Marietta daily leader. (Marietta, Ohio) 1895-1906, 1898-11-04
A Visitor In Cincinnati Who Knows
Much About the Dreyfus Case.
ICincinnati Enquirer. !

s MUCH ABOUT tne UreytuS Ease,
cincinnati Enquirer.]
There is registered at the St. Mich
las Hotel a polite, unassuming young
nan with delightful French accent
who probably knows more about the
,ase of Captain Alfred Dreyfus, late of
the French army, than any man on
this side of the Atlantic.
His name is Paul Meyer, and he left
Paris but few weeks ago, after hav-
ing an extended interview with Mrs
Dreyfus, the wife of the DEVILS Island
prisoner. Before her marriage Mrs.
Dreyfus was Mile. Hademard, the
daughter of diamond dealer of Paris,
and Mr.. Meyer met her frequently be-
fore she became. the Captains wife;
in fact, their families were intimately
associated. 1t was for that reason
that Mr.. Meyer, who had come to this
country some years ago, was selected
by a combination of wealthy men to so
to Paris and secure the services of
Emil Zola as lecturer. He has just
returned from. there and has a wonder
full fund of information about the case,
which is now being watched with
breathless interest by the civilized
world
In speaking of the personality Of
Mrs. Dreyfus Mr.. Meyer said: You
must remember that this woman was
brought up in a convent and that she
had little or no experience in the
world until her husband was sent to
Devils Island. Then commenced her
fight to have him liberated and the
fight Of Dreyfus's enemies to poison
her mind against him. She had been
told the most carefully concocted stor-
les of her husbands infamy and of his
affairs with women. All of these she
has refused to believe, and her faith
in her husband IS the stumbling blocl;
in the way Of his enemies. There has
undoubtedly been q great deal OF mis-
representation about the Dreyfus case
in the press, and nothing is further
from the truth than that he is being
treated badly on Dew Island. You
may be sure that his friends have tax
en- it upon themselves to learn Just
treated as we'll or better than any pris-
oner could expect. He lives in a little
hut with a stockade around it, in
which he can take daily exercise and
has the liberty of the stockade. There
are, of course, guards around the
stockade, but they do not interfere
with Captain Dreyfus and will not un-
less he attempts to escape. When
called upon Mrs. Dreyfus / saw a mum.
Der Of the letters which she had re-
| ceivod from her husband. They are
not in his handwriting, but in that OF
some Government clerk. You see the
method is this: Captain Dreyfus
writes letter to his wife, but the cr-
| iginal is not sent TO her. A copy of it
is made, and the copy is what she gets.
| The letters are just such ones as a
man in prison would write to his wife
and contain nothing sensational at all
for OF course the Government would
not allow him TO send out any letters
that contained anything of such o
character, and ~aptain Dreyfus, who
fully realizes this, would not attempt
to write such letter. His wife, who
is the pluckiest, most noble woman |
ever knew, is sure that her husbands
innocence will be established, and that
he will be able to resume his position
in the army"
Mr.. Meyer says that he, and for that
matter many other people familiar
with the case, believe that certain doc
uments which were introduced as ev-
idence were in the handwriting of
Dreyfus, but that he was commanded
to make copies of certain documents
by his superior officers, and unwilling
ly furnished the evidence which en-
abled these officers to make him a
scapegoat and send him to Devil Is
land. Mr.. Meyer is quite certain that
Zola will visit this country and lecture
and that within comparatively short
time He declines to say for publica
Ion just where he met the famous
French novelist, but admits that ht
has had business interview with him
1t is hardly necessary to say that tn,
man selected for such a mission al
Mr.. Meyer has just returned from T.
accomplished and astute, and he ha
been received with open arms in thi
city by the peop.e who have taken al
interest in the Dreyfus case.
Approved BY Supreme Court.