Agents of Mischief

As a lad of 15, he enlisted and fought in France for the Empire. Gallant, meteoric, he progressed to the Near East, and at barely 17 was made Governor of Zea (Ceos), an Aegean island on which he put down a rebellion, using British-French-Greek troops. Before the War ended he had returned to France, been wounded, then captured. When peace came he inherited $100,000 and tried to settle down. He is one Wilfred Thomas McCartney, British subject, even now barely 29.

Because Hero McCartney has not been able to "settle down" he was on trial, last week in London, before the Lord Chief Justice of England--as a spy. In the dock with him was a German youth, one George Hansen, 24. Both were charged with recent spying in behalf of Soviet Russia and with unsuccessful attempts to purchase state secrets from a faithful employe, George Monkland, who had denounced them to Scotland Yard.

Against the culprits appeared, last week, bristling, the Attorney General, Sir Douglas Hogg. Jurymen and spectators craned forward to catch his words, for he ranks in private life with that great barrister,* Sir John Simon, as one of the few legal fencers in England whose swordplay is worth -L-20,000 a year--pittance though that would be to a first rank U. S. attorney. Last week Sir Douglas Hogg adduced the testimony of faithful George Monkland and other witnesses with irrefutable force, then cried to the jury:

"I ask you to consider that we have been successful in unearthing a dangerous spy organization against the safety of this country, that these two men were members of it and carried on for the Russian Government spying, which so far, fortunately, does not appear to have led to material results."

Counsel for the defense partially denied and partially attempted to explain away the activities of their clients on the grounds that they had merely been seeking "research material" for a pacifist German scholar who wanted to write a book exposing British militarism. When the "scholar" could not be produced or even proved to have existed, the defence became palpably thin, evanescent.

In the summing up, the Lord Chief Justice, Baron Hewart, came near to sneering at the petty successes of the accused. Said he: "The word spy has been used time after time in this case. The word seems misapplied when used concerning either of you. A spy is very often a brave man who, for the sake of his country, encounters a very serious personal risk, but in these matters you have been doing nothing for your country.

"You have become for pay hireling agents of mere mischief." The jury, having deliberated 14 minutes, brought in a verdict of guilty; and soon the Lord Chief Justice imposed upon two makers of "mere mischief" sentences of 10 years imprisonment each. Commenting on the trial, Attorney General Sir Douglas Hogg vigorously stressed his belief that only part of a general Russian-subsidized spy system had been uncovered. "Unluckily," said he "we have not been able to gather in our net all those concerned, though I trust the result of this trial will make others think before they pursue their dangerous and treasonable activity."

No satisfactory explanation appeared as to why War-Hero McCartney had turned spy, but an uncharitable English press stressed, last week, the facts that he is Scotch and that he was allegedly retained at $3,000 per year by Russian agents.

*One resplendantly "admitted to plead at the bar" in the superior courts of law, as opposed to the busy, drudging solicitor who prepares cases but has not the right to "plead" or argue them, except in very minor courts. Since much legal business requires no "pleading" or is even settled out of court, the fees of a smart solicitor will exceed those of a spell binding barrister.