The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1898-02-28
FRENCH ANTI-SEMITISM
TALK WITH DRUMONT, LEADER OF
ANTI-JEwIsH CRUSADE.
A violent Hatred Difficult for Amer
leans to Comprehend-Unreas
able Threats and Assertions.
Z Grihavedofr. in Review Of Reviews.

even TO the least OOStINanL or the HOSl
skeptical, that the Dreyfus- Esterhazy af-
fair was but an acute symptom of a condi-
ton in France which has been a long while
assuming form and consistency. The hasty
and evidently ilI-founded accusation
brought against Major Walsin- Esterhazy,
Catholic, by Matthew Dreyfus. Jew, has
acted as a spark applied to a powder train,
causing an explosion of the anti-Semitic
feeling all over the country as well as in
Algeria AS / pen these lines hear the
cries out in the streets Of: "a has les Juifsl
A bas les Juifs.' broken now and again by
the clatter of the cavalry horses hoofs on
the asphalt and the measured tread OF the
Municipal Guards on their way from one
post Of duty to the other. Thus it has been
going on from day to day. Dreyfus is for
gotten, Esterhazy is forgotten, Scheurer-
Kestner is forgotten, even lola, the most
aggressive of the so-called "Dreyfusards,"
is little mentioned for the nonce. The one
cry which resounds from north to south
and from east TO west, the rallying cry of
thousands and hundreds of thousands of
French citizens, is .A.bas les Juifsv
This cry sums up the situation. Rightly
or wrongly the question of opposing Is
raePs encroachments" has become the one
burning issue. Upon the anti-Semitic plat
form stand the most diversified elements
Ultramontanes, Freethinkers, Radicals,
even, as it now proves considerable frac-
ton of the Protestant population. They
may be totally at variance with one another
in matters of religion, politics and econom-
les, but they are firmly of q mind on one
proposition, and that is that the Jew must
go" Numerically the Jew forms ope-five
hundredth part or the population of France.
BY fair or foul means, more particularly
by the latter say the anti-Semltes, he has
secured possession of a quarter of the per-
sonal property of the country-twenty mil
lizards of francs out of eighty. CThe figures
are taken from the Philo-Semetic Matn.)
He controls the markets and owns the eX-
eCutive, the legislature and the Judiciary.
He would like to secure control Of the army,
but this Will prove the rock against which
his ambitions will be dashed to pieces. So
Sayeth the anti-Semitei
THE ANTI-SEAIITE LEADER
To the average Anglo-saxon mind anti
Semitism is, of course, incomprehensible as
psychological condition or phenomenon
out of keeping with the spirit of the age
and of modern institutions. Nevertheless
the question in general has become so
| hopelessly confused in certain English and
American periodicals with the judicial in
tricacies of the Dreyfus case that it seems
next to impossible for the reader to sep
arate the one subject from the other AS
| a step in this direction it may be appro-
pirate to present the anti-Semitic version of
| the case in the words of the man who is
universally credited with having created
| THIS peculiar sentiment among his fellow
| c0untrymen, but who is satisfied with the
| nonor, as he often says himself of having
crystailized it and given 1T it's present direc-
| ton, the sentiment itself being the natural
outcome of the prevailing conditions
| refer, of course, to Edouard Drumont, au-
Inor OF La France Juive" and editor of
Edouard Drumont lives in a quaint out
of-the-way corner of Paris, a narrow
| h f1~n fHn4 H.
LUniVersite, few minutes walk from the
Eiftel tower. The stranger might fancy
himself here in one of the side streets of
some sleepy, provincial town were it not for
| the distant hum of the city's traffic. There
- such forlorn and abandoned look about
the oaenv whole t5 place. whte-haired woman
rather uninyiting edifice in answer to my
bell, and ushers me into a conventional
fsTench parlor, M; Drumont is at home.
| Although all Paris is in ferment this
| gray Sunday afternoon, although infantry
| and cavalry occupy the leading thorough
fares, and the garden of the Tuilleries has
been turned into q military encampment
! prepared for every emergency, Drumont
sits at home engrossed In the preparation
| OF the next days editorial not a soul in the
| place but himself and the aged housekeep-
er. A curious contrast, indeed the calm,
the almost deathlike stiffness of this house
! hold and the turmoil and excitement its
| occupants vigorous pen has created at this
| moment within the bosom of the huge
metropolis Awaiting the masters" APP
| pearance, had a chance to glance at the
| paintings on the walls: Drumont Is evil
| IDENTIFY something of an art connoisseur and
a lover OF the antique. He has three fine
| specimens of the religious art of the Italian
school, which recall some of the master
/ pieces in the Louvre. There are also num-
erous bibelots of undoubted antiquity and
value ON the cabinets and small tables
around. There is fine lfe-sized painting
of himself, the work of the lamented paint
! er Dupuy, killed some years back in duel.
MODERN PETER THE HERMIT.
T0pac Il
tiers. The great high priest of anti-Semit-
ism looks his part to (which is that of
fin de steele Peter the Hermit. Instead of
the frock and cowl he wears a black velvet
hat and a loose black necktie, and instead
of the tonsure shock Of raven black hair
that falls down to a level with his collar
| and gives his head an almost leonine ap-
| pearance. Despite Slight stoop--due no
| doubt to sedentary occupations and the
| consumption of midnight oiI--the first char
acterlstle that impresses the observer is
! the mans superlative strength both phys
| ical and intellectual The short neck and
broad shoulders can only belong to a Her
! CUES, the keen penetrating eye the aqui-
line nose, the heavy jaw partly hidden by
| a scrubby beard, and the firm mouth are
iindtlSeIations Of an iron will and of superior
/ intellectual force, without which qualities
no apostle can stamp his views upon a
community be his mission good or bad
i But II II tnere is much in the mans personal
! tnere remains quite enough of the fin de
| steele pampheteer to explain WHY he has
! rallied around him not alone the Catholic
| element but so many among the most radi-
cal and advanced thinkers Of modern Paris
ne possesses to an unusual degree that gift
| Tor polemics, the delight of every true Pari-
| sian newspaper reader, combined with rare
| power OF analysis and remarkable cleo r
| ness OF expression. He is a fluent and Wig
| 0iouS speaker moreover. He emphasizes
MS remarks with frequent gestures oft
times raising his hands above his head like
| ulVer and bringing them down with one
| sweep TO a level With his knees His first
remark after had explained the object Of
| my visit was follows:
mon Dleu, Monsieur What use is there
| OF my saying anything for the benefit OF
the Engush-speak1ng peoples? AS far as /
can Judge from the English press, the Jew
ISM side of the story is the only one that
seems 10 pass current on the other side of
| the channel. The Jews must be influential
| enough over there also. since they are able
10 control all the channels of news and of
| publicity, and to impose their wav off think
| ing on the public. Yet even England has
/ EJte reason 10 congratulate herself on her
alnance with the race of Shem The Jew
/ Disraeli rendered her a poor service when
ana suspicion. Nor has she profited very
much by the Jameson raid organized by the
| Jews, Lionel Phillips, Alfred Belt. Joe.
Barnato and the rest of them when as
usual the Aryan acted the Semite's cat s.
paw and received cold lead for his pains"
! ..But to come TO France" l remarked.
How do you think this trouble is going to
An came the reply. with a shrug of the
| shoulders, what shall l answer? 1t seems
! serious statement to make but TO tell the
| truth, as things are, / see no way out of