The Portland daily press., 1899-04-15

great extent his shadow, and in the dip
moment an envoy, IL secretary, or even an
attaohe Is appointed to any new post in
one or another of the capitals of CONT
mental Europe, he is Swallowed, at any
rate for a time, until his habits, his
tastes, and, above all, his weaknesses ara
ascertained and placed on record in his
dossier for eventual use.
Now and then the police spies assigned
to this service fail to discover any iu-
formation, and are either conscisn tious
enough or too devoid or initiative TO in
vent charges against the object of their
investigation. l alTays remember the
case of a foreign Ambassador accredited
was entirely clean, and whom the police
authorities ceased after about twelve
months to shadow, owing to the detec-
tiyes invariably reporting that His Ex-
cellency" had not even ''de petits vices"
Chat is was devoid even of small yices).
but In Constantinopie for instance, it
was few years ago notorious that at
last two of the then foreign Ambassa.
doris were entirely at the mAcy of the
Sultan, owing to the latter having been
placed by his clever police spies in pos.
session of secrets affecting the ofiicia! and
personal honor of their Excellencies, :"
and the exposure o; which would have
resulted in their disgrace and ruin.
ESPIONAGE ON STRANGERS.
There was likewise, until not so long
ago. the Ambassador of great power at
Paris, the contents of whose dossier at
the T. Prefecture of Police was such ms to
place him altogether at the mercy of the
French government and to render him
more or less useless to his own sover-
eigns. Even an attache sometimes pos
sesses information of value to the power
to which his chief is accredited, and may
be forced by judicious threats of the dis
closure of some one or another of his in
discretions, perhaps affecting the honor
of a lady whom he is bound to shield, to
betray the confidence reposed in him by
his government. l merely mention this
in order to show,th interest which for
eign governments have In forming dos
sers concerning not only their own ooun-
trymen but likewise with regard TO the
strangers in their gates.
The care of the dossiers and their
formation Is duty that is intrusted to
the Prefect, or Chief of Police, who in
turn is responsible to the Minister of the
Interior That is why on the ntlnent
of Europe the portfolio of the Interior de-
partment will in nine cases out of ten be
retained by the Premier of cabinet.
For precisely because the Minister of the
Interior has control of all the dossiers he
enjoys the greatest degree of power.
In Paris, for instance, the Project OF
Police presents to the Minister of the In
terror a daily report of the doings aud go
inrs during the previous twenty -four
hours not only OF the leading public men
but even OF his colleagues in the admin
istration and of the Chief Magistrate
himself. Thus it is matter of public
notoriety at Paris that the cause of Pres
dent Casimir-Perier startingly sudden
and otherwise wholly unaocountable res
ignation was due to tho fact NJ. Dupuy,
then. as now, Premier and Minister of
the Interior had obtained by means of his
secret agents possession of secret of the
president which concerned not only the
lat ;et's future, but likewise the fair name
of another person.
DANIEL WILSON'S IMMUNITY.
Realizing that under the circumstances
he would be entirely at the mercy of NJ.
Dupuy during the remainder Of his pres
idency, and in that way probably forced