Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-07-07
FEARS OF THE FRENCH
Systematized Spying Puts
Every Man on Guard.
GEN. ANDRE DEFENDS IT
Republicans, Socialists and Royalists
ALI Concerned.
SECRET SYSTEM BEGAN IN ARMY
Vague Spirit Of Observation-Disclosures
Spreading to Include Whole
Population.
Special Correspondence of The star.

PARIS, June 81, 1906.
Every Frenchman fears his neighbor
Every Frenchman Is on guard against spies
and telltales. When a servant enters the
room conversations change instantly. La
dies walking in the street will turn round
hastily to verify that they are not over
heard.
Every Frenchman knows his pane Is
down in some occult catalogue. What is
therein written may cause him and his vile
social ostracism; 1t may injure their fnan-
cial credit in town; it may prevent their
sons advancement in the army, university
or public service.
The mass of French bourgeois-living
enormously on the income of Investments
are beginning to tremble very specially at
this secret spying.
Business men find that 1t let's loose
vague spirit of discomfort and disloyalty
In their establishments.
In return it causes clerks to fear for their
places. 1t can make valet lose his sltua-
ton as easily as it can prevent university
professor from getting the ribbon of the
Legion of Honor. 1t can set a factory hand
adrift while his brother holds his job. 1t
can deprive nice girl of dance partners
at summer hotel
This unimaginable state of affairs began
in an attempt by royalsts and aristocrats
to capture the French army.
The man who bears the popular odium Of
having systematized the spying system per
Sc is a good republican, however. He is
Gen. Andre, late minister of war; and at
this very moment he is publishing sensa-
tional memoirs in Paris daily to explain
what he did and why he did 1t.
Sensational Memoirs.
In the early part of 1900 the late highly
respected Waldeck-Roussea confessed to
Gen. Andre that he could not sleep at night
4. t.
THE fact of being republican always
Injuries an officer with his chiefs and COM
rades. does 1t not?" he asked. And Gen.
Andre was obliged to answer yes.
During the past fifteen years the secret
voting classifying commissions-sole sources
of promotions and favors-have packed the
army with their creatures-aH reactionaries.
They were ready for coup de force
the day of the Dreyfus Judgment at Rem
mes; and, later, the high court trial showed
that the conspiracy was everywhere. For
tunately, they are prudent and hesitating.
We may yet have time to purify the
army"
So the two stanch republicans conferred
In whispers; and the next morning Gen.
Andre was minister of war.
Certainly his manner of purifying the
army-when some four years later it came
to the publc-struck the world as having
underhanded. unjust and arbitrary fea-
lures. In what seemed to be his great act
Of cutting off heads, breaking up cliques
and dividing forces he was forced to act
cautiously and secretly. In his memoirs
Andre now says that his first preoccupa-
ton was to encourage republican officers,
SO that they would dare hold up their
heads In any case. he was bound to dis
cover who were republicans and who were
not-and the means he TOOK was the spy
Ing system.
Civlians-often of low social status-sent
up to the minister of war their own imper
feet judgments of generals colonies and
t1ta Az, off
might be his actual betrayer-and practi-
cally his judge. Servants were sent spying
on their masters and the masters guests.
"Fiches' or Cards"
They came to be called "fches"-the
cards" Of card-catalogues. Here is one,
taken from among the thousands bought
by Guyot de Villeneuve from betraying
clerk and published in the Paris papers:
"LABULLY V. s,203. v 3Sth Infantry.
M Colonel. Militant aristocrat. Very
dangerous. At mess. during garrison ma
neuVers. INDUCES In reactionary conversa
tions. Dangerous to young officers who
have not made up their minds. Advised a
student of st. Cyr, today, radical. to drop
the friendship of comrade whom he sus-
pected OF being a radical. Should be sent
to socialist center"
Colonel M. who turns out to have al
ways been a moderate republican, had his
career seriously injured by this "fiche."
eral Andre was asked IL such secret spy
ing had favored certain officers and hinder
ed others, he admitted it. saying:
After long period, during which re-
officers hostile to the republic had obtain
ed everything. began by giving salts
faction to republican officers"
Forms for Filling.
Each side accuses the other of having be-
gun the underhanded work. and It is GER
career seriously injured by this "hche"
system. probably quite as elaborate as
the republican. Versailles is a villa town
full of officers. government clerks and
functionaries, university men and business
men going back and forth on the trains
To their secret Versailles representative
the widespread social-poIitical Organization
called THE Royalist Van Guard" sent its
forms for filling up. II wanted-and got
the following information on every consid-
cradle citizen of Versailles:
Central Committee, Eeine-et-oise.
Section Versailles.
Instructions
Officer, politician, profession, teacher
business man or clerk BLANK for filing
Name. age, grade etc.
thinking group?
us he ambitious?
Morals and way of living
Name Of his mistress.
rich or poor?
Can he, by any means whatever. be
brought to better sentiments?'
Here is one of the "fiches'' sent in to
the Paris center OF THE Royalist Van
Guard"
mo. 11S-Y.
Archives
L, professor of philosophy at the
Lycee x. Militant free-t thinker, pro-
tected by c.. Age So. Wife socially am
bilious, tries to alternate her husbands
principles. Daughter coming on to marry
L. has secretly expensive habits Owes
money. Madame v (address) has much
| influence over him.
What result will such "fehep haye7
The artstocrats have no government places
to give, promotions to withhold; but
they have money and infiuenee-enormousiy
| All over Versailles. therefore, an influential
portion of the population will treat Profess
| sor L. and his wife very specially High
| placed ladies. for a time will fatter
madame: she will see an open door TO social
| felicity-in hope of pushing her to change
her husbands politics. Finally IL the re-
suit be lacking they will crush her Also
they may buy up her debts and worry him
Conspiracy Terribly Strong.
/ In provincial towns this aristocratie con-
| spiracy Is terribly strong. There are gar