New-York tribune., 1898-10-30


from the Emperor to Dreyfus. The elections
were coming On. and the War Department
caused the use Of these letters by the National
ist candidates in order to excite the passions OF
the voters. Although NM. Meline and Hanotaux
denied the existence of these letters. yet they
made no attempt to discover the forgers or pros
ecutc their disseminators.
nj. Emile Zola. the novelist who had already
supported the cause of Dreyfus. first in the
Figaro and later in the "Aurore" on January
l'' published a lette" in the "Aurore.' entitled
j Accuse" In it he denounced with passionate
eioQuercc all who had taken part in the con-
demnatiOn If Dreyfus in 1898, and in the ac-
quittal of ESterhaZy. and defied the Government
To prosecute him The Government accepted his
challenge. but prosecuted him solely for having
said that EsterhaZy's judges had acquitted him
by order He was tried in the Court of Asszes.
Paris. The trial lasted from February { to Feb
ruary % The president of the court prevented.
far as possible. the witnesses summoned by
Zola from giving any evidence the Dreyfus
question. hut in spite of the Judge the wit
nesses and Zola's counsel Maitre Labori, estab-
listed the iegality of Dreyfus's condemnation.
the triviality Of the facts on which he had been
condemned. the error committed by the judges
in regard to the memorandum. and the certainty
that the memorandum was Esterhazys work.
Not only did the acQuttal of Zola seem certain.
but also the whole fabric of lies which had been
erected for the purpose of cOndemning Dreyfus
and Of acqutting Esterhazy seemed ready to
fall about the heads OF the members OF the Gen
erai Staff. TO avert such a catastrophe General
de Pellieux was instructed 70 give the jury
summary of the forged correspondence manu-
factured by Colonel Henry. in which Dreyfus
was mentioned by Panizzard to Schwarzkoppen.
General de Boisdenre certified to the authen
tiCity OF the correspondence. and threatened the
jury with the resignation of the whole General
Staf if Zola were acquitted. Thus intmdated,
the cofnpasant jury condemned Zola without
extenuating circumstances. while the crowd ap-
plauded EsterhaZy the incarnation OF the
honor Of the army
ZOLAS APPEAL FOR JUSTICE.
Zola appealed to the Court of Cessation. That
Court quashed the judgment of the Court OF
Assizes on the ground that the proceedings
against Zola should have been brought by the
court-martial which he had attacked. and not by
the Minister of War The members Of the court
martial brought a fresh action. The trial was
removed To the Court Of Assizes at Versailles,
but Zoa pleaded a technicaty in the indictment
and the case again referred TO the Court or
Cessation. A third ime it came up before the
-
appealed to the Court of Cessation to uphold the
connection between the Dreyfus and Esterhazy
affairs. and was condemned by default. Zola had
meantime left France to await an opportunity
more favorable to an unbiased judgment of
the case.
Meanwhile the elections had brought change
in the Government. and with it NJ. Brsson be-
came Premier and NJ Cavaignac Minister OF
War on assuming that office the latter an
nounced that he intended TO make a personal
study of the Dreyfus case. and on July made
n speech in the Chamber Of Deputies that
aroused such great enthusiasm that the Cham
Der voted almost unanimously that it should be
placarded all over France. He based his asser-
tions Of Dreyfuss guilt on the pretended con-
fessons made by Dreyfus to Captain Lebrun-
Renault. just before the degradation of Dreyfus.
on the two documents relating to the spy d.
and on the correspondence ascrbed to NM.
Schwarzkoppen and Panizzardi.
Six weeks after Cavaignacs speech de-
lvered Colonel Henry arrested for forging
the Schwarzkoppen- -Panizzardi correspondence
and two other documents and taken to prison.
where he committed suicide the next day. In
his case suicide was regarded a confession of
guilt. but unfortunately it shielded his guilty
accomplices without at once benefiting the in
nocent B" it accomplished one thing namely.
II made a revision Of the Dreyfus trial newt
able. and proceedings for revision have been in
stitutcd in the Court of Cessation.
Tbrouehout the whole time Colonel Picquart
has stood firmly for the truth. and has sacrificed
his safety. his military future and almost his
life He has been expelled from the army be-
cause when at Tunis. believing he might be
Id fha "A q