The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1898-09-02


withdraw: it, as his retirement under
the age limit will occur next month. +
The lull in news. however. has in no
way diminished the popular excite
ment!s
tives for Colonel Henry,s suicide.
: Looking to the view the whole nation
has adopted regarding the guilt of
Dreyfus, it is argued that Henry may
have supposed he. was acting In the
country S interest, even in forging the
/ letter, which would satisfy the nation
of the Justice of. the sentence without
the production of the real evidence.
which would be undesirable on the high
/ est political grounds. In that case
| Henry might have posed as a martyr
to misguided patriotism.
/: The tradition of the Intelligence De-
partment, which at the time Of the con-
demnation of Dreyfus was under a con-
spicuous anti Semitic, Colonel Sandherr.
would probably have led blunt mind
like Lieutenant Colonel Henry's to con-
strue the: slightest hint from above of
the desirability of killing off the anti
Dreyfus agitation into an order to do
so by any means.
Colonel. Sandherr, who was then suf-
fering from an incipient paralysis.
seems to have been the head of a gem
eral conspiracy to hunt Jewish officers
out of the French army. Dreyfus, a
man of naughty demeanor but of vast
strategic knowledge, would naturally be
selected as a victim of these machina-
tions.
1t is asserted that Colonel Sandherr's
last days were haunted by fear,
amounting to terror, lest the Illegal and
.flippant nature of the evidence upon
ed should: be revealed and weaken the
prestige Of the Intelligence Depart
ment; and that he 'enjoined upon Henry,
his subordinate, to guard the depart
mentss traditions at all costs.
The carelessness of the authorities In
allowing Henry to have a. razor and in
not: watching him is generally inter-
preted as cOnnivance, and, perhaps, as
persuasion, since officers: under arrest
and likely to be condemned should, ac-
cording to military regulations, be con-
stantly watched, while Lieutenant
Colonel Henry was left hours alone
and allowed to lock. the door ON each
side: If there were persuasion it is not
likely to- have been difficult. Had
Henry been expelled from the: army
both himself and wife would have lost
all pension rights AS it is the; widow
becomes entitled to a handsome pen
SION. This seems a more likely motive
than. the explanation based. upon the
alleged incoherent letter he left be-
hind stating that he had lost his rea-
I son.
i Having died uncondemned his re.
mains are entitled to military honors
but his brother will take the body tc
.Pough, near Chalons, where it will be
buried on Saturday with the strictesi
privacy. =.
Several officers Of the general staff
it is said tonight, have asked to be
sent back to their regiments. Genera
Renouard. the new chief of staff, is un-
derstood to have a free hand and to bt
at liberty to replace all the staff officers
| if he thinks. fit. 1t is expected that he
will resort: to a process of purif1cation
The Governments position. is. most
unhappy. Notice of interpretations liz
the Chamber of Deputies multiply
President. Faure is censured for leaving
Paris at such critical moment. Great
efforts are being made to get the sig
natures of a majority Of the Deputies
which is a. necessary preliminary to a
convocation of the chamber. ::
The movement in favor. of a revision
in the Dreyfus case is growing by leaps
and bounds Considering recent events
Major Count Esterhazy retains an
anna zingIy cool attitude In the course
of an interview yesterday he expressed