The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1898-02-27
PHASES OF Z0LA'S TRIAL.
.-,oys LIGHT 1T THROWS ON LE-
GAL PROCEDURE IN FRANCE.

T~ri,,s-aIeEcd Enorts or the Prosecution
4. Get the Crowd In Court 10 Deuon-
,,,ste Against Zoia-Bioauent words from
sous or the witnesses In the box.
p,v,s Feb. ls.-Beforo this letter 10 printed
,hs lola trial will have passed into French his
,o,v Init tho effects of 1t will have only just
Inn to manifest themselves. A week ago 1
.sonld havo said, and l believe I did say
=. uv dispatches to THE Sun, that the con-
.,c,,on of the chief defendant was all but
..,,,,n. The trial Is still unfinished, but now
h,If France, instead Of awaiting n ~foregone con-
,,uslon. is wondering what the verdict will
bs And yet no new, important fact has been
hrouvht out thus far in the proceedings at the
I,.I,e Court. The evidence OF the witnesses
~, beeu composed almost entirely Of personal
oniplops, mere ~oratory. and refusals to answer
opcs,ions. What then has SO radically changed
The situationi
The exclamation Is to be found chiefly In the
arrange contrast between French judicial pro-
o.Surr and the methods Of administering JUS.
,ieo in the United States aud in England.
"There 10 a great difference between military
and civil justice cried Gen. Pellioux at tho
close OF his first examination the other day.
"There is but one justicei" rctortcd Maitre
Cltmenceau. the brother Of the great publicist.
And the lawyer might have added with equal
truth that the one justice is difficult to find in
Franco in moments of public passion and preju.
dice.
hut am fur from condemning some OF the
features OF judicial procedure used at the Palais
do Justice during the past ten days. which sp-
near strange to American and English eyes.
The French policy Of confronting witnesses
whose testimony is in conflict and allowing
them to fight it out verbally sometimes it
10 more than verbally between themselves
certainly tends toward the accomplish.
ment OF the chief aim Of all trials-to
bring out the truth. Yesterday We had Gen.
pollieux. Gen. Gonse, and Col. PicQuart con-
fronting each other. and their disagreement in
awarm debate Of nearly half an hour led to the
throwing OF the first real light upon some of
The dark and mysterious features OF this great
scandal.
Itmay seem irregular and undignifled to per.
nit any or all witnesses. whose statements may
b controverted, to spring up and insist upon or
contradict or modify their first statements, but
assuredly the practice serves not only to clear up
Misunderstanding and expose the real truth,
butit enables the jury to judge better who is the
falsifer when it is impossible to reconcile con-
1lcting statements.
am making these rambling comments upon
certain features Of this great State trial in the
intervals Of the trial itself, and just here l am
reminded OF the extraordinary privileges as
sumed by the spectators In a French courtroom.
An audience in q Broadway Theatre is quiet by
comparison. They applaud, they hiss. they groan,
they ~ln.erjcct just as it p~leases them.
It'll only when they are divided in opinion and
In q delrium OF excitement fall upon each other
tooth and nail that the presiding magistrate in
~terferes and summons tho guard to drive them
all nuf at the mint of rho StyOrd II ia dih1Cn1t
to believe 1t possible to secure q free. fair trial
under such circumstances.
1t has been told to mo repeatedly since the
trial began that agents OF one side or the other
have daily gone about among the spectators
offering them as much as 20 francs each to
demonstrate" for or against the accused. /
have had no opportunity to investigate these
reports, but they have been so circumstantia
and 30 many times repeated that / am inclined
70 believe thore is some truth in them. Such
tactics are on a par with the lowest form OF
intmidatlng the jury, which the reptile press
OF Paris has adopted. These vile rags,
oil Of which heap fresh insults upon lola each
DAY. carry conspicuously in their columns in
every issue the names. addresses, and business
Of the members of the jury. They do not dare
%toopenly suggest measures for influencing their
verdict, but as most OF the jurymen are mall
tradeSmen the threat to punish them for going
contrary to public opinion is scarcely yelled.
The feature which more than all others i'm.
presses the alien spectators at this trial Is the
iaeilty with which the witness stand Is turned
mo an oratorial platform. The giving of evil
oenec Is more often than not combined with
special pleading on one side or the other by the
witnesses. Sometimes the situation fully justihes
ths violation of the rules of evidence as prac-
uced In American courts. Let me describe
more fully a case in point, which / was able to
touch but briefly in the cable reports. Prof.
arimaux OF the Ecole Poly honorary
professor OF the Ecole de Medicine. and men,
Der OF the Institute was called to the
oar by the defence. Prof. Grimaux Is one
Of the most honored savants OF France.
several officers OF the army whose names
nave Inquired in this agitation have been
as pupils in the great institutions where
uemr eVered as one OF the wise men Of his gen-
eAu'h. The Ecole Polytechnique and st. Cyr
Nest'li names to ~conjure with In France. and
NJ one not even GRANDDAUGHTER himself. had
zone 10 the bar In this trial with a greater pres.
uEo than this venerable man Of science.
A'Orimaux was one Of those who signed the
memorial protesting against the illegality of the
pfeItus conviction. and NJ. Labori-the young
h"yer who has already during this trial won the
~ kIehltSt advocate at the French bar
asked him to explain his action. NJ. Grimaux
replied that he had come to the bar simply
- one OF that class of scientific mon
VINO heed not the fluctuations of daily poll
As' and some Of whom even know not the
names OF the Ministers" Ono thing after an.
o'hef mad given rise to the doubts In his mind
70 The culpability OF Dreyfus. 1t was not
merely the identity OF the handwriting between
VOC letters OF NJ. Esterhazy and the bordereau
Nlieh had led him TO think that officer to be the
su'nor' The way in which the proceedings in
y of this year were conducted;
Aieport-that made by Major Ravary-which no
~ = OF science would have been willing to sign
,ss more than he would have signed that of
.oe4' The evident good will OF Major Ravary
= OF The President of the Court for an accused
: VINO was treated as a friend; the singular
.spor'of the experts; the secrecy OF the DELHI
Nsuohs-ali this made him indignant, and lin
.rpe OF menaces and intimidation" he will
ssha by those who signed with him and who
aeslre the light"
asked what he meant by intimidation, the
,e"er'oIe Professor In a voice trembling with