German Spies in England: An ExposureLe Queux, William
History
German Spies in England: An Exposure
Le Queux, William
Secret service -- Germany; Spies
Now, a few words as to the future. Let us look forward to the time when
the war is over, and Europe is at peace again. Will it be necessary for
us to take steps to prevent a recrudescence of this German espionage,
or can we assume that there will be nothing of the kind again?
In the language of Mr. Justice Ridley, we have got to "make an end of
spies" once and for all.
The spy system has gained a firm and, I believe, quite unshakeable
footing in the German military system, and my own view is that directly
the war is over the old game will begin all over again. Whatever may
be the result of the war, we can take it for granted that Germany will
cherish dreams of revenge, more especially against the "treacherous
British," upon whom, at the present moment, she is pouring out all the
vials of her concentrated hatred and malignity. She has been spending
huge sums annually on her spy-system, and she will not readily give it
up.
I certainly cherish the hope that after the war we shall be spared
the flood of German immigration that, quite apart from all questions
of espionage, has, in past years, done so much harm to England by
unloading on our crowded labour market a horde of ill-paid and
wage-cutting workers, many of whom were trade spies, and who have done
much to drive the British employee out of the positions which, by
every natural and political law, he ought to hold. This has been made
possible to a great extent by subsidies from German rivals anxious
to get hold of British trade secrets. The German clerk will never be
the welcome figure he has been in the past with certain British firms
who have regarded nothing but cheapness in the appointment of their
staffs. Still, we may be certain that, welcome or unwelcome, the German
will be with us again; as a rule, he is sufficiently thick-skinned to
care very little whether he is wanted or not, provided he "gets there."
He will be a potential danger, and his activities must be at once
firmly restricted.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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