The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1899-08-26
IS A PRINCE OF QUACKS
Bertillon's Fantastic Theories in
the Dreyfus Case.
IT MAY IMPRESS JUDGES
Germany will Be Asked to Produce the
Original Documents in Case Drey-
fus Is Rscondemned-Ths
Evidence In Detail.

| the handwriting expert who is at the
head of the anthropometic department
of the prefecture of police of Paris, had
| concluded the first installment of his
| so-called demonstration of the guilt of
Captain Dreyfus, a prominent Dreyfus-
ard referred TO him as the fin de steele
| Cagliostro. The Dreyfusards refused
| to regard him as anything but the
| prince of quacks. They cover his re-
| marks with ridicule and protest that
the admission of his fantastic theories
| as evidence before the court martial is
a disgrace to France.
"C'est une honte" was the remark
| heard on all sides when the session
| closed and the audience, mainly made
| up of Dreyfusards, was being pressed
outside by the gendarmes who clear
| the court room as SOON as the court ad-
| journs.
Nevertheless. even the Dreyfusards
do not deceive themselves as to the eff
feet Nj. Bertillon's testimony or dem
onstration" may have on the judges,
who they fear will be guided by what
the Dreyfusards consider spurious. All
the judges have passed through the
Ecole Polytechnique, the highest school
of science in France, and they are thus
peculiarly interested in such evidence
as that of Bertillon. Moreover, with
the aid of innumerable diagrams and
specimens of writing which he submits
to them, they may be able to follow his
reasoning intelligently. which is more
than any member of the audience could
do to-day. If the judges accept Bertil-
Ions premises-that Dreyfus, as an eX-
pert spy, did not write in ordinary
handwriting, but in close imitation,
even contriving to give the letters the
appearance of having been traced in
order to be able to repudiate them as a
forgery If deteCted-then the structure
built upon this groundwork may be
scientifically correct. Even Dreyfus,
when shown Bertillons demonstrations,
admitted the ingenuity and plausibility
of the system, though he naturally de-
clared that it was built on false
basis.
A remarkable feature of Bertillon's
deposition was the heat and excitement
he put into what was expected to be a
calm, dispassionate exposition of his
theory He thundered shouted and
waved his arms as though engaged in
some terrible dispute. Once he literally
shrieked and numbers of the usual au-
dience who had been unable to follow
him and Were taking the air IN the
court yard rushed back into the hall,
DTeatnieSSly WIldt nap
pened and imagining that he was full
minating some dreadful denunciation
of the accused. Their excitement was
turned into hilarity when they found
that he was momentariy impresslng
upon the judges the significance of the
exact space, measured in centimetres,
between two words in the bordereau.
The military witnesses, all of whom
sit in a bunch, leaving Colonel Picquart
par Gnvnrelv isolated. fol-
lowed NJ. Bertillon's statements with a
grave and wise expression of counte-
nance, upon which never suspicion of
a smile appeared, as though they un-
derstood every word. Evidently they
had received a mot dordre to preserve
this attitude, for, without seeing the
diagrams, they could not have under
stood any better than did the general
public.
The Echo de Paris announced to-day
that the counsel of Dreyfus had OBJ
tained possession Of certain documents
mentioned in the bordereau in Ester
hazy's writing, which they would pro-
duce in court next week as a coup ae
theater. The correspondent of the AS
sociated Press inquired as to this in
competent Dreyfusard quarters this at-
teruoon He was assured that the
statement was erroneous, but was also
told that the defense intended, in the
event of Captain Dreyfus being recon-
demned, to ask the German govern
ment to communicate these documents
proving his innocence, and that they
had reason to beieVe Such request
would be granted.
The following are the proceedings in
detail:
At the opening of the session of the
Dreyfus court-martial to-day consid-
cradle comment was caused by the re-
quest of NJ. Gribelin. the principal ar
chivist of the headquarters staff, for
permission to absent himself Tor "a
hours, owing to summons OF the
minister of war, General de Marquis
de Gallifet, who desired to see him In
Paris, It was suggested that the min
lister of war wished to refresh Nj. Gribe-
Inns memory, which has been so
strongly anti-Dreyfus.
Then followed the reading of med
ical certificate, signed by two doctors
whose names were not familiar to the
audience, setting forth that Colonel
Du Patty de Clam is too i'll to leave his
bed and appear at Rennes, a. which
the audience was not surprised.
Nine. Du Patty de Clam also wrote to
the government commissary, Offering
written supplementary deposition from
her husband.
M. Labori. after securing the names
of the doctors who signed the certifi-
cate. asked the court to appoint two
well known physicians to report Off
cially on Du Patty de CLAIMS condition.
Colonel Jousaust, however, declared it
was useless to do so. as the condition
Of the invalid was well known.
Rowland Strong, correspondent of |
the New York Times and a member Of |
the staff of the Observer of London, |
was the first witness called. He de- |
scribed at length the interviews which |
he had with Esterhazy, saying the OBJ |
server offered Esterhazy $500 for GER |
tain documents and a confession that |
he wrote the bordereau as published |
April 25. Replying to the court, M. |
Strong said that Esterhazy. while aG-
the authorship of the border
EAU, said the documents enumerated |
N 1t had been betrayed by Dreyfus 10
Germany,
NJ. Henri WE'LL, a former officer of !
the headquarters staff. was then called.
but he was absent and his deposition
was read. The facts in the case were
published April 20. NJ Wells state
nent in substance was that Esterhazy |