Recruiting Spies

Cromwell Argus, Volume LXVIII, Issue 3485, 6 September 1937, Page 7

Recruiting Spies

Whence come the recruits of the in ternational spy gang? The hundreds of thousands of refugees, exiles from tkeir own countries, now provide an excellent mass from which clever agents can bo picked. These men and women are internationalists in the true sense of the word. They speak many languages; for the most part they are without scruples. Generally speaking, these international exiles follow the track of cheap living and reasonable prospects of suitable employment. The Russian emigres form one class of recruitment. This army of the homeless numbers close on a million—a million of the best brains of old Russia. The latest figures of its distribution according to countries show that there are 30,000 Russians in the United States, 60,000 in Germany, 70,000 in Rumania, 90,000 in Manchuria, 200,000 in the Baltic and Slav States of Central Europe, 400,000 in France, 8000 in Finland, and between 3000 and 4000 in England. The majority of the Russian exiles in England earn a living of sorts, driving taxi-cabs, or working as waiters and doorkeepers. One is a former colonel of the Imperial Guard, clinging to the most menial of jobs.

There are the men who earn a "safe” living. There are hundreds of others, how-ever, only too ready to offer themselves for dangerous espionage work. These are the men in whom the spirit of adventure still lives.