The Dickinson press., 1899-09-23
The Dreyfus Affair.

make the close OF the century more mem.
orable than any equal period in recent
years. The time has come for teachers
TO understand the situation! The Jour-
nal in its Review Of the Week called at
tention to each phase of the case, but the
time has arrived forsomething more than
that.
The Secret Service. Every great ma
ton has its elaborate, well-equipped, and
skillful detective service, the business of
which it is in times of peace to keep cor
rcctly informed regarding the armies and
%navies, ordnance, tactics, and general
equipment and efficiency of all other
great nations. In time of war it goes to
even greater lengths, as the United States
did in getting possession of the De Lone
letter and the correspondence of the Of
fensive Spaniard in Montreal
Albert Dreyfus. When Albert Drey-
fus came from the military academy of
France and passed to a captaincy in 1880,
he was given the most important position
Of general superintendent of what is
known as the Second Bureau" of the
war department, which included the Sc
cret service. 1t was the business in part
of this bureau to organize military "mis-
sions" abroad and buy reports and infor-
nation from foreign spies. No officer
has a o important responsibility. He
is in a position to stab his own gov
eminent a terrible blow if he in turn
should choose to do what he is all the
time tempting representatives of other
governments to do. Any one of his vast
army Of servants knows that he is ever
on the alert to prevent any of his own
men from becoming spies.
A Jew. Dreytus had various personal
and constitutional enemies. He was
brilliant, popular, and highly trusted.
The Jew has enemies in all countries.
1t is not easy for him to secure ;ncrited
position or promotion in the civil or mill
tary service of any country. The wonder
is that Dreyfus was eve trusted as he
was by the French military authorities.
An Alsatian. Alsacc is peculiarly sit
uated. In 1872 every Alsatian had to
choose whether he and his children after
him should be French or German sub.
jects. There were four brothers in the
Dreyfus family. Albert and two others
chose to be French, the other one, the
oldest, to be German. The German
brother, however, specified that his sons
of whom there are six, should be French.
All this made it easy, when suspicious
were nee aroused, to think Albert Drey-
fus not wholly unfriendly to the Germans.
Mulhouse in Alsace was the Dreyfus
home, and here Albert went frequently
The Hydraulic Brake. The French
secured a most important invention
which was wholly their own. 1t was a
feature of gunnery OF the utmost
importance. The hydraulic brake
gave the French gunners a distinct adj
vantage. The Germans secured early
and complete information about this hy-
draulic brake, much to the chagrin of
the French government. There was
some French military man who was act
ing as a German spy.
The Bordereau. Literally this means
a memorandum written on the border of
anything; hence a careless memorandum.
In 1894 an Alsatian servant brought to
the French war office "the bordereau'
whice has caused so much excitement
for five years. 1t was torn in such small
pieces that it could not be photographed.
1t was unsigned and undated. 1t con-
tanned reasonable information regard
ing French military affairs. 1t had UNI
doubtly been given to Schwarzkoppen, a
German military attache, an Alsatian
who visited Alsace much as Albert Drew
fus did. Dreyfus was at once suspected,
because of his Alsatian birth and love of
that Mulhouse home, to which he went
often without proper passports. All this,
however. was mere suspicion. Experts
generally agreed that the handwriting
was that of Dreyfus, although the most
expert of them all declared it to be that
OF Esterhazy, but as there were no sus-
picious corroborative circumstances in
E~sterhazy's case, that testimony went for
naught.
Count Esterhazy. Count Marie Charles
Ferdinand Walsin Esterhazy was a ma
jor in the French army. His father was
an Austrian. He is one of the most bit
ter haters of the Jews in Europe.
Anti-Semite Society. One of the most
powerful political clubs in the world is
the anti-Semite or anti-Jew organization
in France. They have been arrested by
the score of late, and the most influential
members are besieged by the French
military in their headquarters, abundant
ly provendered and armed to stand a
long siege. Esterhazy was a prominent
member of this organization. He shed
suspicion without difficulty.
Dreyfus eourtmartial. September 20,
1894, "the bordereau" was sent to the war
Office. October - the experts pro-
nounced 1t the handwriting of Dreyfus.
October IS he was arrested. November
9 M. Edgar Demange was assigned as
his counsel. December 1922 he was
tried by a secret court-martial, pro-
nounced guiltyby seven Of his army peers
on the testimony of twenty-seven army
officers, and sentenced to be publicly de-
graded and imprisoned for life. jan
uary 4, 1885, he was publicly degraded,
and March 10 was sent t. Devils island,
off the coast of South America, for life,
where he suffered, as was intended, the
most indescribab,e aDuse.
Edgar Demange. The counsel of
Dreyfus at the secret court-martial and |
the present trial is an old and highly re-
spected lawyer whG thoroughly believes,
and always has, in the innocence Of Drey-
fus: He was chosen for this service by
Matthew Dreytus, a brother of Albert,
WHO has neyer ceased activity for Drey-