Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1913-03-22
FAMOUS head OF
PARIS POLICE OUT
". Lepine, Virtual Mayor of the
French Capital, Resigns
After Twenty Years.

Paris, March 22.-Louis Lepine.
head of the Paris police. has resigned
Office. He often has been called the
most famous chief of police in the
world and the little man with the
big stick" He figured in hundreds
Of celebrated cases. His name has
been made almost a household word
through its use by noveIists and dram
atiSts.
Mr.. Lepine is 81 years old, a veteran
Of the Franco-German war, and q for
mer governor OF Algeria.
Contrary to the generally accepted
principle that criminals can best be
kept under surveillance and appre-
hended by secret methods, Lepine
went on the theory that publicity in
hunting down down was an essential
factor. Indeed. he professed contempt
for the popular idea of a sleuth and
acted accordingly.
He was without fear in the perform
ance OF his duties. He knew the char
aCter of his countrymen thoroughly,
2 L
by political or other causes. engaged
IN pitched battles With the police. u.
LepiDe was in the forefront with his
men-a picturesque little figure in citi-
Gems dress with has gray goatee and
/ an umbrella-his only means of de-
/ Tense
Several times he escaped death by
. a narrow r"rgiE, but such is the Gallo
temperament that he was a hero with
the very classes who opposed law and
order.
/ Nirtr1'lE every monarch or head OF
a state il Europe knew NJ. Lepine per
sonally, for he was present AT their ar
rivals and departures from the French
capital and he took sole responsibility
for their safety during their sojourn
here.
/ For 20 consecutive years, exclusive
of a two year interval when he was
/ governor general Of Tangier, he has
/ sat on the police safety valve in that
most explosive OF ciues-a city where
/ the production of an opera composed
by man born on the wrong side Of
/ the Rhine caused q riot; where the
suppression of a student demonstra,
tion led to a condition next door to
/ revolution; a city that is hot bed Of
violent syndicalism, the breeding place
/ Of the Apache, the home of the motor
car bandits.
The temperature of the boulevards
rises with extraordinary rapidity. Of
ten the causes are most unexpected.
The check suffered by the Paris po-
lice in combating Bonnots gang of
motor car bandits suggested a number
Of radical ideas to NJ. Lepine.
In view Of the valuable services
rendered at the siege of these bandits
by bullet proof shields the project
favored their further use, supplement
ed by coats of mail. Another idea OF
his was the use Of sulphuric acid cap
sules which would render the air so
poisonous nat criminals would be
obliged to come out of hiding places
and surrender.
But perhaps the most fruitful, Of
the ideas that came 10 him at this
time was the establishment Of a school
for the training of detectives.
The project Of police is appointed
by the president and he is no more
aUswerabIe TO the chamber OF deputies
than he Is to the Paris municipality.
NJ. Lepiue is a brother OF a great
medical luminary, Professor Raphael
Lepine Of the faculty OF Lyons and
editor Of the Revue de Medicine, 1t Is
Tamiv descending from generations
& lawyers. doctors, and functionaries,
in 1888 he became secretary gener-
Al 10 the project Of police Of Paris,
then in 1891 he was made pain project
# the Loire; in 1893 project OF Seine
et-Cise, and later in the same year
project Of police OF Paris
He worked so hard that his health
broke down and the government. to
reward him made his governor general
cf Tangier. He resigned that position
iB July, 1898, and returned to Paris.
He was needed IN Paris. The Drey-
fu5 affair with its rioting and violent
possibilities, was more threatening
than ever, so that when he was again
made project Of police in 1899 the
business men Of the capital breathed q
sigh Of relief.