THE "RED CAP"

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 190, 1 May 1918, Page 5

THE "RED CAP"

NOTORIOUS FRENCH GANG ON TRIAL i i TRAITOROUS DEALINGS WITH j THE ENEMY i (Kec. April 30, 7.25 p.m!) ; Paris, April 29. | The trial by court-martial ot tho no- • i lorious "Bonnet Rougo" gang iws open- i erl. Tihoro are snvcu defendants, includ- i ing Muval, all charged with, trading in. ! intelligence with the enemy. Marion w ! charged with complicity and Duval with ! publishing documents concerning tho de- ! iencfl of tho counfj-y. The witnesseo in- i rludo M. Mnlvy (cx-lfinister of tho In- ; terior) MM. Viviani, Caillaux, and Pain- | levfi (ex-Premiers). Tho proceedinga are '■ expected to throw an important light on ■/ 11. Mulvy's alleged connection with tho ] German spies, uurl tho transmission to i Germany of plans for tlie Champagne ; offensive—"TJie Times."- i histoky"ofTbe case ' Tlie action taken by the French an- • thorities in tho "Bonnet Rouge" caso haa i led to tho destruction of one of the i enemy's strongest sources of help in ] France. A perusal of tho files of that i sordid sheet (says "Tho Times") 6hows i that ever since. ID]5 it had been busied, \ not only directly in the enemy interest : by the advocacy of peace and through?' ! tho encouragement of seditious, pessiin- : ism, but also indirectly by espousing the ■ cause of tho sorry band of cmbusg.uos, j of fraudulent Army doctors, of men such ' as Cnsement, o£ tho liquor trade. Tho ; disguised Gorman was its special pro- | tege and Great Britain was 'its special j enemy. It eeems incredible, on. reading ; through iho articles it published—and! i 1100 were obliterated by tho censor— ! that tho clearance was not effected soon- , er. Tho "Bonnet Rouge," though it was ; not orto of tho leviathans of tho Paris | Press, was nevertheless <i Paris evening ; ■ newspaper to bo found on every kiosk ; of the Boulevard, nnd, what is perhaps ; inoro significant, it acquired its cus- j tomers in the trenches. Connecte<l with , ' it, either through Iho editorial 6taff, the | management, or by similarity of inspira- I (ion, were the '"lranchea ltepublicaino" ■ and "Les Nations," the "Primo" and the '! "Rbpublicaino" Jiews agencies. Through'. ; these channels, and through tho milder ' medium of the "Carnct Aα la. Semaino" ] and "Le Pays," the philosophy of de- ! feat, or at tho least of Soviotism, was j pleached steadily. Reacting to tho spur : of M. Clomenceaii, the Government took i action. They arrested Yigfl, alias Alraey- ; reda, editor-in-chief of the "Bonnet; : Rouge," since mysteriously' dead in \ prison; Duval and Marion, managors of ; tho same newspaper; and Jouctes.an em- i plqyea of the concern; and the military ' authorities suspended until further or- [ ifors tlio publication of tho "Bonnet ' Eouge" and '-'Trancheo liepublicaine" i and "Les Nations." Tho Minister of tho i Interior, M. Malvy, wlioso duty it was I to protect the country and tho Army : against the poisun of his gang, resigned. ! Ho could uot well do otherwise. He was j acquainted with Vigo, and addressed" \ him in the familiar second person) sin- i gular. Hβ had, moreover, given him \ moneys from the Secrn Service Fund,' '■ and of Vigo's !.ifo tho most definite re- i cord is tliat contained in the "Gazette , des Tribunaux," which is as follows:— j "Vigo was sentenced to two months' ini- ' prisonment in 1&00 for theft; in 1901 ! to a year's imp'risimnient for the manu- i factuTe of explosives, to three years for j incitement to murder; and in 1903 to .! three years for insulting tho Army; and : in ISMO he was arrested for and con- ; victed of attempted sabotage," Vigo in all this Geiinan campaign was but a puppet. He was entirely with- ' out education, and it is more than doubtful whether he was a'ulo to write : tho articles he signed. He- went the .way ; of all puppets, and lies in his grave. Tho articles signed by IT. Badin were \ clever, diabolically and ironically'clever, ; and very German. M. Badin, at aty ; rato at some moments of his career, had his pen guided by Duval. he manager : of tho "Bonnet Rouge," vh& now await 3 , his trial on the charge of huving_ main- : tained "hitelligsnco avec l'ennemi," to-, gether with his associates. \ ;