The Roanoke times. [volume] (Roanoke, Va.) 1890-1895, 1893-08-27
FRENCH POLICE SPIES.
Row tho Government Manages to Secure
Information Privately.


Information Privately.
After all that has been said about the
yileness Of the police system under the
en- which renderettit almost impos-
sibie for any one to be safe from espion-
age, even in private htfe, it nigh, , T;y"
be supposed that the, republic had done
sway with this machinery for discover
ing and weaving plots so ,ancb moro
suited to the age of Louis XI than to the
nineteenth centurSS. 1t remains, how
ever. very pr.ton what it was 80 years
ago. Thesa things do not change in
France.
Governments go, and the forms of gov
eminent, and these are succeeded by 9TH
ers, 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. 1t is almost as difficult now
as it was under the empire to be certain
that man whom you may meet, either
in society or out of it, does not belong to
the secret police.
All over the country there are mou-
chards-a term expressing something
stronger than spies. have been incon-
venienced by them myself in the prov
inces. On one occasion made a rather
long stay in little place where there
were two hotels in fierce rivalry. One
day brigadier of gendarmes came over
from neighboring town on purpose to
make inquiries respecting me.
He did not trouble me, but he ques-
toned various people as to how 1 passed
my time, about how much spent day,
what sort of meals had, and whether
appeared to have more money than
knew what to do with. The fact was
was suspected of being Il 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,
got myself driven over the gendarlnery,
which was about eight miles off, and
there had it out with the brave briga-
der.
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
Situated where he was he must have
been absolutely useless i'll that capacity,
but ut one time he must have done q
service to somebody.
1t 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
q traitor or whose position enables them
to observe what is going forward with
out exciting suspicion. They are tech
nlcally termed indicators and may be-
long to either sex. When the Boulan-
glst movement was convulsing France.
the government had great advantage
over its opponents by handling of the Sc
cret fund and the secret police.
Boulanger's footsteps were logged ey-
erywhere, and somehow NJ. Constans
learned all that he wished to know con-
corning the plans and doings of the con-
splrators. An important point in this
system is TO make the indicator" feel
sure that whatever happens he will not
be betrayed. The minister of the inte-
rlor or of Justice never asks the names of
those by means of whose espionage GER
tain political information has been gath
cred.
The money given for dark services is
paid from hand to hand III cafes or other
nonofficial places by commissionnaires
and the name of no auxiliary outside of
the ranks of the regular police ever APP
pears in Il book. Is it impossible for the
government TO do without this abom-
Unable system, so opposed to the ideal of
II democratic state? The Cottu-Soinoury
scandal has led TO much discussion on
this question: Boston Transcript
An Obtusc Englishman.