THE SPY.

Feilding Star, Volume XII, Issue 2888, 7 March 1916, Page 4

THE SPY.

THE UNSEEN ARMY. THOSE WHO PLY THEIR STEALTHY OAJ_.L_.LNCi. (13y Dr. William Aklerson, . iv Leslie's}. Editor's Note.—Tims is ba.ed upon the porso-iral observation of tlie winter ait tlliQ front, whore ho was a medical officer for tiliiu.teen months. Spy 11 liipuithcit of contempt throughout the world- —'amd- yet —it Hakes nerve to be la, ispy—under some conditions. Not tilio spy who does his work in n ncuI trial country and by means ol' bonibs, j reports (mainly untrue), or such incU'iI ods endeavours il,o assist the country I he ohlinis as'his own, but liho spy who on the very battle-fro u,t takes 'his life in his hauidw —wad. more '"-'ha-n trni-i, knows that lif eaiptured Ift. will till a. dis-ionoured' and nui'knoiw.ii grave— he is worthy of sonic little praise. Not until this great war is over —. and probably not/ even Mien—will it be knpwn tow many men amd women, on 'bottdi .sides, have laid down, their lives ill! this way in nursuiivnce of what thoy believed wen. ilieir duty. And, just aa in tihe war between tlie States there were -.men and woihein spies who to-day are honoured for tHiieir services for North or South, so, it. is sure, thai, after this war, there- will be luarny who 'will receive their meed of praise for their work —and its reward. Tales of tho German spy system have beem written often; of concrete platform® erected within 1 big-gun .distance of every important city of France, England, ami Belgium; of sign-posts erected along Europea:ii highways with code signals thereon indicating strategic points, and of the super-spy who- w.itlli mill ions at his comma lid bought up the eheni-slied secrets of possible enemy nations. Of Ih'eso 1 know nothing, but of the actti.nl work of soies on , the front something can- he said, .is for instance : NARROW ESCAPE FOR . THE PRINCE. About ..a . wteclz —ailut:—lilu. . .ii-r...... big. - "gas attack" of tihe Germans o'li the "Wester.!., front, tdifi Prince of Wales canio in his motor to tihe little village of 'Woesteu, 'iiibout two miles f rom Boeeingho, where the eiieiniy attempted, toi break through on their drive for Calais. From the church tower of the village it was possible to view the Gertman limes and, much -against the washes of those with him, the I'riiice ascended the. tover. Only a few min-utes.-were spent 'iiii the village-and the party quickly drove ...way, but within five minutes a-brisk shelling took place and one shell landed very 'accurately in the tower where lon nii'.niites before the Pnlnce bad been standing. In tihe .same village. ;i low days later, two sold'iit'irs in-British uniforms Were noticed go:ing in and out of the clnitrch. The vilhge being in the French 'limes ami Ri-itisli soldiers Jia.viiig flio official business there, •'some remark was nuade amd a,n investigation started. From the tower there, was found to be m. field telephone line leading t«' the German trenches I The visits .of the men and the discovery of, the line all took place within 24 hours, so thare was lititle, if any, harm done, but—there is a, ee,i-ta-in amount of- credit coming to the men'who took such a chance, to do' what.-they, a.t least, thought was.'a palniotic duty. 'The spies <w : lui' pint oiii tihe uniforms \of. their enemies 'nind thus endeavour to obtain, iuiifoii-mia'tio'ii' or do* somedamage to their oyonents are, as a rule, 'very carcifuili to mingle only with those who will find it difficult to Use that they are not iv]iiat tliey seem. Thus, mi the French lines the spy wears-am English uniform, and in the British zone a French or Belgian amiform is more or less of a passport. When tihe Belgian army was uniformed'last summer in clothing much resemibliiinig that worn, by the British jimmy. Gorman.' spues were able to'get through the French lines 'and into the area occupied by General French's forces. Tim's caused the issuance of a goneiral wider to the mem of the tliiree armu'es forbiddling th.em to emter the diistnict occupied by the troops of ei'fcliter of th© other (wo nations unless in possess.ion, of a. pass signied each day hy their officer commanding. It w.as, of course, 'rather a. nuisance to- have to, issue a dozen such passes a. day and .to liayoi to show your own British Army 'pass every few minaites, but lit served "one purpose in at least stopping for a tame tire activities of the soies. ' 'CIVILIANS'A.S SPIES.Not ui'.. t.ie spies, by any means, are soldiers Wlio Vane tnoir uvos _,n then - hands aiwl taoe a- cliisgracciui o-oiiui by aysumliiig /an enemy's nnitonn, and vims eqiiiipped euiter their oppunents' Junes. It at. uiufoiuuna-tely., L-iiie so long as a. high enough bribe 'is otieiiixl tittore wilt always be found men —land wonion—«lko will sell their coniuti-y.-" So. dia many oases on the battle front, French and Belgian citizens -weir© found to be in the pay or the qnoniy. It wag iimdonbtedly an inili-aljitant of thio village who- gave tihe news or the visit of- the Pnuice of AVales to tlw tomm meaa- Ypres.' It was only a few weeks later that the President of Fraratce, accompanied by a nilnater of ihigh Bnitish arid Belgian officials, visited the isa.me village for the purpose of viewing the prep a rations

which wore being made to repulse a possible attack. Hardly had tho party arrived when word was Hushed lo .the Gorma__ tines and within lit teen m..lilt tea _.u.vls were dropping all around the President a.ud his entourage. One ueun ivas killed a : iid two wounded before the party sought nafety in Jlighl. Probably one of the most daring feaas porlormed by spies was wihen a score, o-f Germains <lress<'d -thcmiselvos iui uniforms of various British regiments —lakc'ii' from the dead, wounded or priso-nors—aiiid marched boldly in'o th-o Frcinch lines. When stopped by a Frcmch. .sentry who asked where they were goiiti-g, the leader—who wore fhe uniform of a corporal of the Wiltshire 'Regiment—.said they were looking tor a bn.l_hiin-g-plr_w.e- a.nd hud been, told to take that- road. Had it not happened that a. British staff oliiccr was parsing through the village at the time they would have gone on in safely. but he slopped has car a.nd start cd lo t|tios.tt_on the -corporal. He noticed that tlie men were wearing trie iinsignia of different regiments a.nd that instead of every man carrying a. low el thoro ivas only one towel ill' the whole party and, also, that they carried their rides a.nd side-arms, whieh_ is not usually the ease w'fh a bathing party. ' Passing r-ap-xlly on lo the nearest post the officer gave the alarm, with the result that fhe supposed British soldiers were surrounded a little further wo the road, disarmed, and fipesl'ioned. When their names ap-pc-vred in th.c casualty l.s'.s ..liter lln'.v wore probably marked "Missing." BETRAYED HER EMPLOYER^. If tiio Bolgkvn.s, after the war, over get pos.sei.non 01 a certain servant girt silo will not last very long, 'J.'i_e .st.ory—wluoh is tlio-rougii-ly lutlhtuiucutcd—is that sho was for ft. ycaio in the employ of a family in Ostenti. Wlhon tho G.'Cii'iiiaiia occupied that city her employers -.remained there and by mean.-. of\a wireless outlit installed m tin; chimney of their house, gave nifornratiuii to -their fellow-countrymen at La Panne. A rewa.rd of 25.000 fra.nes wa_s olfcred for information re.garding the source of the news which was gonng out and—the _.c.rvaut accepted the bribe. The wireless messages ceased and Ihe- couple are oc- - ""ri-pr-frrg —ij-ttj,—genvc • in, Otfieiid, At the outset of the war the Allies were what might -: termed "supcr-cart'-lcs._" regarding Uie possiibility of spies go-Ming into their ranks. Now tli.ey are just as strong in the other diireotioui, aiiid it is practically impassible for even, the most harmies civilian, to approach the real front, no matter how good an excuse ho can give. Red Cro;-s units furnished a groat chance for spies until, the Bnt--'.sli Government united with the Preiw.i in suppressing thtv'r activities 'arid' insisted thnit they .should not get nearer than: Calais und Boulogne or, in_ some .'ipec.ial cases, Dunkirk. For thi; reason, it is true, despite .vioric.; to tho eoii'tra.-y, that- the only Red Cra_;s or volunteer organisation within j-.-asonabl-e dista.uee'of the real front in Belgium n>ml Western Prance i.s a Quaker orgainisa.fion. which has cslab--jished stations right on the battle line in Flanders and a- convoy of motor ambulances which operates near Ypres with, the French Army and which is known as tho "American Ambulance." When this war i.s over there will be nutii.v tales told of spies and their work wlifdh it is impossible, to mrr,l'oii at this time. It was not uni'til some months after the war started that Britain woke up to the fact that spies were plentiful i.n England. Thou"arrests were made and proofs obtained. At first, niames were given when the spies wero executed, but hoav tire official aauiouncemomt is -to this effect: "A spy was executed in the Tower tbi.s_ morniin.g. full proof of his guilt baring been nrerteijted." DEATH IS NAMELESS. Asked .\ J hy this form was now used, a high Gdvenimonit official saa-d: "Just to make it a._ disgraceful as possible. They don't even, get the honour pf being martyrs for their country. A sp}-"has no name and so dies without one." This method has had a hack-thrust. j though, for when it was announced . a short lime ago thait a man had Iwen I executed and bis wife seatl- to prisori for espionage, the iuanic of -a- very noted strong iiKtn. v.*,!*. given as boing the victim After his lawyers had , written to the various newspapers of ! England demanding the publication ,ol a letter disclaiming the rumours of Jus execution the talk then wa.s . that a- noted aviator was tbe one killed. Again disclaimers were printed, and .now the report is that it was a , celebrated writer of title. As a matter j of fact, n't was a very obscure per.son - who died, hut it is possible to find toi day iii England many people who will oiler "proof" that one- of the three mcijiitioincd above wa.s _.it>fc in- Land on lower. i Finally, please don't forgot thaireally neither sride uses '-spies " After a careful study of fhc question I have come to the co'nolus.ion tha.f-. tbe proper definition is ..-is follows; — Spy—Person employed by the other side in obtain inforni.n.tion. Senvct Agent—Person employed to , o/.t.wn informn.fci-nn. for us. i