New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1898-12-22
THOSE DREYFTS SECRETS.

THOSE DREYFUS SECRETS.
This Dreyfus business is astounding. The
animus Of the Jew-bating mob is understand
able-with the prospect Of possible lootlng OF
the shops and houses Of the hated race. The
attitude Of some Of the army officers is not in
expcable, seeing that secret service money ut
the rate Of $4,000 a month for years has not
yet been accounted for. But what Is to be
made Of the mummery and mystery with which
serious statesmen and honest and brave men
surround the secret documents" In the case?
Is 1t conceivable that they have been hypno-
tized and made TO believe In the existence Of
something that never existed save as Pigment
of Patty de CLAIMS disordcred brain?
Consider for moment the amazing. the all
but incredible, performance in the Chamber Of
Deputies on Monday last. Jew-balter ac-
cused the former Prime Minister. NJ. Brisson.
Of having violated the Constitution probably
by examining the Dreyfus dossler. Thereupon
NJ De Freycinet, the present War Minister,
declared that the secret documents in the case
contained matter affecting the security of the
nation and that he would not permit even the
Court Of Cessation to see them. Another Dep
uty asked whether those secret documents
could not under some confidential arrangement,
be submitted to the court; for If they could
not, the ends Of Justice would be defeated. To
him the Prime Minister. VI. Dupuy. replied
that the documents could he shown only under
guarantees Of absolute secrecy. Then VI. Bris-
son arosc-a man whose rame Is synonyme
for the loftiest and most lncorruptible lnteg-
rity-and declared that he had examined the
entire dossler. that he regarded everything In
It as under suspicion Of having been forged.
and that, anyway. forged or genuine, there was
nothing in 1t that could affect the security or
the State. This declaration. from such source.
evidently produced n profound impression. IL
was replied TO by General Cavalgnac, the for
mer War Minister. He admitted that II was
true; he himself had shown the ~lossier to NJ
Brsson But then, he added, there were other
documents In the hands Of General Gonse
which NJ Brisson did not see, and they We're
the fatcful ones on which Dreyfus had been
convicted and on the secrecy Of which the
safety Of France depended.
And that was not In opera bouffe. but In the
Parliament Of great nation. First we are
told that Dreyfus was convicted solely upon
the bordereau When that Is shown to be In
sufficient they say the case rests upon other
documents in the dosser. When great and
good man tesfes that he has seen the dossier
and that Il contains no such things, they say
the important papers are in the hands OF Gen
eral Gonse-the officer who said, What does 1t
"matter If Dreyfus Is innocent and was I'M
"iustlv condemnedT And. no doubt. if NJ.
Rrisson had stretched out his patience sufii-
GENTLY to examine General Gonse's collection
of curos and had found nothing important In
#. they would have said. "Ah. but the real doc
,r,or+s ara somewhere elser'-Derhaps In the
pocket OF Tartarln Of Tarascon. What farce
II all IS. The pursuit Of will-o -the-wisp'
the search for the rainbow's gold, the hunting
of the Shark are all sensible and practical ana
profitable enterprises compared with this quest
Of "secret documents" which are always some
where else.
"Drcvfus Is guilty" affirmed the War Mn
lister: that Is proved by this letter which Colo
mel Henry has secured" The next day Henry
confessed that the letter was forgery. 'Oh'
we'll" said the War Minister, that is imIna-
,erial There are other proofs. The proofs
wore declared TO be in the dossier. where. OF
courso. they belonged. But the dossier was
searched and they were not there. "Oh' we'll
said the anti-revslonists Chat is ilnmaterlal.
General Gonse has them" And then they com
plain that NJ Brsson would not 60 ana sec
what General Gonse had We do not Kho"
NJ. Brlsson's tastes. He may be keen sports
man. But We fancy he is not hunter or wild
goose of so elusive kind. And If he ana most
other sensible and honest men are rapidly CON-
ing to the conclusion that the discriminating
and portentous documents, Of which so much
has been said. do not exist. and never have
existed. what cause Is there for wonder?