of the many cases of espionage which have come before the british public recently, surely none exceeds in interest and importance that of carl hans lody, who, after trial by court-martial, was shot in the tower of london early in november. lody was the first secret-service agent shot in england after the outbreak of war, and the first person executed in the tower since the middle of the eighteenth century.
lody, beyond all question, was a very remarkable man. before going into the details of the charge against him, it is well worth while to recall some of the leading features of his career.
born in berlin, he was only thirty-five, yet he had seen enough of life and the world to have satisfied many men of double his age. there is hardly a corner of the civilised world into which he had not travelled. he had been much in america, and it was a considerable help to him, in his work as a secret-service agent, that he spoke english with a decidedly american accent. this, no doubt, explains the fact—of which more presently—[pg 139]that he posed as an american, and used an american passport, which really belonged to a certain mr. charles a. inglis.
it was as mr. charles a. inglis that lody arrived in england early in august. he knew england and scotland well, and he is believed to have been in this country once or twice earlier in the year. originally, he served in the german navy; after he left he became a steward on the liner "hamburg." in the meantime he married a very handsome american woman, to whom, apparently, though the marriage did not turn out very happily, he was very deeply attached.
when the hamburg-amerika line established a series of personally conducted tours from berlin, lody secured an appointment to take charge of a party of rich americans who were going round the world. he made a similar tour in 1913 and in the summer of 1914, and when the american medical societies held an international conference in london, lody was one of the guides who helped to show them round england. none of the americans, it may be mentioned, ever doubted that he belonged to their country.
it was in august, as i have said, that lody came to england on the mission that led him to his death. he travelled as mr. inglis, though to an american acquaintance who chanced to meet him he was still lody. it was some weeks before the attention of the confidential department was drawn to him, and then began a game of hide-and-[pg 140]seek, which was not without a humorous side.
from august till the middle of september, lody was in edinburgh, a district prohibited to enemy aliens, though not, of course, to an american. thence he sent, to stockholm, a telegram which aroused suspicion. on september 7th he was followed from the neighbourhood of rosyth, and with magnificent "bluff" he went direct to the police and complained. so well did he play the part of an injured and innocent american citizen, that the police actually apologised to him. he slipped away and, for a time, all trace of him was lost.
then he went to london and began an examination of the steps that had been taken for the protection of the principal buildings. again the intelligence department got on his track, and from that moment his doom was sealed. no doubt he thought he had shaken off all suspicion, but he was soon to be undeceived.
after a visit to scotland about the end of september, lody went to liverpool, no doubt to pick up all he could about the mersey defences, and then over to ireland in the guise of an american tourist on a visit to killarney. but the police had their eye on him all the time, and he was arrested and detained until the arrival of inspector ward of scotland yard. his trial and conviction followed.
the public will never know the full extent[pg 141] of lody's doings as a spy, but it is beyond question that he was a most daring and dangerous man. the reports he made have not yet been published, but they were of such a character that, in the interests of the state, much of the evidence was taken in camera, and those who have been privileged to read them declare that, in their keen observation and clear expression, they are among the most remarkable documents that have ever come into the possession of the war office. the confidential department did its work well, and it is worth noting here that after grave suspicion fell upon lody, he was so closely shadowed that none of his reports left the country, and they were produced in evidence at the trial.
lody's task was to travel about england and to send to germany news about our naval movements, about our losses and the steps that were being taken to repair them. one message he tried to send from edinburgh read:—"must cancel. johnson very ill last four days. shall leave shortly." innocent enough! but to berlin, as lody admitted at his trial, it meant that the british fleet, in four days, would be leaving the firth of forth.
what, we may well wonder, was to be cancelled!
there was a dramatic scene in the ancient guildhall when the court-martial assembled to try lody for his life—a scene strangely unfamiliar in a country which, for a genera[pg 142]tion, has had little experience of military trials. the court was composed of major-general lord cheylesmore as president, and eight officers in uniform. in the dock stood lody, guarded by two khaki-clad soldiers with bayonets fixed.
the following were the charges on which lody was accused:—
the accused, carl hans lody, alias charles a. inglis, an enemy civilian, is charged—first charge—with committing a war crime, that is to say, war treason, against great britain, in that he at edinburgh, on or about september 27, 1914, attempted to convey to a belligerent enemy of great britain—namely to germany—information calculated to be useful to that enemy by sending a letter headed edinburgh 27/9/14, and signed nazi, addressed to one karl j. stammer, berlin, which contained information with regard to the defence and preparations for war of great britain. the second charge is that of committing a war crime in that he on or about the 30th of september attempted to convey to a belligerent enemy of great britain—namely to germany—information calculated to be useful to that enemy, by sending a letter, headed dublin and signed nazi, and addressed to karl j. stammer, which contained information with regard to the defences and preparations for war of great britain.
lody's movements were very clearly traced at the trial by mr. bodkin, who prosecuted for the crown. it was shown, by the visé on the american passport he was using, that he had been in berlin as recently as august 4th. another document found on him proved that he was in bergen, in norway, on august 20th. in all his movements he passed as[pg 143] charles a. inglis. it is not necessary to follow him in detail, but it may be mentioned that apparently he reported both to a man named burchard, at stockholm, and also to stammer at berlin. there were found in his notebook not only a copy of the "johnson" telegram, but also particulars of british losses in battle and in the naval fight in the north sea, a list of german cruisers and german ships sunk up to date, and also copies of four other communications to burchard.
mr. bodkin made it clear that, through the post office officials, certain letters to and from persons abroad had been examined and copied, and in some cases delivered; since august 4th letters for norway and sweden posted in any part of the united kingdom were sent to london and there examined. several of these were to and from the prisoner.
the main part of the evidence against lody was taken in camera and has never been made public, but that it was overwhelming there can be no doubt; indeed, lody himself admitted that he had had a fair trial, and was quite justly dealt with. it was, however, mentioned that his letters contained reports on such places as queensferry, near the naval base at rosyth, and various other places round the coast.
there was a very remarkable incident when lody himself gave evidence, an incident which gives us a good deal of insight into the real character of this remarkable spy.
[pg 144]
having admitted that his name was on the german navy list, he said that when he went to berlin at the end of july he reported himself to "a certain department," making a request that he should not be sent on active service as he was an invalid, having undergone a serious operation some years before and being unfit to do any fighting. narrating events in berlin, lody said, "a proposition was put before me by a certain person."
"are you willing," counsel asked him, "to give the name of that person?"
then for the first time lody's iron nerve broke down. he burst into heavy sobs, and in a voice almost choked with emotion, replied: "i have pledged my word of honour not to give that name, and i cannot do it. although names have been discovered in my documents, i do feel that i have not broken my word of honour."
"are you unwilling," counsel asked, "to tell us the position in life that person occupies?"
again lody hesitated; then he added quietly that the person was a superior naval officer. "i was summoned to see him," he said; "and i had three or four interviews with him."
then came a question which provoked a very remarkable reply. "are you willing," asked counsel, "to tell the court what took place at those interviews with your superior officer?"
"i am willing to tell the court," said lody.[pg 145] "and i am willing not to conceal anything, but i should like it not to be in public, as i shall certainly refer to very essential and important affairs."
lody was then asked to give the "principal instruction" that he received, and he did so readily. he was to remain in england until the first engagement had taken place between the two powers, and send information as regards the actual losses of the british fleet. then he was at liberty to go on to new york; he had previously asked for permission to do so. he was also told to get all the information he could with regard to the movements of the fleet, and what was going on in england, but was specially warned not to go and "spy round," but to see as much as every traveller could see.
lody added that he was very reluctant to undertake this work, as he felt he was not well fitted for it. he pointed this out, he said. it was put to him that pressure was applied to him to induce him to undertake the mission, to which he replied: "there was no pressure, but there is certainly an understanding. if they make a suggestion you feel obliged to obey. i have never been a coward in my life, and i certainly won't be a shirker."
let us give credit where credit is due—even in espionage. i think everyone will admit that, whatever view we may take of this spy's offence—and views on the subject of espionage will always vary widely—lody[pg 146] behaved as a brave man. he was, in the first place, absolutely loyal to his chiefs; there was about him nothing of the craven wretch as willing to sacrifice his own country as any other if he could hope by so doing to win any favour for himself. nor would he even speak in open court of matters which, as he thought, might have been prejudicial to us. one cannot but recognise his chivalry. it is not often that the man in the dock deserves all his counsel says about him, but lody was an exception, and the eloquent plea on his behalf made by mr. george elliott, k.c., who defended him, deserves to be remembered, not only for its references to lody, but as a tribute to british justice, which placed at the service of a dangerous adversary the skill of one of the most brilliant members of the english bar.
whatever his fate might be, said mr. elliott, he hoped the accused would remember to the last hour of his existence that he had received from the country whose interests he came to betray a trial which, for fairness, was unrivalled in history. he said, quite frankly, that he came to this country in the service of his own—as a german actuated by patriotic german motives. he had told the court all that he could tell, refusing to speak only where it clashed with his word of honour as an officer and a gentleman. he was not a man who had sold his country for gold, and he had not attempted to corrupt a single british subject or official.
[pg 147]
"i plead for him," said mr. elliott, admitting that a conviction was unavoidable, but asking the court whether they could not find some extenuating circumstances, "not as a miserable coward, or as a fear-stricken wretch, but as a man born of a land to which he is true, whose history and traditions he cherishes. his own grandfather was a great soldier who held a fortress against napoleon, and it is in that spirit he wishes to stand before you here to-day. he was ready to offer himself on the altar of his country. i am not here to cringe for mercy; my client is not ashamed of anything he has done. many a man would do for england what he did for germany—may, in fact, be now doing it. whatever his fate, he will meet it bravely like a man."
the verdict, as usual in the case of a court-martial, was not announced until some days later, when an official statement told us that lody had been shot. he maintained his courage to the end, and died without a tremor. before he died he left a letter in which he admitted he had had a fair trial, and expressed appreciation of the fact that he had been treated, not as a spy, but as an officer.
now we come to the ugliest and darkest side of the lody case. it will be remembered that lody was able to get about by the aid of an american passport issued in the name of charles a. inglis. it was thought, at first, that this was merely a passport obtained[pg 148] either by forgery or by false pretences; as a matter of fact it was a perfectly genuine document, but lody had no right to it. how it came into his possession shows the depth of degradation to which the german general staff are prepared to descend.
mr. inglis, it was ascertained after the trial, was a bona fide american traveller holding a genuine passport. he left his passport with the american embassy in berlin for registration with the german foreign office, or some other department. the embassy sent it in for registration and it was never returned. nor was it ever heard of again until it turned up in the possession of carl lody—a spy in great britain!
the german explanation to the american embassy was that the passport had been mislaid. the same fate, it is said, has befallen no fewer than two hundred united states and british passports in germany, and the corollary of this astounding announcement is that at the present moment there may be two hundred german agents wandering about equipped with british and american passports which are perfectly genuine, and not in the least likely to be suspected.
the stealing of these passports by the german authorities has been the subject of an official british communication, so that there can be no doubt about the fact, whether the exact number had been stated or not. "it has come to the notice of the foreign secretary," says the british statement, "that[pg 149] some passports belonging to british subjects leaving germany have been retained by the german authorities. such cases should be reported to the foreign office."
i say without hesitation that i do not believe any other country on the face of the globe would descend to such methods as this. i say, moreover, that no nation capable of such conduct can be regarded as possessing a shred of public honour. it is comparable only to the white flag treachery, or the mounting of machine guns in red cross ambulances, which is a feature of german warfare, to the murder by bombs of non-combatants in districts where there cannot be any soldiers, to the sowing of mines on the high seas, to the making of shields for soldiers out of the bodies of miserable civilians, to the slaughter of women and children at louvain and aerschot. what will the civilised communities of the world have to say in the future to germans convicted out of their own mouths of disregarding every law of god and man that may operate to their disadvantage?
but even out of the theft of the passports—no doubt regarded by them as an excellent stroke of "kultur"—the germans are not unlikely to reap trouble. the united states is not a country to be played with, and in this passport trick there lie the elements of serious trouble. americans will not be likely to lie down quietly while their passports are used for espionage, and it is more[pg 150] than likely that the germans have stirred up a hornets' nest about their ears. in the meantime, it is reported from washington that the government has instructed the embassy in berlin to sift the lody-inglis incident to the very bottom.
that incident, too, has brought about much more stringent rules with regard to passports. henceforth no american or british passport will be recognised as valid which does not bear the certified photograph of its rightful owner, and extra photographs for registration purposes will have to be lodged with the embassy or consulate by which the passport is issued. in the meantime we may be quite sure that american passports in london will be the subject of very special attention. what diplomatic action the united states may take in the matter it is impossible to say, but we can be fairly sure that such a proceeding as the stealing of neutral passports and using them for the purposes of spying in great britain will hardly be allowed to pass without very serious protest.
the lody case has had one good effect in bringing home to a public, which is, alas! too liable to be careless in such matters, the reality of the german spy-peril in the country. the public had been so consistently deluded in this matter by those who were perfectly aware of the real facts of german espionage that it was far too much inclined to look upon everyone who insisted that there was a very real and very urgent spy danger as a[pg 151] mere alarmist. it knows better now! anyone who glances at the columns of the daily press must be aware that public opinion is slowly awakening to the real urgency of the question, and, though i and others have been bitterly disappointed that our warnings have, to a great extent, gone unheeded, i am even now not without hope that we shall yet see the public insist that adequate steps shall be taken for our national safety in this respect.
it is true we may offend germany by the drastic action the position demands. we may even, it is true, make the lot of englishmen still, unhappily, in germany, harder and more disagreeable. we shall regret either necessity. but the safety of the country has to come first.
germany has never shown the slightest regard for our feelings, and i am sure that those of our countrymen who are prisoners in germany, military or civil, would cheerfully suffer any conceivable hardship rather than that the safety of our beloved empire should be jeopardised in the hope of making better terms for them.
to think otherwise would be to assume that patriotism had entirely departed from us.
