New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1914-12-06
FRANCE, FEARING SPIES,
SUSPECTS ALL ALIENS
Endless Red Tape Renders Travel Difficult Especially III
Zone of Military Operations Makes One Feel
Like Criminal" Says Correspondent.
Bv GORDON GORDON-SMITH.

Chalons-sur- Marine (via Paris), Dec.
[ 4.-To see the great camps OIL Chalohs
10 one could imagine that the French
were facing the Germans on a battle
front Of 400 kilometres. In the nrlng
I line the spirit animating the troops
/ is excellent, ard everywhere 80
among officers and men | hear nothing
but expressions of confidence IN tnal
/ victory and Impotence to take lhelr
places in the fighting line.
Chalons, of course, is of immense
/ Importance from the strategical point
of view. 1t is situated almost at The
apex of the triangle formed by the
fighting line running from the North
/ Sea TO Rheims and from Rheims to
/ Verdun. The men in the camp can IN
a few hours reinforce any point
menaced north or east. 1t is only
about twenty-five miles from the zone
4 of operations. In fact, when the wind
/ is favorable the booming Of the guns
of the German heavy batteries can be
/ heard day and night.
But it is not a comfortable place OF
! sojourn for a civilian, the more 50 II
/ he is q foreigner. Ii is difficult Tor
any one outside of France to form an
| idea of what it is to live in this coun-
| try in state of siege. Ii is impos-
| sible. not to say dangerous, to travel
mile in any direction without being IN
possession of special "lalsser
passer," or safe conduct authorizing
| its holder to proceed from one given
I point to another But before this is
/ granted one must be in possession Of a
| "permis- de- sejour" allowing holder, II
| if foreigner, to inhabit France. These
are issued by the commissary of police
/ of the district in which the applicant
/ resides on the production Of pass
/ post proving that the holder is not a
| subject of the Kaiser, the Austrian
/ Emperor or the Sultan.
II one desires to move about, things
get complicated. France at present
is divided into four zones. These are
the zone held by the enemy, which
consists of all French territory behind
the line running from the coast via
Arras, Peronne, Scissors, Rheims and
. Saint Men6hould TO Verdun, or about
one-ffth of French territory; the
"zone de feu," or the actual firing
line; the zone des operations mill
taires," and, finally, all French terri
tory outside these zones"
Running Great Risk.
OF course, no one can enter the zone
held by the Germans; at least, not
without running the risk of furnishing
material for a funeral Any one de-
string to journey to any part Of France
outside of the zone de feu" or zone
des operations militaires"-that is to
say, anything south Of the Loire, or
Brittany or in the direction Of Bor-
deaux-has only to visit his commissary
Of police, show his "permis-de-se jour'
and "laisser passer" is automatically
delivered.
But il is when one goes in the direc-
ton of the "zone des operations mill
taires" that the affair gets complicat-
ed. The commissary OF police gives a
, "laisser passer" on demand, but init
mates that il is valueless until il has
received the wise Of the commandan;
, d'armes Of the military district. As
however, there is commandani
darmes for the territory occupied by
each army corps, whose powers do no,
extend beyond that territory, all tina,
he can do is to give "laisser passer'
10 the extreme limit Of his district
The traveller must stop there and have
his "laisyer passer" stamped by the
MAYOR or local commissary Of police
/
commandant d'armes Of the new dis
trict.
The traveller will be lucky If h.
finds any two mayors and any two com
mandants d'armes who hold exactly the
same views Of their powers and func-
tions. Some are accommodating and
anxious TO make things easy for trav-
ellers. Others take their functions no,
LstA
gard the most harmless applicant as a
possible German spy.
But IL is when one enters the zone
de feu"-if you are lucky enough to
get there-that the real trouble begins.
/ There everybody is suspected. One has
70 do with gendarmes, military patrols
and sentries with fixed bayonets, guard
! ing every crossroad. They hunger for
passwords and eountersigns that no
I civilian can possibly know and have
all kinds Of notions about being de-
ceived by persons who may or may not
be innocent civilians.
After shutdown in the villages In the
"zone de feu" and the "zone des opera
tions militaires" the population, or
/ what Ia left Of IL. suffers from acute
espionnitis and regards every stranger
no a German spy. | have had 10 SHOW
I my papers FIVE times In thirty minutes
I 10 gendarmes and military patrols
/ fetched by jealous patriots who did not
approve the quality Of my French ac-
cent. Such an experience does not in
/ crease ones appreciation OF an unsatis-
factory lunch in a village inn swept
clear Of everything but primitive sup
plies.
of this atmosphere Of suspicion which
surrounds the stranger In the zone
des operations militaires" Is that one