PLANS BETRAYED

Southland Times, Issue 22472, 7 November 1934, Page 7

PLANS BETRAYED

FRENCH ARMY OFFICER.

IMPRISONED AND FINED.

(United Press Assn.—Telegraph Copyright.) Paris, November 5. Captain Froge, a French officer with a distinguished record, was sentenced to five years’ imprisonment, fined 5000 francs, banished from the Belfort area for ten years and deprived of civil rights for ten years for betraying secret army plans to a foreign Power. Krauss was sentenced to five years In prison and fined 5000 francs. It is expected that Froge will appeal.

A previous message read as follows: — For the first time since the Dreyfus case, troops are guarding the law courts at Belfort, owing to fears of disturbances at the trial of Captain Froge, a French officer with a distinguished record, who is accused of betraying secret army plans to a foreign Power. Captain Froge’s lawyer is demanding that the British Secret Service shall disclose documents revealing that the principal witness against Froge was a spy in the service of various Governments, and for this reason was unreliable. Feeling in the army is very high, as Froge had a blameless record, and it is felt that ffiis may be another Dreyfus case. The secret hearing is a pretext to cover the machinations of the French intelligence service,” declared Captain Froge s counsel. ‘‘There are obvious forgers on the French general staff, which fears an open debate because the dossier is riddled with improper proceedings, and does not want to let daylight on them. A German agent, Krauss, giving evidence against Froge, alleged that Froge supplied him with copies of plans for training, and also supplied plans for emergency mobilization at Belfort, and other documents. Froge denied any association with Krauss. He admitted operations on the Bourse, in which he lost £5OO, but said that the capital was supplied by relatives, and he had ceased to speculate before the alleged meeting with Krauss. The prosecution said that handwriting experts identified as Froge’s communications to Krauss, which the accused had declared were forgeries. ■