GERMAN SPIES.

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2281, 15 October 1914, Page 8

GERMAN SPIES.

Sir, —Like hundreds of other people in ' Wellington, this morning I was glad to read your leader concerning the two German spies caught visiting German cruisers, and probably giving invaluable information to the enemy, such as the strength of the New Zealand force in Samoa, and the' number of wireless stations and islands, etc., that have fallen into our hands, and possibly even more useful information. But I must say that I cannot agree with your inference that those spies should not be shot. I consider ifc a crying shame to our volunteers to allow such acts to pass almost unnoticed, as naturally any other Gorman who feels so ■ disposed _ won't mind trying his hand at spying or espionage or erecting private wireless stations,. when he knows that at the worst he will only bo given free board and lodging, and have a generally fine holiday, whereas the highly cultured German Government shooto anyone immediately, oven on suspicion, so isn't, if about time we woke up to the fact that wo are not acting fairly +o ourselves by our lenient treatment of German spies caught in tho very.act? It seems to me about time we dropped talking about German methods not being English methods, as I feel sure that in years to come, instead of future generations saying how humane our treatment of German spies was, it will be said 'how foolish we were in being so lenient. Surely, Sir, things havo now gone so far that more drastic punishment is necessary to discourage other would-be. spies.—l am, etc., COMMON SENSE. October 14.