Los Angeles, Feb. 21.
Federal agents today were investigating reports that Japanese fishing boats from Los Angeles and San Diego followed the United States Fleet into the Caribbean to spy on the annual Fleet manceuvres.
The United States District Attorney, Mr. Benjamin Harrison, said he had been informed that a number of strange boats appeared in the Caribbean coincident with the beginning of the U.S. Fleet manœuvres.
"Tt seems significant that these boats should be fishing there for the first time," Mr. Harrison said. Several Japanese boats in the Caribbean have been observed watching American warships through "long rengo glasses," he said.
Mr. Harrison's announcement followed reports from San Juan, Puerto Rice, stating that mysterious ships, believed to be manned by Japanese, had been seen in the Fleet war games area. Thus far the Navy has made no effort to apprehend any of the mystery boats—United Press.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.