The Wilmington daily Republican. (Wilmington, Del.) 1890-1902, 1898-02-24
NJ. Z0LA'S CONVICTION.
The Farcical Trial Ends as Has
Been Predicted.
lie rs SENTENCED FOR A YEAR,
While Publisher Perreux Must Serve
Four Months Longer = The Great
Novelist Bears His Conviction and
Sentence PhilosophIcnlIy.


Four Months Longer = The Great
Novelist Bears His Conviction and
Sentence PhilosophIcalIy.
Paris. Feb. 2i.-The Zola trial Is end
ed. The jury agreed days ahead on the
verdict, and its unanimity was due to
threats. 1t stayed in the jury room
for few minutes, and the sentence Is
one year for M. Zola and one year and
four months for M. Perreux.
The hour was seven in the evening,
and the court was lighted by electric.
ity. which revealed the face of every
person. A very striking Christ Cruci-
fed hung high behind the bench. NJ.
Laborie ended his speech by saying,
"The name of PLATE is the most alb.
horred in history" The figure of
Christ caught Zola's eye. After SEN
tence had been passed, with pompous
decorum, he exclaimed: To-day. as
sociated with Christ. I. too. am VIC
tim of mob violence. official cowardice
and grand miscarriage of Justice"
But he did not vince or finch. He
looked as Indifferent as a mere spec
tator. Nine. Zola's devoted heart at
first seemed broken, but when she felt
that she must brace herself up to rise
to the height Of Zola's grand situation
she became calm and self possessed
His friends, the artists, Bruneau and
Desmeulin, were more broken hearted
than she. They have daily accompanied
p Zoia. protecting him from mob violence.
M. Laborie was also greatly upset.
Zola's other friends were delighted.
They declared that by the sentence he
was redeemed from all past faults that
1t set him on radiant pedestal, gave
him unique position and would make
him the representative man Of human
ity They had greatly feared severe
sentence. but one wiped off with the
benefit Of the first offenders law. In
this case he would not have gone to
prison.
The troops were never employed to
keep order during the trial. The civic
guards and constabulary only were
called out There were 1000 on duty
around the law courts yesterday, but
despite all precautions to exclude the
public 1000 persons got into the hall.
There were endless officers in uniform
and civilian clothes. and the young Of
ficers in the court and hall Joined in
the manifestations and waved their
caps when "Vive Parmee" was cried.
The jury slipped away, but some of
the jurymen were recognized in the
hall and borne in triumph through the
seething crowds on young mems shoul-
ders. The din was fearful, but it was
joyous din.
"Are we entering" moderate people
ask, 'an era Of pronunciamentos?' No,
no. French general ever aimed at mill
tary distature. The first and second
Napoleons were practically foreisE-=ssss.
But there Is a strange combination Of
army, church and people, with one OBJ
jective to put down Israel in France.
This union is less fortuitous than it
looks. The Jews now control all the
sources of wealth. The minds and feel
ings Of the people have long been in
revolt in secret against this power,
which has no physical force behind it.
What has fermented in the brain is
now going into action.
The church is one great universal or
ganization to pit against the Jewish
universal alliance. France, therefore,
Is now politically with Rome, but she
must keep the republic. A monarchy
could only live by force of the army.
and would mean war. France Is not
for war, for her army is only
militia, but Prince Henry of Orleans Is
hoping for military movement against
the republic and to come to the top.
He daily showed himself during the
trial in the hall of the court house, and
one day embraced Major Esterhazy,
crying. "Vive parmee." He was sur
and salaamed to by his Or
leanist friends. But it did not do. He
has no brilliant. captivating qualities
out cc:..!,. an ambiguous. half girlish
figure, and talks tnrous.n. n ZIG .is .ose IAN
suidly.
NJ. Faure openly patronized General
Peliieux and General De Boisdeffre as
against M. 3ola. He likes fine military
company. Boisdeffre is aristocratic, |
and in favor at st. Petersburg, and the |
president is sensible to this.
The cheering was tremendous all over |
own, but there was little violence,
hough the Jews were terrified. Some
|ew3 manased to be near the law court,
,ut escaped with their lives.
The house was filled from the ground
loor to the garret with bouquets of
lowers that had come from all parts,
he gifts, doubtless, of Jewish ladies.
he tables We're Uttered deep with tele-
rams. One dispatch of 5000 words
anne from Odessa.
M. Xola will write another letter be-
ore surrendering himself He was go
he said ~ tha of "a ]
ury in all around conditions. The
riends around him envied him his new
eparture in the path of glory. What
n honor it would be to be martyr
or truth and justice. He had all that
prosperous career could give, but the
ay of the cross, philosophically UNDER
TODD. was now open to him. He says
e Is sorry for France but thinks she
ill right herself.
A friend expressed regret that there
so much bourgeois comfort at the st. |
elagie prison. NJ. Rnchefort has there
IS English bed and bedding, and his
'rvant and wife so daily to prepare
Is lunch. A cell would be preferable
ere it not for rheumatism.
Eoln's oldest friend assures me that
. will not die in jail. He was brought
} in hardship. His father was an old
ilitary campaigner with Napoleon. and
as IN the retreat from Russia, at
'aterloo and other battles, a sturdy
rench peasant. NJ. Zola was reared |
peasantry to be hardy and enduring
is health is not SO good as while a
20, owing to his anti-fat diet, but the ! !
ison is sure to strengthen him.
NJ. Zola can remain at liberty for
rec days, during which he may de-
le whether to appeal to the court of
ssation, an appeal which can only
taken on the ground of Irregularities I
procedure. If these were proved it q
'uld justify an annulment of the trial. n
ould an appeal be taken it would not q
me on before the court of cassaticn !
til after the next general elections, ,
len 1t is probable that new min \
ry will be in mower