The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1899-05-06
SPY MANIA IN PARIS.
ao,XEs AND TRAPS FOR ALL SORTS
OF PEOPLE.

s Spies, While Profit Was Sc
rod by Their Punishment.
Paris Correspondence of the London
Globe.
The spv mania has broken out again.
~, the present occasion it concerns the
r..,ch and Germans. Let US begin with
arrest of Decrion. So far, his case has
., Kent in secrecy, but recently things
,,.s taken a different turning. The exam
,,,,,on he has undergone at the hands of
=, rory has. it is said, revealed the fact
mat in consequence of the doings of De-
r,on two Frenchmen have been con-
1.nnsd for espionage, and are in prison
-. ,,arnanv. Some of the details of the ca
,ssr of Decrion' are worth giving. This
,,s,.r of swindlng, who possessed a lit
49, ,,7av at that time, found himself in
t,s suburbs of Metz, where he made the
,.4l,aintance Of two commercial travellers,
- whom he proposed the following under
,,lino. Il want for panorama Whlch mas
~, ,rdared of me few views of the for
tit.ations of Colmar and the neighborng
t,.ne Here is a good Photographic out
49, no not be particular about the eA-
49," The more YOU do the more will you
7
INC mat on my return my collection OF
- ,yill be more complete and more
..,o-u. " The two amateurs OF photog-
~. frtllv believed their interlocutor, VINO
,a[,hIed in painting at the hotels ne pat
,9ri7ed and was considered a gifted ar
71so,ion to convince the young CONNER
Ill travellers gave to each or them 10
er,ncs for expenses. They set TO work.
I'D Decrion left the country. lie came
80 11atz ia Paris and, it is stated, went
:, rbe the German embassy, where ne
,allred in a manner sufficiently mysten-
. 10 interest the intelligence depart
mont Of the German empire. He pointed
an, "a the German functionaries that, be-
in,, an agent of the detective department
~ france. he possessed the most power
fI means of searching everywhere.
oIf is thus" he said that 1 have
inst discovered that two French spies are
Installed in the suburbs of Colmar with
the mission to photograph the fortress OF
that town
The German embassy as can be easily
imagined ordered an inquiry to be made,
and finally our NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. We're
arrested They protested, but in vain.
Judged with closed doors and condemned
TO ten years in a fortress, they are at the
present moment expaung their excess of
faith in Decrion. The two men were sold
to Germany by Decrion, who hoped to
inspire confidence in the government of
4 William II. 1t is denied that they were
employed in any way al the detective de-
pdrtment or any other official service.
Let me now turn to the other spies, or
what are believed to be such, for differ
n ence of opinion prevails on the subject.
4 fortnight ago, al the time of the foods
Il a cart which does the postal service in the
H neighborhood of ST. Etienne was passing
H over a wooden bridge, when the violence
n Of the current washed it away, and every
thing was believed to be lost; but such
was not the case. Among the objects
saved were two sacks of letters and tele-
grams. The letters which happened to be
in the middle of the sacks were almost in
tact but the addresses of those which
were on the outside were oblterated.
n They were opened in order to find to
whom they belonged. One of them, as
near as could be made out, was address,
q ed to the agent of a powerful foreigner,
who said Il send you the two photo
graphs you demanded, with three views
n Of the works in question. l presume you
received my preceding letter a week ago,
and that you have responded, as I wishec,
4 IN cipher, to ST Etienne. Please ac~
knowledge the reception of the present at
the same address," To this letter were
joined TWO photographs of the forts re-
Gently added to the works of defense on
me French coasts, and three views of the
iortresses. This letter was sent to the
under secretary of posts and telegraphs
n VINO in his turn, transmitted it to the
war minister. There still remained part
Oh II lliegible, but under chemical process
the writing reappeared, and it was then
discovered that the letter was of the high
est Importance. At least so we are told
An active watch was kept at the post
once OF st. Etienne. The reply arrived
from the country designated in the let
ter, but at the same time a note was re-
oeiVed from the postoffice begging the
II master to forward the letter to Paris. A
second note was received in Paris praying
4 mat the letter should be sent to NJ Du-
.ahu' Rue de Turbigo. 1t will be seen
u'dl 'he boy did not take much pains to
"A prevent being discovered. On being ar
'esteu' he said his name was NJ Durand
." az mat ne was born at Roubaix on Nov
-, LOW lie says he is a commercial trav-
a yer IN hnen drapery. In effect, the room
"IIch he occupied for three days since
, arrival in Paris was full of boxes con-
r1'''lns lace and ribbons. 1t is here that
a W come to the most interesting part Of
we case Ii appears that the bobbins
i - Ior winding up the ribbons were so
ana photographs of military plans and
A So which were thus hidden.
n ~ runs the story. The majority of the
q people treat it lightly, and are inclined to
LING mat it is hoax, in spite of the
4 70 0uii'slahtial evidence which it appears
q oman. There is nothing new in 1t.
~ al, 1t Is merely a repetition, pure
n sa ,u SIMPLE, of the Schwartz affair. which
,oa,i a few years ago in Paris. It
1 Ii,r, pe remembered that Schwartz who
4 60 pehlnd the Buttes-Chaulnont photo
e el The fortresses relative to the de-
4 ~ VI Faris, and sent the documents
f9 ioieign power who paid handsomely
or mem The case apparently. is the
90 'o-day. The Figaro says it has made
o. :. INJURY into the matter, and the result
y. IT IS that it would make a good oper-
eIta Of The Herve type.
4 e,r. i1e writing the above. the following
o''eial communication has been. sent