Espionage

ESPIONAGE. The word "espionage" and its equivalents in most European languages are derived from a Germanic root which appears in the word spatien. The essential feature of espionage is its clandestine character. Espionage as practised between States may, therefore, be defined as "the attempt to obtain by clandestine means, for communication to a foreign government, information concerning another government which is likely to be injurious to that government." The clandestine character of espionage lays it open to objection from the moral point of view ; and espionage is, in fact, often practised by persons of undesirable character. As Montesquieu says, "Spying might perhaps be tolerable if it were done by men of honour; but the infamy which inevitably attaches to the agent is a criterion of the infamy of the practice." Individuals have taken the view that by practising espionage they were performing a necessary service to their own country. More generally, how ever, spies are recruited from among persons of doubtful char acter who are ready to undertake anything in order to earn money rapidly. The dangerous nature of the work has, moreover, a certain attraction for the adventurous.

Private Espionage.

Where the object is to obtain informa tion on the conduct of an individual, or the progress of a business transaction, information may be obtained through conversation in ordinary social intercourse. Technical matters are dealt with by "information agencies" or private detectives. Private espionage also has recourse to even baser methods, such as the utilization of gossip collected from neighbours or from the doorkeepers of blocks of flats. In countries under an autocratic government, such as tsarist or Bolshevik Russia, and Fascist Italy, the political police authorities can obtain considerable assistance from doorkeepers; and the latter can, in periods of crisis, give important aid to the authorities (e.g., at the time of the Commune of 1871).

Internal Political Espionage.

All governments employ spies, informers and secret agents, to keep them informed of the activities, views and relations of their opponents, or in some cases simply to acquaint them with the state of public opinion. The sbirri employed by the Venetian Republic are closely paralleled by the secret police of the French Revolution, the Holy Alliance and the tsarist regime. Agents of this kind penetrated into all strata of society, gained the confidence of conspirators, sometimes acted as agents-provocateurs, and sent in reports which varied in value according to the intelligence and character of the agent. They were, and still are, of considerable assistance to their gov ernments, so long, at any rate, as different departments do not each employ their own agents who work against one another, as hap pened in France under the First Empire. "Secret funds" are gen erally created for the organization of this kind of espionage and for the payment of secret agents. The funds are usually at the disposal of the heads of the government departments responsible for home affairs, foreign affairs, and the army and navy. In most modern countries their administration is not controlled by parliament.

In prisons and convict settlements the authorities employ spies known as "stool-pigeons" to discover plots for escape, to obtain confessions from prisoners, and in general to assist in ensuring pun ishment for all offences. The ex-convict Vidocq, when he became head of the Paris Surete in 1832, specialized in the employment of prison spies.

In political espionage, the spy very frequently acts as agent provocateur, particularly during periods of crisis such as civil wars, revolutions and religious persecutions. Skilful use of espion age was made in England by Burleigh and Walsingham in Eliza beth's reign, and in France under Louis XIII. and Louis XV., by the Lieutenants of Police d'Argenson, Berryer and Sartines. Lou vois set spies to watch over the conduct of his officers—a practice which has often recurred.

Fouche, who was minister of police from 1799 to 1802 and from 1804 to 181o, may be regarded as the real creator of political espionage, which he used to f oil the numerous plots concocted by Jacobins, royalists, émigrés and C/iouans during the Consulate and the Empire. In Russia, the famous Okhrana, or defensive police, was founded in 1881 to combat terrorism. It has been proved that Azeff, who was a member of the Central Committee of the People's Party, Pope Gapone, who played an important part in the revolution of 1905, and Malinowski, one of the deputies in the Duma, were all agents of the Okhrana. The Okhrana was responsible for the assassination of the Grand Duke Sergius, and of the ministers Plehve and Stolypin. Its activities reached their height in the period 1906-17. The famous Cheka, or "extraordinary commission for the repression of the counter revolution and of speculation," continued the methods of the Okhrana and applied them to the opponents of the Bolsheviks. Since 1925 the Cheka has been replaced by the G.P.U.

Political espionage is sometimes practised in the international sphere. The Holy Alliance covered Europe with a network of spies. It had informers, agent-provocateurs and spies among the various groups of political emigres in Paris and London. Heinrich Heine, Mdrger, Princess Lieven and the Countess Kalergis are stated to have sent information to the Cabinets of Vienna and St. Petersburg (Leningrad). Similarly, international espionage has been used to combat the activities of anarchists.

Diplomatic Espionage in Peace-time.

The duties of diplomatic agents in peace-time include, not only the carrying out of negotiations and the protection of nationals of their country resident abroad, but also observation of what goes on in the countries to which they are sent. They are required to obtain accurate information on current events and on all matters which, directly or indirectly, affect the interests of the country they represent, even if such matters would normally appear to fall outside their sphere of action.

Modern diplomacy originated in the Italian cities of the middle ages ; and the early Italian ambassadors, particularly the Vene tians, were exceedingly able spies. Modern ambassadors have a technical staff of military, naval, aeronautical, commercial and legal attaches, whose duty it is to collect accurate information on various branches of national activity in foreign countries. It is thus possible to say that "an ambassador is often nothing more than an honourable spy acting under the protection of the law of nations." So long as a diplomatic agent maintains a correct attitude, and does not use unfair means such as bribing officials, or stealing doc uments, his activities are quite distinct from those which come under the definition of espionage. It has, however, often happened that diplomatic agents, such as ambassadors, consuls and attaches have failed to observe a correct attitude. Two examples will suf fice. In 1811, Col. Czernicheff, Russian attache in Paris, with the complicity of an employee of the ministry of war, named Michel, obtained access to certain documents and figures. He was sus pected and watched, but made his escape. Michel was shot. The second instance is the incident of the German and Italian military attaches in the Dreyfus affair. (See DREYFUS and ANTI-SEM