The record-union., 1898-09-04
THE STORY OF DREYFUS.
WRECKED BY PERJURY, BAN
ISHED WITHOUT TRIAL.
How the French Government Toll
crates a System of Base
Tyranny.


Tyranny.
Ihere is so much general interest at
this moment in the French sensation
OF the suicide of Captain Henry fol-
lowing his confession that he perjured
| himself to wreck the life of Captain
Alfred Dreyfus of the French army,
that the Record Union" presents a
summary of the Dreyfus case, together
with an account of the part taken in
1t by Henry, the wretch that commit
ted suicide.
There is more than usual interest in
the case, also, because of the active
part that Emile Zola took in behalf of
the degraded and bahished Dreyfus, as
Zola's bitter structures on the French
Government resulted, as he anticipated,
in his trial and conviction on a charge
of libeling the Government. The story,
In Its main outlines, is as follows
In 1894 Commandant Henry, the Off
Ger who committed suicide a few days
ago, notified the Minister of War that
certain documents and notes of i'm
portance,' betraying French plans of
military situations, had been sent to
| Gel tdIl IOIelSH 1ONtiS. II NdS lOl
at the time said what Powers had re-
ceived the documents, though the fact
developed later that it was to the Ger
man Embassy that the information had
presumably been sent. 1t was said
to have been discovered by a street
sweeper that the documents were swept
from the office of the German Embas-
sador
Henry at once accused Captain AL
fred Dreyfus of the crime. because, he
said he had been informed by "a re
liable party that the handwriting on
the packet resembled that of Dreyfus
The note and documents were at once
sent to Colonel Sandher, Chief of the
Bureau of Statistics, who in turn sent
them to General Mercier, Minister Of
War The discriminating documents
were unsigned The letter, memoran-
dunn and all papers were at once
turned over to Commandant Patty du
Clam, who assumed to be somewhat of
a criptologist and student of psychics.
He was instructed to investigate the
matter and make a report. He at once
declared that the writing looked like
that of Captain Dreyfus." Two great
experts We're called into the case. one
was positive that the writing was not
that of Dreyfus, SO his report was
suppressed and the report Of NJ. Ber-
tillon, who had a mania for graphology,
was accepted. His report said that the
writing, in spite of evident changes,
was probably that of Dreyfus. In face
of the contradictory reports of these
experts, and without further evidence,
Captain Dreyfus was at once arrested
October -, 1S9D, and General Mer-
cier had him imprisoned. His prem
Uses were searched, his private CORE
spondence was read, though nothing in
eliminating was anywhere found, and
he was banished from the world that
knew him for seventeen days. During
this time his wife was notified that it
would be a crime to tell anybody, even
her nearest relatives. of the arrest of
her husband
There had not been a previous shad-
ow on the life of the accused man, but
he was an Alsatian Jew, and there
was an intense anti-Semitic war going
on throughout France, many newspa-
pers having for months carried on a
bitter fight against ali Jews. 1t was
found that Dreyfus had an estimable
family, plenty of money and all that
made life pleasant. He had served
France since his eighteenth year. and
had always been regarded as faithful
and patriotic. The most severe investi-
cation failed to show that he either
gambled or led disreputable life. His
associates We're the very best
He was arrested by Commandant
| Henry and Others Henry having charge
of the arrest. He was at once taken
to the prison Cherche- Midi. After
some delay Patty du Clam, who had
previously said that he thought Drey
fus wrote the letter, began the exam
ination behind closed doors. as is usual
in criminal cases all over France.
There was not any sign of an In
dictment or visible charge against the
prisoner, who did not know what he
was being tried for, or who made the
! charge The examination lasted for
seventeen days, during which he was
not allowed to see his wife or anybody
else though both his wife and him
self We're examined on all sorts or
questions No witnesses confronted
the prisoner at this time. and the re-
! suits of the examination were so pal
| pably false in many details that the
! prosecutor afterward threw them out.
Patty du Clam, during the examina
ton, read to Dreyfus one page of the
compromising document, studying the
prisoners face as he read aloud. AS
the reader claimed to be able TO read
mems minds he reported that DreyfuS
looked as if he We're guilty" On the
strength of this suspicion Patty du Clam
| held the prisoner guilty.
| The next procedure was for Com
| mandant D'Ormescheville to be ap-
| pointed to conduct the court-martfal
proceedings. Twenty-Five witnesses
were examined on trivial matters, the
chief evidence being that of NJ Bertllon
that he thought the handwriting was
that of Dreyfus. There was not single
specific charge against the prisoner, In
the sense that jurieS charge men in
England and America. But the court
martial was conducted hotly, beginning
on December 10, 1894, and lasting for
many weeks.
During all the trial there was a loud
clamor by the anti-Semitic press for
the conviction of Dreyfus. who was
called a Jew Traitor" It is now ad-
mitted that the newspapers lied shame
fully about Dreyfus and all connected
with him. The effect of public opinion
was tremendous. and the conviction of
the accused man followed speedily. he
was degraded and banished to Isla du
Diable for life. 1t is horrible soil
tude. off French Guiana. and the pris-
oner lives in hut which is surrounded
by an iron cage, SO that he cannot es-
cape All letters that reach him arc
first read by his guardian, who copies