The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1899-09-07

Ue6IS look leave OF ellcn OlbSi. NSy dp-
peared to be in good spirits.
Maitre Demange of counsel for the de-
tense. will probably occupy the whole OF
| tomorrow in his speech for the defense
and NJ Labori Will speak on Saturday
The verdict will be rendered Monday. be-
cause the police authorities are opposed
to the announcement of the verdict on
Saturday, if it were possible to do so, on
the ground that 1t would be likely to lead
to trouble on Sunday.
! After M. Labori had submitted his ap-
plication to the despatch of a rogatory
| commission to receive the dispositions of
Col. Schwartzkoppen and Major Paniz-
zardi, the Chief of Detectives, M.
Cochefert, deposed favorably re-
| garding the attitude of Dreyfus when Col.
| Du Patty de Clam dictated the bordereau
| to him. The witness said Dreyfus only
appeared to be troubled afterwards, when
Du Patty de Clam questioned him.
| NJ. Cochefert referred to the revolver
! on a table near the desk at which Drey-
| fus was then seated and he recounted
how the prisoner. on preceiving it, cried:
81 will not kill myself. 1 will live to
establish my innocence"
The Clerk of the Court then read a let
ter from Captain Humbert to the effect
that Dreyfus had expressed a keen de-
sire in 1894 to enter the statistical section
of the War Office and saying that he met
| Dreyfus once carrying some voluminous
packets of maps and documents and re-
marked that he was acting very impru-
IDENTIFY.
Dreyfus then rose and calmly traversed
Captain Humbert's statements declaring
them to be inexact.
General Mercier afterwards came to the
bar and said that he felt the deposition
of Captain F'reystaetter was bound to
have produced considerable impression
on the minds of the Judges. He spoke
of the attacks made on him since the
Captain had testified. saying the Drey-
fusard press had been calling him false
witness, etc.
The General declared that he gave an
order in 1894 that nothing should be done
with the various translations of the
Panizzardi despatch, adding that he, him
self was present when the packet OF
secret papers for the court martial was
made up, and 1t did not contain the
Panizzardi despatch. He had since ques-
toned the Judges of the court martial
on the subject, but not one of them was
prepared to swear that the despatch was
not submitted to them, because their re-
collections were now rather vague.
This statement of General Mercier
evoked chorus of disgusted 4'Oh's" from
the audience.
Mercier proceeded to call attention to
contradictions in Captain Freystaetter
statements, reading an old letter from the
Captain to a. friend in which he declared
his mind was made up in 1884, before he
saw the secret dossier, and another let
ter from an officer who was in company
with Freystaetter in Madagascar where
the writer asserted that Captain Frey
staetter talked of the court martial of
1894. but never mentioned the Panizzardi
despatch.
After this General Mercial brought up
two bad points in Captain Freystaetter's
career. While in Madagascar he was
guilty of an act OF disobedience to his
chief and he also executed thirty natives.
This assertion caused certain inn
preston in the audience and Colonel Jou-
aust asked General Mercier to abstain
from giving any further particulars The
General added he firmly believed Frey
staetter was a brave man, but he thought
not be entirely trusted. He asked the
Judges not to allow the Captains evil
dence to shake their confidence in his
credence as though the Freystaetter in
cident had never occurred.
The Court then retired to deliberate on
NJ Labori's application and its probable
decision was eagerly discussed Every
i
returned. Colonel Jouaust gave the or
der Present Arms" to the guard of sol
diers at the bottom of the hall, while he
standing, and with the other judges
standing on either side of him, read the
decision that the judges had unanimous
ly decided that the President, Colonel
Jouaust was competent to order a Roga-
tory Commission, and that the judges, as
body, according to the military code,
were not competent to do so.
NJ Labori thereupon asked Colonel
Joupaust If he still maintained his re-
fusal to appoint the commission, the
Colonel having, when NJ. Labori submit
ted his conclusions, said he was opposed
to the application.
Colonel Jouaust replied Yes" and the
evidence of Colonel Schwartzkoppen and
Major Panizzardi who were prepared 10
swear they never had relations with
Dreyfus, was thus excluded.
The refusal of Colonel Jouaust seemed
inexplicable, because it appeared to be his
duty to receive all evidence directly bear
ing ON the case. and more especially the
evidence of the two attaches, the refusal
of whose evidence is equivalent to a
slight on their respective countries. ?
A very pessimistic feeling was produced
by Colonel Jouaust's decision, and it was
predicted that it means the certain con-
demnation of Dreyfus. This was the
unanimous opinion of the anti-Drey-
fusards. and it was the impression of a
| majority of the Dreyfusards, whose last
hope is that Colonel Jouaust only dare to
refuse to take the evidence of Colonel
schwartzkoppen and Major Panizzardi be-
cause the court has already made up its
mind to acquit the prisoner.
When Major Carriere had concluded
Colonel Jouaust ordered the adjourn
ment Of the Court, and Dreyfus rose
quickly and apparently not detected.
AS the prisoner was passing counsels'
table M Labori stopped him and whis-
pered Courage" Dreyfus smiled and
nodded, and as he proceeded. M Jaures,
the Socialist leader and a number of
others seated on the benches before
which Dreyfus passed, repeated M. La
BORIS word of encoura cement.