ideal tutor. When we were alone ,in his office. Von Stammer began by saying abruptly: "From now on, you must be entirely and absolutely at opr service. You will report dally at.twelve noon by telephoning a certain number. At all times you must be accessible. You-will pay close attention to the following rules: “Absolute silence in regard to your missions. No conversation with minor officials, but only with the respective 'heads of departments or to whomever you are sent. You will make no memoranda nor carry written documents. You never discuss your affainr with any employee in the service whom you may meet. You are not likely to meet many. It is strictly against the rules to become friendly or intimate with any agent. You must abstain from intoxicating liquors. You are not permitted to have any women associates. You will be known to us by a number. You will sign all your reports by that number. Always avoid telephoning, telegraphing and cabling as much as possible. In urgent cases do so, but use the cipher that will be supplied to you.” The German School for Spies. I was in Herr von Stammer’s office all the forenoon, and when he ushered me out I half expected to be called into Captain von Tappken’s presence to be sent on my first mission. Instead of that, 1 had to wait five months before I was given my first work and an exceedingly unimportant thing it was. During those fiye months I was kept at a steady grind of schooling in subjects that were essential to efficient secret service work.

Broadly, they could be divided into four classes—-topography, trigonometry, naval construction and drawing. My tutors were all experts in the imperial service. A secret-service agent sent out to investigate and report on the condition, situation, and armament of a fort like Verdun in France must be able to make correct estimates of distances, height, angles, conditions of tne ground, etc. This can only be done by a man of- the correct scientific training. He must have the science of topography at his finger tips; he must be able to make quick and accurate calculations,. using trigonometry, as well as possessing skill as a draftsman. In a mission to Port Arthur (before the Russian-Japanese war), where I had to report on the defenses, I found this training invaluable. —The same applies to the subject of naval construction. Before entering the German secret service, I certain-' ly knew the difference between a torpedo and a torpedo boat destroyer, but naturally could not give an accurate description of the various types of destroyers and torpedoes. My instructor in this subject was Lieut. Capt. Kurt Steffens, torpedo expert of the intelligence department of the imperial navy. After a month of tutelage under him, I was able to tell the various types of torpedoes, submarines, and mines, etc., in use by the principal powers. _I could even tell by the peculiar whistle it made whether the torpedo that was being discharged was a Whitehead or a Brepnah.

I was also drilled in the construction .of every known kind of naval gun. Dozens of model warcraft were shown to me and explained. I saw the model of every warship in the world. For days at a time I Was made to slt‘ before charts that hung from ‘'the walls of certain rooms in the intelligence department and study the silhouettes of every known varying type of war craft. I was schooled in this until I could tell at a glance what type of a battleship, cruiser or destroyer it was, whether it was peculiar to the English, French, Russian or United States navy. More Things I Had to Learn. The different ranking officers of the navies of -the world, their uniforms, the personnel of battleships, the systems of flag signals, and codes, were explained to me in detail. I was given large books in which were colored plates of the uniforms and the signal flags of every navy in the world. I had to study these until at a glance I could tell the rank and station of the officers and men of the principal navies. The same with the signal flags. I pored over those books night after night into the early hours of the morning. My study was not all In Berlin. I spent most of my time there at Koenigergratzerstrasse 70 and at the Zeughaus, the great museum of the German general staff. But these were side trips to the big government works at Kiel and WUhelmshafen. There I was taught every detail of the mechanics of naval construction and I was not pronounced equipped until I could talk intelligently about every unassembled part of a gun, torpedo tube, or mine. In the course of my five months’ instruction under the various experts of the Prussian service I had many opportunities to observe the exhaustive thoroughness and the minuteness of detail which the German general staff possesses. Naturally, I soon began to consider the whole proposition of secret service, amY right here I shall tell you some of the general secrets of the system. There are five systems of secret service in Europe, the four leading powers each possessing one. First in tho systematic efficiency is the Ger-

man, next comes the Russian, then the French, and then English. "» England has a very efficient service in India and her Asiatic possession, but has only lately entered the European field. Last, but not least, comes the International Secret Service bureau with headquarters in Belgium, a semiprivate concern which procures reliable information for anyone who will pay for it This service is generally entrusted with the procuring of technical details, such as the plans of a new kind of gun or data on a new and minor fortification. But sometimes Brussels undertakes other commissions. For example: The Who Was a Spy. Not often does the chance come to leave'the regular channels of espionage and go forth upon a mission out of the ordinary. That chance came a few years ago to the Russian agents in Brussels. In St Petersburg the chiefs were desirous of knowing the identity and names of a group of revolutionists who had formed a sort of eolony in Montreux, Switzerland. A French woman-, known sometimes as Theresa Prevost (the last I heard of her she was in prison), was detailed to the mission. -Young and clever was Theresa; likewise the man who was ordered to accompany her; posing as a "brother,” Charles Prevost. The chief of these Russian fugitives, who- were down around the lake of Geneva brewing their dark plans, was known. He was Goluckoffsky, and he had a son twenty-two years of age—an impressionable- Russian son. Hence, thd young and pretty Theresa. It was decided by her Brussels chiefs that she should assume the role of an heiress from Canada. live thousand francs for preliminary expenses were handed over to her and with Charles, the "brother,” she descended upon Montreux. If you were there at the time you will recall the social triumph made by the young Canadian, heiress. You may even remember that she seemed to "be infatuated with -the young impressionable son of old Gqluckoftsky. They were going to be married, and Charles

"Your Pardon, Mademoiselle," Re Said, Handing Her the Gold Chatelaine.

Prevost the "brother,” stood in the background, chatted amiably with old Goluckoffsy and his friends, and smiled. Then, as an heiress should, Theresa and her “brother” invited Goluckoffsky, his family anti friends, to a prenuptial . luncheon. No expense was spared, for the wires had moaned with requests sent to Brussels for money. Young Goluckoffsky was delighted with his fiancee. She was insistent that all bls friends should be there, all the revolutionaries —although, of course, his dear Theresa did not know that How the spelling of their names puzzled her. With gay heart young Goluckoffsky wrote out all their names on a slip of’paper so that she could send their invitations property—the -names St Petersburg wanted to know. Came the day of the luncheon, a gala affair in the banquet room of the hotel. Theresa looked charming; even the grimmest .of the old revolutionists were taken with ber. Old Goluckoffsky beamed upon this sparkling febrile woman, rich, too, who was to marry his son. Ice had been served~when Theresa, her pretty face in smiles, declared that she had a surprise for her guests. To her it was the day of days. What better than a group photograph of her dear and new friends? How she would treasure it! Strangely enough, this did not please the guests. Photographs were dangerous. Suppose, in some way, the Okrapa got hold of them. They breathed easier, though, when Theresa, calling In the photographer—the best In Lausanne, she assured them—lnstructed him to deliver all copies to Mr. Goluckoffsky, her dear father-in-law to be. So the revolutionists grouped themselves on the hotel lawn; the photographer pressed the bulb; and everybody laughed.

As quldkly as the photographer could print his proofs they were delivered to Theresa; that night she and her "brother” left Montreux. In two days the name of •all the revolutionists in young Goluekoffsky’s handwriting and their pictures were, delivered to the chief in Brussels. The Three Branchee of the German - Spy System. So much for an example of the clever work done by Brussels. The German service, in which I served for twelve years, has . three distinct branches—the army, navy and personal, each branch haying its own chief and its own corps of men and women agents. The army- and navy division is controlled by the general staff of Berlin (Grosser General Stabe), the most marvelous organization in the world. The political and personal branch is controlled from the Wilhelmstrasse, the German Forelgn office, the emperor in person, or his Immediate privy councilor. The army and navy divisions confine themselves to the-procuring of hidden and secret information as regards armaments, plans, discoveries, etc. The political branch concerns itself with the supervision of meetings between potentates, cabinet ministers and so forth. The personal branch under the direct con-, trol of the privy councilor, is used by the emperor for his own special purposes and service in this branch' is- th 6 sine qua non of the service. The personal consists of all classes of men ahd women. Princes and counts, lawyers . and doctofs, actors and actresses, mondqines of the great world, demi-mondaines of the half world, waiters and porters, all are made use of as occasion arises. It may well happen that your Interesting acquaintance in the salon of an express steamer or your charming companion in the tea-room of the Ritz is the paid servant of some government The Great Artiste Who Spies on Germany. Great singers, dancers and artists especially of Russian and Austrian origin, are often spies, notably one artiste, famous the world over for

light feet and nimble wit, said wit being retained by the Russian government at 50,000 rubles per annum. When mademoiselle travels in Germany she has the honor of a very unostentatious , bodyguard, the government being anxious that nothing should happen to them. Perhaps mademoiselle may remember a little incident at the Palais de Dance in Berlin —Anna vs. H 6 of Lichtenstein. Or perhaps Mademoiselle will recall a little episode in the Eis Arena in Berlin during a certain New Year's eve carnival, when the restoration — not the loss —of her magnificent gold chatelaine bag caused her much embarrassment, the chatelaine in question being dexterously coihmandeered by an in such matters of the secret service squad. /* It happened that the personal branch of the German secret service was exceedingly interested in that gold bag. Mademoiselle had been carrying on an affair with a young ordnance officer of the Potsdam garrison. Now the service does not like officers, especially those of the ordnance, becoming involved with ladies like mademoiselle. On this particular night he had presented her with the new bag and she had been injudicious ..enough to let remain in the golden receptacle a dangerously compromising letter that he had enclosed. Injudicious, dear lady! Corsage or stockings, mademoiselle; but vanity bags—never! Celebrating ’the coming of the New Year, mademoiselle and her party were feasting in the Ice Orena. I happened to be at a nearby table, and saw everything, as Well as laterbearing the inside of it. The gold chatelaine’ lay on the tabid at her elbow. Upon observing its position, the waiter—a secret agent on the case—deliberately tipped over- a champagne glass that stood within *

'few inches of the bag. Of course, I mademoiselle was worried lest the ■ wine run over on her gown, and while thus preoccupied, the waiter, stammering apologies, mopped up th e~ table cloth, with his serviette— mopped up the wine and cleverly covering the bag, folded it in the napkin and hurried away. In two minutes he had opened it, abstracted the letter from the young ordnance officer, and was back, all apologies. "Your pardon, mademoiselle,” he said, handing her the gold chatelaine. "Iff my haste I picked up this bag by mistake. I suppose it is yours.” With a slight start she said "yea,” took the bag and, ’hurriedly opening it, felt for the letter. To her dismay it was gone. I saw her eyes narrow a little and then I marveled at the Cleverness of the woman. "No,” she suddenly said, "that is not my bag. I never saw it before, 1 advise you to find the owner.” Clever lady! You sacrificed the costly gift, but you went over the -frontier just the same, thereby costing you a rather remunerative engagement in Berlin. Great Rewards —If Successful. The necessary qualifications of an agent vary, of course, with the class of work to be done. We can dismiss the waiter and porter class, as they never receive independent commands and work only under direct supervision on minor details without knowing why. The trusted agent handling important matters and documents, must needs be a person of Intelligence, tact and address.. He must*-be a linguist, and, above all, a man of resource and a close student of his fellow men. In the woman agent charm and tact, beauty and manners, au grand dame, knowledge' of the world and men are essential. The pay varies, but is always good. Expenses are never questioned; money being no object. For instance, I spent on a mission through the Riviera 20<« 000 marks In 14 days. My fixed salary towards the end was 10,000 marks a year, besides 20 marks a day living expenses when not' at work, which was automatically tripled irrespective of expenses when out on work. Besides, there is a bonus set out for each piece of work, the amount of which varies with the Importance of the case in hand.

The risks are great, so are the rewards —if successful. If not, then one pays the usual price of failures, in this / case only more so. For in the event of disaster no official help or protection could or would be granted and quarter is neither asked nor given. The work is interesting and fascinating to those of an adventurous turn of mind and not overly nervous about their health or squeamish in regard to established ethics. I would not suggest the secret service as a means of livelihood for a nervous person. At times it is arduous and strenuous work and mostly undertaken by men and women who fear neither man nor devil. It is not compatible to longevity. As a rule, the constant strain of being on the qui vlve, playing a lone hand against the most powerful influences often unknown, having one’s plans upset at the last moment and continually pitting one’s own brain against some of the acutest and shrewdest minds in the world, the knowledge that the slightest blunder means loss of liberty, often of life, is wearing, to say the least. I have known men and women, courageous to a degree, who have broken down under the strain; sooner or later one is bound to succumb. I have "known of a dozen men and won Sen who have mysteriously -disappeared, "dropped out of sight,” caught or

killed—not always by” their opponents. The Case of Olga'Bruder. To cite but two cases, one of a woman, the other of a man: Olga Bruder was a spy. She worked for Germany and for the service bureau in Brussels.. A few yean ago it was announced in the European newspapers that a woman known as Olga Bruder had committed suicide in a hotel at Memel, on the Russian border. Fraulein Bruder had been sent after the plans of a Russian fort. In Berlin they learned that she had obtained them, but becoming involved in a love affair with a Russian officer, was holding them out, planning to restore them to him. Also, contrary to the service regulations, she knew four foreign agents well. Later reports from Danzig revealed the fact that she had become enamored with a sectional chief of the Russian Service and that she was about to give up everything to him. So Olga Bruder committed suicide. She was poisoned. As for Lieutenant von Zastrov, an %x-army officer in the German secret service/ he was killed in a duel. Zastrov was suspected of flirting with Russian agents—only suspected.. He knew too much to be imprisoned. He was a civilian and under the German law entitled to a public hearing. Had he still been a military man, a secret tribunal would have been possible, but being the scion of an old aristocratic house and knowing official secrets, it was not wise to put him in against the regular machinery of elimination.. So Zastrov was challenged to a duel. He killed the first man the service chiefs sent against him, yet no sooner was that duel over than he was challenged again. In half an hour Zastrov was dead. .Yes, your own employers Often think it advisable at times to eliminate a too clever or knowing member of their service, unless that same member has procured for himself a solid, good "life insurance” in the nature of documentary evidence, of such character that to meddle with him brings danger of disclosure. Of late there have been no attempts on my llfe»