The Wilmington daily Republican., 1899-08-31
CONSPIRACY RUMORS
Predictions Of Coups in the Famous
Dreyfus Trial.
DIVISIONS AMONG THE GENERALS

High Army Omcers Who Have Hith.
erto Pulled Together Are Changing
Their Attitude Since the Tide Of Evil
dence Has Favored the Accused.
Rennes, Aug. 31.-The air Of Rennes
Is filled with rumors of conspiracies
and predictions of coups de theater,
but nothing precise can be ascertained.
General Merciers attitude during the
last few days has mystified his fol-
lowers in the case. He Is extremely
clever, and the general feeling is that
he Is preparing something, the exist
ence Of which will be revealed In few
days.
1t is now accepted as beyond ques-
tion that there is serious division OF
opinion on the part Of the generals.
While the case was running smooth
ly against Dreyfus they all pulled to-
gether, but since the tide of evidence
began to turn in his favor, as was no.
tably the case during the testimony
of Captain Freystaetter and Colonel
Cordier, which proved much more
damaging to the general stan than the
latter anticipated, certain dividing
lines have become manifest between
the various ciiques
General Roget, Major Lauth. Captain
Cuignet and M. Gribelin. the principal
keeper Of the archives Of the war office,
form one coterie, General Mercier and
General Gonse form another. and Cen
eral Billot and General de Boisdeffre a
third. According to one report the
first two coteries intend to throw over
General de Boisdeffre, whom they feel
to be faltering, and declare that he is
responsible for all terrors and illegal
tiles Of the court martial Of 1894. thus
making him the scapegoat. According
to another report General Roget, who
was not implicated in 1894 and who
fought against Dreyfus because he in
herited from his predecessors RESPONSE
bility for SO doing and placed over
confidence in the accounts Of the mat
ter furnished him by the general staff,
will cut himself loose from Generals
Mercier. Gonse and de Boisdeffre.
This is plausible hypothesis. since
Roget has assumed throughout the
role of defender of the army, thus max
ing himself popular with the army and
with large section of the nation, and
he probably would not lose by sepa-
rating himself from the wrongdoers of
1894 and declaring that his opinion had
been changed by the evidence given
during the present trial.
Yet another story Is that the gene
rails are going to give way on the au-
thorship Of the bordereau, in view of
the strong expert evidence, and will
admit that Esterhazy wrote it, alleg-
ing, however, that Dreyfus furnished
the information, not direct to Esterha-
zy, but to thisd person, who acted as
intermediary without Dreyfus knowing
EsterhaZy.
In this connection is is asserted that
Mms. Rastian, who was housekeeper
for Colonel Schwartzkoppen, the Ger
man military attache, in 1894, and who
is understood to have acted as French
spy, has been seen in Rennes, and will
be summoned as witness concerning
Schwartzkoppens espionage system.
All these rumors may be without
foundation, but in any event they are
symptomatic Of the feeling in Rennes
tnat something is going on under the
surface, and that the complexion OF the
trial may be altered by some coup at
any moment.
In the matter Of evidence yesterday
was quite a Dreyfus day, only the de-
position Of the last witness, General
Deloye, being unfavorable. The tes-
timony of M. Picot, member of the
institute, is little likely, however, to
serve the cause of the accused ma
terially, If at all, because his introduce
tion of Colonel Schneider, the Austrian
military attache, as champion of
Dreyfus, was rather calculated to
arouse resentment and adversely to in
fluence the judges, especially as it was
followed by General Boget's tactful
protest against Colonel Schneider's un-
complimentary illusions to French Of
ficers.
Today's proceedings, behind closed
doors. will deal with the question
whether Captain Dreyfus was in po-
sition to divulge the information re-
garding the artillery which was prom
ised in the bordereau. The session
will be very important, and Is bound
to have a tremendous influence upon
the Judges one way or the other.