Arizona republican., 1899-08-30
AN EYE ON THEN ALL
Hennion and His Mysterious "nGu-
ChardS" at RenneS.

CndFQS dI RSnU(Ss
Hennfon's men seem to have disap-
peared. says a dispatch from Rennes.
These creepy, mysterious shadows,
known to the government as agents
de la surete gene3ale, to everybody else
as mouchards, have been watching Us
and everybody else for two weeks past
till they have begun to irrita5e our
nerves.
Nobody dares express an honest
American opinion in anything above a
whisper. The man beside you in the
cafe, or who has a room next to you
at the hotel, or who is drinking with
the pretty ginl who smiles at you o.
who Steps out of the shadow OF the
street and begs light at 1 O'Clock in
the morning MAY be and probably is
one of Hennion's men. This whole
panorama at Rennes is like a Gaboriau
novel with living, moving persona ges.
1t asks nothing of the Imagination and
is better than any pen that tries TO de-
scribe it.
To find out what has become of the
mouchards l went to see Hennion. 1t
appears his men are sitting all the
strangers at Rennes through their
sleeves to run to earth the camelotS
who tried to kill I3bori.
Hennion is O tall, blonde fellow of
SO, inclined to stoutnes5. He has Il
blonde mustache and looks like a
German, but is pure French. He was
born in AveTnes, was four years an Of
ficer in Africa, and at the completion
Of his military service entered the de-
partment Suuete Generate. which is in
cluded in the department of the in
terror.
He is now deputy chief under vi
guile. Hennion has peculiarly sharp
blue eyes and a quick, nervous man
ner, but is affablae and generally pop
ular among the correspondents. He
was willing to talk within limits, and
said, while slipping coffee after de-
ieuner in the cafe of the Hotel de
France:
'"The special branch of the Agence
de la Surete Generate which l COM
mand is my own invention. The or
gan:zation dates from 1893, when the
anarchist outTages called for police
protective service. That is part of my
duty. My men, in addition to being
distributed over alb parts of Rennes,
are supposed to protect all the promi-
u6uI poISOuS III Ju6 DT0y1uS case.
when Labori was shot two of my
men were with:n 100 yards of him
one in front and the other behind. A
dozen Crhers Were within call"
This is perfectly true. When Hen
Mon arrived on the scene of the shoot
ing he cried out some order Five
men whom 1 noted suddenly revealed
themselves as mouchardsa The man
who pushed me back was working
man in blouse. When, In surprise,
told him to let go, he said in "a low
tone, sharply, but politely: I am an
officer of the state
Others were a big, stalwa1& youth,
with jolly expression, in a jacket and
cap, a man of 40 in a black cutaway,
with IN Alpine straw hat, "a stout fell
low of 80 in flames, who looked IKE
a boollmaker, and a slender, dark, viii
famous locking young fellow in
straw hat and shabby brown tweed
suit, like a pickpocket.
They were all quick, resolute and
determined and obeyed like machines
you are said to have $50 men in
Rennes, is that correct?'' 1 asked Hen
MON. 81 cannot say; it would not do,
he replied.
How many men are under you in
,0O0?"
81 cannot give you the number. but
there are many more than that. We
have agents in every city in France,
in every tcrwn they are needed by the
civil police and nlso the military, as
you have seen are under cur CALL
Where dc you get your men?"
From all grades of society, from the |
lowest cafe to the drawing rooms of |
Paris They wear the same clothes as
before engagement, and lead exactly !
the same life. They are selected ac-
cording to ability and fitness for the
work.
What is your opinion of the Labor |
crime?"
Il have no exact information yet. !
The man may have been a mailman,
but 1 dOnE think SO. If so he would |
have struck higher than Labori My |
opinion is it was an assassination by |
a Camelot, arranged in Paris for q GER
tain price"
What price? What does it cost to
have man assassinated in France?"
THAT depends on the intermediary
who arranges ton how much sticks
to his fingers. 1t depends also on the
ability, experience and commercial in
telligence of the assassin selected -
Chicago Tribune