The German Spy in America / The Secret Plotting of German Spies in the United States and the Inside Story of the Sinking of the Lusitania

by John Price Jones

NAVAL STUDENT IN TIMES OF PEACE

His duties in peace times, naturally, were to study the American Navy and gain whatever facts he could about American war vessels, the personnel of the navy, the government’s plans for increasing the fleet’s power and building up coast defences; also to pick up whatever he could, openly or stealthily, about the secret plans of America in the use of her battle-fleet. When the war started, a thousand and one more tasks devolved upon him. As von Papen was in Mexico, he had for a time to look after the military attaché’s secret service, and, after being relieved of that, he devoted himself to the manifold details peculiar to naval intelligence. Like von Papen, he, too, had a staff of experts. They began, under his direction, delving into every phase of American naval activities, seeking information about the naval plans of the Allies, striving to exert their influence to prevent the shipment of arms and ammunition from this country. Boy-Ed’s work lay also in supervising the registration of naval reservists with the German consuls, providing for the return of as many as possible of them to the Fatherland, assigning spies to the country’s enemies, and collecting all naval information bearing upon the war.