Evening Star Newspaper, September 8, 1929, Page 94

The Truth About American Spres How Uniied States and Allied Secret Services Helped Start the German Socialist Revolution That Overthrezv the Kaiser and Established a New Republicin | v WP [ BY THOMAS M. JOHNSON. i MEZRICAN NAVAL INTELLIGENCE / played an important part in the dangerous secret war, checking formation about significant subma- rine plans and movements. Memory is kecn of seeing late in 1917 a spy report on tissue paper that the Germans werc siarting to build giant submarines to use against the transports bringing American trcops to Trance. The United States had expected it, of course, but it struck a chill. Here were what purported to be particulars, especially that the new submarines would accommodate crews of 75—and 25 prisoners. It was reported that they were going after high-ranking United States officers. America’ knew a good deal about what Ger= man submarines were doing, even those that - crossed the ocean and sank ships off the At- lantic coast. When with colors flying, weary, oil-stained crews cheering, they came into har- bor again, secret service agents were waiting for them at the docks. That happened on the return July 28, 1918, of what must have been the submarine that fired the first shots along our peaceful if pa- trolled shores. By the time it had reported at Wilhelmshaven, American Naval Intelligence, under Rear Admiral Roger Welles, knew its siory, the route it had followed by way of Ice- land and Greenland, across the ocean to New- foundland, how it had cruised down our coast and later met two other German submarines near Barbadcs, what ships it had sunk, and that only one of the crew had been hurt. Yét to keep that story secret, the Germans had al- lowed none of the crew ashore! ERMANY'S naval base at Kiel had few. secrets. There was a very neat map of the city and the fiord, showing the forts, the machine shops, the extent and arrangement of the greatly expanded Friedrichshafen works where most of the torpedoes were made, and the exact position of a new submarine harbor the Germans built in the quite reasonable an- ticipation of losing the Belgian coast, as of course they did. The fiords and islands of the Danish and Dutch coasts, like the defiles of Switzerland, were dodging places for spies of all sorts. We kept our watch, which did not always fail, as witness this message: “On the relief boat Escaut, which left Amsterdam September 6, sailing for America, there are hiding in the coal bunkers two people designated by the German spy Kohl to spy in the United States. The first is Otto Stecke, the second known as ‘the Big Australian.’ Both are connected with the German secret service at Amsterdam. The boat is due in New York September 19.” It was met by United States £py catchers. Scarcely a neutral ship came into a Dutch or Danish port but had at least one spy in its crew, usually several, for several different na- tions. As cat watches mouse, counter-espion= age service watched ships’ crews ashore. Where did they go? Whom did they see? Did they ever pass to any one anything that might con- ceal a message? Our counter-espionage haunted waterfront @ives, sailors’ lodging houses. In one such, they got this questionnaire—and its possessor—pre- pared by the German secret service for the next yoyage of his ship to England: “From which British ports do the principal British transports leave?” Do they still speak of a naval attack on Ostend?” “Get all information possible regarding the 5th and 6th Canadian and the 5th and 6th Australian divisions. Are they still in Eng- land?” “Are the tank battalions temporarily marked A, B and C, and the brigades 1, 2 and 3? How far up do these numbers go?” “How large crews have the so-called hush- hush boats? (‘Q boats.) What is their official name? Where are they built? How large? How many? What js their speed and arma- ment? How many flying machines do they carry?” Do you remember the famous corpse factory in which the Germans boiled down their dead for various substances described as glycerin, lubricating cil, pig and poultry food and even margarine, substitute butter? V/hatever may have been believed generally, in England where the story originated, the American secret service knew the truth. One of its agents reported that the “Kadaverver- werkunksanstalt” was indeed a factory for ex- tracting oil—but from animals. The bodies that were used were those of dead horses, not of dead soldizrs. s P SO S SRS Europe Is Revealed Here in a Practically Unknown Chapter From the History of the War of Spy Intriguc. The truth did not come out generally until 1925 when Gen. Charteris told the National Arts Club in New York that the British intel- ligence started the story as propaganda by switching a caption from a photograph of dead animals to one of dead soldiers. The ingenious idea was also concocted of forging a diary bear- ing out the grewsome evidence of the photo- graph, and planting it where a newspaper cor- respondent would be certain to find it. But that idea was not carried out. The real corpse factory was proof enough of the lengthening of the shadows in beleagured Germany. Our spies reported it, predicted it long before it happened. They told how German morale, weakened by years of underfeeding and anxiety, was crack- ing under the hammer blows of defeat after defeat and the fear that Germany could not win before the millions of fresh Americans struck. Here is one such report from a spy for the Americans in Germany: [ AVIAT‘ION. On July 15 there was an air raid on Karlsruhe and Offenburg (in Baden) 7 people were killed and 21 severely wounded. The destruction of property was very great. “The German populace is becoming more and more incensed against the Austrians. They re- proach them for having to feed them and for being too cowardly to fight. “Morale. The morale of the people and the military class is weakening every day. Until a month ago they lived in hope, trusting in the promises that the recent loan would be the last one of the war, that they could all go home be- fore Winter, and celebrate Christmas there. But the actual events overwhelm them and their disillusion is terrible. “Americans. Whenever officers are heard to express themselves on the subject of the Ameri- cans they say: ‘They are good troops and fine soldiers for whom we have considerable respect, but they are too young.’ “What they say, however, usually has very little effect on the people, who are evidently much worried and are beginning to learn from the wounded what the American soldiers are really worth. Many say that ‘if America had not come in we would have won, but since they have taken part in the war we are unquestion- ably done for.’ “As a rule the number of Americans in France is estimated at 1,000,000. “Winter Campaign. A campaign is being begun in the interests of the soldiers; and every one is busy again making gloves, socks, clothes and shoes—great use is made of posters for advertising the work. “A very active campaign has been carried on, but it does not seem to be produfing any re- sult, as the people have practically nothing to wear themselves, everything possible being now in use.” PIES, our own included, seem to have guessed more nearly right than some allied states=- men and generals how near the Germans were to collapse. All allied intelligence chiefs did Col. Arthur L. Conger, one time chief of the information division, intelligence section, A. E. F. Scattering propaganda in wholesale fashion to enable the Berlin Social Democrats to keep Germany from bolshevism. not take at full value the estimates of condi- tions, present and future, made by their agents in Germany. As the armistice terms were being drawn, Field Marshal Sir Douglas Haig warned against pressing the Germans too hard. He did not agree with Gen. Petain and Gen. Pershing that they would take what terms the allies imposed, but it is doubtful if until the last moment even these two realized the real condition of Ger- many. Spy reports saying so had been considered exaggerated. But this time the cry of woll was justified. Here are a few paraphrases of such reports: “July 9, 1918—General political reports from Germany all agree that matters will soon come to a climax, the seriousness of which should not be underestimated. “August 17, 1918—Lately the German people seem preparing for the defeat of the German Army which, it is the general opinion, cannot withstand the great superiority of the American Army. Nobody thinks longer of victory. “The middle classes look upon the interven- tion of America in the war as meaning the de- struction of the German people. The working classes, however, secretly speak of deliverance by the Americans and hope that militarism will be overwhelmed this Winter. “September—German soldiers sell the clothes of their own dead comrades. They cut the leather of saddles and harness to pieces to sell as re-soles for shoes. Wounded German sol- diers sell their shoes to the unwounded while on their way to the hospital.” IN October there were many signs in the heavens, and one American spy irick helped to read them. A strange visitor had come to a Dutch town in the early days of that month. He seemed a German. His neat civilian clothes could not hide the stiff bearing, and he bowed too unmis- takably from the waist. He went about quite a little. He interested the American secret service, which was not amazed to discover that he was Lieut. Col. von der P of the intelligence service at German great headquarters, sent by Ludendorff himself to spy out the Dutch defenses at Utrecht. What did that mean? Were the Germans planning to save their right wing retreating from Belgium by marching through another neutral country, Holland? In 1916 they had thought of making Switzerland a shortcut to victory, and Marshal—then Gen.—Foch had evolved a plan to checkmate them. Lieut. Col. von der P went back to Ger- many on October 22. Before he went, the Americans had this report of his confidential military view: “The Meuse-Argonne front—where the Amer- icans were attacking—causes us great anxiety. That front menaces our fatherland, and we are sending there all the divisions at our disposal from Russia and Rumania.” G-2—official title of the American military intelligence—put that beside this report from a train-watcher in Cologne: “Many former prisoners returned from Rus- sia and Rumania are included among German troops sent to the western front. Their arms are taken away during the journey, and their courage is bad. They talk continually in praise of Lenin and Trotsky.” LLIED and American secret service foretold the German collapse practically step by step If in September they had spoken of ionging for peace, in October they shouted of it—if a spy can be said ever to shout. By every trick of spy wireless, they sent out word that Ger- many was desperate; that civilian morale was chattered and could no longer be bolstered up by government propaganda. Oice armistice ne- gotiations had begun, more than one spy pre- dicted there would be a revolution unless they ended successfully. On October 7 an American secret service re port predicted that the Kaiser would abdicate, a full month before the event. On October 23, two weeks ahead, there was a report, “on high British authority,” that the Kaiser was sending 20 trunks to Holland. It has been said since that King George of England had quietly ar- ranged for the fight and refuge of his impe- rial relative. Before that, American naval intelligence had foretold the striking of the spark that started the blaze. The sailors of the German fleet at Kiel were discontented and ripe for revolt. And finally, on October 30, 1918, a branch of the American secret service sent word to Chau- mont and Washington that revolution was im=- minent in all Germany. The report was based upon information of agents who just before had talked in Berlin with some of the very men who were to become its leaders. No wonder the allied secret service knew quite a good deal about German revolution; they helped start it. The whole truth about the uprising of the Independent Socialists, that scemed to the outside world almost shockingly sudden, is scarcely known outside Germany, and inside, those who know say little. Popular belief is that Republicanism in Ger- many plus starvation and defeat ceused it. Actually, but for allied and American intrigue propaganda, secret agents and money, it might not have come off when it did. We kindled in Germany the fires of revolt, as Germany had kindled them in Russia—but luckily we escaped the sparks. 'I‘HE allied game was to strengthen and help secretly in every way possible the group in Germany who opposed the Imperial Govern- ment and the military and Junker party, and were willing to intrigue within for peace and a Socialist Republic—especially if they were paid for it. Well, they were. But in wa as secret and devicus as all spy business was paid for. Quietly and long the allies worked, sometimes with Machiavellian cleverness, to help that group expand and grow strong. Their work of intrigue was second only to terrible, soul-trying privation at home and crushing defeat at the front in strengthening more determined Socialists within Germany un- til at the right moment they could strike and win, A footnote to that history is the story of the revolutionist groups outside Germany. Who heard much of the German Social Revolution- ary Party of Paris? There was one group of deadly earnest men working with the French D:uxieme—Intelli- gence—Bureau, distilling poison to inject into the veins of the empire they hated. That poison was news of allied victories and poli- cies, especially those of President Wilson, told cleverly in German in a newspaper printed in Paris, then distributed by secret means througn Switzerland, in fake wrappers, to a remarke able mailing list of sympathizers within Ger- many that was ever increasing. Not cdntent with cold type, this Paris growp also spread its poison by word of mouth of its own enthusiastic agents, traveling in Germany on varied pretexts. This group, too, found President Wilson’s speeches most poisonous of all to German des- potism. They sent no little American propa- ganda, and once sent a message to American G-2 to get more. 20ISON secped into Germany In 1918 across her northern borders as well as her south- ern. To both clung little pockets of German revolutionaries, ever growing, ever incubating more plots and intrigues, running frontiers by night to start whispering campaigns of revolt and defeat in the beleaguered empire, distrib= ute propaganda or burn munition: plants or wreck trains. In Rotterdam, a regular union < Social Democrats who had deserted the G n army to Holland met weekly to plan how to help