Waterbury evening Democrat., 1893-09-30
FRENCH POLICE SPIES.
How the Government Manages to Secure
 Information Privately.

How the Government Manages to Secure
 Information Privately.
 After all that has bcen said about the vileness of the police system under the empire, which rendered it almost impos- sible for any" one to be safe from espion- age, even in private life, it might well be supposed that the republic had done away with this machinery for discover ing and weaving plots so much more suited to the age of Louis XI than to the nineteenth century. It remains, how ever, very much what it was 30 years ago. These things do not change in France.
 Governments go, and the forms ot gov ernment, and these are succeeded by oth- CTS, but the good old abuses-they must be thought good by some people-cling to the ship with barnaclelike tenacity. French official organization is about the most steadfast thing in the world, al though all French people to whom you may speak on the subject agree that it is very bad. It is almost as difficult now as it was under the empire to be certain l that man whom you may meet, either in society or out of it. does not belong to the secret police.
 1 All over the country there are mou- chards-a term expressing something | stronger than spies. l have been incon- venienced by them myself in the prov | inces. On one occasion I made rather | long stay in little place where there were two hotels in fierce rivalry. One day a brigadier of gendarmes came over from a neighboring town on purpose to make inquiries respecting me.
 1 He did not trouble me, but he ques- l toned various people as to how passed my time, about how much spent day, what sort of meals had, and whether appeared to have more money than l knew what to do with. The fact was was suspected of being a spy in the pay | of foreign government. As consider bold front to be the best whenever there is anything of this kind in the air, | l got myself driven over the gendarmery, which was about eight miles off, and there had it out with the brave briga- dier.
 soon discovered that an informer had been at work and that the informer was no other than the keeper of the rival hotel, who for years had been receiving pay as a member of the secret police. Situated where he was he must have been absolutely useless ill that capacity, but at one time he must have done a service to somebody.
 It is especially in Paris. however, that that the secret police is supposed to be in dispensable. Every government wishes to be kept well informed as to all that goes on in an enemy's camp. Such in formation can only be obtained from those who are willing to play the part of a traitor or whose position enables them to observe what is going forward with out exciting suspicion. They are tech nically termed indicators" and may be long to either sex. When the Boulan gist movement was convulsing France the government had a great advantage over its opponents by handling of the SC cret fund and the secret police.
 Boulanger's footsteps were dogged ev anywhere, and somehow NJ. Constani learned all that he wished to know con corning the plans and doings of the con spirators. An important point in thi system is to make the indicator" fee sure that whatever happens he will no be betrayed. The minister of the inte rior or of justice never asks the names O those by means of whose espionage cer tain political information has been gath cred.
 The money given for dark services i paid from hand to hand in cafes or othe nonoficial places by commissionnaires and the name of no auxiliary outside O the ranks of the regular police ever ap pears in book. Is it impossible for tn government to do without this abom inable system, so opposed to the ideal O a democratic state? The Cottu-Soinour, scandal has led to much discussion ol this question.-Boston Transcript.