The herald., 1898-01-16
In French Discussion of
Dreyfus' Case
THE OUTBREAK OF HYSTERIA
THREATENS TO END IN VIOLENCE
AND CHAOS
Attacks on the Republic Certain and o
Resultant Foreign War Is
Not Improbable
Associated Press Special Wire

Associated Press Special Wire
LONDON, Jan. 15.-(Copyright 1889
The new phase into which the Dreyfus
case has entered Is distinct advance.
The era of secret courts martial Is over
and a civil and public court will have to
investigate Emil Zola's charges Of per-
sistent distortion of justice. The be-
havior of military authorities In "burk-
ing" the inquiry casts the gravest re-
Elections upon the oft-asserted honor OF
the French army, which has shown an
obstinate determination to stick to-
gether, right or wrong. Outside OF
France all Europe believes Dreyfus is
the victim of a conspiracy and the prose-
cution of Zola has broadened the ques-
ton, for the whole French army Is now
virtually placed on trial. The gravity
of the situation is enhanced because the
whole of France is in state of growing
hysterical excitement. Temporarily the
republic is generally supported through-
out the country, but history shows that
similar hysteria has frequently led to
violence and chaos. When France Is
able to analyze the situation, and should
the suspicion prove that the honor Of
the army is really affected the conse-
quences to the republic might be of the
most serious description. The PanaWa
scandals have defiled political LIE and
the law courts have been discredited
therefore, If respect for the army must
also be surrendered, the desire to change
the government may be irrepressible, in
which case the temptation for the Iced
ers to divert the attention Of the coun-
try to a foreign war wiP be well nigh
irresistible. Hence the deep interest OF
Frances neighbors.
For the moment the intense excite
ment will probably find an outlet in the
renewal of the spectacle presented dur
ing the last days of Boulangisn1. Hot
alterations in the streets, leading to.
assaults, are frequent, the police ara
guarding the houses of prominent
Dreyfusians. and it is impossible to fore-
see where the arrests will end. Slander
and denunciation are so rampant that
the authorities are taking special pre-
caution to prevent the illuminated from
taking the law into their own hand4
Duels have already resulted. A mons
ter manifestation Is preparing in Paris
for Sunday. Allegedly it is anti
Dreyfusian. ree,ly it is anti-Semitic.
and unless prohibited it is feared seri-
GUS riots may be the sequel.
AFRICAN QUESTIONS !.
Temporarily overshadowed. the move
ments of the French on the Upper Nile
are again becoming unpleasantly prom
inent to those who imagined that Eng
land had undisputed claims upon those
regions.
1t Is immaterial to discuss the exact
whereabouts Of the French expeditions.
1t suffices that, according to the bulk
of evidence, they have penetrated to
Bahr-Ghazal, the most fertile province
Of the Egyptian Soudan, with the dis
tinct mandate of their government
If this Is true and the declarations of
successive British cabinets mean any,
thing, M. Hanotaux has brought about
a casus belli
Thus far M. Hanotaux seems to have
the advantage, but the game Is danger
Gus. Fear Of war with France will not
stop Great Britain from recovering the
whole Egyptian Soudan and driving out
any French expeditions which may be
found there, when, in the opinion of the
Marquis of Salisbury, the proper time
has arrived.
In the meantime Prince Henry of Or
leans is fitting out at Marseilles, evil
IDENTIFY with the approval of the govern
ment. an armed expedition to subdue
the Equatorial provinces which the
Negus presented, claiming they had be-
longed to Abyssinia in prehistoric times:
bIJt In reality
cal with those Great Britain Is seeking
to restore to Egypt. So, perhaps. there
is some truth in the story that the activ-
ity of the British is due to the Egyptian
intelligence department learning that
the French Abassinian troops have
reached Fashoda, that King Menelik Is
preparing reinforcement with the In
tention of following up this success, and
that common policy, which is morally
supported by Russia unites France and
Abyssinia.
TROUBLE IN PERSIA
There are persistent reports of grave
troubles threatening In Persia. The
shah's sovereignty has always been
shaky and it is now affirmed to be
rapidly slipping away from his grasp.
Indeed, the situation at Teheran is de-
scribed as being so precarious that a
coup d'etat may be precipitated at any
moment.
Probably the murder of Greaves, the
English telegraph operator. and the out
break at Mekran are connected with the
tendency to revolt In Persia.
1t is believed in well informed circles
that the dispatch of Indian troops to
the Persian gulf is due to general unrest.
The news that Sir William Lockhart,
the commander Of the British forces on
the Indian frontier, has postponed his
journey homeward. in the expectation Of
settlement with the Afridis. who ars
seemingly desirous Of submitting. points
to the early conclusion of the most seri-
GUS of the quartet Of '1ittle wars In
which Great Britain Is engaged and