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About Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922 | View Entire Issue (Oct. 31, 1915)
The Omaha Sunday Bee Magazine Page Aw HOT V 1 ' ' iAj V' A A' . ;:M VV'- aa f j aa.:Ua'.V - f 'l -T- ... f , , . v . w . .... ,.,s .. r 1" . . t - ' '-'- ' German Soldier Bringing In Rassitn Spy Disgulied as a Peasant and Caught Signalling Behind the German Lines. Masquerading in Dead Soldiers9 Uniforms, Signal ing with the Hands of the Church Clock and Other Ingenious Tricks That Have Been Discovered and Ended in a Summary Execution THE tricka of the tptea and the ingenuity displayed by army officers in fitting them out on one elde and hunting them down on the other hare been among the most dramatlo features of the war. A suocessful spy may do enormous harm to the side he la "working against For instance, he may in dicate the position of the command ing general and his staff, and enable the enemy by a well-directed rolley of artillery to wipe the headquar ters organisation out of existence. The spy's work Is so much feared that when one is caught he is exe cuted as quickly as possible and in the most terrifying manner. He does not recelre the benefit of erery pos sible doubt, like a murderer on trial in New York. The spy most feared and hated Is naturally the one who is acting against his own country. . There hare been many of these traitors during the war. A striking illustration of the fate that meets the traitor spy Is con tained in a photograph just received from France. The dead spy is tied to a tall poet by the roadside where he was executed. Upon the post is a placard which bears the words, written in large letters in French, MA spy! A traitor to his country!" This man's body was left lying by the roadside for days outside the village of Verzy, near Rhelms, which, of course, has been a centre of the most ferocious fighting. He was a French farm hand In the neighbor hood. This traitor communicated with the Germans by shifting the hands cf the village church clock, accord ing to a code prearranged with the Germans. The clock had stopped, working during the fighting and devastation that accompanied the first German occupation of the Til lage. When they retreated they hired him as a spy. A written code found in the prisoner's possession showed that the hands at various points were to be a signal that the French heavy artillery was In the village; that the French army was In strong force; that only a French advance guard was in the village; that the French were advancing by the northern road, and that the French were going by the eastern road. He received 100 francs less than $20 for these services. The extraordinary movements of the hands of the clock attracted tho attention of an Intelligent French officer, and the spy was seized. Overwhelming proof of his guilt was found. Twelve French soldiers put twelve bullets through his body with hearty good-will, and he was left by the roadside in the dramatlo manner shown in the photograph. Another traitor, as related by the French newspapers, was a French shepherd,' who led his flock of sheep just In front of a concealed French battery, by previous arrangement with the Germans. . After he had lingered here a few minutes he pru dently passed on. As soon as he iwas out of sight a storm of Oer man shells fell upon the place where bis sheep had been. This attack put three French guns out of action and billed a number of valuable French artillerymen. Another French traitor Indicated the position. of his country's artil lery by means of fires at night Ho was caught. and promptly executed In the same way as the others. The British have repeatedly de clared that the Germans were send ing spies Into their ranks wearing s I i i .v.: Vi Dramatic Photograph of the at flj. csr - f - s sma ':. r - a t V ; iV - : i ; 1 tu i ' a i ? . I1 'X 4 - turf i.M raH-LA . AlJV . -IT . tK;- V V,.- fcM v' " ., ..V- . v.' , ,. T ' Summary Execution of a German Spy Caught in the the Act by the French Soldiers. (And Above) How a Country, Was Executed and Left by the Koadnide as a Warning to Others, at Veriy, Near Rhelms. Copyright, 1913, by th Btar Company. Ort Britain HlgbU XUaarv. v-.A Y;A V. V "S.IH' t. ' ei 'u - ;fA: , ft, v Ar JfxJ' ' V-' ,' ' V"AV t f TL '(. J .rv r: ,4; - i, ... cv w. . m a A- I- ': . , - ' mm a.- n T r .? - 1 i I 11 it Jitiecution of an Austrian Spy Caught in Civilian Clothes by th Servian Army. mtfonni taken from dead British soldiers. The Germans have many men who speak English perfectly or nearly so. A soldier In a Canadian Highlander regiment that wears the kilts says one of their sergeants went out to observe a German trench and failed to come back. They knew he had been killed or taken prisoner. From previous experience the colonel of the Canadian regiment belloved that a German wearing the lost sergeant's uniform would soon Insinuate himself Into the Canadian ranks. He therefore obtained per mission to change the position of his men In the trenches with an adjoin ing battalion not wearing kilts, so that the spy could be discovered more easily. In two days a kilted sergeant walked boldly up to the trench which the kilted Canadians had oc cupied. The Canadian colonel easily picked him out from the ranks of the trousered soldiers. When he was questioned it was found, strange to state, that he was quite familiar with Scotland, but knew nothing about Canada. He was a German who had lived in Scotland. A short trial and immediate exe cution behind the trench ended this daring attempt. The British assert tnat Germans have done much effective spying work in fast automobiles. Even where the Germans were suspected, they were able to escape through the speed of their cars. Borne of these cars are equipped with wireless and can thus communicate any observa tions they make Immediately to their own side, even it they are miles away. The motor car has figured in many exciting spy exploits. One day a swift motor car came racing up to the British lines at Ypres. In it were two apparent British uniforms, and between them they held a burly German officer prisoner, apparently s desperate character who was deter mined to escape or perish in the at tempt The British officers en deavored to force their way through the lines in a peremptory way on the ground that they were taking their prisoner to headquarters, but a superior officer present insisted on stopping and examining them. He had Just been fooled by some other ingenious trick, and he was Intensely suspicious. The supposed British officers proved to be Germans speaking Kngllsh perfectly and wearing the uniforms of dead British officers. They had been fitted out in this way French Sy, a Traitor to Ills :'" II if . . J - on a daring mission to get behind the British lines and signal certain things that were happening there. Ot course, they were promptly exe cuted. It hardly need be remarked that to undertake such an enterprise as this requires more nerve than to face the ordinary risks of war. Undoubtedly soldiers often feel sympathy for a captured spy work ing for his own country, bnt such are his possibilities of causing disaster that no mercy can be shown. The aeroplane Is an extraordinary Instrument of espionage. The Ger man official reports have recently stated that the Allies were dropping spies from aeroplanes In the rear of their lines. This would appear to be a very effective trick, as the Allies have at their disposal a large number ol natives of the parts of France and Belgium now occupied by the Ger mans. The regions from which these people come are the most critical points in the present military opera tlons, and a few native spies, In spired by genuine patriotism, might cause serious disasters to the Gen mans. From the military point of view, it is a compliment to say that the Ger mans have the greatest espionage system in the world. Their spies operate not only on the field of battle, but in the Government offices and legislatures of every enemy country end possible enemy country. If only a small part of Mr. Ignatius T. Trlbltsch Lincoln's admissions are true, it proves the vastness of the German spy system. Mr. Lincoln, who was very recently extradited rrom the United States on a charge of forgery, was originally a Hun garian by the name of Trlbltsch. He then became successively a natural ized Englishman, a clergyman of the Church ot England and an English member of Parliament All these things he says he did in order to be able to furnish information to Ger many about British plans. "I went to Rotterdam Just before the war and saw the German Consul,'' confessed Mr. Lincoln. "In due course ot time the plan I outlined to him was approved by the German Government and I was then made a member of the German espionage system. "I was also acting as spy for the British Secret Service under Captain Hall, which I thought wouiu prove an effective blind tor what I was doing tor Germany. At a given time two or three German cruisers of obsolete class were to make for the English coast "Knowing in advance of this move ment I was to tip off the Admiralty, and the Germans were to allow them selves to be captured or sunk. This method was to be repeated again, and the trap was set for the third time. "1 was to tip off the Admiralty, as usual, on the third occasion that a raid was contemplated. A powerful German squadron was to remain close, but out of sight of the raiding vessels, and was either to concen trate against the attacking fleet sent out by the Admiralty and destroy it by overwhelming numbers or land troops at some place which we would know was unprotected at that time. "Captain Hall suspected me, how ever, before I had an opportunity to carry out the plans against the British fleet. Early In January be sent for me, and at the interview I knew that I would be hanged as a spy if I did not make my way out of the country at once. I accordingly left for New York." The French attribute the execution of M. 8eyler, Mayor of the village ot Vexalncourt In the Vonges, to his Ingenuity in unmasking two spies. Juat before the war be noticed two dentists travelling about the country and treating teeth in the village streets. Their occupation and their habit of working in the open air gave them a fine opportunity to observe the country and make sketches. The Mayor had them examined, and they were expelled from the country. When the German army occupied Vexalncourt the two dentists ap peared as German officers, and, ao cording to a dispatch, they caused the Mayor's execution.