GERMAN SPY PERIL

New Zealand Times, Volume XL, Issue 9173, 13 October 1915, Page 4

GERMAN SPY PERIL

STARTLING REVELATIONS LECTURE BY ME WILLIAM LB QUEUX. Mr William Le Quoux, whose novels are read by everybody who loves a thrill in his literature, lectured at Hove, a few weeks ago, on “The German, Spy Peril.” Ho drew a crowded audience; for Mr Lo Queux Lias made this subject peculiarly 1 his own. Thanks in part to his untiring crusade, slow-going, unsuspecting English people have at last awakened, to the grave peril which threatens them through the elaborate system of espionage which Germany has organised in this country, records the “Brighton Herald.” The lecture was all tho more interesting from tho fact that Mr Le Queux spoke from personal knowledge. He, too, has taken a hand in this fascinating, . exciting game—joining, that is, in the . system of secret service which England, for her own protection, has had to organise against Germany. Mr Le Queux’s constructive skill as a novelist was manifest again and again in the adroit way in which he brought forward his examples and related his experiences. He vouched for the truth of everything he said. For tho last ten years, said the lecturer, ho had made a' close study of the secret services of Europe. In 1907 it was whispered in the Chancellories of Europe that Germany meant war. In the same year he happened to bo studying, the, night life of Berlin for the purpose of writing a hook, when in a cafo a young German" actress revealed to him a very amazing fact—that her brother had gone to England on a secret mission. She told him some other details in regard to this secret mission. At fitst he (Mr Le Queux) did not regard the matter seriously/ but on his return to England he made inquiries, and discovered that what ho had been told was perfectly true. .Ho' wont' to the War Office authorities, .hut was met with disbelief. In desperation' ho sought ‘Lord Roberts, who, -when he placed his, evidence before liim, saw the gravity of the situation—that already the network of German espionage had been spread over our land. “But no one would believe what Lord Roberts said. No . one would believe what I said. In order to impress upon the public what ‘ was; in the air, I wrote a forecast of the invasion of England, which was first published in the ‘Daily Mail,’ and afterwards translated into twenty-two languages. It fell somewhat flat, in England,vthougKit was published in several, editions, in Germany.”- .., I KAISER’S SECRET SPEECH. ; At that moment, continued the lecturer, there was no Act of .Parliament hy which a spy could he punished. Afterwards the Official Secrets Act was published, which made espionage a crime. In July, .1908, lie returned to Charing Cross station with a document which the German Government would have paid many thousands of pounds to repossess. ' This document , was the copy of a secret speech made by the Kaiser at -Potsdam before-his generals and the chiefs of the Federal States. In this speech the Kaiser- declared that-ho meant, war. The, copy of, this speech, said Mr. Le Queux, was handed by ; himself, to the confidential department of the British Government ; it was seen by a Cabinet meeting, and full investigation was made. The genuineness of the document was . established; but notwithstanding that, th© talk of disarmament went on, , . , In this speech the Kaiser said: ,W® shall strike as soon as l have a sufficiently large'fleet of Zeppelins at my disposal I-have given orders for the hurried construction of .more the improved Zeppelin type, and when these are ready we shall destroy tho TOofrbVh North Sea, Channel, and Atlantic Fleets— after which ■ nothing on earth can prevent the landing of our army, on British soil and its triumphant, march to London.’.’ , , "With 1 reference to the reason for an outbreak of war between Germany and England, the Kaiser said: “Certainly we. shall not have to go far to find a just cause for war. My army of spies scattered over Great Britain and France. ... will take good caro -of that. I have issued secret orders that will accomplish what we desire.” Intending to writ© a book on this subject, he (Mr Le Queux) depositedthe first two chapters, containing the copy of the Kaiser’s speech, with Ids publisher, Mr Eveleigh Nash; who locked it away in his private room ; but the whole of the manuscript was stolen, and ho had good reason for believing that it had found its way to the secret archives of the ■ German . Government at. Berlin.

The lecturer related many interesting details concerning the secret service systems .of several Continental countries: —Italy, France, Russia, Austria, and Germany. Russia, he said, spends large sums of money upon spying; and until the outbreak of war the chief • Russian spy was- a very wellknown gentleman in society, with a pretty wife, who were often to he seen at smart gatherings. One particularly smart achievement of this couple was that they sent to’ Russia a report of our Naval manoeuvres before a report was sent to the/Lords of the Admiralty. Austria has not a large espionage system in England, but' she has ovemm the Balkan States with her agents provocateur. Austria is very fond of employing female spies. One of the cleverest of these i* an elderly lady/ who calls herself a “Baroness,” and who is always accompanied by two pretty nieces—but they are not always the same nieces. HORDE OF GERMAN SPIES. !

The German system of espionage is complete and’ thorough.' “We have spies to-day; in every walk- of our national life,” said the lecturer. “Hundreds of Germans, with fixed missions, have been sent among us in every kind of guise to learn the secrets of our strength and our weakness. Many Germans came over hero with one object—our ' undoing; and the Kaiser, while extending the hand ‘ of friendship to England ; and misleading the British Cabinet, was already plotting to destroy us. Fortunately the War Office was not asleep, as most people believed; because Colonel Mac,dona and his splendid staff were doing their utmost to cnlsli " this horde' of spies which had been let loose over the land.” Within six years, said Mr L© Queux, Germany spent no less a sum than £760,000 in espionage. This year .Britain has raised her expenditure on secret service to £150,000 —for the -present year only. Mr Le Queux made it quite clear that in assisting the English secret service he had not accepted any pay■mefft, nor had he oven charged for nis travelling expenses—which had

been heavy. He mentioned that in 1910 ho conducted an investigation of tho south-east of England—Kent, Sussex, and Surrey. It was a long and difficult work, entailing much watchfulness and considerable travelling. He found that these three counties had been laid out by the German General Staff into thirty-eight separate districts, in which men of the Dresden Array Reserve, the Leipzig Army Reserve, and tho Hanover Army Reserve were engaged. The reason that he knew of the Saxons, more especially the men of the Dresden and the Leipzig Array Reserves, was that for several” years he acted as adviser to the Crown Prince of Saxony, and he was often brought in touch with large numbers of Saxon officers; and more than one of these men he had recognised in this district. Each of these districts is commanded by an officer, and to these section commanders the information gathered was given and is still being given. The information, after being checked and found correct, is sent to Germany. HOW THE SPY .WORKS. These men who are spying are all properly trained. They are usually men who have received a thorough instruction ' in sketching and photography and in the drafting of reports. On arrival in England the spy generally starts out in a small way of business—as a clockmaker. or a hairdresser. He will then probably become a good churchman or chapelgeer, and will so worm himself into tho confidence of the people that he will he thought by those around him. to be a perfectly honest man. The military spy keeps his eyes and ears open, especially in garrison towns, regarding pur officers. On more than one occasion it has been known that an officer who has been in some little financial difficulty has received a visit from a moneylender who is very ready to advance him money —on certain conditions. Thor© are wives of -officers who are sometimes a little indiscreet. In some cases blackmail has been levied upon the unfortunate lady,, and suddenly an easy way out of the trouble has been craftily revealed to her by a blackguard in German pay. Personally, Mr-Le Queux considered, that the naturalised Germans are by far °ur most dangerous enemies. Their cool daring is remarkable, he - said- The Government ought to end this verygrave peril. All enemy aliens, including all naturalised German* subjects, ought to-. bo interned. In Russia at the outbreak of war the Czar by a stroke of the pen swept the Germans from the face of Russia. And not only that —he also issued orders that all property belonging 'to Germans should be sold by auction, with the result that you can buy German property in Russia for the price of the bricks and mortar. Relating some of his experiences as a secret service agent; Mr L© Queux spoke of a German band to'which his notice was attracted one day in ‘London. He was quite positive that ho recognised one of the players as a spy, and he arranged to have a close watoh kept upon the hand. It was found that they had been playing in Leeds, Manchester, Birmingham, and Sheffield, and had been playing in London for about six months. Suddenly they packed up and went back to Germany—probably realising that they were being watched. It was then found that they had taken with. them plans of. thq water supply of / London and. plans of the water supplies of all the other, cities in which they had been playing,. East • Anglia - swarms with - Germansecret -service agents," • _ ; - Soinetimes these German spies are neatly paid but in their own coin. Mr Le Queux mentioned, one case ip which a German secret service agent paid a very large sum to secure a copy of one of the Naval cod© books. But the German ‘ did not ' know that it was not our code hook, but one lyhiqh had been specially prepared for them! Espionage is always a case of wit against wit; and the best roan-wins. , People often ask, “How much are spies paid ?” The ordinary kind of spy, such- as the hairdresser, will get from £1 /to 30s a week. The next grad© will receive £3 a week. The section officers will get about £5 a week; and it is known that sums of £3OOO have been paid to persons to furnish, special: information." What money the naturalised German, gets, one does not" know. .

PRETTY GOVERNESS AS A SPYThe lady spies employed hy the Germans ‘ are among- the most ingenious. In illustration of this Mr Le Queux related tho case of a young German governess, a pretty and attractive girl, who was in the employ of the wife of, a member of Parliament. The governess was in the habit of using a summerhouse in an outlying part of her, master’s grounds. It was here where she used to write all her letters. She spent a good , deal of time-in this summerhouse. One day the gardener came rushing in to his mistress to say that, the governess had had a fit in the sum-; merhouse. The girl was brought into, the house, and a doctor was sent for. / Tho mistress went into the summerhouse to gather up the governess’s papers; and"'on examining them she found that they were not such as would he supposed to be in the possession of the girl.' What she had been, writing was the report of a conversation between her master and a member of the Cabinet who had been spending a week-end at the house.- - To save the. annoyance of publicity, the master and mistress, as soon as the girl had recovered, packed her off hack, to Germany, What are spies doing to-day ? We know pretty well that they have — 1. Engineered strikes to prevent the fulfilment of Government contracts. ■ 2. They' have been responsible for thirty great incendiary fires. 3, Some have donned, khaki, _ and have been in British factories spying. 4. .They have guided Zeppelins by motor-cars.

6. Spies in high places are exercising influence to provide German prisoners with luxurious quarters. 6. They -are trying to open the way. for an invasion of our East Coast. ■ Further, they, are active in every partr of England. The signal for the production of panic, for the blowing op of bridges, for tho destruction of ■power houses,, the injuring of water, mains, and the wrecking of - public buildings will'be given by ' the first Zeppelin that sails over London. I’hero is-no doubt that at this moment the members of this great and wonderfully organised network of spies are n-aiting’day by day for that signal. MYSTERIOUS MEANS OF COM- , MUNICATION. How do the spies communicate .with Germany, and how does Germany communicate with her agents? All the ordinary channels of communication are of course closed. .But there are secret means of communication. Secret codes are mainly used, the ..writing sometimes being in invisible ink on

the margin of newspapers or m ordinary private letters. Nowadays the spies publish their cypher messages in various obscure newspapers, so that they are hardly ever seen by any one who would suspect their real meaning,' These announcements mainly relate to meetings, to requests tor money, or orders for bricks 1 Some are ostensibly written to a lady of the name of t( Maude”; but many things point to the fact that the lady has nothing to do with these seemingly innocent messages. It took nine months to decipher this wonderful cypher that was used. One small advertisement took eight hours to translate; and when the cypher was found it was discovered that there was another code inside that. These messages are of the utmost importance; they refer to the movements of troops and to other important things. Mr Le Quoux referred to signalling at night which had been detected in Surrey. On one occasion, in watching this signalling, ho caught the codo term “H 5.” ' The same night, in one of the German restaurants in London, it was known that five German airships or aeroplanes had been over Dunkirk. Clearly this message was a communication to spies in this country of the movements of German aircraft. . But the most mysterious of all the methods of communication mentioned by Mr L e Queux was a new pair ot lady’s 5 white gloves sent every week from England to Germany. There was no message with the gloves, and nothing was discovered in the gloves themselves, although they were examined again and again. But there was this curious fact: the gloves wore always perfumed with a different scent. Three different perfumes undoubtedly had a meaning, hut what it was we do not know. SCANDAL IN GERMAN RESTAURANTS. \ Without disclosing any secrets, Mr Lo Queux was able, however, to give a very reassuring account of the work of the English secret service. We. know much more of the spies’ goings on, he said, than they over think. Yet ho could hot help thinking it is very extraordinary that in, London every afternoon and every night, in the obscure German restaurants* in the vicinity of .Tottenham Court road, we still allow Germans to toast the day to our downfall. (Cries of “Shamel”) -He could vouch for the, truth of this, because he had been, present at these gatherings in theguise of an Italian—which language he happens to speak rather well. ’ No suoh complete organisation has ever been established dr conceived as this network of German espionage which is spread over us to-day. It permeates ©very branch of public life. It aims at effecting far-reaching political changes, and when desirable of blasting the career of private individuals. Germany has her' spies everywhere. Their courage is recklots, and their disguises perfect. We. have .a huge army of tho enemy among us,, an army whose members, are rubbing shoulders with us while we are treating them with our confidence; and, all-, unsuspecting, helping them in their work.

In his researches in this matter,, added Mr Le Queux, he had, only had the security of the nation at heart. “I have only spoken to you in a spirit of patriotism, in order to expose the vile, , dastardly plot against us.” ■ The truth of what ho had said cofild hijrverified by.the records in the confidential department of, the Government. ' /