The Redwood gazette. [volume] (Redwood Falls, Minn.) 1873-1940, 1879-03-27

your rascals and vagabonds know fal
more what your detectives are doing
than the detectives know about the
rascals. kf
"We," he continued, "divide oul
police into two great divisions-la DO
lice politique and Ia police correction
nellie. Of the former you have none al
all. So much the better for you. The
police objectionable we subdivide
into two categories, those who wea,
uniform and those who don't. The
former are for keeping order in the
streets. at the doors Of public buildings
and other places where there an
crowds; also, they have to deal with
ordinary thieves, house-breakers and
rogues of the lower orders. For in.
stance. if l happened to be passing
through the streets of Paris and saw 8
fight. . tumult or other disturbance,
would not dream of interfering. II
would be the business of the sergents.
de-ville to do SO. This part Of the
London police duty is admirably per-
formed. Your policemen do their work
in the streets, and whenever there is q
crowd or crush, with q good temper
and forbearance that is beyond all
praise. But it must be admitted that
this is very much owing to the English
people themselves. With the excep-
ton of the lowest of the low, the
English are a people who love order,
and if q policeman is doing his duty,
nine Englishmen out of ten would
step forward and assist him If he
were in difficulty or were outnumbered
by what you call the roughs."
But" SAID I, lido you not approve
of our secret police, or detectivesp'
"No," said the Frenchman. 81 do
not. 1 may be wrong, but they don't
appear to me to know the very COM
mencement of their work. For instance,
as your London detective goes along
the street the policemen on duty speak
to him, or give him a nod of recogni-
ton, or, if he is superior, salute him.
You saw me little while ago at Bou-
logne' were then in the train on
our way to Paris-"pass number of
sergents-de-ville when we disembarked.
Did any one of them make me sign of
recognition?''
"No,". SAID l, "they certainly did
not. l was close behind you, and OBJ
served that not one of them appeared
ever to have seen you before"
"Bon," said the Frenchman; "and
yet they all knew me as well as 1 know
my superiors in Paris. But, in fact,
even you, monsieur" he said, address,
ing me, shave only my word for it
that l have anything whatever to do
with the police. And if you were to
take off my clothes, search all the
pockets, and cut out all the lining, you
would not find one scrap of paper which
would show you that I have anything
to to do with Rue de Jerusaleme."
"But," said I, "after time people
must get to know your appearance, and
must mark you down as Mons. So
and-so of the police force, in the same
way that any banker, merchant or other
private individual would be noted down
by his neighbors.''
'Ah, mon cher monsieur he re-
piled, chow little you English know of
the working of our secret police, of
what you call detectives! If my APP
pearance and my vocation were known,
even to my landlord and my concierge,
l would be of no more use to the secret
police of Paris than pair of boots
without soles would be to an infantry
soldier.
"You don't suppose that 1 always
go about in the same costume! 1t is
true that leave my house every morn
ing in the same dress; and if you were
to ask my concierge, or any of my
neighbors, who and what l am. you
would be told that my name was So
and-so-que .je s,sis decore, ct que je suis
dams les afaires which is equivalent
to what you English call something
in the city,"
"Do you ever, if l may ask the ques-
ton, use DISCUSSES or dresses so as to
make yourself pass for something else
than what you really arc?'
"Mais, comment!' replied the po-
liceman, "that is one of our special
duties. A member of the special police
who could not pass himself off for what
he is not would not be worth twenty
francs a month in the way of salary. l
have at different times disguised myself
as priest, as dragon, as an infantry
officer, as q carpenter, as q printer, as
a cocher de tiacre. have waited at a
table in a restaurant as a garcon Of the
establishment; have wheeled a truck
with luggage on it from the Chemin de
Fer du Nord to the Grand Hotel;
have Struggled cigars, passed myself
off as commissaire, and assisted in
taking tickets at a railway station. In
fact there are few situations and fewer
trades to which have not for a time
belonged, and to which l hope have
done a certain amount of honor"
"But," said 1. "surely in large
city like Paris there must be somebody,
and l should say not few people, who
knew you, and who cannot be deceived
by your different costumes"
Look here" replied my companion,
Sc this is Thursday; we shall arrive in
Paris about seven o'clock this morning.
If monsieur will make me q bet of a
dinner for four persons at any restaur-
ant the loser pleases, l will wager that
before Sunday night win speak on
three separate occasions to monsieur,
that he will not on either occasion rec
ognize who l am until I disclose my
self, and that each time l will speak to
him for at least five minutes"
Thinking it impossible that any one
person could by change of dress, or
what not, deceive me as to his identity
three times in four days, 1 at once
agreed to make the bet. In due time
we arrived at the station of the Chemin
de Fer du Nord; betaking myself to
my hotel and my companion to his own
home.
After breakfast l set off to present
my credentials at the Rue de Jerusa-
!eme; which, as most people know, is
the headquarters of the Paris police.
Upon sending up my letter and card,
l was shown to the room of the "Sous-
Chefde Police Questionable - which,
as have mentioned before, is totally
distinct department from that of the
political police. The gentleman into
whose presence was shown had very
little the appearance which in England
we perceive in our Police Inspectors.
He was q well-dressed, clean-shaven
man of about fifty years of age. and
looked more like the manager or head
- hn~1,s~~ oc<n hls.L,~nSAA 49, - "a