The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1897-11-16
A MILITARY sCAPEGOAT.
Story of Captain Dreyfus's Alleged
Crime and His Puniahment.

Crime and His Punishment.
The arrest and punishment of Capt. AL
bert Dreyfus forms the military cause cele-
bre of the century. The statement of NJ.
Scheurer-Kestner is in line with that of
German officer high in a department which
gives him a knowledge of the workings of
the German secret service in France. This
officer said last week: IF Captain Dreyfus
had sent any information to the German
government / should have heard of it. On
my word of honor as an officer and a gen.
tleman. tell you that no such information
ever came to us" These statements open up
a possibility of a pitiful tale of injustice
and suffering-the story of an innocent man
charged with the grievous military offense
of selling the secrets of the French army to
the German government, subjected to every
possible degradation, branded before the
army and people as a traitor, and now, by
the orders of the French government, living
the life of Gagged beast on a barren island
off the coast of French Guiana. If Captain
Dreyfus is guilty he has received no more
than what in the eyes of the rigorous mill
tary law, might seem right. If he is inno-
cent he is injured mantle victim of a
conspiracy perhaps, of injustice certainly
and a man with an injury unparalleled in
modern times. That he is innocent rests
not merely on the statements of the men in
question. They are only the last links in
a chain of evidence and probability that has
brought about a growing belief in Europe
that Captain Dreyfus. despised by the
French people, cut off from communication
with his wife and friends, living in an iron
cage on the lie du Dia>-e under continual
guard is a ScapegOat-a scapegoat for Off
cial sinners in high places
The story of Captain Dreyfuss punish
ment is still fresh in the minds of many
readers of the daily press, but now that the
case is again attracting much attention the
story will bear repetition So far as the
world at large is concerned the captain is
dead though the most noted political priS-
oner of the day. About him every precau-
ton which the ingenuity of the French gov
eminent can suggest has been thrown. On
barren island, whose sole inhabitants are
himself and his guards, he lives, absolutely
cut OF from the world Hls guards o never '
of their duties. The hut in which he SpendS
most of his time is surrounded by an iron
cage, and when he walks among the rocks
of his island prison his every step is fol-
lowed by an armed keeper.
HIS ALLEGED CRIME.
1t was in 1894 that Captain Dreyfus was
charged with the offense for which this
stern punishment has been inflicted upon
him. Some one had been selling the plans
of the French military works to the Ger
man government In the armed peace of
Europe no secret is more important none
more carefully guarded than the rapidity
with which troops can be brought into the
field and the rapidity with which they can
be massed at given point. 1t was this
which had been sold.
The French secret service, with an eye
to the possibility of such thing, had been
keeping careful watch of the German
embassy in Paris. The concierge of the
embassy had been bribed TO save and de-
liver to the French the sweepings from the
office-papers, envelopes. wrappers and the
hundred and one things which We're dropped
on the floor during the carrying on of busi-
ness. Among them had been found wrap
per- which, by the notes upon it, purported
to have contained papers relating TO the
arming and disposition of the French
troops. According to the claims of the
French government letter previously OBJ
tanned in the same way had spoken of some
animal de DreyfuS,' and suspicion had al
ready fastened upon him.
Captain Dreyfus was an Alsatian and
Jew On both accounts he was little likely
to arouse popular sympathy. When Alsace
was surrendered to Germany he had re-
fused to give up his French citizenship and
had joined the French army. He was young