THE SECRETS OF THE GERMAN WAR OFFICE L H)eut8cbe8 IReicb 5fo. ir 34 ^. K. K. SiriiQ '^^ ^/jf/^t^ M^^// \ • . ^ .:- !-A,u-J DR. GRAVES' SECRET SERVICE CARD 'Udo von Wedell" is the secret service signature of Count Botho von Wedel, privy counselor to the Kaiser The seal is visible from the front when held to the light The Secrets Of The German War Office By DR. ARMGAARD KARL GRAVES With the Collaboration of EDWARD LYELL FOX A. L BURT COMPANY. PUBLISHERS 114-120 East Twenty-third Street - - New York Copyrieht, 1914. by Illustrated Sunday Magazines Copyright. 1914, by P. F. CoLLiiiR 4 Son Copyright, 1914, by McBride, Nast & Co. Second Printing September, 1914 Third Printing September, 1914 Fourth Printing September, 1914 Fifth Printing September, 1914 Sixth Printing October, 1914 Seventh Printing November, 1914 Eighth Printing November, 1914 Ninth Printing December, 1914 Tenth Printing January, 1915 Eleventh Printing August, 19lS Twelfth Printing March, 1917 Published Aug:iist, 1914 FOREWORD In view of the general war into which Europe has been precipitated just at the moment of going to press, it is of particular interest to note that the completed manuscript of this book has been in the hands of the publishers since June 1st. Further comment on Dr. Graves' qualifications to speak authoritatively is un necessary; the chapters tha.t follow are a striking commentary on his sources of information. The Publishers August 7, 1914, CONTENTS CHAPTER I How I Became a Secret Agent II The Making op a Secret Agent III Into the East IV At the Sublime Porte . V The Grand Duke's Letter . YI The Intrigue at Monte Carlo VII The Kaiser Prevents a War VIII The Isolation of France . ' IX In the Balkan Country X My Mission and Betrayal in England XI To ITew York eor England XII "The German War Machine'' XIII Armii^g roR Peace oe Was . , page 1 1? 38 55 76 94 112 130 147 167 203 219 251 THE ILLUSTRATIONS Dr. Graves' Secret Service card . .; . . Frontispiece FACING PAGE Kaiser Wilhelm II . ...» 18 Reproduction of a fateful piece of Count von Wedel's handwriting 134 General von Heeringen 204 General von Moltke . . * 204 THE SECRETS OF THE GERMAN WAR OFFICE THE SECRETS OF THE GERMAN WAR OFFICE HOW I BECAME A SECRET AGENT *' Jerunij jerurriy jerum, qua motatio rerum." HALF past three was heard booming from some clock tower on the twelfth day of June, 1913, when Mr. King, the Liberal representative from Somerset, was given the floor in the House of Com- mons. Mr. King proceeded to make a sensation. He demanded that McKinnon Wood, the House Sec- retary for Scotland, reveal to the House the secrets of the strange case of Armgaard Karl Graves, German spy. A brief word of explanation may be necessary. Supposed to be serving a political sentence in a Scotch prison, I had amazed the English press and people by publicly announcing my presence in New York City. Mr. King asked if I was still undergoing imprison- ment for espionage; if not, when and why I was re- leased and whether I had been or would be deported 1 THE SECRETS OF THE GERMAN WAR OFFICE at the end of my term of imprisonment as an undesir- able alien. Permit me to quote verbatim from the Edinburgh Scotsman of June 12, 1913: The Secretary for Scotland replied — Graves was released in December last. It would not be in accord- ance with precedent to state reasons for the exercise of the prerogative. I have no official knowledge of his nationality. The sentence did not include any recommendation in favor of deportation. Mr. King — Was he released because of the state of his health? The Secretary for Scotland — I believe he was in bad health, but I cannot give any other answer. Mr. King — Were any conditions imposed at the time of his release? The Secretary for Scotland — I think I have dealt with that in my answer. (Cries of " No.") Mr. King — Can the right hon. gentleman be a lit- tle more explicit? (Laughter.) We are anxious to have the truth. Unless the right hon. gentleman can give me an explicit answer as to whether any condi- tions were imposed I will put down the question again. (Laughter.) The Speaker intervened at this stage, and the subject dropped. Heckling began at this point; word was quickly sent to the Speaker, and he intervened, ruling the sub- ject closed. 2 HOW I BECAME A SECRET AGENT Now consider the Secretary for Scotland's state- ment. " It would not be in accordance with, prece- dent to state reasons for the exercise of prerogative." In other words, high officials in England had foimd it advisable secretly to release me from Barlinney Prison by using the royal prerogative. Why? Later you will know. Also, consider the Secretary for Scotland's state- ment that he had no official knowledge as to my na- tionality — significant that, as you will realize. There are three things which do not concern the reader: My origin, nationality and morals. There are three persons alive who know who I am. One of the three is the greatest ruler in the world. None of the three, for reasons of his own, is likely to reveal my identity. I detest sensationalism and wish it clearly under- stood that this is no studied attempt to create mys- tery. There is a certain dead line which no one can cross with impunity and none but a fool would at- tempt to. Powerful governments have found it ad- visable to keep silence regarding my antecedents. A case in point occurred when McKinnon Wood, Secre- tary for Scotland, refused in the House of Commons to give any information whatsoever about me, this after pressure had been brought to bear on him by three members of Parliament. Either the Home Sec- retary knew nothing about my antecedents, or his trained discretion counseled silence. I was brought up in the traditions of a house ac- 3 THE SECRETS OF THE GERMAN WAR OFFICE tively engaged in the affairs of its country, for hun- dreds of years. As an only son, I was promptly and efficiently spoiled for anything else but the station in life which should have been mine — but never has been and, now, never can be. I used to have high as- j)irations, but promises never kept shattered most of my ideals. The hard knocks of life have made me a fatalist, so now I shrug my shoulders. '^ Che sara sara." I have had to lead my own life and, all considered, I have enjoyed it. I have crowded into thirty-nine years more sensations than fall to the lot of the average half a dozen men. Following the custom of our house, I was trained as a militaiy cadet. This military apprenticeship was followed by three years at a famous gymnasium, which fitted me for one of the old classic universities of Europe. And after spending six semesters there, I took my degrees in philosophy and medicine. Not a bad achievement, I take it, for a young chap before reaching his twenty -second birthday. I have always been fond of study and had a special aptitude for sci- ences and the languages. On one occasion I acquired a fair knowledge of Singalese and Tamul in three months. From the university I returned home. I had al- ways been obstinate and willful, not to say pig- headed, and being steeped in tales of ^T^'ongs done to my house and country, and with the crass assurance of a young sprig fresh from untrammeled univei*sity life, I began to give vent to utterances that were not HOW I BECAME A SECEET AGENT at all to the liking of the powers that were. Soon making myself objectionable, paying no heed to their protests, and one thing leading to another, my family found it advisable to send me into utter and complete oblivion. To them I am dead, and all said and done, I would rather have it so. After the complete rupture of my home ties, I be- gan some desultory globe trotting. I knocked about in out-of-the-way corners, where I obsei'ved and ab- sorbed all sorts of things which became very useful in my subsequent career. A native, and by that I mean an inhabitant, of non-European countries always fas- cinated me, and I soon learned the way of disarming their suspicion and winning their confidence — a pro- ceeding very difficult to a European. After a time I found myself in Australia and New Zealand, where I traveled extensively, and came to like both countries thoroughly. I have never been in the western part of the United States, but from what I have heard and read I imagine that the life there more closely re- sembles the clean, healthy, outdoor life of the Aus- tralians than any other locality. I was just on the point of beginning extensive travels in the South Sea Islands, when the situation in South Africa became ominous. War seemed immi- nent, and following my usual bent of sticking my nose in where I was not wanted I made tracks for this potential seat of trouble. I caught the first steamer for Cape Town landing there a month before the out- break of war. On horseback I made my way in easy 5 THE SECRETS OF THE GERMAN WAR OFFICE stages up to the Rand. Here happened one of those incidents, which, although small in itself, alters the course of one's life. What took place when I rode into a small town on the Rand known as Doom Kloof one chilly misty morning, was written in the bowl of fate. Doom Kloof is well named ; it means " the hoof of the Devil." A straggling collection of corrugated iron shanties set in the middle of a grayish sandy plain as barren of vegetation as the shores of the Dead Sea, sweltering hot an hour after sunrise, chilly cold an hour after sunset, populated by about four hundred Boers of the old nan^ow-minded ultra Dutch type with as much imagination as a grasshopper — that is Doom Kloof. When I rode into the village I was in a decidedly bad temper. Hungry, wet to the skin, the dismal as- pect of the place, the absence of anything resembling a hotel, the incivility of the inhabitants, all contrib- uted to shorten my, by no means long, temper. I' was ripe for a row. As I rode down the solitary street I found a big burly Dopper flogging brutally a half-grown native boy. This humanitarian had the usual Boer view that the sambrock is more effective than the Bible as a civilizing medium. After con- vincing him of the technical error of his method, I attended to the black boy, whose back was as raw as a beefsteak. Kim completely adopted me and he is with me still. I christened him Kim, after Kipling's hero, for his Basuto name is unpronounceable. He 6 HOW I BECAME A SECRET AGENT has repaid me often for what he considers the saving of his life. Not many months later Kim was the un- conscious cause of a radical change in my destiny. I have ceased to wonder at such things. By the time Kim had learned some of the duties of a body servant we had reached Port Natal. War had broken out and I volunteered with a Natal field force in a medical capacity. Field hospital work took me where the fighting was thickest. During the battle of the Modder Eiver among the first of the wounded brought in was one of the many foreign officers fight- ing on the Boer side. It was Kim who found him. This officer's wound was fairly serious and necessi- tated close attention. Through chance remarks dropped here and there, the officer placed my identity correctly. It developed that he was Major Freiherr von Reitzenstein, one of the few who knew the real reasons of my exile. In one of our innumerable chats that grew out of our growing intimacy, he suggested my entering the service of Germany in a political capacity. He urged that with my training and social connections I had ex- ceptional equipment for such work. Moreover, he suggested that my service on political missions would give me the knowledge and influence necessary to checkmate the intriguers who were keeping me from my own. This was the compelling reason that made me ultimately accept his proposal to become a Secret Agent of Germany. No doubt, if the Count had lived, I would have gained my ends through his guidance 7 THE SECRETS OF THE GERMAN WAR OFFICE and influence, but lie was killed in a riding race, three years after our meeting in the Veldt, and I lost my best friend. By that time I was too deep in the Secret Service to pull out, although it was my intention more than once to do so. And certain promises re- garding my restoration in our house were never kept. Coming to a partial understanding with Count Reitzenstein, I began to work in his interests. The Boer War taught Germany many things about the English arm}^ and a few of these I contributed. As a physician I was allowed to go most anywhere and no questions asked. I began to collect little inside scraps of information regarding the discipline, spirit and equipment of the British troops. I observed that many Colonial offlcers were outspoken in their criti- cisms. All these points I reported in full to Count Reitzenstein when I dressed his wound. One day he said: " Don't forget now. After the war, I want to see you in Berlin." In my subsequent eagerness to pump more details from the Colonial officers, I too criticised, and one day I was told Lord Kitchener wanted to see me. " Doctor," he said curtly, when I was ushered into his tent, "you have twenty-four hours in which to leave camp — " Whether that mandate was a result of my joining in with the Colonial officers' criticism, or because my secret activity for Count Reitzenstein had been sus- pected, I cannot say. But knowing the ways of the 8 HOAY I BECAME A SECRET AGENT " man of Kliartonm," I made haste to be out of camp within the time prescribed. Later I learned that the Count, being convalescent and paroled, was sent down to Cape Town. After the occupation of Pretoria, I got tired of roughing it and made my way back to Europe, finally locating in Berlin for a prolonged stay. I knew Berlin, and had a fondness for it, having spent part of my youth there in the course of my education. It has always been a habit of mine not to seem anxious about anything, so I spent several weeks idling around Berlin before look- ing up Count Keitzenstein. One day I called at his residence, Thiergartenstrasse 23. I found the Count on the point of leaving for the races at Hoppegarten. He was one of the crack sportsmen of Prussia and never missed a meeting. He suggested that I go to the track with him, and while we waited for the servant to bring around his turn-out, he renewed his pro- posals about my entering Prussian service. " I expected you long ago," he said. " I have smoothed your way to a great extent. We are likely to meet one or two of the Service Chiefs out at the track, this afternoon. If you like, I'll introduce you to them." " Is there any likelihood of my being recognized? " I asked. " You know. Count, it will be impossible for me to go under my true flag." He assured me there was not the slightest chance. " Your identity," he explained, " need be known to but one person." 9 THE SECRETS OF THE GERMAN WAR OFFICE Later I Avas to know wlio this important personage was. " Very well," I agreed ; " we'll try it." The Count always drove his own turn-out, and in- vited me to climb up on the box. When his attention w^as not occupied with his reins and returning the salutes of passers-by, for he was one of the most popu- lar men in Berlin, we discussed my private affairs. The Count showed a keen interest and sympathy in them and his proposal began to take favorable shape in my mind. As he j)redicted, we met some of the Service Chiefs at the track. Indeed, almost the first persons who saluted him in the saddle paddock were Captain Zur See von Tappken and a gentleman who was introduced to me as Herr von Riechter. The Count introduced me as Dr. von Graver, which I sub- sequently altered whenever the occasion arose to the English Graves. After chatting a bit. Captain von Tappken made an appointment with me at his bureau in the Koenigergratzerstrasse 70, the headquarters of the Intelligence Department of the Imperial Navy in Berlin, but made no further reference to the subject that afternoon. I noticed though that Herr von Riechter put some pointed and leading questions to me, regarding my travels, linguistic attainments, and general knowledge. He must have been satisfied, for I saw some significant glances pass between him and the Captain. The repeated exclamations of " Gros- sartig ! " and " Colossal ! " seemed to express his en- tire satisfaction. 10 HOW I BECAME A SECRET AGENT Following my usual bent, I did not call at Koen- igergratzerstrasse 70 as the Captain suggested. About three days passed and then I received a veiy courteously worded letter requesting me to call at my earliest convenience at his quarters as he had some- thing of importance to tell me. I called. Koenigergratzerstrasse 70 is a typical Prussian building of administration. Solid but unpretentious, it is the very embodiment of Prussian efficiency, and like all offlcial buildings in Germany is well guarded. The doorkeeper and commissaire, a taciturn non-com- missioned officer, takes your name and whom you wish to see. He enters these later in a book, then tele- phones to the person required and you are either ushered up or denied admittance. When sent up, you are invariably accomi)anied by an orderly — it does not matter how well you are known — who does not leave you until the door has closed behind you. When you leave, there is the same procedure and the very duration of your visit is entered and checked in the doorkeeper's book. I was admitted immediately. After passing through three anterooms containing private secre- taries not in uniform, I was shown into Captain von Tappken's private office. He wore the undress rank- ing uniform of the Imperial Navy. This is signifi- cant, for it is characteristic of all the branches of the Prussian Service to find officers in charge. The secre- taries and men of all work, however, are civilians ; this for a reason. The heads of all departments are Ger- 11 THE SECRETS OP THE GERMAN WAR OFFICE man officers, recruited from the old feudal aristoc- racy, loyal to a degree to the throne. They find it in- compatible, notwithstanding their loyalty, to soil their hands with some of the work connected with all gov- ernment duties, especially those of the Secret Service. Though planning the work, they never execute it. To be sure, there are ex-officers connected with the Secret Service, men like von Zenden, formerly an officer of the Zweiter Garde Dragoner, but with some few ex- ceptions they are usually men who have gone to smash. No active or commissioned officer does Secret Service work. Von Tappken greeted me very tactfully. This is another typical asset of a Prussian Service officer, esiDecially a naval man, and is quite contrary to the usual characteristics of English officials, whose brusqueness is too well and unpleasantly known. After offering me a chair and cigars. Captain von Tappken began chatting. " Well, Doctor," he said, " have you made up your mind to enter our Service? For a man fond of travel- ing and adventure, I promise you will find it tremen- dously interesting. I have carefully considered your equipment and experience and find that they will be of mutual benefit." I asked him to explain what would be required of me, but he replied : " Before my entering upon that, are you adverse to telling me if you have made up your mind to enter the Service? " 12 HOW 1 BECAME A SECRET AGENT It was a fair question, and I replied : " Yes, provided nothing will be directly required of me that is against all ethics." I noticed a peculiar smile crossing his features. Then, looking me straight between the eyes and using the sharp, incisive language of a German official, he declared : " We make use of the same weapons that are used against us. We cannot afford to be squeamish. The interests at stake are too vast to let personal ethical questions stand in the way. What would be required of you in the first instance, is to gain for us informa- tion such as we seek. The means by which you gain this information will be left entirely to your own dis- cretion. We expect results. We place our previous knowledge on the subject required, at your disposal. You will have our organization to assist you, but you must understand that we cannot and will not be able to extricate you from any trouble in which you may become involved. Be pleased to understand this clearly. This service is dangerous, and no official as- sistance or help could be given under any cir- cumstances." To my cost, I later found this to be the truth. So far, so good. Captain von Tappken had neglected to mention financial inducements and I put the question to him. He replied promptly: "That depends entirely on the service performed. In the first instance you will receive a retaining fee 13 TUB SECRETS OF THE GERMAN WAR OFFICE I - - of 4000 marks (|1000) a year. You will be allowed 10 marks (|2.50) a day for living expenses, whether in active service or not. For each individual piece of work undertaken you will receive a bonus, the amount of which will vary with the importance of the mission. Living expenses accruing while out on work must not exceed 40 marks (|10) a day. The amount of the bonus you are to receive for a mission will in each case be determined in advance. There is one other thing. One-third of all moneys accruing to you will be kept in trust for you at the rate of 5 per cent, in- terest." I laughed and said : " Well, Captain, I can take care of my own money." He permitted the shadow of a smile to play around his mouth. " You may be able to," he said, " but most of our agents cannot. We have this policy for two reasons : In the first place, it gives us a definite hold upon our men. Secondly, we have found that unless we save some money for our agents, they never save any for themselves. In the event of anything happening to an agent who leaves a family or other relatives, the money is handed over to them." I later cursed that rule, for when I was captured in England there were 30,000 marks (|7,500) due me at the Wilhelmstrasse and I can whistle for it now. Captain von Tappken looked at me inquiringly, but I hesitated. It was not on account of monetary causes, but for peculiarly private reasons — the di- 14 HOW I BECAME A SECRET AGENT lemma of one of our house becoming a spy. The Cap- tain, unaware of the personal equation that was ob- sessing me before giving my word, evidently thought that his financial inducements were uot alluring enough. " Of course," he continued, " this scale of pay is only the beginning. As your use to us and the im- portance of your missions increases, so will your re- muneration. That depends entirely on you." He raised his eyebrow^s inquiringly. " Very well," I said. " I accept." He held out his hand. " You made up your mind quickly." "It is my way, Captain I take a thing or leave it." " That's what I like, Doctor ; a quick, decisive mind." That seemed to please him. " Very well. To be of use to us, you will need a lot of technical coaching. Are you ready to start to- morrow? " "Now, Captain." " Very good," he said, " but to-morrow will do. Be here at ten a. m. Then give us daily as much of your time as we require." He called in one of his secretaries, gave him com- mand briefly and in a few minutes the man was back with an order for three hundred marks. " This, Doctor, is your first month's living ex* penses. Eetaining fees are paid quarterly." 15 THE SECRETS OP THE GERMAN WAR OFFICE As I pocketed the check I remarked : " Captain, personally we are total strangers. How is it that you seem so satisfied with me? " Again his peculiar smile was noticeable. " That is outside our usual business procedure," he said. " I have my instructions from above and I simply act on them." I was young then, and curious so I asked : " Who are those above and what are their instruc- tions?" No sooner had I put that question than I learned my first lesson in the Secret Service. All traces of genial friendliness vanished from von Tappken's face. It was stern and serious. " My boy," he said slowly, " learn this from the start and learn it well. Do not ask questions. Do not talk. Think! You will soon learn that there are many unwritten laws attached to this Service." I never forgot that. It was my first lesson in Secret Service. n THE MAKING OF A SECRET AGENT THE average man or woman has only a hazy idea what European Secret Service and Espionage really means and accomplishes. Short stories 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. Since the days of Moses who em- ployed 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 necessaiy to obtain early and correct information other than through the usual official channels. To gain this knowledge they have to employ persons unknown and unrecognized in of- ficial circles. A recognized official such as an am- bassador or a secretary of legation, envoys plenipo- tentiary and consuls, w^ould not be able to gain the in- formation sought, as naturally everybody is on their guard against them. Moreover, official etiquette pre- 17 THE SECRETS OP THE GERMAN WAR OFFICE vents an ambassador or consul from acting in sucli a capacity. In this age of rapid developments the need of quick and accurate information is even more pressing. Europe to-day is a sort of armed camp, composed of a number of nations of fairly equal strength, in which the units are more or less afraid of each other. Mu- tual distrust and conflicting interests compel Ger- many, England, France and Russia to spend billions of money each year on armaments. Germany builds one battleship ; England lays down two ; France adds ten battalions to her army ; Germany adds twenty. So the relative strength keeps on a fair level. But with rapid constructions, new inventions of weapons, armor, aerial craft, this apparent equality is con- stantly disturbed. Here also enters the personal policy and ambitions and pet schemes of the indi- vidual heads of nations and their cabinets. Because there is a constant fear of being outdistanced, eveiy government in Europe is trying its utmost to get ahead of the other. They, hence, keep a stringent watch on each other's movements. This is possible only by an efficient system of espionage, by trained men and women, willing to run the risks attached 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 dozen. All my missions were not successes, more 18 Copyright Uuderwood &^ Underwood KAISER WILHELM II The visible head of Germany's mighty war machine is called Der Giosse General Stab, but the real directing genius is the Emperor himself THE MAKING OF A SECRET AGENT often, failures, and the failures are often fatal. Fop instance : Early in the morning of June 11, 1903, the plot which had been brewing in Servia ended with the as- sassination of the king, queen, ministers and members of the royal household of Servia. I shall not go into the undercurrent political significance of these atroci- ties as I had no active part in them, 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 Eussian pay, for King Alexander had become dan- gerous to Russia, because of his flirting with Austria, Besides, his own idiotic behavior and the flagrant in- discretions of Queen Draga 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 arrested by the provisional government on the order of Lieutenant Colonel Niglitsch on a most flimsy charge of traveling with false passports. In those times 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 pei^sons opposed to the provisional government was quite enough to place me before a drumhead court-martial. 19 THE SECRETS OP THE GERMAN WAR OFFICE I was sitting in the Cafe Petit Parisien with Lieu- tenant Nikolevitch and Mons. 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 Revolu- tionary persons. You were found possessing a pass- port 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 in- ward 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 each other and then the center inquisitor fired a lot of questions at me, in answer to which I only shrugged my shoul- ders. " That's all I have to say, monsieur." I was shoved back In my cell. About four that afternoon one of the officers came to see me. 20 THE MAKING OF A SECRET AGENT "Your message has not been sent. My comrades were against sending it, but I am related to Zolare- vitch. 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 lose any time getting under way. In fact, it was a very pale, perturbed officer who rushed out of my cell. I didn't woriy much, but when at about 7.30 the cell door opened and two sentries with fixed bay^ onets and cartridge pouches entered, placed me in the center and marched me into the courtyard, where ten more likewise equipped soldiers in charge of an officer awaited me, I felt somewhat green. I know a firing squad when I see one. I knew if my message ever reached responsible quarters, nothing could hap- pen to me; but these were motley times and all sorts of delays may have happened to the officer. " Eight 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 mon- astery, for I noticed several crumbled tombstones — was evidently 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 been spoken. I let him finish and then politely requested him, as I was not a Serb and consequently did not understand his lingo,, to translate it into a civilized language, preferably 21 THE SECRETS OF THE GERMAN WAH OFFICE 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 someone, somewhere, 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, and although it was quite obvious 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 get- ting 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 sensation just then. Frankly, I felt nothing clearly. The only thing I remember dis- tinctly was the third man in the second file held his gun in rather a slipshod manner, 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 I remem- ber 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 22 , TH E MAKING OF A SECRET AGENT 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 I had been standing motionless with my arms folded across my breast. I heard one say to the other, " Mtchka Curacha" (no coward). If he had only known. Indeed, had I anticipated such an experience, had I known the things I know now I doubt if I would have been so pleased with the results of my first visit to Koenigergratzerstrasse 70, where the Intelli- gence Department of the German Admiralty is quar- tered. Will the reader step back with me in the nar- rative to the day of my oflScially joining the Service? Returning to my hotel after my interview with Cap- tain von Tappken in Ms office, I began to reflect. I had not entered the Service out of pure adventure or for monetary reasons alone. Money has never appealed to me as the all-powerful thing in life. I have always had enough for creature comforts and as for adventure I had had my fill during the Boer War and my world wanderings. No, I had 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 Count Reitzenstein was that through the Service I ought to gain the power I had lost. But as I sat in the hotel room had occult powers been given me, I never would have taken up Secret Service work. But one is not quite as wise at twenty-four as at thirty-nine. 23 THE SECRETS OF THE GERMAN WAR OFFICE Well satisfied with my prosx^ects, I arose early the next morning and walked briskly to Captain Tapp- ken's office. Punctually at ten o'clock I announced myself at the Admiralty and after the usual proce- dure with the door man, I was received by Herr von Stammer, private secretary of Captain Tappken. A very astute and calculating gentleman is HeiT von Stammer. Suave, genial, talkative, he has the plausible and unstudied art of extracting informa- tion without committing himself in turn. A marrel- ous encyclopaedia of devious Secret Service facts, an ideal tutor. When we were alone in his office, von Stammer be- gan by saying abruptly ; " From now on, you must be entirely and abso- lutely at our Service. You will report daily at twelve noon by telephoning a certain number. At all times you must be accessible. You will pay close attentior to the following rules : " Absolute silence in regard to your missions. N'tk conversation with minor officials but only with the rft' spective heads of departments or to whomever yo^u are sent. You will make no memoranda nor carrj' written documents. You will never discuss your af- fairs 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. 24 THE MAKING OF A SECRET AGENT You will sign all your reports by that number. Al- ways avoid telephoning, telegraphing and cabling as much as possible. In urgent cases do so, but use the cipher that wall be supplied to you." He went on to give numerous other minor details and iustrar- lions, elaborating the system, but which might pro^ wearisome here. I was in his office all the forenoc , and when he ushered me out I half ex- pected to be called into von Tappken's presence to be sent on my first mission. Instead of that, I had to wait five months before I was given my first work and an exceedingly unimportant thing it was. During those five months I was kept at a steady grind of schooling in certain things. Day after day, week after week, I was grounded in subjects that were essential to efficient Secret Service work. Broadly, they could be divided into four classes — topography, trigonometry, naval construction and drawing. The reasons for these you will see from my missions. My tutors were all experts in the Imperial Service. A Secret Service agent sent out to investi- gate and report on the condition, situation, and arma- ment of a fort like Verdun in France must be able to make correct estimates of distances, height, angles, conditions of the 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 my mission to Port Arthur, where I 25 THE SECRETS OF THE GERMAN WAR OFFICE had tx) report on the defenses, I found this training invaluable. The same applies to the subject of naval construc- tion. Before entering the German Secret Service, I certainly knew the difference between a torpedo and a torpedo boat destroyer, but naturally could not give an accurate description of the various types of de- stroyers and torpedoes. My instructor in this subject was Lieutenant Captain 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 Brennan. I was also drilled in the construction of every known kind of naval gun. Dozens of model war-crafts 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 sit before charts that hung from the walls of certain rooms in the Intelligence Department and study the silhouettes of every known vaiying type of war-craft. I was schooled in this until I could tell at a glance what type of a battleship, cruiser, or de- stroyer it was, whether it was peculiar to the English, French, Russian or United States Navy. As I shall show in relating one of my missions to England, I was brushed up on the silhouette study of British war- ships, for I had to be able to discern and classify them 26 THE MAKING OF A SECRET AGENT at long range. The different ranking officers of the navies of the world, their uniforms, the personnel of battleships, the sy^gms 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 signal flags of every navy in the world. I had to study these until at a glance I could tell the I'unk 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 regular hours for tuition were from ten to twelve in the forenoon and from two until six in the afternoon. But it was impossible to compress all the work into that time. I was anxious to get my first mission, and I presume I did a great deal of cramming. 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 Gen- eral Staff. But there were side trips to the big gov- ernment works at Kiel and Wilhelmshafen. There I was taught every detail of the mechanics of naval con- struction 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 thor- oughness and the minuteness of detail which the Ger- man General Staff possesses. I did not lose the 27 THE SECRETS OF THE GERMAN WAR OFFICE t , . ■ . . .ji. .. . .1- I chance of tbis opportunity. I really did observe and see more than was intended for me to see. Of the amazing amount of labor, time and money that has been spent to gather the information contained in the secret archives of the German General Staff, the marvelous system of war that has been perfected in the German Empire, I shall tell when I consider the secrets of the War Machine. Naturally, I soon came to know still other things than what they taught me. I began to consider the whole proposition of Secret Service, and before relat- ing my first important mission for Germany I shall tell you some of the general secrets of the System. There are four systems of Secret Service in Europe, the four leading powers each possessing one. First in systematic ef&ciency is the German, next comes the Eussian, then the French, and English. England has a very efficient service in India and her Asiatic pos- sessions, but has only lately entered the European field. Last but not least comes the International Secret Service Bureau with headquarters in Belgium, a semi-private concern which procures reliable in- formation for anyone who will pay for it. This serv- ice is generally entrusted with the procuring of tech- nical details, such as the plans of a new kind of gun or data on a new and minor fortification. Mr. Vance Thompson has also cited special missions like this one that follows. Not often does the chance come to leave the regular channels of espionage and go forth upon a mission 28 THE IMAKING OF A SECRET AGENT out of tb.e ordinary. That chance came a few years ago to th? Russian agents in Brussels. In St. Peters- burg the chiefs were desirous of knowing the identity and names of a group of revolutionists who had formed a sort of colony in Montreux, Switzerland. A French woman, known sometimes as Theresa Pre- vost (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 ac- company her, posing as a "brother," Charles Pre- vost. 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 the young and pretty Theresa. It was decided by her Brussels chiefs that she as- sume the role of an heiress from Canada. Five thou- sand francs for preliminary expenses were handed over to her and with Charles, the brother, she de- scended upon Montreux. If you were there at the time you mil recall the social triumph made by the young Canadian heiress. You may even remember that she seemed to be infatuated with the young im- pressionable son of old Goluckoffsky. The day long they were together. They were going to be married, and Charles Prevost the " brother," stood in the back- ground, chatted amiably with old Goluckoffsky and his friends and smiled. Then as an heiress should, Theresa and her 29 THE SECRETS OF THE GERMAN WAR OFFICE '' brother " invited Goluckoffsky, liis family and friends, to a pre-nuptial luncheon. No expense was sx^ared, for the wires had moaned with requests sent to Brussels for money. Young Goluckoffsky was de- lighted with his fiancee. She was insistent that all his 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 she could send their invi- tations properly — 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 charm- ing; even the grimmest of the old revolutionists were taken with her. Old Goluckoffsky beamed upon this sparkling febrile woman, rich too, who was to marry his son. Ices 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 danger- ous. Suppose, in some way, the Okrana got hold of them. They breathed easier, though, when Theresa, calling in the photographer — the best in Lausanne, she assured them — instructed him to deliver all copies to Mr. Goluckoffsky, her dear father-in-law to be. So the revolutionists grouped themselves on the 30 THE MAKING OF A SECRET AGENT hotel lawn; the j)hotographer pressed the bulb; and everybody laughed. As quickly as the photographer could print his proofs they were delivered to Theresa ; that night she and her " brother " left Montreux. In two days the names of all the revolutionists in young Goluckoff- sky's handwriting and their pictures were delivered to the chief in Brussels. A substantial fee was paid Theresa, besides, and she must have smiled; some of those young Kussians are delightful. So much for an example of the clever work done by Brussels. The German Service, in which I served on and off for twelve years, has three distinct branches — the Army, Navy and Personal, each branch having its own chief and its own corps of men and women agents. The Army and Navy division is controlled by the Gen- eral Staff of Berlin (Grosser General Stabe), the most marvelous organization in the world. The Political and Personal branch is controlled from the Wilhelm- strasse, the German Foreign Office, the Emperor in person, or Ms immediate Privy Councilor. The Army and Navy divisions confine themselves to the procur- ing of hidden and secret information as regards arma- ments, plans, discoveries, etc. The political branch concerns itself with the super-vision of meetings be- tween potentates, cabinet ministers and so forth. The Personal branch, under the direct control of the Privy Councilor, is used by the Emperor for his own special purposes and service in this branch is the sine qua non of the service. 31 THE SECRETS OF THE GERMAN WAR OFFICE The Personal consists of all classes of men and women. Princes and counts, lawyers and doctors, actors and actresses, mondaines of the great world, demi-mondaines of the half world, waiters and por- ters, 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 com- panion in the tearoom of the Ritz is the paid agent of some government. Great singers, dancers and ar- tists, especially of Russian and Austrian origin, are often spies. Notably Anna Pavlowa, famous for light feet and nimble wit, said wit being retained by the Russian government at 50,000 rubles per annum. When Mile. Pavlowa travels in Germany, she has the honor of a very unostentatious bodyguard, the govern- ment being anxious that nothing should happen to them. Perhaps Mademoiselle may remember a little incident at the Palais de Dance in Berlin — Anna vs. He 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 ques- tion being dexterously commandeered by an expert in such matters of the Secret Service squad. It happened that the Personal Branch of the Ger- man Secret Service was exceedingly interested in that gold bag. Mademoiselle had been carrying on an af- fair with a young ordnance officer of the Potsdam gar* 32 THE MAKING OF A SECRET AGENT ■ ^ rison. Now the Service does not like to see officers, especially those of the ordnance, becoming involved with ladies like the Pavlowa. On this particular night he had presented her with the new bag and she had been injudicious enough to have kept in the golden receptacle a dangerously compromising letter that he had enclosed. Injudicious, dear lady! Corsage or stockings. Mademoiselle ; but vanity bags — never ! I have reason to believe that the following incident cost the Pavlowa a rather remunerative engagement in Berlin. Celebrating the coming of the New Year, Made- moiselle and her party were feasting in the Ice Arena. I happened to be at near-by table, and saw everything ; as well as later hearing the inside of it. The gold chatelaine lay on the table at her elbow. Upon observing its position, the waiter — a secret agent on the case — deliberately tipped over a cham- pagne glass that stood within a few inches of the bag. Of course, Mademoiselle was worried lest the wine run over on her gown and while thus preoccupied, the waiter, stammering apologies, mopi^ed up the 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, ab- stracted the letter from the young ordnance officer; and w^as back, aiDologiziug to the Pavlowa. " Tour pardon, Mademoiselle," he said, handing her the gold chatelaine. " In my haste I picked up this bag by mistake. I supj)Ose it is yours." 33 THE SECRETS OF THE GERMAN WAR OFFICE With a slight start she said "yes," 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 mai^^eled at the cleverness of the woman. " No/' she suddenly said, " that is not my bag. I never saw it before. I advise you to find the owner." Clever Anna! You sacrificed the costly gift, but you went over the frontier just the same. The necessary qualifications of an agent vary of course with the class of work to be done. We can dis- miss 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 man- ners, d la grande dame, knowledge of the world and men are essential. The pay varies, but is always good. Expenses are never questioned, the money being no object. For instance, I spent on a mission through the Riviera 20,000 marks in fourteen days. My fixed salary towards the end was 10,000 marks a year, be- sides twenty 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. I re- 34 THE MAKING OF A SECRET AGENT ceived as much as 30,000 marks (|7,500) for a single mission performed successfully. The risks are great, so are the rewards — if suc- cessful. 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 regards 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 vive, play- ing 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 of 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 de- gree, who have broken down under the strain ; sooner or later one is bound to succumb. I have known of a dozen men and women who have mysteriously disap- peared, " dropped out of sight," caught or killed — not always hy their opponents. 35 THE SECRETS OF THE GERMAN "WAR OFFICE 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 years 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. Fmulein 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 af- fair with a Russian officer was holding them out, plan- ning 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 Mm. So Olga Bruder committed suicide. She was poisoned. As for Lieutenant von Zastrov, an ex-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 im- prisoned. 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 pos- sible, 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 36 THE MAKING OF A SECRET AGENT 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 na- ture of documentary evidence of such character that to meddle with him brings danger of disclosure. Of late there have been no attempts on my life. m INTO THE EAST RECLINING in my deck chair on the N. D. L. liner Bayern, bound for Singapore, I was smok- ing a pipe and idly speculating. I had cultivated the acquaintance of my table neighbor, a Japanese, Baron Huraki, and was at the moment, expecting him to come up the companionway and take his place in his deck chair beside me. Instead came two officers of the Second Siberian Rifles, strolling along the deck. It was obvious that, although it still lacked three hours of noon, these gentlemen had been quite frequently to the shrine of Bacchus. I had no fault to find with that, as long as they did not interfere with my own personal comfort. When they began tacking along, talking at the top of their voices on that part of the deck known by experienced travelers to be reserved for repose and reading, however, they began to irritate me. When one of them threw himself into the Baron's chair and displayed that beastly annoy- ing habit of continually ^Tiggling and creaking the chair, meanwhile shouting to his companion at the top of his lungs, I lost all patience. It only needed Baron Huraki's appearance and quiet request for the 38 INTO THE EAST evacuation of liis deck chair, and the insolent stare and non-compliance of the Russian, to make me chip in with : " Damn it, sir ! You don't own the whole world yet." I went on in terse military German which eighty per cent, of all Russian officers know and the trend of which is never misunderstood. I pointed out that any further encroaching would be resented in a most drastic and sudden manner. The usual farcical ex- change of cards, permitting all sorts of bluffs, does not impress a Russian, but the imminent chance of blows from fists does. A pair of astonished bulging eyes, a muttered apology and quietness reigned. With a mild smile Baron Huraki dropped into his chair, but I did not like the expression in his eyes. Knowing the prow^ess of the Baron as an exponent of his national system of self-defense (I had seen him harmlessly toss about the biggest sailor on the Bayern, the chief butcher, who was as strong as an ox), I said: " It's a wonder to me. Baron, that you didn^t throw that boor half way across the deck." I shall never forget his answer. " We of the Samurai never fight when there is noth- ing behind it. It is not the time." I did not like the expression in his eyes. All this transpired because I was on the road to Singapore, away from Berlin, on my first important mission in the German Secret Service. The Intelli- 29 THE S ECRETS OF THE GERMAN WAR OFFICE gence Department had instructed me to ascertain the extent of the new docks and fortifications in course of completion in the Straits Settlements — an assign- ment calling for exact topographical data, photo- graphs and plans. Leaving port, I had found the Bayern comfortably crowded. In the East war clouds were gathering and among the passengers were a number of Japanese called home, as I afterwards learned, for the impend- ing struggle. At Port Said we had taken on a Rus- sian contingent, quite a few of whom w^ere officers bound for Port Arthur, Dalny and Vladivostock, and in view of the gathering conflict I found the relative conduct and bearing of representatives of these races that were soon to clash, vastly interesting. And after my experience with the Russians, I was to know more. From that time on, I began to notice a subtle change in Baron Huraki's attitude toward me. Quite of his own accord he discussed with me the cus- toms, ideals and aspirations of his caste and country. Wrapped in a Shuai kimon-o, his gift to me, we spent many hot and otherwise tedious nights, sprawled in our deck chairs, discussing unreservedly the questions of the East. What I learned then and the insight I got into the aims and character of Nippon, were in- valuable to me. Baron Huraki, now high in the serv- ices of the Mikado, is my friend still. Once a year he sends me Shuraino-Ariki^ a wonderful spray of cherry- blossoms, the Japanese symbol of rejuvenating friend- ship. 40 INTO THE EAST A Secret Service agent, althougli making no friends or acquaintances, always makes it his business to converse with and study his fellow travelers. Fol- lowing my usual ha,bit, I went out of my way to culti- vate the acquaintance of the Japanese, particularly Huraki. A scholar of no mean attainments was the Baron. Quietly, without being didactic, he upheld his end in most discussions on applied sciences or philo- sophic arguments, putting forth his deep knowledge in an unobtrusive way. I found this trait to be an in- variable rule with most of the Japanese with whom I came in contact. Once or twice during our lengthy and pleasant chats I tried to veer the subject round to the all-engrossing Eastern question, only to be met with the maddening bland smile of the East. I was rather inexperienced in the fathomless, undefinable ways of the Orient, but on the Bay em I learned rap- idly the truths that Western methods and strategy are absolutely useless against the impenetrable stoicism of an Asiatic and that only personal regard and obligation on their part will produce results. In striking contrast to the Japanese, small and sine^^y, any two of them weighing no more than one Russian, quiet, taciturn, genial and abstemious, were the chil- dren of the "Little White Father." The Russians were an aggressive, big, well set up, heavy type of men, by no means teetotalers, talkative, with overbearing swagger, always posing, talking contemptuously about the possible struggle in the East, invariably referring 41 THE SECRETS OF THE GERMAN WAR OFFICE to the Japanese as " little monkey men." Fortunate for me was it that the Bayern was carrying both Rus- sians and Japanese; the knowledge I acquired from Baron Huraki of the Asiatics was invaluable in Singa- pore; what I learned of Russians, I needed at Port Arthur. But I am anticipating my narrative. Arriving in Singapore, I put up at the Hotel de la Paix on the Marine Parade. I posed as an ordinary tourist with a leaning toward hunting and a fad of doing research work in tropical botany. I gradually became acquainted with a number of English officers and was introduced at their clubs. The information obtained through these channels about the new naval base was merely theoretical and I soon found that to obtain practical results I would have to get in touch with the native clerks. In the English Eastern possessions, you see, most clerical and minor mechan- ical positions are held by natives. It soon was brought home to me, though, that this cultivating natives was by no means easy and a rather dangerous thing to do. To be in any way successful, I had to find a native of a higher caste, one with sufficient influence to com- mand the clerks. If I could get hold of one of the numerable discontented petty rajahs, for instance, there might be a chance of obtaining what I sought. In one of the clubs, I found a clue. A young Rajah, one of the numerous coterie of petty princes — fair play compels me to withhold his name — had got himself into some trouble and the paternal govern- ment had promptly suspended his income. Here 42 INTO THE EAST was my chance. I soon ascertained young Rajah's haunts and made it my business to frequent them. One day I found him on the veranda of the Marine Hotel and asked him for a match, making a return compliment of a cigarette. This was a procedure against established British social usage in the East, where it is considered iw/rcr difj to meet a native on a social footing. Herein lies a grave danger to Eng- lish colonial policy. Your semi-European educated native, having partly absorbed European manners, resents this subordination and ostracism. So, with this high-spirited, rather clever young rajah. I ac- cepted his invitation to whiskey " pegs " and sub- sequent dinner at his bungalow. One visit led to another and we were soon rather intimate. The young Rajah, having the usual native taste for luxury well developed and his income stopped, I became of some monetary assistance to him. Also, judiciously fos- tering his discontent against the government, I soon had him in a desired frame of mind. Through his influence on the native clerks, I was able to gain all the plans, data and photographs of England's new naval base in the Straits Settlement. By this time my close association with this no- torious young Rajah was marked and I found it ad- visable to pull up stakes, which I did in short order, arranging passage on the N. D. L. liner Sachsen, homeward bound. Having a week to spare and find- ing that by leaving the Sachsen at Colombo, I could catch the Prinz Regent Leopold of the same line, 43 THE SECRETS OF THE GERMAN AVAR OFFICE coming up from Australia en route for Europe, I had my ticket transferred. This would give me a ten-day vacation in Ceylon, where I had a number of acquaintances, having hunted there during my early travels. Accordingly, at Colombo I put up at the Galle Face Hotel, and the first man I met was Allan MacGregor, one of Lipton's tea estate man- agers, in Kandy and Newara Elya. MacGregor and I were old pals, having done much hunting and bridge Inlaying in days gone by. I planned to spend a week with him and go after some leopards. By the by, I'd like to see the MacGregor's face when he learns that his quondam friend and boon companion was an in- ternational spy! " Dinna get sair, Mac. You're no the only chiel what'll tak a w^ee surprise." I was just arranging a hunting trip with Mac- Gregor when Bill Peters, manager of the hotel, an- other old acquaintance, handed me a cable knocking all my plans to bits. It was a cipher message from Captain von Tappken, and shortly I was again on the high sea, bound not for home, but for Port Arthur. My orders were to ascertain how far the Port Arthur fortifications were completed and to report on the general conditions as I found them. I wondered not a little at this mission, as I could not then see what close interest Germany could have in a possible war between Russia and Japan. Also, I by no means relished the assignment, for it was a perilous business and I judged the Russians to be 44 INTO THE EAST extremely suspicious — which I afterwards learned they were not. I decided to travel under the cloak of a doctor of natural history and botany, my medical training giv- ing me the necessary knowledge to impersonate the character. The reader will understand that if Doc- tor Franz von Cannitz is subsequently mentioned, it refers to me. Almost everybody, especially my government, knew that war between Eussia and Japan was inevitable. I say, all, except Kussia. To make this situation clear, let me hark back a little. Japan, beating China in the w^ar of 1895, took and occupied Port Arthur. Japan later, compelled by hostile demonstrations on the part of Russia backed up by France and Germany, restored Port Arthur to China. Note the holding aloof of England here. The actual text of the ultimatum delivered was that the possession of ceded territoiy by Japan would be detrimental to the lasting peace of the Orient. Japan was bitterly humiliated and an Asiatic never forgets or forgives. Japan bided her time. Russia's duplicity in the Boxer Campaign, and her seizure of Port Arthur, gave Japan the needed casus helli. Result, the Russian-Japanese War. Arriving in Port Arthur, I established myself at the Hotel I'Europe and with prospecting spade, botan- ical trowel and butterfly net, I sallied forth around the hills of Port Arthur. The first thing which struck me was the enormous number of Chinese and Chun- shuses (bad Coolies) employed everywhere. I came 45 THE SECRETS OP THE GERMAN WAR OFFICE to know that they were uot all Chinese Coolies and that almost every tenth man was a disguised Jap- anese. To an observer, trained iu the facial char- acteristics of the Oriental, it was not difi&cult to pick out the Japanese from the mass of Coolies. They fairly swarmed in Port Arthur right under the very noses of the Russians, As Baron Huraki had told me during our passage on the Bayern, his country- men were actually employed in the building of the Port Arthur defenses! These Japanese were later able to give invaluable information in directing the Japanese batteries. Numerous other alleged Coolies were acting as servants to Russian officers. I also found that on the Lioa Teah Shan Railway and at Pidgeon Bay the very j)orters were Japanese. In fact, the entire Russian stronghold was infested with them. This carelessness, lack of knowledge or suspicion, with a total lack of belief on the part of the Russian officers, that the " little monkey men " would ever dare attack, is in my opinion the chief cause of the comparatively quick fall of Port Arthur. For even with the incompleted defenses the place was tremen- dously strong. Everywhere I could see the most elaborate plans incomplete. For instance, as I wan- dered through the hills seeking my botanical speci- mens, I found that the chain of forts on the hills of the Quang Tong peninsula south and west of Dalny, were totally unfinished and that the Kuan Ling section of the Port Arthur and Dalny railway was not even 46 INTO THE EAST adequately protected from capture by a hostile force. The lack of adequate supervision and the general slovenliness prevailing made it easy for me to go about unchallenged. I mixed freely with officers and men. The expenditure of a few rubles on vodka, in the case of the men, and the never-rejected invitation on the part of most officers to join in a jamboree, made me a very popular figure indeed. Through them I learned that the provisions of Port Arthur were in a most deplorable state. To use but one in- stance : Out of 1,420,000 pounds of flour, nearly one- half was bad with sour cords, which caused part of the enormous amount of sickness even then prevail- ing in the Port Arthur garrison. During the war forty-five per cent, of the troops were incapacitated because of unsanitary food. I found 500,000 pounds of maize were wormy and over 700,000 pounds of corned beef were putrid. Women and wine, however, abounded. Never in any place — and I know all the gayest and fastest places on earth — have I seen, compara- tively speaking, such an enormous amount of wine in stock, or such a number of demi-mondaines as- sembled. Most of the officers had private harems. I often sat in the Casino and watched the officers of the First Tomsk Regiment, the Twenty-fifth and Twenty-sixth Siberian Rifles practicing with their newly supplied Mauser pistols on tables loaded with bottles containing the most costly vintage wines and cognacs. At such times the place literally ran ankle 47 THE SECRETS OF THE GERMAN WAR OFFICE deep in wine. There were over sixty gambling houses and dancing halls supporting more than a thousand ■filles de joie. In fact, the general intemperance was such that on the night of Admiral Togo's attack more than half the complement of the Russian fleet was ashore, dead drunk, in honor of one of the tutelary Russian saints. The harbor defenses comprising submarine mines and searchlight stations, etc., I found to be in the worst condition. In pottering around, I visited many of the switchboard stations controlling the subma- rine mine fields. Everywhere the eye met evidences of defective work — rusty contacts, open insulations and exposed connections. There were carelessly ex- posed buoys betraying to the naked eye supposedly invisible submarine mines. The whole mine field was so badly laid that the Japanese were subsequently able to drag and explode three out of every five mines. This explains the astounding fact that during Ad- miral Togo's five dashes, some of them lasting thirty- six hours, all that he lost from torpedoes and mines was one ship, the Eatsuse, which struck a floating mine. I did a great deal of investigating the composition and geological foraiation of the gi'ound surrounding Port Arthur. I found most of the ground consisting of loose layers of lava scoriae. The comparative easy capture of the otherwise immensely strong 203 Metre Hill did not surprise me. The texture of the ground, besides having a deadening effect on shell fire, made 48 INTO THE EAST the approach to the forts by means of parallels sur- prisingly easy. The Japanese, by the way, also knew this peculiarity of the ground and used it to great advantage in their advances. I also found the forts on 174 and 131 Metre Hills as w^ell as the north fort of East Rekwan in an incompleted state. The commander of the forts, General Smyrnoff, was using strenuous efforts to complete the work, but the per- sonal animosity of General Krondrachinko, the com- mander of the general defenses, vetoed most of his suggestions. The vast sums of money which the Rus- sian central government appropriated for the fortifi- cation of Port Arthur, honestly used, would have made the place completely impregnable. It is not too much to say — and this will be borne out by any trained observer and student of the conditions then existing in and around Port Arthur — that sixty per cent, of the money for defense purposes disappeared mysteriously. All the Russian ofiScers, however, were not grafters and drunken libertines. Among them I did find men of alert and earnest character who were quite aware of the frightful conditions existing, but who were so used to them right through Russia that they viewed things with true Slavonic composure. I even found the searchlight stations back on the hills to be in a deplorable state. Indeed, on the night of Togo's second attack on Port Arthur the power plant was out of order and the searchlights which should have flooded the harbor with light were dark. The plant 49 THE SECRETS OF THE GERMAN WAR OFFICE was subsequently repaired under enormous difficulties and cost, but of no avail. Coolie spies had procured the exact location of the power house and searchlight stations and thus aided, the Japanese gunners riddled them with shell. A great deal has been said about the wonderful marksmanship of the Japanese, but for the most i)art it was due to data on exact dis- tances and locations, furnished by their spies. Although the officers were a careless, thoughtless lot, I found that the personnel of the garrison con- tained, on the whole, a good type of Russian soldier. They were not brilliant but faithful and obedient. A Russian regiment is never routed. They stand and are killed, being too stolid to run. I found most of the officers of Port Arthur to be brilliant dashing men of the world, personally of high animal courage, but self-indulgence, neglect, disbelief in hostilities and underestimation of their foe, undermined them. Among the high officials at Port x4rthur. Colonel Reiss, Commander of the Ordnance Service, stood out alone. He was the only officer, not excepting Gen- eral Stoessel himself, who seemed to realize the grav- ity of the whole situation. In long chats which I had with him, he more than hinted at the lamentable state of his ammunition. Once I asked him why these conditions were not changed and he said : " The Little Father ( the Czar ) is far away," — he shrugged expressively. Officers told me that tons and tons of ammunition bags did not contain full weight. Whole ammuni' 50 INTO THE EAST tion trucks had ouly a double la^'er of powder bags on top, the rest containing sand bags to be used only for bastions and escarpions, the money flowing into the pockets of the army contractors. I met General Stoessel at the Casino twice, and neither time did he impress me as a military genius. A soldier of the Buller type, he was bluff, hearty, courageous and stupid. His florid bearded face, thick-set figure and his deep guttural growls reminded me of a Boer Doj)- per. Among all the Kussians I met at Port Arthur, the most interesting figure was to me the great battle painter Verestshagin. I am proud to be able to say that he called me " friend." I happened to be of some assistance to him in alleviating an attack of malaria. This, with a similar taste in the arts and literature, soon put us on a friendly and intimate footing. I have met many men of letters, artists and statesmen, but never one who impressed me so much with the profundity of his learning and thought as did Verest- shagin, and I am not easily impressed. One night we were sitting on the Casino veranda overlooking the wonderful Harbor of Port Arthur. It was one of those quiet, balmy, semi-tropical nights for which this part of the world is famous, one of those crystal, clear, soundless nights, and the sil- houettes of Kussia's grim silent battle monsters rid- ing at anchor were sharply outlined on the moonlit waters of the bay. We were smoking our pipes, hav- ing just finished a long chat about the history of these 51 THE SECRETS OF THE GERMAN WAR OFFICE regions — the old Mancliu and Tartar dynastieSy liow far they had influenced and still influence the history of the world, the Volker-Wanderung — of the Huns, the Goths, and Vandals — a subject on which Verestshagin disclosed a deep store of knowledge. As the night was far advanced, I suggested that I had j)robably trespassed long enough on his kindness and hospitality. He turned around in his chair and placing his hand on my shoulder said in his soft deep voice : " IsOy Doctor Cannitz, you are doing me a service instead. I am restless to-night. I have a curious presentiment that before long these lovely hills will hear the roar of guns in earnest." Dreamily speak- ing as if to himself he continued, " And Russia will lose . . . but I shall not see it." Abruptly he looked up, sat erect in his chair and shook himself as if throTving off something that oppressed him. " Do you believe in premonition. Doctor? I know I shall find my death here soon." An indescribable shuddery sensation seemed to pass over me. I am by no means sentimental or easily moved, nor am I overly superstitious ; but I have en- countered one or two things in the course of my life which cannot be explained by rule and line. Throw- ing off my sudden strange mood, I told Verestshagin that his morbid fancies were due to his still feverish condition, and the depressing effect of over-doses of sulphate of quinine. He rose and smiled, and said: " Of course you are right, Doctor." 52 INTO THE EAST Before parting, lie gave me a little sketch of Port Arthur which I have still. I keep it as a treasured memento of one of the few really good men I have met, and one of the few from whom I had been able to part without harming. Verestshagin's premonition was fulfilled. He died — a hero's death, going down with Admiral Marakoff on the flagship of the Russian squadron six weeks later. I remained at Port Arthur for another five weeks, and exactly seven days before Togo's first night at- tack I received a cable from my government. It was in cipher, of course, and I was ordered to leave Port Arthur immediately and make my way home as there was danger of my being bottled up at any minute. It is significant that in the Intelligence Department at Berlin they knew an attack was imminent, although they did not know it at Port Arthur. Furthermore, Russian securities dropped eighteen points on the New York Stock Exchange, hours before the official knowledge of the attack came through. This informa- tion leaked out through the German Embassy in Washington. Seven days after I left, Togo made the torpedo attack in which he sank the Czarevitch, Ret- vitsan and Palada. Before I took the steamer back to Europe, I went to Kiou-Chau, the German colony in China, and filed a long report by cipher cable. Six months later I had the satisfaction of having a talk with numerou?; officers of the German General Staff and of receiying 53 THE SECRETS OF THE GERMAN WAR OFFICE compliments on the correctness of my observations, reports and predictions. Later I learned the reasons why I had been sent to Port Arthur. Germany desired to ascertain the exact relative strength of the Port Arthur defenses and Russian positions in the Far East for the follow- ing reasons : Since the time of Frederick the Great, the only power on the Continent which Germany has feared and has always been loath openly to quarrel with, is Eussia. Through the setback she received in the Far East in 1905, her influence steadily decreased in the Balkans and the recent fiasco of Russian machi- nations during the Balkan war, has made her become a secondary factor for decades to come. Germany, through her keen Intelligence Department, foresaw the result of the Russo-Japanese conflict and immedi- ately set about to undermine and destroy Russian in- fluence south of the Austrian border. By Russia's defeat in the East, the balance of the power was completely shifted. It gave Germany and Austria the desired opportunities and a free hand in the Balkans and Turkey. Had Germany through her Intelligence Department found Russia invulnera- ble in the East, the map of the Balkans would have to be painted in different colors — as you will see. 54 IV AT THE SUBLIME PORTE I WAS back in Berlin from my mission to the Far East on Mai'ch 10, 1905. The next four months were rather commonplace — odd little commissions of no particular interest or importance. On July the 5th, however, there came a hurried summons from Captain von Tappken for me to report at Koenigergratzerstrasse 70. I lost no time in get- ting around, nor did I have to wait to be ushered up. I was shown direct to the Captain's office and as he received me, I noticed that he was in a rather excited frame of mind. "Verdammt! Doctor! I am going to lose you I am requested by the Wilhelmstrasse to hand you over to them. Very annoying. I do not like to lose you from our branch here. But we must obey." I expressed my regrets. " Doctor, you are bettering yourself. It is seldom that they over there take any notice of us over here, or request the services of any of my men. But your work has attracted some attention. I shall request that your services are not entirely lost to this department. Herr Stammer will take you over. Good-by and good luck!" 55 THE SECRETS OF THE GERMAN "WAR OFFICE He gave me a hearty liandsliake and my connection with the Intelligence Department of the Imperial Navy came to an end. Stammer and I hailed a taxi and drove to the Wilhelmstrasse, where the door- keeper put me through an official ceremony similar to the procedure of Koenigergratzerstrasse 70. Stam- mer gave the commissaire his card and we were shown into a chamber and bidden to wait. I was frankly curious about what was in store for me, but I knew better by now than to ask questions. Presently there entered a tall, thin, iron-gray gentleman, the very type of a Prussian bureaucrat. Walking with quick nervous steps to his desk, he acknowledged our bows with a curt nod and turning to Stammer he said : "Well, Stammer?" " This is Dr. Graver, your Excellency." " Ah, yes. Sehr schon. Contey my thanks to Cap- tain Tappken, Stammer." Stammer then bowing himself out, I was asked to step into an anteroom. There a secretary took me in hand and informed me that the tall, thin, iron- gray gentleman was Graf Botho von Wedel, Wirk- licher Geheimrat and Vortragender Rab Botho Kaiser — (Privy Councilor to the German Emperor). So — Count Wedel. H'm ! Although this was the first time I had seen the Count, I had heard a great deal about him. The Emperor's Privy Councilor and right hand was the head of the political sections of the Secret Service. This promised to be interesting. I wondered what the likely upshot would be, but I 56 AT THE SUBLIME PORTE was interrupted in my soliloquy by a summons to re- enter the Count's chamber. I was shown to a seat. Graf Wedel looked me over carefully and minutely for a considerable length of time with a frank stare of appraisal. " How old are you, Doctor? " I must confess my extreme youth always made this question one of secret annoyance. " Twenty-five, your Excellency." " Very young, very young." He stared at me again and after a pause said; " Yet the reports about your work are satisfactory and show discretion and intelligence above your years." I bowed in acknowledgment. " Yon will from now on," he said, " become attached to this section of the Service. You will be trusted with some very grave and important matters. You will receive your orders and instructions only from me. You will report only to me direct. On no ac- count will you see any subordinate or any person, no matter what his official status, without my expressed permission. Verstehen sie? " "* Yes, sir." ' For funds," he continued, " you will apply to my s'-;retary. Of your expenses you will furnish a r Dnthly account. How soon can you be ready to go I i a mission?" I told him in two hours. " Good ! " he exclaimed ; " the sooner the better. 57 TPIE SECRETS OF THE GERMAN WAR OFFICE This is what I want you to do. You will go at once to Constantinople and find out which of the court officials are in French and Russian pay. You will find out the favorites of the high officials and officers, especially the nationality of these women. I will not give you any points of introductions. They might lead you to be suspected. They are a crafty lot down there. Be careful and take your time. You know nothing can be done in a hurry down in that country," — he paused as if waiting for questions from me. We discussed a few minor points then he said : "Your official number with us from now on will be 1734. You will always use 17 to sign personal cipher messages sent to me. You will use 34 in sign- ing official reports and communications." The necessary arrangements for my preliminary expenses were discussed with one of his secretaries and I then went back to my quarters to think over a plan of campaign and prepare myself for the mission. The transfer from Captain Tappken's department pleased me for I knew that at the Wilhelmstrasse I would be in closer touch with the bigger affairs of diplomacy. Tappken had hinted at my finding favor with the Wil- helmstrasse and I guessed that coming on top of my Port Arthur success a delicate private mission was responsible for it. To cite the case : Germany keeps a watch on all her officers. When one of them is spending more money than his income, he is promptly investigated. I recalled how they had sent me to the Spandau Garrison to inquire into the 58 AT THE SUBLIME PORTE affairs of an officer who was too lavish with his money to suit the Intelligence Department. He was an ord- nance officer in a small arms factory at Spandau and it was the natural conclusion that he was obtaining this extra money by selling state secrets. I encountered, however, an entirely different situa- tion. I learned that he was absolutely innocent on that score but that he was receiving money from a certain princess who had become infatuated with him. She was of a very high house and I realized that her name could not be mentioned in a report to Captain Tappken. This situation required delicate treatment. I solved the dilemma by reporting to Tappken that the ordnance officer was guiltless of any act of trea- son against his country. I then made a private re- port, covering the intimate facts, which went direct to officials of higher responsibility. The princess' name did not appear as far as subordinates were con- cerned and the whole affair was hushed up. My for- tunate discretion in this matter undoubtedly strength- ened my standing with the Wilhelmstrasse. By this time I had installed myself in quiet quar- ters on the Mittelstrasse, and Kim, who had been transformed from a Basuto boy into an efficient man servant, looked after my comforts. To secure myself from the questions of prying neighbors, I had caused it to be known that I was a retired South African planter inclined to poor health. This was the most likely explanation for my curious mode of living and my sudden periodical disappearances, for I was away 59 THE SECRETS OF THE GERMAN WAR OFFICE from the Mittelstrasse for montlis at a time. Pre- sumably I was traveling about to the different water- ing places on the Continent for my health. My mission to Constantinople called for some con- siderable thought in selecting the most advisable character to impersonate. A tourist came first to mind. A tourist was out of the question, because tourists do not stay long in one place and I expected to be three or four months in Turkey. There was nothing to study in Constantinople. I thought of a student of botany, the role I had used at Port Arthur. But that would not do. The idea of a mer- chant came to me, but I dismissed the idea of a pros- perous merchant, for it would necessitate making business connections, a careful and slow process, the fulfillment of which would consume entirely too much time. I finally decided to travel as a physician, or to use the Turkish word a Hakim. A Hakim is al- ways accorded respect, even reverence, by Turks and Arabs. This character determined upon, I went to the telephone and requested the Service Intelligence Department to give me letters of introduction to the German hospital and the Pera Hospital in Con- stantinople. They were sent to me signed by the authorities of the Charitee in Berlin and described that I was going to study tropical and Asiatic diseases and requested that the hospitals give me every facility for research work. I had Kim pack a case of medical instruments and told him to have everything in readiness to leave Berlin that 60 AT THE SUBLIME PORTE night, OL the Orient Express. He was necessary to my plans and was to accompany me. A messenger from Weoel brought a few final verbal instructions, my funds 2nd sealed instructions. I was bidden to keep away from all offlcial German intercourse in Constantinople. Wedel might have saved himself the trouble of that word of caution for I knew enough of the subtle Oriental mind to keep away from any- thing that would raise the slightest suspicion in re- gard to my identity. If I pride myself on anything, it is a knowledge of Eastern character. With the in- structions were a thousand marks cash and a draft for 5000 marks on the Ottoman Bank of Constanti- nople that had been deposited in my name. It may strike the reader as curious that I took Kim with me, but I knew he could be of tremendous use to me in Constantinople. In addition to speak- ing his Kaffir dialects, he knew Arabic. Any negro boy who could speak Arabic could learn almost any- thing in Constantinople, which abounds in black men of all tribes and nationalities. Among the servants of every household, Kim would find many compati-iots from whom he could get information, impossible for any European to obtain. After an uneventful trip to Constantinople, I took preliminary quarters in the Brasserie Kor, a quiet, second-rate hostelry on the Rue Osmanly. I went to an unpretentious place to avoid attracting any par- ticular attention. Had I put up at an expensive hotel there would immediately have been queries about me. 61 THE SECRETS OF THE GERMAN AVAR OFFICE Who is this stranger? He seems to have^ money. If it isn't his money, whose money is he spending? It is not well to invite a Turk's suspicion. As I was totally unacquainted with Constantinople, I used the first week for getting familiar with the geography of the city. It was necessary that I learn the location of the various legations and the residences of high court officials. The next week I found lodgings in the very center of the district of court residences and began to seek out the haunts and places of rendezvous of demi-mondaines, favorites and Ziangers-on of the Turkish officials. On the second day of my arrival, I had presented my credentials and letters at the German Pera Hospital, and had my name entered as a visiting honorary surgeon. Every day thereafter, rain or shine, I made it a point to spend some time at these hospitals, and it was well that I did. Once a day and often twice I would sign the book at the hospital and I believe that the signature Dr. Franz von Graver appears on the record books of the Pera and German Hospitals in Constantinople, at least one hundred times. Was I not fulfilling my duties as a physician doing research work? I finally located myself in the residential district of Pera where I rented a small residence, typical of the well-to-do Turk of the middle class and quite in keeping with my assumed character. An elaborate residence would have aroused immediate suspicion, for there is no country on earth where curiosity and suspicion is so easily roused as in Turkey. Kipling, 62 AT THE SUBLIME PORTE Who knows the East so well, portrayed Port Said as the dwelling place of concentrated wickedness. He Is right, but I do not think he has ever visited Stam- boul. In Stamboul there is ^dth no exception the most conglomerate mixture of nondescript nationali- ties on the face of the earth. Not only are all na- tionalities represented but breeds of men that defy all pathological research, hideous in their conglomer- ate intermixtures. If an Albanian bandit, himself a mixture of Greek and Nubian mulatto, has issue by an Arab woman with French blood — find the gen- ealogy. Can you imagine a more difficult field of operations for an Occidental and a stranger? In the course of my preliminary observations, I found Constantinople to be a city of sharp contrasts. The quarters inhabited by your true Ottoman are char- acteristically clean and comfortable. The remainder of the city except foreign quarters is intolerably dirty. With true Oriental tolerance, the Turk lets things gang their ain gait. The casual observer and traveler always confounds the Turk with the rest of the nondescript mass of humanity that swarms in Constantinople. That is a crass mistal\:e. Your true descendant of Ossman is a clean, dignified, easy-go- ing gentleman with a deep philosophical strain in his make-up, contaminated by hundreds of years of con- tact — not association, for your true Turk does not associate — with the outcast Mischling of southern Europe and Asia Minor. My mission was indeed a difficult one and only by 63 THE SECRETS OP THE GEEMAN WAR OFFICE tedious, painstaking work, obsei'ving the life of the city and its character, I succeeded in isolating the individual who gave me the key to the circumventuous political life and the government of Constantinople. It took me a full month of night work to become familiar with the innumerable demi-mondaines. They were of French, Russian and Circassian birth and extraction, and were identified with the various Turkish court officials from the Grand Vizier down to an officer in the Ganitsharies. This preliminary work is always exhausting, but it is so necessary on a mission of this kind. One blunder, one step in the dark, and you are gone. One sfjends months with- out any tangible results, often going on the wrong track. One has to be excruciatingly circumspect in one's inquiries. To use a hunter's expression, there is no quariy so wary, sharp-sighted and keen at smell- ing the wind as a political demi-mondaine. In this work Kim was of inestimable value to me. In fact, without him I w^ould not have succeeded at all. All the households kept by the Turkish officials and their favorites swarm with negroes of the various types. A white man has not the slightest chance of finding the way into their confidences. The univer- sal golden key does not unloose tongues in such cases in the Orient. But Kim as a member of the once mighty Zulu nation (he was really a descendant of a prince of the house of Dingaan) was able, through a mysterious free masonry still existing among col- 64 AT THE SUBLIME PORTE ored races the world over, to obtain most valuable information. My method of campaign was to ascertain the name of one of the favorites of the Turkish officials, to lo- cate her residence and then put Kim to work. Finally locating one of these women, I would manage to learn her name and where she lived. Then it was time for Kim. " Kim," I said, " I want you to find out who comes to see her, whether it is always the same official and if so, how frequently. I want you to learn every- thing you can about any letters she may receive. I want to know just where she gets her money from, if she has any outside sources of revenue, other than in Constantinople. I want every scrap of any kind of information about her." And Kim would go his way, seek out the servants in that household and he would generally come back with all this information. Now I noticed that a certain Mile. Balniaux was very much in the company of Abdulla, who was at that time the influential adviser of the Grand Vizier. It was known in Berlin that the Grand Vizier had lately become very deaf and antagonistic to German influ- ence. The Wilhelmstrasse knew that France and Russia were at work, but were in the dark as to the channels. Therefore I sent Kim to ascertain if Mile. Balniaux was visited by Abdulla at her private resi- dence. I told him to learn the exact hour of ar- 65 THE SECRETS OF THE GERMAN WAR OFFICE rival in each instance and the length of the visits. The bare fact that Abdulla might be seen in her com- pany in public bore no j)articular significance. These women are always accompanied by a whole retinue of officers and young Turkish noblemen. It is part of their work. Their method of procedure is to bewitch young officers and officials, attach them to their person, make them spend huge sums of money and then play their card. I noticed that the money Turkish officers squandered on these women com- pared to their pay and income was tremendous. They think nothing of going ahead blindly and buying the most expensive jewels; I have seen them even buy motorcars. The result is not difficult to forecast. The young officer soon finds himself head over heels in debt. Two courses are open to him. Either he must pay the debt or be transferred to some dreary interior post, and a Turk who has been in the gay life of Constantinople would rather commit suicide than go to any inland garrison. Those women then pay the debts, exacting state secrets as the price of their timely assistance. Abdulla, therefore, might only be one of these hangers-on. Kim established connections with Mile. Balniaux's household and soon I had the required in- formation. He brought me letters and scraps of paper that Mile. Balniaux's dark skinned servants had stolen for him. He supplemented this by con- versations that the servants had overheard and told to Kim. All this showed me that more by good luck 66 AT THE SUBLBIE PORTE I had stumbled upon the hotbed of the prime mover of the whole intrigue, Mile. Balniaux. There was not the slightest hope of intimidating or buying over this particular lady's allegiance. I had to learn exactly who was subsidizing her machinations and there was no possibility of obtaining the clew from her. I must find the accessible iDerson among her inti- mate friends. From time to time I had seen her with a pretty little dark-haired girl who danced In the Folies Arabic. I learned her name was Ce- celia Coursan. I began to frequent the Folies, a kind of cabaret crowded every night with Turkish oflicers. Admiration was no longer a delight to her and she accepted it with a wooden smile. The Folies is quite dissimilar from its European or American prototypes, by reason of its Oriental at- mosphere. Most of the year round it is conducted in the open. Picture a large court, the center of which is covered with a priceless Smyrna carpet. Seated around on little divans and silk cushions are the principal native performers, Neulah girls wearing the teasing Yamashk, covering half their faces al- though the rest of their figures are visible through gauzy Damascene shawls. The European performer.';!, dressed in the latest and most startling Paris crea- tions, flirt and flitter among the audience — seated around on dainty marble-topped bamboo tables, in- haling, in the case of Madame, a dainty ^^ Regie," or if Bey or Effendi, a Tshibuk or Narghile, gravely drawing on the amber mouthpiece and slowly ex- 67 THE SECRETS OF THE GERMAN WAR OFFICE haling the perfumed smoke. The gorgeous officers^ uniforms, mostly a vivid red, blue and gold; the pic- turesque flowing robes and burnouses, with here and there a six-foot stalwart silk trousered Albanian with gold and silver inlaid daggei*s and pistols thrust in his sash, make a picture reminding one of the Sheherezade. Observing that everybody was bent on spoiling this popular little houri by emphatic admiration, I made myself conspicuous by a peculiarly British stony in- difference. Nor was I wrong in my tactics. The piqued little dancer was not to be ignored. One night she approached my table and challenged me in French, at which I gave a noncommittal smile. I pretended that I did not know French. Then she tried indifferent German and I looked at her with puzzled blankness. Finally she spoke to me in a piquant English and I answered. She spoke English extremely well and it developed that she had been a choriphyee at the London Empire, I let the acquaint- ance grow leisurely. One night I found her in a fit of despondency, over a quarrel with her friend. Mile. Balniaux. My subterfuge getting effective, I was just beginning to ply her with questions when a Turk- ish officer full of cognac w^andered by and dropped a remark to her in French. It went against the grain for those swine to cast Innuendoes to a white woman and forgetting my play acting, I told him his com- ments were uncalled for and advised him to draw in his horns a bit. After a little bluster to which I an- grily replied in French, he disappeared, and, as I sat 68 AT THE SUBLIME PORTE down at the table, Cecelia was looking at me with a queer smile. "I thought you did not understand French," she said. " I observe you have a pretty good Parisian accent," Then the full significance of my blunder came to me and I felt like the classic capricornus, meaning goat. She said she was tired of the Folies that night and suggested a drive. I called a careta and as we were driving down the boulevard I said to her: " Is this existence always pleasant? Is it not as it was with that officer, often unendurable? " She replied in a bantering tone, only half hiding a hurt undernote. " I'm getting used to it," she said. " A Turkish pig is no worse than an English cad or a German boor." The typical, philandering Broadway or Bond Street masher makes the physiological mistake of un- dervaluing the innate sense of decency inherent in every woman. Gentle courtesy and manners impress a courtesan by reason of the novelty. The inverse is often useful in dealing with a pampered society woman. Much to the annoyance of the Turkish officers, I often thereafter took the pretty Cecelia away from the Folies, after her performance, for a drive, and I began to compare her small confidences with certain bits of information that Kim had given me. I knew, or I could pretty well guess, that she was not staying 69 THE SECRETS OF THE GERMAN WAR OFFICE in Constantinople, enduring the insults of those Turkish officers, simply for the money she could earn as a dancer. Then I made my second dramatic play for contidence. I suddenly stopped going to the Folies. I supijose it was rather lonesome in Con- stantinople and a man who was not a Turk was a novelty. One afternoon she sent for me and I was confronted with a human situation which I must in this narrative of Secret Service operations treat as impersonal though it is full of pathetic implications. I found her with her luggage j^acked. " Why haven't you come to the Folies lately? " she demanded with a pretty air of bossing the situation. I told her my work at the hospital had made heavy inroads upon my time. " Oh ! " she began, tapping a little boot impatiently on the floor ; after a pause, " I have to leave for Paris. , . . Well?" " That is most unfortunate." "Is that all?" " To say anything more would only be painful, Ma- chere Cecelia." " But there is no need of our being blue. Why not make the occasion a happy one? Why not come along to Paris? " She looked up at me with an impudent little smile. " My dear little girl," I said, " I am no man of means and I cannot go gadding about Europe. Be- 70 AT THE SUBLIME PORTE sides, I have my work here. I will be busy at the hos- pital for another month." That seemed to displease her. She looked at me carefully, unconsciously her manner changed. She became someAvhat appraising. It seemed as though a different woman was speaking, " Franz," she said, " a man like you is wasting his time pottering around a hospital with your evident knowledge of the world and people. With your edu- cation and travels you ought to be veiy valuable to cer- tain men back in Paris." I felt what was coming, but I asked her to explain. She did so and from her I received a tentative offer to enter the French Secret Service. I had difficulty in mastering the muscles of my face to keep from betraying the laughter that was almost ready to break out. Very gravely I asked her to tell me more about Secret Sei'vice. Proudly, Cecelia showed me letters that she had received from Paris. From the addresses and the signatures I thus learned the individuals in direct control of the system that was undermining German influence by using demi-mondaines such as Mile. Balniaux. I gathered that Cecelia Coursan was only a go-between for Mile. Balniaux in making her reports to the French government. I asked her some more questions, exclaiming that her proposal inter- ested me tremendously. I pretended to be particularly anxious as to what pay I would receive were I to come to an understand- 71 THE SECRETS OP THE GERMAN WAR OFFICE ing witli " lier friend in Paris." She assured me it was liberal and urged me to hasten to Paris. I told her that as soon as I finished my work at the hos- pitals I would do so. She then asked me to take charge of her mail and to forward any lettera that might come for her. I did — to the Wilhelmstrasse. That incident is one of those in my Secret Service work of which I am not entirely proud. Of course from my viewpoint Cecelia Coursan was not a woman, she was simply the paid agent of another govern- ment and it was a case of her wits against mine; at least with this sophistry I quieted my doubts. Three years later I found the same little woman in an obscure cafe in Antwerp. She was no longer in the French Service. I concluded that her blunder in Constantinople had " broken " her, for she seemed to have gone down the ladder. She did not recog- nize me, but as she seemed to be in straitened circum- stances, I found a way to assist her to at least three months' board and lodging by sending her anony- mously 500 francs. It was conscience money. When I had thus located and coupled up the chiefs of the French Secret Service with the situation in Constantinople, I began quietly to cultivate the ac- quaintance of the average Turkish officer. I had to learn the tendency of their thoughts. I met officers and merchants, administrators and students. From them all I learned that they were sick of the intrigues and wire-pulling of the harems. I learned of the dis- content of the Young Turk party. I gathered that 72 AT THE SUBLIME PORTE ' " ■* '• the time was ripe for an overturning of the govern* ment. In my report I made a correct forecast of the trend of affairs. I drew attention to Enver Bey, who was even then considered, clever, even dangerous, by V.?. Grand Vizier. As a most aggressive Young Turk, Iv r had sent him to an obscure post in Thessalonia, bi. upon sounding out the younger ofificei*s I found that he was still regarded highly. Without doubt my reports in addition to the reports made by von der Golz, the accredited German instructor of the Turkish Anny, helped to shape the policy of the Ger- man Foreign Office. I learned beyond all doubt that the Sultan Abdul Hamid was nothing but a figure- head, that the Grand Vizier, bought by Russian and French gold, was running the government in a way that was antagonistic to German influences and that the swarms of demi-mondaines in French and Rus- sian pay were corrupting the higher Turkish officials to their cause. All these things I included in my report and after four months I was back in Berlin. To better understand the diplomatic significance of this mission, I shall recast the political situation. The modem German policy in the European Orient, inaugurated by Bismarck as a defense and check against Russia, has always been keen on the friend- ship and good wt.11 of the Turk for reasons which will be obvious enough later. During the Caprivi Chancellorship, the relation between the two empires became rather lax. Wilhelm II with his keen far- sightedness set about to remedy this. In his usual 73 THE SECRETS OF THE GERMAN WAR OFFICE spectacular, but in most cases efficient, manner, lie went with his royal consort in state to Palestine, calling first on the Sultan. The tremendously enthu- siastic reception that the Moslem countries accorded him is a matter of contemporary history. This was really a master stroke of diplomacy although sharply criticised at the time. Until the Kaiser's visit, France, with more or less right, considered herself jprotector general of all Mo- hammedans. From now on this began to change. The immediate result of the Emperor's visit was a close understanding between the Wilhelmstrasse and the Sublime Porte. The buying of vast quantities of guns, ammunition, and the influx of Prussian of- ficers and drilling instructions, besides huge orders of all sorts of German goods was significant. The always uneasy jealousy of France and Russia was at once aroused, England, in this instance, not taking any decided stand in affairs. England had spent many lives and much money, notably in the Crimean War, to keep Russia out of Turkey and was averse to encouraging Russo-French influences at the Sublime Porte. How far England would like either Germany or France to acquire control of the Dar- danelles remains to be seen. With Russia, it has been bloody wars and grim struggles since the days of Catherine, misnamied the Great, to gain control of the Dardanelles. Unceasing intrigues have been and are still going on in Stamboul. Russia's influence has been steadily undermined by Germany, in Turkey 74 AT THE SUBLIME PORTE and Asia Minor. Since tlie disastrous campaign against Japan, Russia has made strenuous efforts to recoup her sphere of influence through her coalition of the principal Balkan States. Of this you will learn later. Germany, always including Austria (the external policy of both countries on all these questions is synonymous), found French-Russian influences at work. Through their marvelous, efficient Intelli- gence System, Germany soon learned who were the prime movers and puppets ; in this instance the Grand Vizier and the Seraglio officers; the then sultan, Ab- dul Hammid, " The Damned," being completely cowed and under the thumb of his Grand Vizier, could not be relied on for a moment. After my mission they knew in Germany that the time was ripe for a radical change, and they engineered it. Result: A revolu- tion and the Young Turks in power, with Enver Bey, Tuofick Pasha, Ibrahim Mander Bey and similar men, with German training and learning, directing af- fairs. Germany regained complete sway and is to- day easily the most powerful influence in Turkey. What significance this has on the general bearing of European politics, I shall discuss in a later chapter. 7B A THE GRAND DUKE'S LETTER FTyR a number of more or less strenuous mis- sions, I felt thoroughly run down. During the Boer War I had been shot through the left lung and now I began to experience trouble. A series of hemorrhages brought about by unchecked cold and ex- posure, led me to consult Professor Bayer, the noted specialist in Berlin. He advised me to get away from everything for a month at least, recommending the pine ozone. There is no lack of pine forests in Germany or Nor- way ; and I had plenty of acquaintances in both coun- tries. To any one of them I would have been welcome, but this would have entailed social obligations and I wanted to be absolutely alone. There were but two of my friends at whose places I could do exactly as I wished, where man and beast knew me. One, whose place was in the Pushta, Hungary, was probably away on a hunting trip and Hungary was too remote. The other, a schoolmate of mine, lived near Furstenwalde, about fifty-eight kilometers from Berlin. Fursten- walde, I decided, was an ideal spot, near Berlin, yet isolated enough and in the heart of one of the largest of the well-cared-for Prussian domain forests. So 76 THE GRAND DUKE'S LETTER Elirenkrug, the seat of the Koenigliche Oher Forsterei and the family seat of the Freiherren von Ehrenkrug, vas the place I selected. I had enjoyed three weeks of rest and quietness, do- ing some desultory fishing and shooting but spending most of my time in a hammock slung under some of the giant Fichten, when my sylvan idyl was disturbed by the red-faced, stub-nosed post boy of the Forsterei. He brought me a letter from Graf Wedel, an aston- ishing missive. Dear Graves: I hope your health, has improved sufficiently for you to attend to this matter. Be pleased to understand that this is by no means an official command. However, I need not point out to you the ad- vantages, accruing to you through your assistance in the case. The matter briefly is this. I have been approached by the Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerein to assist him in the solving of a rather delicate private affair. It is outside the usual routine but we find it advisable to comply. The mission is delicate and leads into Eng- land, for which reasons I have decided to let you undertake the af- fair if willing. In case of acceptance, all necessary leave of absence will be arranged. This is not a command but let me again point out the advisability of your showing compliance. Truly yours, V. Wedel. Three weeks in the pine forests had been better than all the physicians in Berlin. Besides, I was tired of the monotonous country life and was hungry for the fleshpots of Egypt. Between the lines of Wedel's letter I could read the opportunities for earn- ing a handsome fee. I wrote Wedel that I had no ob- jections, providing the mission was something I could 77 THE SECRETS OF THE GERMAN WAR OPP^ICE accomplish, for I was still in the dark as to its nature, I knew that intruding into the private affairs of ducal and princely houses is often a most unthankful busi- ness. I have ever found it more satisfactory and less nerve racking to undertake a mission into some for- eign country than to become involved with some pett}' local affair of royalty. For some such affair I judged to be the dilemma of the house of Mecklenburg- Schwerein. Within two days there came another communica- tion from Wedel asking me to be at ]Mecklenburg- Schwerein on a certain immediate day. Taking leave of my friends, and thanking them for their hospi- tality, I left for Schwerein. Upon my arrival at the seat of the dukedom I was met by a quiet landau of the Grand Ducal stables. Two flunkies in the Grand Duke's livery took my luggage, escorted me to the carriage and I was driven up to the old castle. The landau took me to a side entrance and I was promptly shown into an austere and unpretentious chamber. Scarcely had I entered when a quiet, eld- erly, benevolent-looking gentleman dressed in a shoot- ing jacket appeared in another doorway, evidently much perturbed. I at once recognized him as the old Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerein. He ap- praised me for fully a minute ; then as if to himself he said: " You're only a boy, but I suppose they know," shaking his great gray head. " Strange times. Strange times." Then suddenly realizing his inhos 78 THE GRAND DUKE'S LETTER pitalitj, he urged me to be seated. ^' Take a seat, take a seat." Unlike the gentlemen of the Wilhelmstrasse, he did not plunge immediately into the subject at hand. He began a chat with me about purely personal af- fairs. Finally the conversation drifting around to the cause of my visit, he said : " Can you fulfill this mission? " I told him I could not say until I had learned what it was. I requested that he give me the privilege of refusal should I find myself unable to negotiate it successfully. He agreed that it was fair and when he looked at me again he seemed to suggest that he did not believe me so young after all. " There's rather an unhappy and most inconvenient entanglement in my household," he began. " My nephew, the young Grand Duke, is tangled up and ensnarled with a certain lady in England whom he wishes to marry. It is unfortunate that she is of too high a social status to be entirely ignored or roughly bought off. Still, she is not eligible for admission into our house. For more than political reasons, it is impossible that she enter into an alliance with us." His eyes flashed. " This lady has lately threatened to make trouble through my persistent refusal to counte- nance her desired relationship." He frowned. " She has in her possession compromising letters and docu- ments which my nephew was foolish enough to give her. These must be returned to my hands. Mone- tary questions need not be considered for a moment. 79 THE SECRETS OF THE GERMAN WAR OFFICE Pressure and influence have been tried on both my nephew and the lady. But of no avail. The means I leave to you. But force and publicity must at all cost be avoided. I can give you very little help as to procedure and information. What do you think of the chances? " It has ever been my way to be conservative in mak- ing promises and I said: " I hope your Highness will pardon me, but I find it often undesirable to voice my thoughts until I have reached a certain stage of my investigations." This appeared to impress him and he rose saying : " I am entirely in your hands. Communicate di- rect with my chamberlain, or if necessary to use cable, I shall arrange with your chief in Berlin for forward- ing facilities. Be good enough to wait and I shall send you my secretary." Slapping me on the shoul- der, "You'll not regret it, helping us out of this quandary." Neither did I. The Grand Duke stalked out. A flunky appeared and conducted me to a private little dining-room where cold game and wine were served and at the end of which the secretary came in and handed me an envelope with the Grand Duke's compli- ments and a request to start at once on my mission. Assuring him I would be on the road that same night, I returned to Berlin. I got Stammer of the Wilhelm- strasse on the telephone and requested a preliminary two months' leave of absence. I then caught the Hook of Holland Express en route for London. 80 THE GRAND DUKE'S LETTER Upon opening the Grand Duke's letter I had found it contained three bank notes of 1000 marks each and a draft for 500 pounds on the English, Scottish and Colonial Bank, with a note saying that any future re- quest would be honored at three days' notice to the same bank. Thus I would have all the money I wanted in London. On the way over, I followed my usual custom and considered the situation in detail. The lady in ques- tion was in society and the first thing to do was to try to get in touch with the little circle or clique in which she moved. This might have been difficult in any other city but London. But a man of appearance, culture and money, setting his stage right, can with tact and persistence force an entry into any clique of London society. The only thing I had to worry about was a setting of my stage. I was undecided about it. One often has to leave things to circumstances, being guided by any momentaiy points that may arise. My first task was to create an imi)ression, something that would get people talking about me. I did not want to show any sensational parvenuism ; London is not impressed by that. Rather, I must become known for some eccen- tricity that would arouse legitimate curiosity. Your Britisher, the women included, are always interested in a man of travel, a hunter, a desultoiy globe-trotter ; and nothing attracts the English mind so quickly as a well-bred eccentricity in manner or habit. The broad 81 THE SECRETS OF THE GERMAN WAR OFFICE lines of my plan determined upon, I left the precise setting of the stage until the last minute. I quartered myself at first at the Russel Square Hotel, in a few days transferring to the patrician Langham. I began by making tentative inquiries. I purchased all society papers which I read from cover to cover, and then carefully feeling my way put fur- ther questions that Avould locate the set in which my lady was a central figure. From acquaintances I made around the hotel, from the society re- porters of newspapers, I began to get little scraps of information. Fortunately it was the season in London and everybody w^as coming into town. I soon knew who the Lady's intimates were and their favorite rendezvous. The next step was to become familiar with the personality of the lady and to gain some idea as to her habits, her likes and dislikes. I heard that the lady was in the habit of going horse- back riding in Hyde Park. Every day I made it my business to take a two-hour canter along the bridle path. My patience was rewarded on the fifth morn- ing, for I saw her galloping by with a party of friends. The next morning I was on the bridle i)ath at the same hour. Finally she came galloping along with the same group, and after they had almost gone from sight, I galloped after them. I found out where they kept their horses and after they had dismounted I sauntered up to the stable and made inquiries. I learned that they always went out at the same time of day. Thereafter I made it my business to pass the 82 THE GRAND DUKE'S LETTER lady ou the bridle path day after day. I pride mj^self on few things, but my horsemanship is one of them. Many a hard tussle and bleeding nose I got riding Brumbies across the wild tracks of Australia. I also learned a trick or two among my Tuareg friends which I exhibited for the lady's benefit on various occasions. I did not hope to gain an introduction, but only to at- tract attention and familiarize her party with my ap- pearance, applying one of the test points of human psychology. I employed the theory of the subcon- scious attraction of an often-seen, though unknown face. I soon ascertained that my lady and her friends followed all the whims of London society. One in particular interested me. They were in the habit of frequenting Carlton Terrace between three and four every afternoon and eating strawberries. I also went to eat strawberries. Carlton Terrace during the strawberry season is an exquisitely colored fashion plate of life's butterflies and drones. This throng of fashion and beauty, marked with its air of distinction carelessly aban- doned to i)leasure, ever murmuring pleasant nothings and tossing light persiflage from table to table, is truly an interesting study of the lighter sides of life. One sits on a magnificent markee-covered, glass-en- closed terrace, overlooking the Thames with its ever= changing scenes of fussy tugs and squat barges. At Carlton Terrace one pays well for the subtleties of eating. By courteous consideration of the wait- 83 THE SECRETS OF THE GERMAN WAR OFFICE resses I managed to secure a mucli-coveted. outside corner table, near to the one reserved for the lady and her party. I always made it a point to withhold my entrance until the lady was in the terrace; then I would stroll in alone, take a seat alone, and show a desire to be alone. They have a very clever way of serving strawberries at the Carlton. A vine, grow- ing from ten to twelve large luscious berries is brought on in a silver, pot. It is the acme of luxury. You pick the fresh berries from the vine on your table, the Terrace supplies quantities of cream, and you pay half a sovereign — f 2.50 — for a dish of strawberries. One dish is enough for the average customer. Every afternoon I ordered five ! Day after day I consumed in strawberries two sov- ereigns and a half — 112.50 — of the Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerein's money. Always tipping the girl a half sovereign which made my daily strawberry bill come up to three sovereigns (|15) . For about ten days I did this, alwajs at the same time, always being careful to make my entrance after the lady's party was seated, always ordering the same number of por- tions, always giving the girl the same tip. It wasn't long before I began to be observed. I soon saw that not only the attendants but the patrons of the Terrace w^ere becoming interested in my foible. One day as I passed I heard someone say : " Here comes the sti'awberry fiend.'* I was satisfied. I knew it would be easy now to effect an entrance to the lady's set. I had been 84 THE GRAND DUKE'S LETTER marked as something out of the usual in the restau- rant which from three to four in the afternoon at that time of the year is the most fashionable in London. 'So^Y, a woman like my lady does not flirt. If you glance at her under favorable conditions, such as my strawberiy " stunt " had created for me, she will re- turn the glance. You both half smile and do not look at each other again that afternoon. That is not flirting. Splitting hairs, we shall call it psychic in- terest. I continued my strawberry festival and one day a manager of Carlton Terrace told me that people were making inquiries about me. Several men had wanted to know who I was. Under questioning, he told me that one of the men was a member of the lady's set. [t was easy to put together two and two. Obviously i.he inquiry had been inspired by her. Meanwhile I had sent several communications to the Grand Duke, insisting that pressure be brought to bear upon his nephew and to keep him away from London; not even permitting him under penalty of stopping his allowance, to write the lady in the case until the Grand Duke gave his permission. By now, London had gradually filled and the season was at its height. I went the rounds of the theaters from Drury Lane to the Empire, and I visited the clubs. I found here men whom I had met previously and presently I rounded up two or three fellows with whom I had been fairly intimate at one time or another on hunt- ing exjjeditions and at continental watering-places. 85 THE SECRETS OF THE GERMAN WAR OFFICE I made them introduce me to different sets. Dexter- ous maneuvering obtained me invitations to afternoon teas and at-homes in the same circle frequented by my lady. I was introduced to her at an afternoon reception. She was a typical outdoor Englishwoman. Not par- ticularly handsome, but possessing to the full the clearness of skin and eyes and strong virile health, that is the hereditary lien of Albion's daughters. Tall, willowy and strong, of free and independent man- ners and habits, she was the direct antithesis of the usual German woman. I reasoned that this was prob- ably the reason of the young Duke's infatuation. " How do you do, you wild Colonial boy. Still a.s fond of strawberries as ever? " We both burst out laughing. " So your ladyship observed and classified my little maneuvers." " Of course," with a toss of her head. Unforced and pleasant chatting followed. I could more and more understand the Grand Duke's infatua* tion ; in fact, considered him quite a " deuced, lucky beggar." From that day on I made it a point to be present whenever she attended public places, such as the thea- ter, concerts or restaurants. Gradually and imper- ceptibly, by little services here and there, I won her confidence. There was an after-theater supper, in the Indian room of the Windsor, and I was invited. By this time people had come to know something about 86 THE GRAND DUKE'S LETTER me. I was a globe-trotter, a man of leisure, inter- ested as a hobby in research work in medicine. I dis- covered that her affair w4th the young Grand Duke was a fairly open secret in her set; also, that she was expecting him in London almost daily. Gradually I hinted that I knew the young Grand Duke. As I gained her confidence further, I invented amorous af- fairs for him and hinted to her about them. In this way I finally managed to induce her to talk. Subtly I instilled a vague resentment against him, which was accentuated by his non-appearance in London society up to now. His Highness having been kept away by his Serene Uncle, the serene one having been cautioned to do so by me. Two months passed before I was invited to the lady's home in Mayfair and by that time, partly be- cause I pretended to know the young Grand Duke, I was on a more intimate footing. I had learned that she had met him at a hunting party at the Earl of Crewes' shooting box in Shropshire. Later, she inti- mated that this was but their official meeting and that their acquaintance actually dated from a mountain trip she had taken to Switzerland, the universal play- ground of royalty traveling incog. I learned too that her heavy bridge gambling had cost her a lot of money. The information that the lady was in debt did not come easily. To obtain it, I had to work on her maid. Whenever the occasion arose, I made it my business to tip the maid liberally. I contrived to do a number of little things for her. Knowing the lady to be out, I 87 THE SECRETS OF THE GERMAN WAR OFFICE called at the house one day and while pretending to be waiting for my hostess, I put some leading questions to the maid. I learned that her mistress was pressed for money. That was an openiiig worth working on. Thereafter I contrived to be present whenever there was a bridge party at the lady's. They are pretty high gamblers, those English society w^omen, and 1 came to see that the lady Avas generally a heavy loser. It was my good fortune for her to lose to me one night Now, it is the custom at these gatherings not to hand over cash; instead, the unlucky one pays with what corresponds to an " on demand note." I took her note that night and with others — the whereabouts of which I learned from the maid and which I indirectly purchased from the holders — I took all these to a no* torious money-lender and made a deal with him. He was to take the notes and press the lady for payment, of course keeping my name out of it. It is obvious that, trying as I was to win her confidence, I could not go myself and hold these obligations over her head. That same day the money-lender paid the lady a calL He paid her a good many other calls, harassing her, threatening legal action and driving her until she waii* almost to a state of nervous collapse. Well-placed sympathies soon made her talk and she burst out pet- tishly that she was in debt and that most of her ac quaintances were in debt — nothing unusual in that set. This was an opportune chance to be of materials benefit to the lady. Seriously we talked over her af' THE GRAND DUKE'S LETTER fairs. I found them pretty well entangled. We dis- cussed the young Grand Duke. I gradually per- suaded her that there was no hope of a legitimate mar- riage with the house of Mecklenburg-Schwerein, but because of her association with the young Grand Duke and the fact that she had been betrothed to him, it w^as only right that the Duchy provide her with some means of assistance. The ice was i)erilously thin, for the lady is a high-spirited woman of ideals and I had to be careful to word my language so that it would not appear as though she were blackmailing. In jus- tice to her, I believe that if she had taken that view of it she would have dropped the entire matter, and retired from society for the season rather than go through with my plan. Finally I said : " Have you any means by which you could compel the ducal house to make adequate acknowledgments and redresses to you? " After a long hesitation, she jumped up, swept from the room and returaed presently with a handful of letters. I saw on some of them the Grand Duke's coat of arms. The young fool had been careless enough for that! She shook the letters in a temper and cried : " I wonder what Franz's uncle would say to these? Why, I could compel him to marry me." Here was the chance. The iron — in this case my lady's temper — was hot. I suggested that we sit down and talk it over. As an introductory attack, to create the impression that I knew what I was talking 89 THE SECRETS OF THE GERMAN WAR OFFICE about, I hinted that I was connected with a leading family in Germany and that I was in London incog. I approached the situation from the viewpoint that I was her friend, not a friend of the house of Mecklen- burg-Schwerein, but that, by knowing them and their ways, I could be of great assistance to her. " It is regrettable," I consoled ; " but you have no chance for a legitimate, even a morganatic alliance with the young Grand Duke. I consider their entire attitude toward you utterly unfair. In view of your understanding with him, you are most certainly en- titled to adequate recompense from his house. If you went into court you could obtain this on grounds of breach of promise, but I can understand your feelings. Such a step would only cast odium upon an old and noble family such as yours." That seemed to her liking. ' " But what can I do? " she said. " In view of my friendship for you," I told her, " I would consider it an honor if you would permit me to act on your behalf. I think I can negotiate with the young Grand Duke's uncle and I promise that he will regard the matter in a fair light. I appreciate the ex- treme delicacy of the situation and you must observe the necessity of a man handling this affair." She shook her head and tapped the letters nerv- ously. "No. It is intolerable," she said. "Not to be thought of." I saw that I had to make it stronger. I thereupon 90 THE GRAND DUKE'S LETTER invented the most ingenious lies it has ever been given me to tell. In about five minutes I had painted the young Grand Duke in such colors that the adventures of Don Juan were saintly compared to the escapades of Ms ducal highness. " Why, consider it yourself," I said. " He was to be over here with you during the season. He has not come. You told me yourself that he has not even an- swered your letters. Well, that's all there is to it. Your ladyship, he and his house deserve any punish- ment that you can visit upon them." The idea of punishment appealed where the other had failed. The outraged pride of woman, especially an Englishwoman, is a terrible thing. Soon after that I made haste to take my leave. At my quarters I wrote two letters to myself and signed the Grand Duke^s name to them. In these I offered to pay her ladyship's debts. They were addressed to me and after allowing a reasonable time to elapse, I again Avent out to Mayfair and read them to her. She was now cold and hard and gave me full permission to go ahead and make any arrangements I deemed advis- able. I thereupon w^nt to the Grand Duke's bank in London and notified them that I must have 15,000 pounds (175,000). In four days I had the money. The rest of the transaction was commonplace. She handed over all the letters and documents and I gave her the 15,000 pounds. I know to-day that her lady- ship travels extensively in a very comfortable manner on the yearly appanage allowed her by the old Grand 91 THE SECRETS OP THE GERMAN AYAH OFFICE Duke. I do not know whether she still goes to Carltoi>. Terrace to eat strawberries, but I flatter myself that her present good fortune is partially due to the faei that she once went there. At the time of closing our little transaction, sht' took the precaution to protect adequately and seal ali letters and documents from my perusal. Of course, that was a disappointment. I i)ut the packet away carefully, closed up my affairs in London and went back to Germany, going direct to Mecklenburg Schwerein where I delivered the package to the old Grand Duke in person. He seized it eagerly and opened it in my presence. I noticed as he ran through the letters that he did not stop even to glance at them. He did, however, stop and pick out from the pile an of- ficial looking document, at the sight of which a tremen. dous sigh of relief seemed to escape him. The docU' ment had a decidedly close resemblance to a mar. riage license as issued in Switzerland. Of course J only got a fleeting, cursory glance at it, but the eager, ness of the Grand Duke in pouncing upon that one document and ignoring the letters, and hints previ- ously dropped by her ladyship, embellished by ru* mors I later heard in Switzerland, all leave very little doubt in my mind that a clandestine marriage did actually take place between this lady of the Eng- lish nobility and the young Grand Duke of Mecklen- burg-Schwerein. His Royal Highness must have been satisfied, for besides a fee of 5000 marks, I received a few days later 92 THE GRAND DUKE'S LETTER through Wedel a diamond pin and a magnificent gold watch and chain inscribed Tvith the Grand Ducal arms of Mecklenburg-Schwerein inscribed : ^^ For services performed faithfully to my house J" VI THE INTRIGUE AT MONTE CARLO BACK in Berlin from a mission to Vienna, my dis- patches delivered, once more comfortably en- sconced in my quarters, on the Mittelstrasse, I was looking forward to an evening at the Pavilion Mas- cotte. I was just getting into my dinner coat when my man bowed an orderly through the door and at once all my plans took swift flight out the window. The orderly brought a command for my immediate at- tendance at the Wilhelmstrasse. Now the gentlemen of the Wilhelmstrasse are never kept waiting and do not accept excuses. Within twenty minutes I was shown into the chambers of Count von Wedel; in thirty minutes I was out again, having complete or- ders. They know what they want at the Wilhelm- strasse and they generally get it. As I hurried back to my rooms I went over what von Wedel had said: "You are to be ready to take the midnight express to Monte Carlo. You will there keep watch on and report any possible meeting between the Russian, French and English ministers, at present traveling about the Riviera. You will have the assistance, if 94 THE INTRIGUE AT MONTE CARLO necessary, of tlie Countess Chechany. If you need her, send her this card" (he had given me the card with his signature across it, a reproduction of which is presented on this page). "If meetings or confer- ences take place, you must obtain the tenor thereof. ^trkltcl|er Gi^, a^e^, *^her, the letters W and R intertwined. Following this was the numeral 24, the Wilhelmstrasse serial number of the document. Taking a chance that Herr Schmidt would be fas« 213 THE SECRETS OF THE GERMAN WAR OFFICE cinated just a minute longer by the magic skyline of New York, I slipped the dossier against the special lotion paper and took an accurate print by sitting on it for two minutes. I then replaced the document in the dispatch envelope and being sure to leave everything appearing as it was, even to fixing the broken seal as best I could, lest by chance Herr Schmidt should return and glance at his kiste. It was a case now of getting safely off the ship and reaching the nearest cable office for had Schmidt suspected anything, the boat would never have docked until evei'ybody on board had been searched. There was small danger of this, however, for nothing had occurred to alarm Herr Schmidt. The lotion paper used by the German Secret Service has been perfected to such an extent that when taking the print it does not leave any signs on the original. Ac- cordingly, there would likely not have been a clew — only on close scrutiny would it be seen that the seal had been tampered with — even had Schmidt exam- ined his kiste again before landing. My luggage passed, I made my way to the nearest cable office outside the zone of the steamship offices. At Fourteenth Street and Broadway I entered a Western Union office and wrote out this message to " Buzzing " London. A copy of this being herewith reproduced : February 12, 1913. Buzzing, London. Obtained sample. Letter most important. Not safe writing. Wil! 214 TO NEW YORK FOR ENGLAND take to-morrow night's steamer Queenstown. Not sufficient fare. Wire twenty-five pounds vV. Union, Broadway 14tli. Trenton Snell. It may be of interest to note that at the time of my announcing my presence in this country through the medium of the Isleio York American that a copy of this dispatch was s<^cured from the cable company; also that Hearst reporters identified me at the cable office as " Trenton Snell." When I presented myself at the Fourteenth Street office the next day I received this message : London, Eng., February 13, 1913. Trenton Snell, W. U. 14 Bway. Cable some details if possible, come London, can't meet you Queens- town. EOBINSON. (The above message accompanies Cable remittance this date.) The British Foreign Office replying to my request for further funds had cabled the twenty-five pounds which less exchange came to $121.75. At the West- ern Union office at Fourteenth Street I was paid check number 262 to the order of Trenton Snell from " Eob Robinson " London. Isow being on alien ter- ritory, I refrained from sending a copy of the stolen dispatch by cable. There would be no aid of se- crecy from the cable company. I had planned to enclose the copy by registered mail, sending it to Box 356, G. P. O., London, which was the address of the department of the Foreign Office for which I worked, but Robinson demanded immediate details. Accord- ingly I sent back this wire : 215 THE SECRETS OF THE GERMAN WAR OFFICE ■ I '•^^—^ •^—'~~~ — .^»— > ^ Buzzing, London. Right. Will wire from Canada. British Territory. Teenton Snell. That was imperative, for only in Canada could I secure a guarantee of secrecy for so important a mes- sage as that which I would send. Before cabling the details and mailing the original, I made a copy of the document. It was not worded in the offlolal diplomatic form. Rather it appeared to be a note of memoranda and instruction that was to guide the German envoys in their meeting with the Japanese — which meeting was subsequently held at the Hotel Astor, in New York City, and to which meeting went the German envoys, instructed by the document which Herr Schmidt thought he delivered so secretly and trustworthily. This is it; word for word, as it was copied from the print taken in the Herr Schmidt's stateroom: Germany sanctions and will not obstruct Japan in any colonization intention Japan entertained as regards the Far East, and would not obstruct the acquiring of coaling stations in the South Seas other than New Guinea and the Bismarck Archipelago. Germany would not prevent the acquisition of Germany vessels by Japan providing such vessels were not auxiliary cruisers of the Imperial German Navy. Germany wishes it understood that in the event of a conflict be- tween Japan and another nation, Germany will maintain a strict neutrality in any event not affecting Germany itself. Germany expresses a higher regard for the Japanese nation and desires closer jontact with Japan. This document, as has been stated, was initialed uith the letters W and R, which is sometimes the way 216 TO NEW YORK FOR ENGLxiND tlie Kaiser O. K.'s any diplomatic document. In any event it had a regular serial number; in this in- stance number twenty-four of the German Foreign Office. Of course the acquisition of this document by Great Britain relieved the minds of the English states- man. There was not as they had feared a possible menace in understanding between Germany and Ja- pan. It was simply an agreement by Germany not to intervene in any colonization scheme of the Japa- nese in the islands of the Pacific. In return for this it was understood that Japan was to do even more thoroughly what she has done in the past. In other words, she must go on playing the role of bogieman for the United States. A word about this may not be out of place. Germany, that is official Germany, is rather triendly toward the United States. Jai)an, the " yel- low peril " is a great war dirigible that is inflated Avith war scares and hysteria. This aims to keep the United States preoccupied on their Western coastline, so they will not have any desire to meddle with certain i)lans that may eventuate in Europe within the next few years. The Japanese question is fostered by Europe to keep America's hands full in the event of the coming European war. It is all bluff and occasionally Japan must be rewarded for keeping up the bluff. In this instance Germany per- mitted Japan to colonize and permitted her to buy all the German ships she wanted with the exception 217 THE SECRETS OF THE GEEMAN AVAR OFFICE of those big transatlantic liners that are auxiliary cruisers of the German navy, ships which in time of war may be transformed at short notice into good lighting machines. Let me emphasize with all due knowledge of the alarmist's fears that United States need never fear the " Yellow Peril " as long as she does not antagonize the dominant powers of Europe, f38 XII *< THE GERMAN WAR MACHINE " THE numerical strength, disposition and effi- ciency of the German army are more or less well known. The brain and all prevailing power con- trolling its fighting force of four and half a million men — or talking the Triple Alliance into considera- tion — the forces of which would in the event of war be controlled from Berlin — a force in round num- bers of 9,000,000 men is, however, not known. Here for the first time is published an account of the in- side workings of the German War Machine as far as is possible for any one man to give. Through my intimate connections with the German and other Se- cret Service systems; through constant contact with prominent army and navy officers, I had special fa- cilities of vv'hich I availed myself to the full, to gain the inside knowledge which I here commit to paper. The most efficient and elaborate system ever de- vised by the ingenuity of man, used not only for war and destruction but as an intelligence clearing house for the whole of the Empire, is the German War Machine. Conceived by General Stein in the days of the Napoleonic wars, added to and elaborated by successive administrations, solely under the control 219 TPIE SECRETS OF THE GERMAN WAR OFFICE of the ruling house, its efficiency, perfect and smooth working is due to the total absence of political ma- chinations or preferences. Brains, ability, and thor- ough scientific knowledge are the only passports for entrance in the Grosser General Stab, the General Staff of the German Empire. You will find blooded young officers and gray-haired generals past active efficiency, experts ranking from an ordinaiy mechanic to the highest engineering expert, all working har- moniously together with one end in view, the acme of efficiency. Controlled and directed by the War Lord in person through the Chef des Grossen Gen- eral Stabs, in my time General Field Marshal von Heeringen, this immense machine, the pulsing brain of a fighting force of four and half a millions of men, is composed of from 180 to 200 officials. At the Peace of Tilsit, after the crushing defeat of the Prussian armies at Prussian Eylau and Fried- land, Bonaparte had Prussia and the whole of Cen- tral Europe at his mercy. Contrary to the advice of his generals, especially the succinct advice of his often unheeded mentor Talleyrand, to completely dis- integrate Prussia, Napoleon through his fondness for pretty women let himself be tricked by Louise of Prus- sia. The interesting historical story of this incident may be apropos here, showing how the world's history can be changed through a kiss. At the Peace Con- ference in Tilsit, Napoleon, on the verge of disinte- grating Prussia, met the beautiful Queen Louise of Prussia. Through her pleadings and the imprint of 220 "THE GERMAN WAR MACHINE" Is apoleou's kiss on her classic arm Bonaparte granted Prussia the right to maintain a standing army of 12,000 men. That in itself did not mean much but it gave able and shrewd Prussian xDatriots the oppor- tunity to circumvent and hoodwink Bonaparte's pol- icy. Prussia has always been fortunate in producing able men at the most needed moments. A man arose with a gift for military organization. He had every I)rovince, district, town, and village in Prussia care- fully scheduled and the able-bodied men thereof put on record. He selected the 12,000 men permitted Prussia under the Napoleonic decree and drilled them. No sooner were those men drilled than they were dismissed and another 12,000 called in. From this point dates modem conscription — the father of which was General Stein — and this also inaugurated the birth of the War Machine. In the three years Prussia had 180,000 well-drilled men and 120,000 re- serves, quite a different proposition from the 12,000 men Napoleon thought he had to face on his retreat from Moscow, and which played a decisive factor in the overthrow of the dictator of Europe. Through the wars of 1864 and 1866 to 1870, the Franco-Prussian War, the War Machine of Prussia was merged into that of the German Empire and is a record of increasing efforts, entailing unbelievable hard work and a compilation of the minutest details. The modern system of organization, especially the mobilization schedules, are Helmuth von Moltke's, 221 TPIE SECRETS OP THE GERMAN WAR OFFICE the " Grosse Schweiger," the Great Silent, the strate- gist of the 1871 campaign. It is curious that there is a great similarity be- tween the late Moltke and Heeringen. They have the same aquiline features, tall, thin, diied-up body, the same taciturn disposition, even to their hobbies — Moltke being an incessant chess player, Heeringen using every one of his spare moments to play with lead soldiers. He is reputed to have an army of 30,000 lead soldiers with which he plays the moment he opens his eyes — much in the same manner as Moltke, who used to request his chess-board the first thing in the morning. In military circles Heeringen is looked upon with the same respect and accredited with quite as much strategical knowledge as Moltke was. It is a significant fact, that, whenever there is any tension in Europe, especially between Germany and France, General von Heeringen or his comrade in arms, General von Thulsen Haeseler — also a great strategist and iron disciplinarian, immediately takes command of Metz, the most important base and mili- tary post in the Emperor's domain. There is no man alive who knows one-half as much about the strategical position of Metz and the sur- rounding country as General von Heeringen. Often on stormy, bitter cold winter nights, sentries on out- posts stationed and guarding the approaches of Metz are startled to find a gaunt, limping figure, covered In a gray army greatcoat with no distinguishin«<» 222 «'THE GERMAN WAR MACHINE' marks, stalking along. Accompanied by orderlies carrying camp stools and table, night glasses and electric torches, halting repeatedly, hidden men taking down in writing the short, croaking sentences escap- ing between the thii? compressed lips, the " Geist of Metz " prowls round measuring eyery foot of ground fifty miles east, west, north, and south of his be- loved Metz. The steel tipped arrow ever pointing at the heart of France is safe in the hands of such guard- ians. The visible head of this vast organization is called Der Grosse General Stab with headquarters in Berlin. Each army corps has a "kleine General Stab" who sends its most able officers to Berlin. These officers, in conjunction with the most able scientists, engineers, and architects the Empire can produce, compose the Great General Staff. The virtual head is the Ger- man Emperor. The actual executive is called " Chef des Grossen General Stabs." There is a small, dingy, unpretentious room in the General Staff Gebaude where at moments of stress and tension or international complications, assemble five men. His Majesty, at the head of the table; to the right the Chef of Grossen General Stab; to the left his Minister of War; then the Minister of Rail- ways, and the Chief of Admiral Stab. You will no- tice the total absence of the Ministers of Finance and Diplomacy. When those five men meet the influence of diplomatic and financial affairs has ceased. They 223 THE SECRETS OP THE GERMAN WAR OFFICE are there to act. The scratching of the Emperors pen in that room means war, the setting in motion of a fighting force of 5,000,000 men. Here is another instance: When the feeling and stress over the Moroccan question was at its height General von Heeringen on leaving his quarters for his usual drive in the Thier- garten was eagerly questioned by a score of officers, awaiting his exit. "Excellency! C ..it's los?" ("Do we begin?") Grimly smiling, returning their salutes and with- out pause, limping to his waiting carriage came his answer : " Sieben Buchstaben, meine Herren ! " ( " Seven letters, gentlemen!'*) In Germany military parlance this means the Em- peror's signature, Wilheim II, to the mobilization orders. In order to give the reader a fairly correct view of this mighty organization, I have to explain each group separately. The whole system rests on the question of mobilization, meaning the ability to arm, trans- port, clothe, and feed a fighting force of four and one- half million men, in the shortest possible time on any given point in either eastern or western Europe. For let it be clearly understood that the main point of the training of the German armies is the readi- ness to launch the entire fighting force like a thunder- bolt on any given point of the compass. Germany knows through past experience the advisability and 224 '*THE GERMAN WAR MACHINE'^ necessity of conducting war in an enemy's country. The German army is built for aggression. There are four main grouj^s : 1. Organization. 2. Transportation. 3. Victualization. 4. Intelligence. Each of these groups is, of /course, subdivided into numerous branches which we shall go into under each individual head. ORGANIZATION First comes organization. The German army is composed of three distinct parts : the standing army, the resei'ves, and Landwehr. The standing arm comprises 790,000 officers and men. This body of men is ready at an instant. It is the reserves who need an elaborate system of mo bilization. The reserves are divided into two classes first and second reserves. So is the Landwehr, hav ing two levies — the first and second Aufgebot Every able-bodied man on reaching the age of twenty one can be called upon to serve the colors. One in five only is taken, as there is more material than the country needs — the fifth being selected for one of five branches: iufantiy, cavalry, artillery. Genie corps, or the navy. The time of service in the in- fantry is two years; in the cavalry three, in the ar- tilery three, in the Genie coi*ps two, and in the navy three. Well-conducted men get from two to four 225 THE SECRETS OF THE GERMAN WAR OFFICE months of their time. This is by no means a charity on the part of the authorities, but a well-thrashed and deep-laid scheme to circumvent the Reichstag as it gives the Emperor another 75,000 men. A certain class of men passing an examination called Einjah- riges Zeugniss or possessing a diploma called Abiturienten Examen (the equivalent of a B. A.) serve only one year in each branch. This class pro- vides most of the reserve officers. The active officers, usually the scions of an aristocratic house or the sons of the old military or feudal families in Germany, are mostly educated in one of the state Kadetten- Anstalten, militaiy academies, of which Gross-Lich- terfelde bei Berlin is the most famous. The real backbone and stiffening of the German army and navy is the noncommissioned officers recruited from the rank and file. In fact, this body of men is the main- stay of the thrones in the German Empire, especially of Prussia. These men, after about twelve years of service in an army w^here discipline, obedience, and efficiency are the first and last w^ord, are then drafted into all the minor administrative officers of the state, such as minor railway, post, excise, municipal, and police. The reader will see the significance of this when it is pointed out that not only the Empire but the War Machine has these well-trained men at its beck and call. The same thing applies to the draft- ing of officers to hold the highest administrative posi- tions in the state. There are twenty-five army corps all placed in 226 ^*THE GERMAN WAR BIACHINE" strategical position. The strongest is in Alsace-Lor- raine and along the Rhine ; the second in importance garrisoning the Prussian-Russian border. The whole country is subdivided into Bezirks commandos (districts posts) whose business is to have on record not only every able-bodied man — reservists — but ev- ery motor, horse, and vehicle available ; also food and coal supply — in fact, evei'j^thing likely to be wanted or useful to the army. Every German reservist, or otherv^ise, knows the reporting place of his district and has to report there when notified within twenty- four hours. The penalties for noncompliance are high even in peace times. In the event of war or martial law they are absolutely stringent. The commandos are so placed that they could forward their drafts of men and material to their provincial concentration points at the quickest possible notice. These provin- cial concentration points, being railway centers, are so located that the masses of men and materials pour- ing in from all sides can be handled and sent in the wanted and needed direction without any conges- tion. How this is done I shall explain when I come to transportation. In each of those district com- mandos are depots, Montirungs-Kammern (arsenals), where a full equipment for each individual on the roll is kept. The marvelous quickness with which a civilian is transferred into a fully equipped mili- tary unit must be seen to be believed, and is only made possible through systematic training and con- stant maneuvers. These maneuvers are costly, but 227 THE SECRETS OP THE GERMAN WAR OFFICE IT' ' ■ have long been recognized in German military circles as essential in training the units and familiarizing the commanders with the handling of enormous masses of men. In the last Kaiser maneuvers over half a million men were concentrated and massed; in fact, shuttlecocked from one end of the Empire to the other without a hitch. The control of the army in peace or in war lies with the Emperor. He is the sole arbiter and head, ^o political or social body of men has any control in army matters. No political jealousies would be per- mitted. Obedience and efficiency are demanded. Mutual jealousies and political tricks such as we have seen in the Russian campaign in the East and lately in France are impossible in the German sys- tem, for the Emi^eror would break instantly, in fact has done so, any general guilty of even the faintest indication of such an offense. And there is no ap- peal to a Congress, a Chamber of Deputies, or politi- cal organ against the Emperor's decision. Last but not least, under the heading of the organ- ization comes the financial aspect. Out of the five milliards of francs, the war indemnity paid by France to Germany in 1871, 200,000,000 marks in gold coin, mostly French, were put away as the nucleus of a ready war chest. In a little medieval-looking watch tower, the Julius Thurm near Spandau, lies this ever- increasing driving force of the mightiest war engine the world has ever seen. Ever increasing, for quietly and unobtrusively 6,000,000 marks in newly minted 228 "THE GERMAN WAR MACHINE" gold coins are taken year by year and added to the store. On the first of October each year since 1S71, three ammunition wagons full of bright and glitter- ing twenty-mark pieces clatter over the drawbridge and these pieces are stored away in the steel-plate subterranean chambers of the Julius Thurm, ready at an instant's notice to furnish the sinews to the man wielding this force. This is a tremendous power in itself, for there are now close to 500,000,000 marks ($120,000,000) in minted gold coinage in storage there. This provides the necessary funds for the German army for ten calendar months. The au- thorities have no necessity to ask the country, war- ring politicians — in this instance the Reichstag — for money to start a campaign. They have got it ready to hand. Once war is declared and started, if needed they'll get the rest. This money i^ under the sole control of military authorities. It has often been declared a myth. I know it to be a fact. Notwithstanding the financial straits Germany has gone through at times or may go through, this money will never be touched. It is there for one purpose only and that purpose is w^ar. Needless to say, it is amply guarded. Triple posts in this garrison town, devices to flood instantly the whole under fifteen feet of water from the river Havel, are but items in the system of protection. Twice a year the Emperor in person, or his heir ap- parent, personally inspects his war chest. Mechani- cal-balanced devices are employed to check the cor- 229 THE SECRETS OF THE GERMAN WAR OFFICE rect weight. It is a marvelously simple meclianism by means of wMcli in less than two hours the whole of this vast hoard of gold can be accurately checked and the absence of a single gold piece detected. TRANSPORTATION One of the most important parts of the organization is the question of transportation. Hannibal's cam- paigns against Csesar and Napoleon's central Euro- pean wars owed their success in a great measure, if not wholly, to their quickness of motion. This ap- plies about tenfold in modern warfare. In actual armament the leading powers in Europe are prac- tically on a par. The personnel, as regards personal courage, stamina, elaUy or whatever you wish to call it, is fairly equal also. There is little difference in the individual prowess of French, Russian, English, and German soldiers. This is well known to military experts. The difference is mainly a question of disci- pline, technique, and preparedness, the main factor being, as indicated, the ability to throw the greater number of troops in the shortest possible time against the enemy at any given point, without exhausting man and beast unnecessarily and enervating the country to be traversed. It is therefore necessary to have num- erous arteries of tvaffic at disposal. This will lead us later to the question of victualization, Germany fol- lowing closely one of Moltke's axioms : " March separately, but fight conjointly." Only in a country where all railroads, highways, 230 THE GERMAN WAE MACHINE" and waterways, and where post and telegraph are ow^ned and controlled by the state, is it possible to evolve and perfect a system of transportation such as is at the disposal of the German General Staff. Every mile of German railroads, especially the ones built within the last twenty years, has been constructed mainly for strategical reasons. Taking Berlin as the center you will find on looking at a German, more es- pecially a Prussian, railroad map, close similarity to a spider's web. From Berlin you will see trunk lines extending in an almost direct route to her French and Russian frontiers. Not single or double, but treble and quadruple lines of steel converging T\dth other strategic lines at certain points such as Magdeburg, Hanover, Nordhausen, Kassel, Frankfort-on-the- Main, Cologne, or Strassburg — to name but a few. Places such as enumerated are invariably provincial commandos, having garrisons, arsenals, and depots on a large scale. The capacity of the railroad yards for handling large bodies of men and vast amounts of goods swiftly is judiciously studied. At any given time, especially at tense political moments, at every large strategical railway center in Germany there are a certain num- ber of trucks and engines kept for military purposes only — sometimes, as in the Rhine division during the acute period of the Morocco question, Tvith steam up. As previously related, 90 per cent, of all the rail- way officials are ex-soldiers. Five minutes after the signing of the mobilization orders by the Emperor, 231 THE SECEETS OF THE GERMAN WAR OFFICE the whole of the railway system would be under di- rect military control. Specially trained transporta- tion and railway experts on the General Staff would take over the direction of affairs. Besides this, there exists in the German standing army a number of Eisenbahn Regimenter (railway corps) — all trained railroad builders and mechanics. Elaborate time- tables and transportation cards are in readiness to be put into operation on the instant of mobilization, sup- erseding the civil time-tables of peace. Theoretically and practically the schedules are tested twice a year during 'the big maneuvers. The same applies to the waterways and highroads of the Empire. A keen observer will often wonder at the broadness, solidness, and excellent state of repair of the chaussees and country roads, out of all i)ropor- tion to the little traffic passing along. They are simply strategical arteries kept up by the state for military purposes. The heads of the transportation and railway corps in Berlin sit before the huge glass- covered tables where the whole of the German railway system to its minutest detail is shown in relief, and they by pressing various single buttons can conduct an endless chain of trains to any given point of the Empire. To show the accurate workings of this system I shall relate an incident. During the Kaiser maneuvers in West Prussia a few years ago I happened to be at headquarters in Berlin delivering some plans and reicords of the English Midland Railway system when 232 THE GERMAN WAR MACHINE'* a General Staff Officer entered the signal hall and made inquiries as to the whereabouts of a certain train having a regiment on board destined to a certain part of the maneuver field. One of the operators through the simple manipulation of some ivory keys in the short space of two and a half minutes ( as I was keenly interested, I timed it) could show the exact spot of the train between two stations, the train being over 310 miles distant from Berlin. As every class Al vessel in the merchant marine of Germany, especially the passenger boats of the big steamship lines, can be pressed into government serv- ice, so can all motor vehicles, taxis, and trucks owned either privately or by corporations be called upon if considered necessary. Through this vast and far- reacliing system of transportation Germany is en- abled to throw a million fully equipped men on to either of her frontiers within forty-eight hours. She can double this host in sixty hours more. VICTUALIZATION Napoleon's dictum that an army marches on its stomach is as true to-day as it was then, adequate pro- visions for man and beast being the most important factor in military science. The economic feeding of three-quarters of a million men in peace time is work enough. It becomes a serious problem in the event of war, especially to a country like Germany which is somewhat dependent on outside sources for the feed- ing of her millions. The authorities, quite aware of 233 THE SECRETS OF THE GER:\rAN WAR OFFICE a possible blockading and consequent stoppage of im- ports, have made preparations with their usual thor- ough German completeness. At any given time there is sufficient foodstuff for man and beast stored in state storehouses and the large private concerns to feed the entire German army for twelve months. This might seem inadequate, but is not so, the authorities being well aware that war in Europe at the present time could and would not last longer than such a period. Once a year these storehouses are overhauled and perishable or deteriorating provisions replaced. Tens of thousands of tons of foodstuffs, especially fodder, are sold far below their usual market prices to the poorer classes, notably farmers. Like\\ise the ma- terial used by the army is as far as possible supplied by the farmer direct. The total absence of bloated, pudgy-fingered army contractors in Germany is pleas- ant to the eyes of those who know the conditions in some other countries I could mention. Besides, the whole of the German fighting machine is so organized that in all probability decisive battles would be fought in the enemy's country, in which case the onus of feeding the troops w^ould fall on the enemy, called in military parlance " requisitioning and commandeering." In this, German, and espe- cially Prussian, quartermasters are in no way behind their English confreres of whose activity in the Boer War I know from personal experience. To give but another instance of the scientific thor- oughness in detail, take a single food preparation — * 234 "THE GERMAN WAR MACHINE" the Erbswurst (pea-meal sausage), a prexjaration of peas, meal, bacon, salt and seasoning, compressed in a dry state into air- and water-tight tubes in the form of a sausage, each weighing a quarter of a pound. Highly nutritious, light in weight, practi- cally indestructible, wholesome, this is easily pre- pared into a palatable meal with the simple addition of hot water. Of this preparation huge quantities are always kept in stock for the army. INTELLIGENCE Without doubt the most important division of the General Staff and upon whose information and efforts the whole machine hinges is the Intelligence Depart- ment — really covering many different fields — for in- stance, general science, especially strategy, topog- raphy, ballistics, but mainly the procuring of informa- tion data, plans, maps, etc., kept more or less secret by other powers. In this division the brightest young officers and general officials are found. The training and knowledge required of the men in this service are exacting to a degree. It requires in most cases the undivided attention — often a life study — to a single subject. It has been the unswerving policy of the Prussian military authorities to know as much of the rest of the European countries as they know of their own. In the war of 1870-71, German commanders down to a lieutenant leading a small detachment had accurate information, charts and data of every province in 235 THE SECKETS OP THE GERMAN WAR OFFICE France, giving them more accurate knowledge of a foreign country than that country had of itself. It is a notorious fact that, after the defeat of the French armies at Weissenburg and Worth and later at Metz, the French commanders and officers lost valuable time and strategical positions through sheer ignorance of their own country. This is impossible under the Prussian system. To-day there is not a country in Europe but of which there are the most elaborate charts and maps, topographically exact to the minu- test detail docketed in the archives of the General Staff. This applies as a inile to the General Staff of most nations, but not to such painstaking details. While undergoing instructions in the Admiral Stab in the Koenigergratzerstrasse 70, previous to my being sent on an English mission, a controversy arose be- tween my instructor and myself as to the distance be- tween two towns on the Lincolnshire coast. He pushed a button and requested the answering orderly to bring map 64 and the officer in charge. With the usual promptness both map and officer appeared. The officer, who could not have been more than twenty- five years of age, discussed with me in fluent colloquial English the whole of this section of Lincolnshire. Not a hummock, road, road-house, even to farmers'^ residences and blacksmith's shop of which he did not have exact knowledge. I expressed astonishment at this most unusual acquaintance with the locality, and suggested that he must have spent considerable time in residence there. Conceive my astonishment when 236 *'THE GERMAN WAR MACHINE" informed that he had never been out of Germany and the only voyage ever taken by him led him as far as Helgoland. Subsequently through careful inquiries and research — my work bringing me into constant contact with the various divisions — I found that the whole of England, France and Kussia was carefully cut into sections, each of those sections being in charge of two oflQcers and a secretary whose duty it was to ac- quaint and make themselves perfectly familiar with everything in that particular locality. Through the far-reaching system of espionage, the latest and most up-to-date information is always forthcoming, and time and again I myself, often returning from a mis- sion like one of those to the naval base in Scotland, have sat by the hour verbally amplifying my previous reports, A part of the intelligence system is the personality squad, whose duty it is to acquaint themselves with the personality of every army and navy officer of the leading powers. I have seen reports as to the en- vironments, habits, hobbies, and general proclivities of men such as Admiral Fisher, commanding the Channel Squadron of the British Navy, down to Col- onel Ribault, in charge of a battery in Toulouse. To military or naval officers and men of affairs, the reason and benefit of such a system are obvious. The general reader, however, may not quite see the point. The position of a commander in the field is analogous to the executive head of a big selling concern. A semi- personal knowledge of the foibles and characteristics 237 THE SECRETS OF THE GERMAN WAR OFFICE of Ills customers without doubt gives liim an advan- tage over a rival concern, neglecting the personal equation being really more important than is gener- ally understood. This has long been recognized and fully taken advantage of by the German Army author- ities. AERIAL Within the last few years an entirely new and ac- cording to German ideas most important factor has entered and disturbed the relative military powder of European nations. This is the aerial weapon. Since the days of Otto Lilienthal and his glider it has been the policy of Germany to keep track of all inventions likely to be embodied and made use of in the War Machine. It is a far cry from Lilienthal's glider to the last word in aerial construction such as the mysterious Zeppelin-Parseval sky monster that, carrying a complement of twenty -five men and twelve tons of explosives, sailed across the North Sea, circled over London, and returned to Germany. Lilienthal's glider kept aloft four minutes, but this new dread- naught of Germany's flying navy was aloft ninety-six hours, maintaining a speed of thirty-eight miles an hour, this even in the face of a storm pressure of al- most eighty meters. Such feats as these are signifi- cant. They are at the same time the outcome and the cause for the development of this part of the War Ma- chine. It is my purpose here to tell you how far Ger- many has g^dvanced and progressed in this struggle for 238 *^THE GERMAN WAE MACHINE'^ mastery of the skj. I shall disclose facts about hei system that have never appeared in print — that have never been heard in conversation. They are known only to the General Staff at Berlin, not even in the cabinets of Europe. Germany without doubt has the most up-to-date aerial fleet in the world. The Budget of the Reich- stag of 1908-1909 allows and provides for the build- ing and maintenance of twelve dirigibles of Zeppelin type. As far as the knowledge of the rest of the world is concerned this is all the sky navy that Germany pos- sesses. It is a fact, though, that she has three times the number which she officially acknowledges. The dirigible balloon centers in Germany are five and they are situated at vitally strategic points. There are two on the French border, one on the Rus- sian border, one on the Atlantic Coast, and a central station near Berlin. The exact places are Strassburg, Frankfort-on-the-Main, Posen, Wilhelmshafen, and Berlin. This does not include the marvelous station at Helgoland in the North Sea, this being a strategic point in relation to Great Britain. Nothing is known about this Helgoland station. No one but those on official business are permitted within a thousand yards of it. I shall tell things concerning it. Besides these purely military posts, there are a number of commercial stations necessary as depots of the regular transportation aerial lines that operate for the convenience of the public. Like Germany's commercial steamers, however, they are controlled 239 THE SECR ETS OP THE GERMAN WAR OFFICE ^^~*~'~^~~— ^^^■■— ~'^~^'"^~~'~^^^^^— — ■ ■^^^— ^— — -^— ^ "^ and subsidized by the Government. At a few hours' notice they can be converted and made use of for Gov- ernment purposes. Taking these transportation lines into consideration, it is safe to state that by summer of the present year Germany could send fifty huge air- ships to war. It may be a puzzle to Americans why, in the face of disasters and accidents to these Zeppelins, Germany is spending about |4,000,000 on her aerial fleet. Now we come to a very significant point. I know and cer- tain members of the German General Staff know, as well as trusted men in the aerial corps, that there are two conditions under which airships are operated in Germany. One is the ordinary more or less well- known system which characterizes the operation of all the passenger lines now in service in the Empire. It is the system under which all the disasters that appear in the newspapers occur. Airships that are used in the general army flights and maneuvers are also run under the same system as the passenger dirigibles — for a reason. The other system is an absolute secret of the Ger- man General Staff. It is not used in the general maneuvers, only in specific cases, and these always secretly. It has been proved to be effective in elimi- nating 75 per cent, of the accidents which have char- acterized all of Germany's adventures in dirigibles and heavier-than-air machines. These statistics are known only by the German General Staff office. Let us go into this further. Critics of the German 240 "THE GERMAN WAR MACHINE" dirigible who foolishly rate the French aeroplane su perior point out that the Zeppelins have three serious defects — bulk and heaviness of structure, inflamma- bility of the gas that floats them, and inability to store enough gas to stay in the air the desirable length of time without coming down. The secret devices of the German War Office have eliminated all these objec- tionable features. They have overcome the condition of bulk and heaviness of structure by their govern- ment chemists devising the formula of a material that is lighter than aluminum, yet which possesses all of that metal's density and which has also the flexibility of steel. Airships not among the twelve that Ger- many admits offlcially are made of this material. Its formula is a government secret and England or France would give thousands of dollars to possess it. The objection of inflammability of the lifting power has also been overcome. The power of the ordinary hydrogen gas in all its various forms has been multi- plied threefold by a new dioxygen gas discovered at the Spandau government chemical laboratory. This gas has also the enormous advantages of being absolutely noninflammable. I have seen ' experiments made with it. It cannot be used for illuminating purposes. Dirigibles that are equipped with it are not liable to the awful explosions that have characterized flights under the ordinary system. The new gas has also the enormous advantage of having a liquid form. To produce the gas it is only necessary to let the ordinary atmosphere come in contact with the liquid. Carried 241 THE SECRETS OF THE GERMAN WAR OFFICE in cylinders two feet long and with a diameter of six inches it is obvious that enough of this liquid can be carried aboard the big war dirigibles to permit their refilling in midair. So, you see, all the objections to the commonly known system of operation have been overcome by the War Office. The last dirigible tried by the War Office in 1912, the mysterious Zeppelin X, made a continuous trip from Stettin over the Baltic to Upsala in Sweden, thence across the Baltic again to Riga in the Gulf of Finland, where it doubled and sailed back to Stettin. This was a journey of 976 miles. The airship had a complement of twenty-five men and five tons of dead weight. It traveled under severe weather conditions, the month being March, and snow-storms, hail and rain occurring throughout the voyage. The signifi- cance of this flight can be easily understood if you consider the distance from Strassburg or Diisseldorf to Paris or other strategical points to France is ap- proximately 298 miles. A ship like the Zeppelin X could sail over the French border, dynamite the forti- fications around Paris and return, the journey being roughly 900 miles — 76 miles less than the actual trip made by the Zei>i)elin X. Moreover, the German mili- tary trials have shown the possibility of an aerial fleet leaving their home ports and cruising to foreign lands and returning without the necessity of landing to replenish their gas tanks or fuel. Let me show you how the German aerial corps is made up. It is called the Luftschiffer Abteilung and 242 "THE GERMAN WAR MACHINE" is composed of ten battalions, each consisting of 350 men. Tliey are all trained absolutely for this branch of the service. Only the smartest mechanics and arti- ficers are selected. In the higher branches the most intelligent and bravest officers hold command. Con sidering the usual pay in continental armies, the wages of the men in the General aerial corps are ex- ceptionally high. In fact they are the highest paid in the German arm3\ They are not ordinary enlisted men, meaning that they serve only their two years' time. Most of them have agreed to serve a lengthy term. Married men are not encouraged to enroll in this branch of the service. It is obvious from the na- ture of the work that the hazards are often great. The wonderful system of the German War Machine has been installed with rare detail in the aerial corps. The equipment of the different stations is really mar- velous. For everything human Ingenuity has been able to devise concerning the dirigible you will find in application. Each station is fully equipped and is an absolutely independent center in itself. Take the base at Helgoland. It is the newest and the one that is always cloaked with secrecy. At the extreme eastern corner of the island of Helgo- land one sees, amid the sandy dunes, three vast ob- long, iron-gray structures. At a distance they are not unlike overgrown gasometers. I say at a dis- tance, for it is impossible for any visitor to get \\ithin a thousand yards of the station. The solitary ap- proach is guarded by a triple post of the marine guard, 243 THE SECRETS OP THE GERMxVN WAR OFFICE If you walk toward the station, before you come within a hundred yards of the guard, you will find large signs setting forth in unmistakable and terse lan- guage that dire and swdft penalties follow any fur- ther exploration in that direction. Not only English but German visitors to Helgoland have found out through their course that even the slightest infringe- ment of the rules of these signs is dangerous. I shall however, take you a little closer. Walking on until you are within fifty yards of the great balloon sheds, you pause before a tall fence of barbed wire, this connected with an elaborate alarm- bell system that sounds in the two guard houses. For instance, if an enterprising secret agent of France were to try to steal up on the station, if he came by night and cut through the barbed wire, a series of bells would immediately sound the general alarm. Having passed through the six strands of barbed wire a tall octagonal tower meets the eye. In this tower are installed two powerful searchlights as well as a complete wireless outfit. All the Zeppelins carry wireless. By means of elaborate reflectors, it is pos- sible with the searchlights to flood the whole place with daylight in the middle of the night. Thus ascen- sions can be made safely at any hour of the twenty- four. The three oblong sheds stand in a row, the middle being the largest, having spaces for two com- plete dirr^ibles, while the other sheds house but one each. They are about 800 feet long, 200 feet broad 244 "THE GERMAN WAR MACHINE" and 120 feet high. The whole structure itself can ho shifted to about an angle of forty degrees, this being worked on a plan similar to the railroad engine turn- table. The reason for it is that with the veering of the wind the sheds are turned so that the doors will be placed advantageously for the removal of the airship from its place of shelter. The whole layout and the vast area of space show that it is the Government's intention to still further increase the plant. In fact, on my last visit to Helgo- land — and it was more than two years ago — I saw the evidence of another shed about to be built. At the station is the most efficient meteorological department of all the stations. The most up-to-date and sensitive instruments connected Tvith this science are there in duplicates and the highest experts such as only Ger- many can produce are in charge of the department. When I was at Helgoland I noticed a vast difference in the strength of the fortifications compared to what they had been. They used to be tremendous, but since the addition of the naval base they have become sec- ondary. Half the soldiers on duty there have been transferred elsewhere; so with the big guns. The^e is no longer any need for them. As I stated, I saw a fourth big balloon shed in the course of construction. I have not been on the island for two years. Nobody has been near the extreme eastern end except those closely identified with the service. Considering that Germany has not built more than one extra shed, that 245 TITE, SECRETS OF THE GERMAN AA^AR OFFICE means five dirigibles, and tliere is notliing ou earth-^ that could stand up against them. Helgoland does not need foi-ts any more. The new forts float in the sky and can rain death. Helgoland has always been a sore spot of British diplomacy. Originally England owned the island; now it is a menace to England. When Lord Salis- bury was Prime Minister of England, he conceived Avhat he believed to be a shrewd diplomatic move. He offered Bismarck the island of Helgoland in ex- change for some East African concessions. Helgo- land is now the key and guard of Germany's main artery of commerce, being the key to Hamburg. With the dirigible station of Helgoland to guard her, Hamburg is impregnable and on England's northern coast they have a way of looking out across the IS^orth Sea with troubled eyes, for who knows when those terrible cartridge-shaped monsters will rise into the air and sweep over the sea? Stranger things have happened, even though the countries have their secret diplomatic understandings. Let us consider one of these new war monsters, the latest and most powerful, the X 15. The latest Zep- pelins, charged with the newly discovered dioxy- genous gas, giving these sky battleships triple lifting capacity; the perfecting of the Diesel motor, giving enormous consumption (fifty of these Diesel engines, their workings secret to the German Government, are stored under guard at the big navy yards at Wilhelm- 246 "THE GERMAN WAR MACHINE" shafen and Kiel, ready to be installed at the break of war into submarines and dirigibles), have given the German type of aircraft an importance undreamed of and unsuspected by the rest of the world. The operating sphere of the new balloons has ex- tended from 100 to i;200-l,400 kilometers. Secret trial trips of a fully equipped Zeppelin like X 15, candying a crew of twenty-four men, six quick-firing guns, seven tons of explosive, have extended from Stettin, over the Baltic, over Swedenburg in Sweden, recrossing the Baltic and landing at Swinemunde, with enough gas, fuel, and provisions left to keep aloft another thirty-six hours. The distance all told cov- ered on one of these trips was 1,180 kilometers. This fact speaks for itself. The return distance from Hel- goland to London, or any midland towns in England, corresponds with the mileage covered on recent trips In the event of hostilities between England and Ger many, this statement needs no explanation. That is why I mentioned that the latter-day Zeppelins were a powerful factor in bringing about an amiable under- standing between those two powerful countries. For neither the historic wooden walls of Nelson's day nor the steel plates of her modern navy could help Eng- land or any other nation against the inroads of the monsters of the air. The capacity of seven tons of explosive does not ex- haust the resources of this type of weapon. I have it on good authority that the new Zeppelins can cari'y 247 THE SECRETS OF THE GERMAN WAR OFFICE double that quantity of explosive if necessar}^. As the size of these vessels increases, so does the ratio of their carrying capacity. Picture the havoc a dozen such vultures could create attacking a city like London or Paris. Pres- ent-day defense against these ships is totally inade- quate. In attacking large places, the Zeppelins would rise to a height of from 6,000 to 8,000 feet, at which distance these huge cigar-shaped engines of death, 700 feet long, would appear the size of a football, and no bigger. I know that Zeppelins have successfully sailed aloft at an altitude of 10,000 feet. Picture them at that elevation, everybody aboard in warm, comfortable quarters, ready to drop explosives to the ground. The half informed man — and there appear to be many such in European cabinets, which recalls the proverb about a little knowledge being a danger- ous thing — likes to say that a flock of aeroplanes can put a dirigible out of business. Consider now an aeroplane at an elevation of 6,000 feet and remember that the new Zeppelins have gone thousands of feet higher. An aviator at 6,000 feet is so cold that he is practically useless for anything but guiding his ma- chine. How in the world is he or his seat-mate going to do harm to a big craft the size of the Zeppelin that is far above him? An aviator who has ever gone up, say 8,000 feet, will tell you when he comes down what a harrowing experience he has had. What good can an individual be, exposed to the temperature and the elements at such an altitude, in doing harm to the 248 'THE GERMAN WAR MACHINE' calm, comfortable gentlemen in the lieated compartr ments of the Zeppelin? — Quatsch! which is a Ger- man army term for piffle ! At 8,000 feet the small target a Zeppelin affords would move at a rate of speed of from thirty-five to sixty miles an hour. The possible chances of being hit by terrestrial gunfire are infinitesimally small. This does not take into account the vast opportunities that a dirigible has for night attacks or the possibility of hiding among the clouds. The X 15, sailing over London, could drop explosives down and create ter- rible havoc. They don't have to aim. They are not like aviators trying to drop a bomb on the deck of a warship. They simply dump overboard some of the new explosive of the German Government, these new chemicals having the property of setting on fire any- thing that they hit, and they sail on. They do not have to worry about hitting the mark. Consider the size of their target. They are simply throwing something at the City of London. If they do not hit Bucking- ham Palace they are apt to hit Knightsbridge. And remember that whatever one of the new German ex- plosives strikes, conflagration begins. Aeroplanes, biplanes, monoplanes, and the other in- numerable host of small craft so often quoted as a possible counterdefense against the Zeppelin, are overrated, and are in any case theoretical. The Ger- man authorities have made vast and exhaustive trials in these matters. The strenuous efforts on the part of this Empire to increase its dirigible fleet is to my 241) THE SECRETS OF THE GERMAN WAR OEFICE way of thinking answer enoiigli. The German Gen- eral Staff at Berlin tries out more thoroughly than any nation in the world every new device of warfare. They have tried the aeroplane and the dirigible. I have heard the leading experts and aviators who have been assigned to both types agreeing that the Zeppe- lins of the X 15 type have nothing to fear from any present-day flying machine — and that is good enough for me. XIII AKMING FOR PEACE OR WAR THE map of Europe is certain to undergo some very decided changes within the next decade, very jDOSsibly in less time. Social and economic con- ditions, let alone the j)aramount political ambitions of the individual rulers, must bring about a decided alteration in state boundaries in Central Europe. This will be accomplished either with or without war — with bloodshed most likely. History and human propensities have shown the inability to settle any vital points by peaceful arbitration and the more one comes in contact with the forces, obvious and other- wise, directing human affairs, the more one learns the rather disheartening fact that the millennium is as far off as ever. The prophecies of the old Biblical prophets about wars and rumors of wars are as per- tinent to-day as before the advent of Christ. The methods may have changed since the conception of the Christian religion but the results will be attained now as ever by the right of a mighty sword arm. The most virile and aggressive power in the center of Europe is Germany proper — this term of Ger- many, including the whole of the Teutonic races, such as the German-speaking portion of Austria, Hungary 251 THE SECRETS OF THE GERMAN "WAR OFFICE (for your true Hungarian is a keen admirer of strength and force), Holland, Switzerland and in all probability the Norsemen and Viking branches of the Teutonic clan, meaning Sweden, Norway and Den- mark. Social and commercial aims and aspirations in Sweden, Norway and Denmark, independent as they are and probably always will be, still show a de- cided trend to Central Germanic cohesion. The whole of Europe is roughly divided into three dominant races — the Teutonic, the Latin and the Slavish. The Teutonic has Anglo-Saxon, Germanic and Norse sub- divisions. The Latin, Gallic, has the French, Italian and Spanish nations ; and the Slavonic comprises the Slavs and Romanic races with their innumerable sub- divisions such as Moscovite, Chech, Pole, Croat, Serb, Bulgar, Bojar, etc. These three groups are distinctly different in habits, thoughts, manners and ambitions. Through race and religion they are also deeply antag- onistic by reason of its higher commercial develop- ment ( I do not say education, and art, music or litera- ture, for there your Latin or Slav excels), the Teu- tonic races have outstripped the other two. Com- mercialism means consolidation and concentration and since the Napoleonic wars the Germanic races — at the beginning slowly but Avithin the last twenty- five years rapidly — have drawn together at an aston- ishing pace. In countries such as Belgium, Hol- land, Denmark and Switzerland, each possessing their own petty machinery of expensive government; exist- ent only through the mutual jealousies of their bigger 252 ARMING FOR PEACE OR WAR neighbors, there has grown up a decidedly incorpor- ating spirit. Notwithstanding the natural disin- clination of the ruling factions of that country, the general mass of the people are by no means averse to become members of a vast central European empire^ the unswerving ambition of the house of the Hohen* zollerns. Since the days when the Counts of Nuremburg be* came electors of Brandenburg, from the grosse Kur' furst, Frederick the Great, to the present Emperor, the house of Hohenzollern has shown itself to be the most virile dynasty in modern history. Not always clever, they possessed the rare faculty of finding, de- veloping and using men having the necessary ability to execute their current policies. In thoroughly feudal and aristocratic countries such as comprise Central Europe, especially Ger- many, decided, unswerving aims are necessary. If these policies are conducted in a clear, level-headed manner, judiciously developing the wealth and cult- ure of the general masses, the stability of such a gov- ernment or throne is well-nigh unshakable. It has often been spoken and written that in coun- tries such as Germany and Austria, Socialism, to quote but one of the numerous " isms," has under- mined existing governmental powers. To a close stu- dent, these assertions are absolutely wrong. Teu- tonic Germanic races have ever been given to deeply analytical, philosophical studies, criticising and dis- secting, the policies of their rulers. But underlying, 253 THE SECRETS OF THE GERMAN WAR OFFICE you will find a deeply practical sense and apprecia- tion of material benefits. The German Socialist is in fact a practical dreamer, quite in contrast to his mer- curial, effervescent Latin prototype. The rulers of Germany have learned the lesson that the stability of a throne rests in the welfare of her people and every- one must admit that they have succeeded in this re- spect better than any other dynasty known to his- tory. Germany without doubt is the most uniformly prosperous and civilized country in the world. And therein lies the danger, as no sane and prosperous business can afford to stand still. Neither can a solv- ent virile nation such as Germany, mark time. For this reason : Two things must happen in the near fu- ture. Germany must expand peacefully in Europe, to the northeast and west ; or there will be war. The reasons for this I gave in the chapter on " The Isola- tion of France." And that the chances of peaceful and really sensible adjustment are thoroughly discounted among German men of affairs, must be pretty obvious to the careful reader. An intensely practical and saving people such as the Germans would not spend billions in money, a vast amount of time and labor, in perfecting and keeping up a fighting machine without being thor- oughly convinced of the necessity of this investment. Strong, wealthy and powerful as Germany is to-day, the strain is tremendous and for this reason alone ex- isting political and geographical conditions in Europe must undergo a decided change. 254 ARJriNG FOR PEACE OR WAR These changes are bound to occur but it is hard to set a correct time. It may be to-morrow ; it certainly will not be more than a decade hence. The death of the Emperor Francis Joseph will precipitate it at once — and he is old and feeble. Secondly, the Church. The mainstay of the Cath- olic Church rests with the Austrian monarchy and with the death of the old Emperor, it would — in fact have to — look to some other country and ruler for i)rotection. There is no Catholic ruler in a Cath- olic country to-day able to support and protect the dig- nity of the Church. The German Emperor is a Protestant monarch, but he is first and last a Chris- tian, and thanks to his usual keen and far-sighted policy, backed up by strong spiritual convictions, re- ligious dissensions are almost unknown in his em- pire. The Catholic religion enjoys in no country, save the United States, more real freedom from perse- cution than it does in Germany. And the Emperor's personal standing with the Vatican is excellent. I need only remind the reader of his perennial visits to the King of Italy when he never fails to visit the Vatican, paying his respects as the ruler of twenty- seven millions of Catholics, if you please, to the keeper of Peter's keys. In my work, I have met eminent dignitaries and princes of the Catholic Church who voiced pretty freely — that is for churchmen — their confidences, Avillingness of their support to the Emperor's general policies. 255 THE SECRETS OF THE GERMAN WAR OFFICE e . ■ — ' ? THE BUFFER STATE OF THE NORTH As Germany has provided herself with a buffer state and ally in Southern Europe, meaning Turkey, so she has cleverly succeeded in creating a similar condition in the extreme north of Europe. Sweden and Norway, at no time friendly to the Moscovite — you need only recall the days of Charles XII — have within the last few years developed a strong martial feeling against Eussian aggression. Both countries are intensely patriotic and independent and would not on any account tolerate incorporation. Germany does not want Norway and Sweden, and Scandinavia knows that. They also know that Russia, having a free hand, does want them. Hence they are looking towards Germany to keep a national independence. With German help, Sweden and Norway could main- tain, transport and place three-quarters of a million of first-class fighting men in the field and that at strategical and crucial points of the Russian Empire. The personal domination of the house of Hohen- zollern even outside political matters is tremendous, by virtue of great wealth and marriages, — the Em- peror's sons having married the most wealthy princesses in Europe — besides the privately invested fortunes of the Emperor, giving him a tremendous in- Huence in commercial affairs. Wilbelm holds the thunderbolt that will shake the world. THE END 256 Popular Copyright Novels AT MODERATE PRICES Ask Your Dealer for a Complete List of A. L. Burt Company's Popular Copyright Fiction Abner Daniel. By Will N. Harben. Adventures of Gerard. By A. Conan Doyle. Adventures of a Modest Man. By Robert W. Chambers. Adventures of Sherlock Holmes. By A. Conan Doyle. Adventures of Jimanie Dale, The. By Frank L. Packard. After House, The. 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