Ames Tribune from Ames, Iowa • Page 5

How They Captured the German Spy, de Victorica, Told at Last 'A facamle reproduction of one of the through irhieh Madame Vldarica expected io be tbte to tome innocent American priest to help her gel explosives through from Germany. For three years she escaped the best spy-catchers of but when she began operations in America she met her match in and the truth about her plots against the United States is now revealed by the chief of the Black Chamber By HERBERT O. YARDLEY 'Author of "The American Black Chamber A GREAT deal of romance has been written about the famous-German spy, Madame Maria de 'Vktorica, alias Marie de Vussiere, the "beautiful blond woman of Antwerp," but the authentic story of her activities, detection and arrest has never been told. Though she had been sought by the British Secret Service since 1914, it was' the Secret-Ink Bureau of MI-6 that finally proved her nemesis. Madame de Vktorica was the most dar- ing and dangerous spy encountered in American history.

Her activities in the United States between her arrival and ar- rest'comprise a story of ruthless espionage and wholesale 'destruction that surpasses the wildest fantasies of the most imaginative fictionists. But like many other German spies, Madame Vktorka did not reckon with our skilled chemists, whose glass test-tubes and varicolored liquids at last undid her. November 1917 if the British authorities gave us information which, though it had no direct bearing on Madame Vktorka, finally led indirectly to her We were mformed that a German agent of; unknown name and nationality had recently left Spain for the United States with instructions to pay $10,000 to A C. Fellows, 21 Sinclair Avenue, Hobbken, New Jersey, and, if not feasible, to K. Lamb, 43 East Avenue, Woodside, Long Island.

(Names and addresses have been clutnged all through this story.) Investigation at these addresses showed that both persons had disappeared. The addresses were then placed under contin-. uous and careful observation. Two months later, in January, 1918, we intercepted a letter addressed to Fellows, which, though mailed in New York, 'bore the legend "Madrid, Nov. 3rd, .1917." This was two days before the date of the British warning.

FTlHEletter itself was vague, and though the chemists worked over it feverishly, they failed to develop secret writing. was very discouraging, for as yet the Secret-Ink Laboratory had not distinguished itself. Four days afterward, late in the afternoon, one of our agents, breathless with excitement, rushed into the laboratory. "Another letter addressed to Fellows!" he exclaimed. After both sides of the envelope had been photographed it was steamed open and a letter, written in English, was extracted.

The letter was headed, "Dear Mrs. Gerhardt," and was signed "Maud." On the face of it, it was harmless enough; it told how "our mutual friend, Frank," had been ill for some time, but added that he had recovered and was now about to resume his business. the writer, said that she would write to "Frank" in the near future. That was all. However, it must be remembered that spy letters were usually written in this tenor.

In the jargon of spies, illness means that one is under observation and cannot carry on his activities; to recover means that he has eluded observation or is no longer under suspicion. Furthermore, the envelope was addressed to Fellows but the letter was addressed to Mrs. Gerhardt; the letter was signed "Maud" but the envelope bore the return address of D. Grain, 932 E. 108th Street, New York.

On top of that, the letter had to be tested for secret ink. The chemist dipped a brush in chemicals and traced it across the letter. At the third attempt, faint traces of invisible writing appeared. 44 TT'S written in secret writing," lie CA- claimed, "in German script!" "How long will it take to develop all the letter?" "It mty take all'night. This is an important spy letter and we will have to work carefully in order not to injure the paper.

We may wish to restore the secret writing." "Madame de Victorica an aristocratic and cultured noman of noble birth held out under questioning until -tee confronted 1 her vith documentary proof of her espionage activities. Then she broke down and had to be taken, to a hospital prison, itard." While the chemists developed the secret writing and prepared a translation our agents in New York were some very curious The loomdn who handled Germany's war plots in America Madame de Victorica, photographed after her arrest had broken her spirit. Caught through of Herbert 0. Yardley, tells his sforij in "The American Black Chamber," published fcp the Bobbs-Mcrrill Co. JS.

return address on the en- velopei 932 E. 108th Street, was rooming house, but no one by the name of D. Cram lived here. However, quiet investigation of the roomers revealed one Allison, a steward on the S. S.

Christianiafjord, which was now docked in New York. Under severe grueling he gave the following story: Just before he sailed from Christiania, Norway, a porter in the Metropole Hotel gave him two letters to smuggle into the United States and mail in New York: one to A. C. Fellows, and the other to Mrs. Hugo Gerhardt, 830 W.

96th Street. After, arrival he obtained newl envelopes, the original ones being badly damaged, and readdressed the letters. And now occurred one of those fatal coincidences which, though not permitted in fiction, nevertheless shape the lives and destinies of everybody. A LLISON, after readdressing the letters, inadvertently placed them in the wrong envelopes! The one intended for A. C.

Fellows was addressed to Mrs. was never recovered. The one intended for Mrs. Gerhardt was addressed to intercepted! Now for the translation of the secret writing in the letter. It read: "Please examine both sides of the sheet of paper for secret writing.

I confirm my letter No. 7 of October sent in several copies. You are now free to take up your business affairs in South America and to invest capital in the great war docks and navigation as you judge best. "The works for obtaining quicksilver in the west were particularly recommended to me by well-informed persons. In view of the enormous shipbuilding program of the States, capital should preferably be invested in the docks over there, but the firm must not become known to the banks as a stockholder in shipbuilding companies.

"Your Irish friends will surely not lose the opportunity of speculating in such a good thing. It will therefore be all the easier for these friends to in this affair. "Remittances are en the, way. fiirthcimore, sufficient credit has been opened for you in South American branch companies. Therefore get into communication with South America.

In Argentina business is to stop until further notice. On the other hand, Brazil is now a very good place to invest capital in, to which I call the special attention of' the branch offices in Brazil. Mexico naturally does not interest me on account of the confused political conditions now prevalent there; "You must leave no stone unturned to get a good neutral, or-better still a good American, not German-American, coyer-address, and let me know it at the first opportunity. The use of such-unsuspected cover-addresses should facilitate-cable communications. Gable communication is "to be provided following cases: "If business with tie United States to be stopped, I will cable over 'cancel to be-followed by a close description of the business to be canceled.

If the firm over there, owing to losses, for instance, should no longer be abje to take care of my interests as you cable; 'advise here to follow 'nameof: shares, of a well-known American enterprise dealt in in Europe. "It must under all circumstances be avoided that possible losses or unlucky speculations should lead to the breakdown of my whole enterprise over there; Therefore a second firm must be established entirely independent of the present one, which, pursuant to the commercial law there, cannot in any way be made responsible for the opera- of the present firm and which will be in a position to deal with me directly." the face of it, this looks harmless enough, but to one familiar with the language of spies-7-made purposely obscure so that conviction in a. court of law w6uld be harder to is -all very plain. The reference to investing in war industries, docks and shipping means to find means to destroy such things. It is suggested that anti-British Irish, patriots might be induced to join in such schemes.

In Latin America, nothing is to be done to offend the Argentines or Mexico; but no care need be taken-in regard to Brazil, which had already declared war on Germany. The instructions regarding cables provided for "a censor- proof method of rapid communication; and it was evident that German spy headquarters, realizing that their whole plan for sabotage in America was being handled by only one group, wanted another "independent firm" set up to act in case the first group were broken up by counterespionage. The reader may imagine die consternation that this message at once caused in American espionage circles. Though we had arrested many suspects, it was obvious that the master spy who directed explosions in the United States and South America was still at large. The questions on everyone's lips were: Who is he? Where is he? How find him? All the names connected with the "Maud" letter had been thoroughly investigated except that of Mrs.

Hugo Gerhardt, 830 W. 96th Street. Careful inquiry- here revealed the fact that she had moved; also that the letter intended for Fellows but inadvertently addressed to her had been returned by the postman to Allison's rooming house and destroyed by the landlady. AREFUL investigation finally revealed Ger hardt's present address, also the fact that she had received a number of mysterious letters not for her. If seemed too much to expect that this woman, a widow and in apparently destitute could be the natter spy for whom we were seeking.

Often German spies used perfectly innocent Americans at cover addresses for their spy letters, having some unknown person closely connected with the addressee who could obtain the letters after they arrived. We discovered that though Mrs. Gerhardt had not received any of these mysterious letters for several months, she had seen the name Victorica in some of the earlier ones. This was something definite to work on and we immediately cabled this information to the British authorities. The British had some good material bearing on Madame Victorica in their files, and they soon informed us that in the winter of 1917, just after America had broken diplomatic relations with Germany, a German firm had cabled $35,000 to her in New York.

We learned, also, that she had reached America from Berlin only a few weeks before that date, and she was described as "a stunning blood; about 35." Her husband, one Manuel Gustave Victorica, had been arrested by the French and was now awaiting sentence by the Council of War. fTlHROUGH her banking firm, we traced Vktorica tr a New York address only to find that she had moved. Evidently -had been frightened by the outbreak oi war between the United States and Germany. However we did get at this address some dial had arrived for her after her departure. With our chemicals we developed the invisible writnrj in them, other the following startling message: "Advise immediately where U-boat or sailing-boat ma terial sacks can be sunk on American between New York and Hatteras.

Position must be free currents, water depth not more than-20 meters. Can a messenger be landed Acre? "The marking of sinking positions with buoys is successfully carried out in Spain. Wire agreement' and where material is to be sunk. Indicate in writing at once how plan is. to Be carried out" This proves that the German Secret Service as early as Feb.

13, date of this letters-bad planned to establish submarine bases along the American coast Un doubtedly the plan was quickly carried out, for it no: long afterward that appearance, of German submarines threw shipping on the Atlantic seaboard into a panic. TTlCTORICA was to import large quantities of a nev and very powerful explosive from Germany, to use in blowing up ships, factories and "docks. She was instructed some'priest to order, from Zurich, an altar, certain holy figures, and columns and balustrades to go with them. The explosives would concealed inside. Evidently it was planned that the priest would be an innocent dupe.

The scheme was infernally what allied blockading officer would think of stopping the shipment of altars and holy figures from Switzerland to an American priest? Yet. this was not all. Victorica was also instructed to "find out some means of getting German agents on American warships, and'to'start plotting to destroy the Panama Canal. it must be remembered that these instructions were sent to her before war had been declared between Germany and the United States! All in all, it was quite clear that Vktorica was In- directing genius of German espionage in the United States. Elaborate plans to destroy American ships, factories and dockyards, to blow up the Panama Canal, to establish submarine bases and -to conduct sabotage campaigns ifl Latin America had been entrusted to her.

Our job now was to find her and end her activities. To do so would seriously cripple the work of spies in America. -But the question was: How to catch her? We began by investigating every hotel and expensive apartment house in New York. We traced her from one place to another up to June 20, 1917. There the trail ended and all traces ofjier vanished.

UR only hope was the fact that the seized letters gave a number of cover addresses for Victorica to use in New York. We kept these places under close surveillance. At last we noticed that a young girl, a cousin of one of the suspects, was entering St. Patrick Cathedral at exactly the same hour, one evening a week, regularly. In the cathedral, an agent saw her leave a folded newspaper in her pew.

As she left a man entered, took paper and walked out. He was trailed to a hotel lobby in a Long Island beach town. A beautiful blond woman immediately appeared and took his paper. She was Madame Maria de Victorica! In the newspapers were twenty $1000 bank for her espionage work. Victorica was arrested.

Among her effects were two beautiful white silk scarfs which had been impregnatec' with the famous German secret ink. To write'ai invisible letter she simply dipped a corner of the shawl ii distilled water. Madame de Victorica held out under questioning un: i we confronted her with documentary proof of her espion age activities. Then she broke down and had to be taken to the prison ward of Bellevue Hospital. She was never brought to trial.

She aged rapidly, and finally, a pitiable, broken creature, her beauty and gone, p- A 1 IMIIHttilllillli, Mill,.