The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1898-07-21
The Flight of M, Zola,

M. Emile ZOla has crossed over into
Switzerland to escape the fine and i'm
prisonment which were pronounced
against him on Monday. Zola has one
right. Exile to a Frenchman is a ter
temperament eXpatriation from his be-
loved Paris is deprivation little short
of death itself. He is ASSOCIATED from
all he loves best in the material world,
the sights and sounds and inner life of
the gay city by the Seine, which af-
forded such lurid and realistic concep-
tions of his marvellous genius. There
is significance in Zola's exile which
forebodes no good for France or the
republic. A years Imprisonment Zola
might have borne with tolerable forti-
tude. He would not have been treated
have employed his time in writing a
novel, The three thousand francs
which he was fined was a matter of no
moment to a man of zola's wealth.
The Partisan journalists will make
merry over Zola's plight They will of
course accuse him of cowardice; they
will denounce him as a renegade who
was afraid to abide by the conse-
quences of his words: traitor to his
country, who was scarcely less culpa-
BILE than Dreyfus. Zola was probably
guided by the advice of his friends.
Perhaps they assured him that his
exile would be of short duration. NJ.
nnH
always returned under another and
different regime. So it may be with
Zola. His is not a political or treason
able offence. He was accused and
found guilty Of libelling the army. Zola
did not libel the army. He accused
the oourt-martial which tried Drcyfus
of partiality in condemning the man
because he was Jew and not the SOL
dier because of his treason. He de-
clared that Esterhazy was the culprit,
and at any rate there is no question
that the direct evidence against him
was immeasurably stronger than that
produced against Dreyfus. He is a
man of infamous character. The no.
torious bordereau which procured the
disgrace of Dreyfus was unquestion-
ably in Esterhazys handwriting. He
had the imperturbable audacity to ac-
knowledge incriminating letters which
would have sealed the doom of ninety
nine out of hundred Frenchman. or
indeed citizen of any other nation
ality. He. too, was tried by court
martial, but acquitted on the mon
strous ground that his conviction
would stultify the proceedings of the
court-martial that convicted Dreyfus.
The prisoner in DEVILS Isle could not
be liberated under any circumstance.
The fact was that neither Dreyfus nor
Esterhazy had any dealings with the
German government. The secrets were
sold to Russia, because Russia wanted
to know certain particulars about the
French army before she entered an
alliance with the French government.
OF course the French government is
we'll aware of this fact. but its moral
cowardice when anything concerning
Russia is in question is Incredible
1t is a pitiable spectacle that the
citizen of one republic seeks protec-
ton in that of another because he had
the courage to denounce and defy mill
tary tyranny. 1t is not the first occa-
sion in which Lucerne threw its pro-
tecting mantel over politically exiled
Frenchmen, nor will 1t probably be
the last. lola in Paris was impotent;
in Lucerne he can. if he so wills, be-
come real menace TO the stability OF
the republic by lowering its respect in
the eyes of foreigners. Zola is a pa
triot and republican as well as a
Frenchman.