Chicago eagle. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1889-19??, 1905-12-09
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PARTISAN SECRET POLICE,
Strangers In the City Are Constantly
Watched mud Acts Recorded.


Watched aud Acts Recorded.
About the words 1.-THE secret police"
there Is II pretty air of mystery. They
summon up pictures OF cloaked figures,
Of men waiting In dark alleys and Of
stcalthy steps behind the curtains Of
corridors. They IRE woven into nine.
tcnths Of popular French fiction. The
woman concierge, summing herself In
what Partisan doorway you please.
feeds her Imagination on tales OF mul.
tiple DISCUSSES. For her the agent do
III surete, who comes to Inquire about
her dodgers. Is dark with mystery; he
IL ''Of the secret police" As matter
OF fact. this branch Of the police,
though dressed In plain clothes, IL not
ut all occult. II has to 10 with plain
and simple crimes. Most Of the agents
OF the surctc nre Old soldiers, honor.
able men. They are supplemented,
however, by Il band Of quasi police
known as INDICATORS. These people,
who are permanent auxlliarles OF tho
service, are recruited among the street
fakirs and masterless rOgues who fore.
gather In Paris.
Behind these humdrum agents nnd
those gloomy Outcasts. their aids, there
In mighty ana mysterious "secret
police" about which not one Partisan
in hundred has definite knowledge.
The real secret pollce--to.day, as un.
der the empirc-ls that which 10
known rs the brigade des recherches--
that IL, the brigade Of investigation.
Tho members Of this force are recruit.
al In tar higher rank OF society than
the fellows Of the surete. Indeed,
there IL no class-frOm the old nobility
To the new feudalIty Of finance-whlch
does not contribute to this occult sys-
TEN of espionage. II Is not my pur.
pose here to describe In detail the
many qualifications OF this ancient aud
potent order Of spies.
4 foreigner IN France. II he ass0ci.
ntes frequently with people of import.
ance, comes In time to know them
well. They follow him In his cOmings
and gOings, report upon his acts AMI
| opinions, and sift his life with a care
unknown In our careless republic. One
| OF those who were sent out on my trail
! came to know very well. What was
suspected Of know not. though dur
Ing the trOublous days OF the Dreyfus
case ] fraternlzed with mary men,
one of whom, the COmte du Temple, an
ex-deputy, was an aggressive rOyalist.
Anyway, my spy ana came to know
each other very well. He played a
good game Of billiards ana was com.
paniOnnble gentleman.
A little later DIR. w. ]. O'Sulllvan,
an assistant corporation counsel Of
New York, visited me In Paris. He was
greatly interested In the secret police
! could hardly persuade him that from
the moment we met and shook hands
In the Care du Nord until his do
parture from the Care st. Lazare ev.
cry net OF his had been noted. / got
the evidence from my friend (my own
pet spy In the brigade DIES recherches.
The doctors record was singularly
complete. He had not spoken with a
man. he had not chatted with WON.
an, he had not dlned out or break.
tasted In my garden. he had not
bought pair Of yellow gloves. unseen
by some ubiquitous spy. The amazed
gentleman, when he learned how close
had been the watch upon him, shud.
dered as II he had walked In peril, and
went back to New York wondering.
So close are the meshes of this police
net that not even casual visitor slips
thr0ugh.-Success