The San Francisco call., 1898-01-16
FRANCE AND
 HER METHODS
 OF INQUIRY The Notorious Drey- fus Case Is Still
 Dragging. Secret Trials Do Not Meet With the Public Ap-
 proval. Even the Conservative Paperr Take a Hand in Ridiculinq
 the Government. ZOLA'S TURN COMES NEXT Famous Letter of the Novelist Fans S the Flames of the Celebrated
 Army Scandal.
Even the Conservative Paperr Take a Hand in Ridiculing
 the Government.
zOLA'S TURN COMES NEXT
Famous Letter of the Novelist Fans the Flames of the Celebrated
 Army Scandal.
Copyright. 1898. by James Gordon Bennett.


 PARIS, Jan. Naturally enough, M. Zolas letter and the EsterhaZy case that made him write it form the roast beef Of the papers just now. The sweeping nature of Zola's accusations has, if anything, caused them to be re- ceived with rather less belief than they might have been expected to command. In the army of a country where every man has been, is, or will be a soldier there must necessarily be some black sheep, but from that to the wholesale discrediting of officers who have form ed two court martials is a long step. At the same time much satisfaction has been expressed that with Zola's prosecution the affair must be dragged into full daylight. This, however, is by no means certain. The code specially permits the trial in camera of cases that may be prejudicial to public nor als or safety The question is, will the trial of Zola for writing his now fla nous letter and of Clemenceau's new journal, AurOre, for publishing it, come under the head of such cases? l have talked with individuals in very varying classes of life about this point, and the consensus of opinion is that, although the Government would probably prefer to judge cases in camera, it will not dare tO, do 1t.
 Public opinion which in a large meas ure is Uneasily concerned with the pos sibility of justice having miscarried in the DreyfuS matter, would be danger ousiy excited should the popular nov elist be tried behind closed doors for what is after al only bi each of the press law. Even the conservative and semi official Temps admits that what is troubling and scandalizing the pubicl is the method dOfinVestigation revealed bye recent cases. The people, it says, recOl-f feet under what strange conditions the dOmiciiary visit was made to the apartment of Colonel Picquart; they have seen Major Esterhazy accuse this same Colonel Picquart with having broken into the house like a burglar. These things have been said and reIat- ed as quite simple and natural, as though such things were still done by other hands and with the same fiber ty. That is what ought to appear enor- nous to the public conscience, and which, in fact, will appear as such upon the day when, meditating after the emotion of a moment, it takes ac- count of the methods employed in cer- tain nistration-methods which are immediately covered by the sacred mantle of national defenses.
 The Figaro, which has adopted more COnSSTNdllNe dlIlluQe or late, CAlS morning devotes it's leading article to what it calls, in seni-humorous vein. ''the new inquisition." This has been re-esta blished, it says gayIy, in modified form, though the decree will not appear in the official gazette, as the Government wishes to wasN it's hands of it. Nevertheless, II goes on, the inquisition, banished by law has taken refuge in our customs and to spy on one another is one of the first arti- cles in the French catheclist Even in the smallest hamlet of France, says the writer, A. Claveau, there is mutual sur Veillance, which is one of the most del icate forms of modern solidarity. How ever, the new inquisition has this su- periority over the old one It does not burn its victims; it dishonors them.
 The new regulation of the United States for the importation of sealskin garments bids fair to utterly ruin that industry both upon this side of the At lantic as we'll as in America, here be- cause larger part of the trade is done with American customers, and in Amer ica, because Paris imposes it's styles and fashions in this as in most othery departments of dress upon the whole world. It is consequently claimed here that when Americans can no longer have sealskin garments made in Paris l they will then do without them alto gether, and will turn their patronage toward other kinds of furs.