The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1899-09-09
SWARMS OF SPIES.
EXTRAORDINARY EXTENT OF THE
FRENCH SYSTEM.
As Told by One Who Knows-A Sc
cret DOssier Is Made Up for Every
one Who is in POIitics-WOmen
Helm ir, Esninnnrrn

lows for the September number of the
Cosmopolitan:
Practically France is at the mercy OF
secret service system which has its rami-
fications all over the country, and is CEN
tralized in Paris. II must not be under
Stood however that the Capitalization is
in the hands of the President and the mem
bers of his cabinet Strange as it may
appear, the President and the secretaries
are not SO well posted on the matter as
many employees drawing a comparatively
small salary,
The Paris project of police himself is
kept in blissfuI ignorance of what is go
ing on His chiefs of division let him know
only what pleases them and no more; and
so it is with the secretaries, particularly
the Secretary of the Interior and the Sec
rotary of Foreign Affairs. This will be
readily understood when one remembers
that the secretaries and the project are
apt to be dismissed at moments notice,
while the chiefs of division controlling the
whole machinery are ciVil-service men and
cannot be removed except for very grave
reasons. The government would hesitate 10
dispense with the services of a chief or
division whose silence was Of Importance
to the state.
A Great Mass of DOssiers.
Before taking up in detail the whole or
ganzation of this system, let me explain
about the dossier. In France everybody
who has had, has or is likely to have
something to do with politics, is provided
against his own will, of course), at the
Office of the chief of police, with a. dossier
politique political docket, in which are
accumulated documents, private letters,
speeches, in fact, every available piece
of neutrality-suspicious. in regard TO
his private life. As soon as a new Presi-
dent a new project of police or secre-
tary is installed he calls for his dossier;
indeed, the chief of disivsion who has
charge of these dossiers always makes
it a point to bring it along at the first
interview with the new official. But the
dosser at this important moment never
contains anything of value. If, however,
the Official is at any time removed, MS
dossier reappears in all it's completeness.
Apart from the large force of secret po-
lice inspectors whose duty is TO ferret
out ordinary criminals, the prefecture OF
police possesses the best organized spy
system at the disposal of the French gov
eminent.
The first thing the Paris Commune did
in 1871 was to destroy all the records of
the secret political police, as well as the
records of the city of Paris. After the
commune the prefecture was reorganiZed,
a special brigade being added for the fer
reting of communists. This brigade was
called the Fourth Brigade of Researches,
and had for it's chief M Audiot now de-
ceased whom few people knew in his
official capacity, his title being mentioned
in the police directory as special COM
missary of police.
When the amnesty for the condemned
communists was granted while M. Albert
Gibot was project of police, the Municipal
Council at once demanded the suppression
OF the Fourth Brigade of Researches; this
was refused, and as a consequence NJ.
Andrieux replaced NJ. Gibot. NJ. AndrieuX
| needed the Fourth Brigade to watch the
various political parties, particularly the
Socialists and Anarchists, but to placate
the Municipal Council he issued a decree
abolshing the obnoxious secret inspectors
of researches.
At the same time, however he quietly
reorganized a composite system of frac-
tional divisions of secret political police,
and nobody was the wiser. This system
is yet in existence, and with it is connect
ed the anu-Anarchist secret police with
its ramifcations all over France. Spain,
England, Portugal, Germany, Italy. Hol-
land, Belgium and even the United
States.
Identity of Spies Secret.
When Andrieux suppressed the Fourth
Brigade L was at the head of one of the
divisions. He asked M Audiot and my
self to furnish him with the names of our
secret agents. This we refused to do,
being in honor bound not to disclose the
identity of any of these agents, who could
be found among all classes of people, in
Guiding even senators and deputies. But
we told him that we could let them know
that he would take them back if they
would again offer their service.
At the same time we explained to him
that IL was customary that the names of
these agents should be known only to the
chiefs of division, but net to the project
of police or any member of the COVER
ment. This regulation is yet in force,
and the reason of this is that the project
and the ministers are often removed from
office, while the chiefs of division remain,
as l have already stated. Inside of a
month almost every political spy had re-
sumed his former occupation.
The project and his staff of secretaries
are supposed to be at the head, but as a
matter of fact the chief of the third di-
vision NJ CaVard, officer of the Legion of
Honor, is really the chief of the secret
political police. Under him are NJ. Baube
CHIEF of the FIRST bureau, who has charge
of the political dockets (dossiers), and M
May chief of the second bureau. who
and directs the cabinet noir, in which
letters are deftly opened, read and photo
graphed and the copies classified for the
dockets resume of these reports is
made daily and communicated On. May
communicates what he pleases) to the pre-
feet and to the secretary of the Interior
also to the cabinet and the President
generally every Wednesday, which is cab
met day.
To the third division belongs the staff
of experts in chirography, decpherng and
languages. When necessary, they call on
NJ. Girard, the chief of the municipal
laboratory, whose main duty at present is
TO examine suspicious packages sent by
the anarchists, including loaded envelopes
and bombs
How the Bureaus Work.
NJ. Honorat is the chief of the first di-
vision Under him are the following bu-
reaus:
First Bureau-lM. Pottet chief: Re
searches of criminals against whom no
warrants have been issued. NJ. Pottet has
charge of the expulsion of Objectionable
=