The herald and news. [volume] (Newberry S.C.) 1903-1937, 1909-03-19
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: WILL SEABROOK'S TRAVELS
(By W. 3. Seabrook.)

ESpuDllc drIAtlnS II Natl anotHcl IT,
volution? ForeiSn student, and trav-
elerS, who visit Fr2il'7 In the pur-
lose Of studying custoHi> and cEent:,
Lave legitimate r:Gnt to rrapoSe t'Ils
apparently uncon>e:r,.i. i ahG ;'atEei'
sensational query, DacaG,e the french
people themselves ire anSlously ask
ing the same question:. Surely, the
mere raising Of suc2 g.? interrOsa-
tory does not imply thai it must be
answered in the affirmative, but it
does mean that vast nu1abe,' ct
French citizens are dissatisfied and
disguised with the present regime.
and that the third republic is ap-
preaching a dangerous crisis.
Three things especially have i'm
pressed me in this connection: first,
the popular and too often we'll
grounded lack of confidence in the
honor of the judiciary and in the eff
cheney and integrity Of the ministry !;
second, the decadence of respect for
TIE institution of the family; third,
the incessant denunciations Of govern
mental policies, and the alarming pre-
dictions which are appearing with III
creasing frequency in conservative
and independent newspapers. One or
two concrete incidents, not OF abso-
lutely vital Importance in themselves,
but testifying eloquently to the spirit
of dissatisfaction and unrest, which is
abroad upon ths' winds, will serve to
indicate the crying need for changes
and reforms, if not for revolution.
The great question Of the hour is
still the miserable Steinheil affair,
the murder mystery, which has impas-
stoned the French public month after
month. The real interest in the case
(it would otherwise be nothing more
than the murder of an ignoble hus-
band by an unfaithful wife) lies in
the fact that the singular attitude of
the judiciary makes it the culmlna-
tion, the climax Of the scandalous
manipulations which characterized
successively the Dreyfus case, the
Hu1nbert case, and, in an altogether
different manner, the death Of Felix
Faure. Then French people are hear
tily out Of patience with these trials
and Investigations, in which the pros
ecuting officers and the government
seem to act with the hesitating and
embarrassed air Of an accomphce.
The attitude Of the ministers of JUS
tiee toward this latest crime has been
inconceivable; the frightful part Of it
is that if the judges and magistrates
had been permitted to pursue their
course without the unauthorized in
tervention Of the newspapers and the
public, the truth of the affair would
still be shrouded in darkness.
In lesser, unimportant cases, which
do not involve ''secrets of state' and
s:1hautes personages, the Indifferent
and lackadaisieal methods of investi-
cation now in vogue are equally cal
eulated to weaken public confidence
in the department of justice and po-
lice. One example will suffice. On
the last night Of December, 1908, a
certain Monsieur and Madame Math-
leu, who lived in a modest residence in
suburb. of Colombes, near Paris,
we're robbed and murdered. The
crime was discovered by butcher s
boy and promptly reported to the po-
lice, but the Partisan newspaper men
were upon the scene three hours IN
advance Of Chief Hamard and his Of
feers, and it was only upon reading
the newspapers on the morning of
January 2nd that the police learned
the most important and significant
details of the crime. A week passed.
The official detectives, were working
always upon the hypothesis, that the
crime had been committed by GER
tain well known band Of professional
burglars. Then another reporter, by
clever piece Of private investigation
proved that the detectives were eff the
scent, and even succeeded in furnish
ing a very definite description Of the
real murderer; the officers shamefac-
edly acknowledged their error, but
they have no., yet landed the author
of the crime. The reporters are
ahead of the police nearly every time
a cvrime is committed that the
French reporters are keener or more
intelligent than the American or Eng
lish newspaper men, but simply be-