The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1884-01-25
TIE POLICE OF PARIS.
Not the Glorious Body of Popular Belief-A
Revelation of Abuses.

Revelation of Abuses.
NJ Yves Guyot's Book.
To the American who interests himself in the
affairs of the French people, and who knows
something of their manners and customs at
home one of the most curious problems which
they offer for his consideration is the marked
Difference which at ordinary times they pay to
their public functonaries, of what grade soever.
What though Frenchmen do occasionally de-
throne kings and emperOrs, and fight out their
little differences with the constituted authorities
from behind the shelter of hastily constructed
barbados! Order being restored, they subsde
apparently into the most law-abiding of people.
and the sight of uniform is apt to inspire awe
and respect among petty tradesmen and the PEG
pie generally altogether out of proportion to the
social status of the wearer an official who
commands no more maybe than a labOrer's wage.
Some explanation of this phenomenon would
seem to be afforded by NJ. Guyots allegations,
even should only one 1.-THE of them be well
founded. In some legal proceedings against M.
Guyot, which led to the resignation of M. Jacob,
the well known chief of the surety, no fewer
than fourteen inspectors" or 'mouchards'
eorroborated some statements made by
the defendant in the press to the effect
that there existed custom of torturing prison
ers- awaiting trial in the police cells in order to
extert from them confessions of guilt The tor
tuFe consisted, as they aveITed in tying Irvine
round the wrists of the victims, and drawing 1t
tightlyso to cut the flesh, in some cases draw
ing blood. This is said to be technically known
as passer au tabac, an expression of which the
origin is not clear NJ. Jacob at the time denied
that any such system had the sanction of the
chief authorities but he could not allege that it
had never on any occasion been practiced by his
subordinates. A very precise allegation, and
one which the authorities appear to admit as
having some foundation is that with regard to
woman named Minus, the wife of a mason. She
was arrested by detective the 21st Of De
cember, 1879. on false charge of begging. For
three days she was kept in close confinement,
without being even allowed to state her case
IN cant To J11l11-C of no
lice OF the district that her infant
child was dying at hone Cor want of nourisn-
nsent; and the child sdied 1t is not denied, APP
parently, that the poor woman was unjustly ac-
cused that she was kept in duress for three
days, but the authorities allege that the body of
the child was examined by the police doctor, who
found that the child had died of disease. Hun
dreds of minor cases are cited in which persons
have been arrested and subjected to indignities
without the slightest apparent excuse at the will
of the insidious secret police agents. During
1882 49, 457 arrests were made by the police in
Paris, and of these only 1902 were made by
virtue Of warrants regularly obtained. The
rest came under the heading of fragrant of
lenses" for which arrests may be made without
special warrant. In the resultof the persons ar
rested, 1857 were Immediately released. No
fewer than 6l8 cases were for rebellion" or re
sistance to the police, very elastic term, and
which sufficiently explains the arbitrary
power with which the French police are prac-
tically invested. A hasty answer, a refusal to
in fact, which may be construed into an act of
resistance to the will and pleasure of the
agent and the offender is forthwith dragged to
tie station, violin" as il is popularity called
and there lodged for the night All who live in
''galnis or furnished apartments, are liable to
receive night visits from the agents. Even in
the hotels, inquisitorial questions as English
travellers well know, are asked of the visitors
concerning themselves, and the answers are duly
recorded on forms specially used for the purpose
for the information of the police. But with re
gard to the common lodging houses matters are
far worse From time to time raids made
these places, resulting in the capture of whole
bands of persons, who are hauled up before the
eOmmissary at the police station Here they are
carefully scrutinized and those who are
wanted" are detained, while the others have the
poor satisfaction of being released after in
quiries. As the police who make the capture
get Of for every previous offender who
Is convicted of any fresh Offense,
however trivial, they are naturally
anxious to allow as few persons az possible who
come under this category to escape from their
clutches. NJ Gigot, a former project of police,
has stated it as his opinion that in city in Eu-
rope there so large a number of arrests in
Paris, for the reason that in no other city is
there so little scruple as to making them Alto
gether, in the face of this statement on the au-
thority of man of NJ Gigots position. it is diff
fcult to believe that there is not some truth at
all events, in NJ. Guyot's allegations. Some
stories relating to the action of the police under
the second empire afford curious reading. The
secret funds at the disposal of the police project
have always been large. At the present time
they amount to GOO, 600 francs. Under Napoleon
III, on the eve Of every great political event,
the police never failed to discover some great plot
which was generally of their own making. In
the autumn of 1882 Just before the plebiscite
and during the visit of the Prince President as
he was then still called, to the south Of France,
one Gailard was arrested on the charge of
being concerned in the manufacture of an in
formal machine. The election over nothing
more was ever heard of him. Many other Incl
dents of the same kind occurred subsequently,
the most noteworthy of which took place Just
before the vote of 1870. At the beginning Of
that year numerous arrests made for al
legged completely in plot to blow up the En-
peror. Several persons were tried at Blois for
the offense and condemned to various terms of
imprisonment They were afterward released
under the government of the 4th of September
which issued in the Journal Officiel of Oct TO-
1870, a note to the effect that the so-called plot
at Blois had been organized by Messrs. Petre
tprefect of police) Ballot Guerin, Beaury, and
Bernier Ia judge) Guerin Beaury, and Ballot
who had confessed to being concerned in the
plot, We're, it appears, police spies and the note
in the journal Officiel added that Ballot de
manded 800, 600 francs as the reward of his CON
domination. and actually received 1000 francs
A number of men swearing that they nave been
concerned in = lot against government, and at
the same time receiving money for their testi-
mony from the same government, surely eonsti-
tutes state of things which no writer of fiction
cd