The evening herald. [volume] (Shenandoah, Pa.) 1891-1966, 1898-02-24
NJ. ZOLA'S CONVICTION.
The Farcical Trial Ends as Has
Been Predicted.
he IS SENTENCED FOR A YEAR,
while Publisher Perreux Must Serve
Four Months Longer - The Great
Novelist Bears His Conviction and
Sentence PhilosophicalIy.

verdict, n it's unanimity was due to
threats. 1t stayed in the jury room
for a few minutes, and the sentence Is
one year for NJ. lola and one year and
four months for Nj. PerreuX.
The hour was sever in the evening,
n the court was lighted by electric
ity, which revealed the face Of every
person. A very striking Christ Cruel
fec" hung high behind the bench. M.
Laborie ended his speech by saying,
The name Of PLATE is the most alb
horred in history" The figure of
Christ caught Zola's eye. After SEN
tence mad been passed, with pompous
decorum, he exclaimed: To-day, as
ISOLATED with Christ, 1, too, am a vic
tim Of mob violence, official c~owardice
and a grand miscarriage Of Justice"
Blu he did not vince or finch. He
looked as Indifferent as a mere spec
tator. Nine. Zola's devoted heart at
first seemed broken, but when she felt
hat she must brace herself up to rise
to the height of Zola's grand situation
she became calm m self possessed.
His friends, the artists, Bruneau and
Desmeulin, were more broken hearted
han she. They have daily accompanied
lola, protecting him from mob violence.
M. Laborie was also greatly upset.
Zola's other friends were delighted.
They declared that by the sentence he
was redeemed from all past faults; that
IL set him on a radiant pedestal, gave
him a unique position and would make
him the representative man Of human
ity. They had greatly feared a severe
sentence, but one wiped off with the
benefit of the first offenders law. In
this case he would not have gone to
prison.
The troops were never employed to
keep order during the trial. The civic
guards and ~constabulary only were
called out There were 1000 on duty
around the law courts yesterday, but
despite all precautions to exclude the
public 1000 persons got into the hall.
There were endless officers in uniform
and civilian clothes, and the young Of
hcers in the court and hall Joined in
the manifestations and waved their
caps when "Vive larmee" was cried.
The jury slipped away, but some Of
the jurymen were recognized in the
hall and borne in triumph through the
seething crowds on young mems Shout
ders. The din was fearful, but it was
a Joyous din.
Are we entering moderate people
ask, IAN era Of pronunciamentos?" No,
no, French general ever aimed at mill
tary distature. The first and second
Napoleons were practically foreigners.
But there is a strange combination Of
army, church and people, with one OBJ
j~ective, to put down Israel in France.
This union is less fortuitous than it
looks. The Jews now control all the
sources of wealth. The minds and feel
ings Of the people have long been in
revolt in secret against this power,
which has no physical force behind 1t.
What has fermented in the brain is
now going into action.
The church is one great universal or
ganization to pit against the Jewish
universal alliance. France, therefore,
is now politically with Rome, but she
must keep the republic. A monarchy
could only live by force Of the army,
and would mean war. France is not
organized for war, for her army is only
militia, but Prince Henry Of Orleans is
hoping for military movement against
the republic and to come to the top.
He daily showed himself during the
trial in the hall of the court house, and
one day embraced Major Esterhazy,
crying, "Vive Iarmee." He was sur
rounded and salaamed to by his Or
leanist friends. But it did not do. He
has no brilliant, captivating qualities,
but only an ambiguous, half girlish
figure, and talks through his nose an
guidly,
M. Faure openly patronized General
Pellieux and General De Boisdeffre as
against NJ. lola. He likes fine military
company. Boisdeffre is aristocratic,
and in favor at st. Petersburg, and the
president is sensible to this.
The cheering was tremendous all over
town, but there was little violence,
though the Jews were terrified. Some
Jews managed to be near the law court,
but escaped with their lives.
The house was filed from the ground
floor to the garnet with bouquets OF
flowers that had come from all parts
the gifts, doubtless, of Jewish ladies,
The tables were Uttered deep with tele-
grams. One dispatch of 5000 words
came from Odessa.
M. lola will write another letter be-
fore surrendering himself. He was go
ing, he said, to the end of the cen
fury in all around conditions. The
friends around him envied him his new
departure in the path of glory. What
I'll ~ ~ NDaAN ~ ~ ~ - AiAaA - I
for truth n justice! He had all thai
a prosperous career could give, but this
way of the cross, philosophioally under
stood, was now open to him. He says
he is sorry for France, but thinks she
will right herself.
A friend expressed regret that Their
Is so much bourgeois comfort at the st
Pelagie prison. NJ. Rochefort has Their,
his English bed and bedding, and hi!
servant and wife go daily to prepare
his lunch. A cell would be preferable
were 1t not for rheumatism.
Zola's Oldest friend assures me tina
ne will not die in jail. He was brought
up in hardship. His father was an ole
military campaigner with Napoleon, anC
was in the retreat from Russia, a
Waterloo and other battles, a sturdy
French peasant. M. lola was reared
by %peasantry to be hardy and enduring
His health is not so good as a while
ago, owing to his anti-fat diet, but the
prison is sure to strengthen him.
M. lola can remain at liberty fol
three days, during which he may de
eide whether to appeal to the court o
cessation, an appeal which can onl,
be taken on the ground of irregularitie
of procedure. If these were proved /
would justify an annulment of the trial
Should an appeal be taken IT would no
come on before the court of cessation
until after the next general elections
when It is probable that a new min
istry will be in power.