The Worcester spy. [volume] (Worcester, Mass.) 1898-1904, 1899-08-22
CHANGED ASPECTS.
Dreyfus Now Acts as His Own Advo-
cate in Trial.

cate in Trial.
London, Aug. 22-The special cores
pondents of the London papers at Rem
mes are beginning to comment upon the
changed aspects of the trial. To begin
with, Capt. Dreyfus is becoming his
own advocate. He has ceased his pas
sionate, mechanical, blank denials and
now defends himself by we'll arranged
arguments and short speeches. He takes
frequent notes. This, together with
Maitre Demange's careful checking of
statements, is beginning to discomfort
the witnesses for the prosecution, who
are now making more positive detailed
statements and ere observed putting
their heads together and whispering.
Maitre Demange's cross-examination
shows that the witnesses are quite I'M
prepared and scowls and shakings of
the head Indicate their displeasure.
The Rennes correspondent of the
Times says: The sittings of the court
martial are fast degenerating into a
medium for pouring out odious and ir-
relevant tittle-tattle. The greater poE-
ton of the matter put in as evidence
today would shame the gossip of an
afternoon tea party of village splnsters.
In the presence of so much debauch
OF old wives tales, no wonder the little
messenger who sits on the platform be-
low the bench of the prosecution ready
to run errands for the court went to
sleep. Most of the rest of us were
tempted to do the same
This reiteration of twice told tales,
the irrelevance of which was long ago
demonstrated, is becoming intolerably
monotonous. The generals and ex-
ministers sit there on the front benches
Of the witnesses like a little clot of con-
federates, whispering in each other 8
ears while a comrade is at the bar, or
comparing notes with one another
During the recess they are actually
seen promena6ing with members Of the
bench of judges in the court yard of the
Lycee. Gen. Roget, for instance, ac-
costs a judge, after having affection
ately tapped him on the shoulder. At
the close of these astonishing proceed
iDgs some hundreds of kodaks will have
recorded for all time numerous tell-tale
proofs of surprising intimacy between
the judges and the military witnesses.
Col. JouaUst provoked a burst of
spontaneous disapproval at the close of
todays proceedings by exclaiming:
What, again?" when Col. Picouart
asked leave to speak. | am still con-
WINGED for many reasons that in the
struggle between Picquart and the staff
officers it is this brilliant champion of
light who is winning. Nobody has yet
caught him tripping; but his adversa-
ries are each day revealed in chame-
leon-ilke attitudes of self-contradietion
which are gradually becoming so nu-
merous that it seems absolutely impos-
sible for the judges to fail to draw the
necessary conclusions
In fact, ] begin to believe that per-
haps Col. Jouaust has decided to let
the enemies of the prisoner talk and
pour out the walls of their vindctive-
ness to their hearts content In this
am not so sure that he is wrong. He
humors these witnesses, and, in letting
them do and say their worst, whether
Intentionally or not, he Is making them
ridiculous. Moreover, he is polite and
correct in his treatment Of Dreyfus.
and possibly his exclamation of i'm
patience to Picquart was really meant
to say that it was needless to trouble
to reply to such scurrility.