Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1899-09-07
Where the Spy System Flourishes.

catch thief has too many eNfep-
lions to prove its infallibility as
rule, but there, nevertheless, is, how
ever small, an element of truth in
broad application of it, Most OF the
best detectives known have been men
of upright lives and integrity. Never
theless there must be danger for the
weaker minds running in the grooves
which the criminal mind is wont to
take, and through which the mind of
the detective must follow. 1t is evil
dent that the skillful sleuth must
know his man" and his environments.
his passions and his weaknesses.
Then in many instances certain
amount of trickery is deemed neces
sary to secure the ends of justice.
There is, however, a legitimate de-
mand for the skill of the spy, and it
follows that it is very desirable that
he shall be a person his employers
may trust.
u
officials, who have taken such active
part in the prosecution of Dreyfus,
have been honestly in the conviction
that he is guilty, he must likewise adj
nit that their sources of Information
in several important particulars have
been unreliable; that an alarming
apnonnf Of ,.a cca litv has haap ipJnlgpI
in by somebody in the way of prOcur-
ing false evidence. Now there is no
nation, unless it be Russia, that has
so complete and highly trained a spy
system as France. OF the inner or
ganiZation of this wonderful system,
a former chief of division ii the treLch
secret service, I. Saint-Just, writes an
entertaining and instructive article in
the September number of The Cos
mOpoltan.
The opening sentence of this article
would naturally alarm an American if
applied to this country: practically
France is at the mercy of a secret SER
tions all over the country and is CEN
tralized in Paris"
But it is not the President, members
of his cabinet and the leading men of
the gevefnxnent that are familiar with
the inner workings of this great sys-
tenn which has descended from the
o4a, ha
polaen, but which would astound that
astute and unprincipled sleuth by it's
magnitude were he all at once to COM
prehend it at the present day. This
immense secret service is under the
management of officials, chiefs of divi-
sion, whose tenure of office, by reason
of the civil service and their posses
sion of important secrets, is far more
secure than that of the heads of
government so prone to change and
novelty where its presidents and
cabinets are concerned.
NJ Saint-Just says: In France
everybody who has had, or is likely to
provided against his will, of course)
at the office of the chief police, with
dossier politique, political dockeD in
which are accumulated documents.
private letters, speeches. in fact. every
available piece of ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
ularly in regard to his private life
Mt bA ilyalx tn
see in it's complete form.
The writer then describes in detail
the duties assigned to the several divi
sions under which this system that
has it's spies in every secret society in
France, and in every walk of life is
worked. He says the political spies
number seven or eight hundred in all
classes, from the lowest to the highest,
not one of whom is ever likely to know
any of his fellow workers, and who
not infrequently spy upon each other
If their services prove valuable they
are paid accordingly, and it would
seem that some of the spies attending
to the Dreyfus case had sought to in
crease their income temporarily by
sensational reports. which have proved
to have but the flimsiest basis, though
NJ. Saint-Just does not allude to this
in his article. the application of which
is left to the readers intelligence for
conclusions: though in describing the
power Of the service he says: 1T is
safe; to state that Major Esterhazy
never ran away from Paris. He could
never have done so, and his demand
for a safe conduct to come back to
Paris and give his testimony in the
Dreyfus case was mere bluff He
was advised to go, and probably paid
for his trouble / should not be sur
prised. either. that all his communica-
tions to the public are manufactured
by the prefecture or written at the
suggestion of the secret political po-
lice" Then he tells how this secret
service has supported anarchistic pa