Evening star., 1898-10-26
Would Invite Contempt.

| Clau Inat IL STANDS to the ord1Eary perCep-
ton marvel of utter fnfallibilty.
Would Invite Contempt.
| But for the staff to admit proven facts
would be to brand some of themselves as
criminals. the others as incompetents, to
abandon the iridescent dream of their own
sanctity, to invite contempt at home. ag-
!. gressions from abroad. Many of them,
! probably most of them. had identified them
| selves with the bounding of Dreyfus in
| good faith. honestly believing him to be a
spy. Then they had staked their reputa-
| uons upon forgeries and linked their for
[ tunes with perjurers until Sney fioundered
| so deep into the mire that the only course
| was 90 push forward; to expose their con-
| federates to bury themselves as well
| in the general crash. So they must fail
| back upon the fetish They cast over the
public the same spell by which they them
| selves first had been hypnotized. We could
| satisfy you of the guilt Of Dreyfus, but
| that would mean war in twentyfour hours
] You must take our word for the facts. We
| appeal to the nation for confidence in the
| honor of the army.
The first thought of France responded to
this appeal. Her very hearts blood is the
| army, for every family has its son in the
| ranks They have borne almost unbearable
taxation for a quarter of a century that Its
proceeds might be poured out to make that
organization the most perfect that ever ex
listed; on its shoulders rests the Fren en-
mans hope of satisfying his two pet and
A Motley Crew.
The cause of the army grew like rolling
SNOWFALL. 1t has gathered to itself all the
enemies of the republic, all those forces
| which followed the black horde of Boulan-
ger. All the royalsts. all the imperialsts
| the legitimists, every pretender and heir
apparent, claimant and expectant, all the
decayed and disreputable mobiles of France
are clamoring for the honor Of the army.
| Behind them is the powerful political ma
| chinery Of the Catholic Church, which has
| been oppressed by the atheistic legisla-
| tion of the republic Paradoxical though 1t
may appear, many who are shouting loud
| est against revision are secretely the eager
est for it. They want revision decreed be-
cause they believe the announcement would
usher a military dictatorship into the seat
| of the republic. They desire the republic
| to espouse the unpopular cause of the Jew
believing their own particular faction
would be able to wrest the prize of a
! throne from the crisis. The prisoner of
| the Isle du Diable is no longer an issue, he
! Is preteXt.
| Many Frenchmen will coolly inform you
| that whether Dreyfus be guilty not is
| one of two sequels-that Dreyfus was gull
! ty and that German diplomats here on
French soil had been seducing our officers
and bargaining with them for our over
throw, or that Dreyfus is innocent and our
army is honeycCmbed with moral rotten
| ness. Either alternative spells ruin. The
| first must certainly bring war with Ger
| many. which France does not now desire
and which $50 material are the arguments)
would spoil our exposition OF 1900. The
| second would bring our whole military
| structure topping to earth like house of
cards. Courts martial, imprisonmentS,
| wholesale reorganization must follow, in
volving loss of confidence on the part of
| the French people, loss of fear among our
shipwreck of France. Dreyfus has moth
| ing more to do with the question. The
only issue Is the safety of France and that
demands that the chose jugee shall remain
sealed.
Brains Against Numbers.
How many Frenchmen really believe
Dreyfus innocent is a question whereon no
one in Paris seems willing to venture judg-
ment. Arrayed in open advocacy of revis-
ion are the growing forces of socialism and
| the organization Of Freema sonry, which in
France may always be found opposing the
clerics. In sympathy with them. though
often not daring for political or business
reasons to hoist their colors. is an untama-
| BILE body moved by the simple desire for
justice proclaimed by Zola and Picquart.
1t seems a contest Of brains against num-
bers. 1t would be wonderful If 1t were
| otherwise. considering the methods en-
ployed to infame popular passions. The
parttsans Of the army daily heap the statue
of Strassburg on the Place de la Concorde
higher than ever with mourning wreaths
bearing inscriptions designed TO tear open
the old wound and rekindle that lust for
revenge whereof the army must be the in
strument. Placards on the walls, even
handbilIs thrust at wayfarers along the
streets. foment the agitation. 1t has
brought into being a hundred mushroom
newspapers, which feed the people with
Munchausen tales about the great Jew syn
dictate, the bogey which is painted as pull
ing the wires for revision. Even the more
substantial journals reek with stuff for
children. The whole Dreyfus propaganda,
they say Is engineered by foreign govern
ments and hostile capitalists They tell of
millions being shoveled out from Lombard
street to keep the movement in motion, de-
scribng the glee of English plutocrass
gioating over the progress OF their conspir-
acy to undermine France. The whole sa-
tanic scheme absorbs It's vitality from for
e'gn jealousy of the wonderful advancement,
the prosperity of this Incompatible nation:
The arts. the commerce, the happiness OF
France overshadow the world. The world
envies her grand estate, fears her fnvinci-
BILE army. Therefore the world slabs In the
back her mainstay and protector, the army
it dares not face in battle.
Free Speech Gagged.
AS the Frenchman more than any other
modern shares the Chinese ignorance and
hate of the foreign DEVILS" these canards
find credence. The case has passed be-
yond the stage of argument As in some
western states during the last presidential
campaign the man who attempted to talk
gold was crushed by the retort. You are
In the pay of Wall street." one who es-
seys defense of revision has been hired by
the Jew syndicate. To be Dreyfus and
under this reign of terror requires as much
courage as to be an abolitionist in the
south before the war. Soldiers have been
court-martialed for crying 'Vive Zola!'
University professors are banished from
their chairs. The roll of the Legion of
Honor is sifted by the shibboleth, Con
spuez Dreyfus." Free speech has been
gagged. A meeting in favor of revision
was called for that Sunday evening, which
has been described Its sponsor was the
new society of the rights of man, logical
outgrowth of the Jew-baiting tyranny. The
society had hired a hall, paying rental in
advance, but the government, or rather
the generals who are governing the gov
ernment, tipped the owner that Dreyfus
meetings were out of order. When the
speakers came they found closed doors and
not even the satisfaction of their money
refunded was to be extorted from the
landlord. defiant in the knowledge who
were his hackers. Instead the leaders, all
citizens of high standing, were hustled to
jail, and their followers dispersed with
swords, while several anti-revision meet
ings were in progress that same hour.