German Spies in England: An Exposure

by William Le Queux

Now, although the spy organisation which had been established before the war may have been partially broken up, Mr. McKenna admits that "it is still necessary to take the most rigorous measures to prevent the establishment of any fresh organisation, and to deal with individual spies who might previously have been working in this country outside the organisation, or who might be sent here under the guise of neutrals after the declaration of war."

Here really we have the crux of the whole matter. It is easy enough to deal with the known spy; it is easy enough in time of war for the Post Office to watch very closely correspondence not only with Germany, but also with neutral countries, from which letters can so easily be sent into Germany—as I have sent them—and it is easy enough to censor cables. Mr. McKenna says:—

This censorship has been extremely effective in stopping secret communications by cable or letter with the enemy, but as its existence was necessarily known to them, it has not, except in a few instances, produced materials for the detection of espionage.

I should think not, indeed! Would any sane person suspect the German Secret Service of such imbecility as endeavouring to send important reports by post or cable from this country in time of war, except as a last desperate resort to deal with some unexpected situation in an apparently harmless message? It was this very thing that brought about the downfall of Lody, and the fact that he attempted to send a cable-message shows how urgent he thought it was that his message should reach its destination as soon as possible. He trusted to luck, but luck failed him. If I thought our Confidential Department regarded such a proceeding as normal, I should indeed be in despair.

Remember one highly important fact. It is perfectly easy to-day to travel from Holland or Denmark to Berlin, and there is no difficulty in anyone with a British or American passport travelling from this country to Holland. Some two hundred British and American passports have been "mislaid"—in plainer language, stolen—by the German authorities. Can we think for a moment that it would be impossible for the Germans to find agents quite willing to run, as commercial travellers or what not, the trivial risk of making the journey from England to Holland, where their information could be handed over for conveyance to Berlin?

Lody came to England as an American; I have no doubt he could have gone back to Berlin in the same guise if he had wanted to. We know perfectly well that every scrap of official news published here finds its way to Berlin in a very short time—a distinguished British General a few days ago stated that the German commanders had copies of the London papers within a few hours of publication. Where, then, assuming a spy in England has secured some useful information, lies the difficulty of transmitting it to those who are ready and anxious to receive it?

Suspected passengers on the steamers, it may be said, can be searched, and letters found upon them examined. Is it to be imagined that a spy's reports would be written in copperplate on a large sheet of paper for all and sundry to read? Need they even be written at all?

Censorship on mails and on cables, and the close examination of cross-Channel passengers are excellent precautions, but, after all, we are only locking the door after the horse has been stolen. Admit that the spy is here, grant that he has got hold of a piece of important information, and I will wager that he finds means of transmitting it to his Government, if he possesses an ounce of sense.

The man Louis Trabbaut, sentenced at Marlborough Street, had passed through the German lines nine times between London and Brussels. More than this, it has been shown that the Kaiser, since the war began, has been using a courier to send letters to London! On October 8th, Mr. H.L. Reiach, editor of the Yachting Monthly, received a card from Vice-Admiral K. von Eisendecher, who is attached to the Kaiser's suite, stating that he would no longer subscribe for that journal. There is no reason, as the Daily Mail pointed out, why this particular communication should not have been sent by open post in the ordinary way, but for some reason the Kaiser's Admiral preferred to use the secret courier service. The letter, written at Karlsruhe, was evidently brought over by a courier, stamped with an English penny stamp, and posted in the South-West district of London.