Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1899-10-18

,ar,sr, IN IFS most arrogant, OFFENSIVE
ana tvrannlcai form was rampant 'u'
,no,i among the political factions was
,,cassant. as a rule. party leaders were
,,,nn,ng a neck -and-ncck race In trucf-
ling 90 the rabble: cowardly ministers ""u
crowded one another out In RAPID sue
ceseion. and civil government was
mockery.
After the fsst trial and condemnation
az Dreyfus matters went from oad 10
worse and the best friends OF France
oould not shut their eyes to the fact mat
the nation seemed 10 be rushing 10 ca''-
clvsm. None would have been surprlseu
"a see the terrible scenes Of the nrst reVo-
lutlon or the commune repeated at any
time. Finally. when IL had been deter
mined 10 return Dreyfus from beV"
Island for retrial the situation had reach-
Oh such a state OF acuteness and uncer-
tainty that no man could tell what day
would bring forth. The issue was larry
Joined between the civil and the military
powers. with tho one desperate ana nav
Ing a firm grip upon the masses OF the
people. and the other. TO all appearances
cmasculated from having been so iohs
under hack.
The direct product OF this situation
and the Indirect product OF the Dreyfus
agitation was the Waldeck-Rousseau
Cabinet. And though this patchwork
ministry was about the only one posi-
bic under the circumstances-thOugh in
deed, its formation was in sense, the
logical outcome OF the situation, If
France was to have any government at
ail--it was freely predicted that its life
would be ephemeral And doubtless it
would have been but for one thing. II
was necessary 10 include General de
Gallifet in the patchwork. France
needed a strong man, and she found MIN
in that dashing. resolute, cavalry officer,
who had sustained 1.-THE honor OF the
French army" on more than one battle
field. and had not hesitatod to NOW
down a mob of Paris Anarchists ana cut
throats with grape and canister AS
Minister of War he became the centre
of the patchwork and impaired harmony
10 the whole. Unmoved by the taunts Of
his former royalist associates, and con-
temptuously ignoring the insults Of the
extreme Radicals, he addressed himself
to enforcing republican principles. With
iron hand he took by the throat army
officers who were making themselves too
onlcious in stirring up anti-Dreyfus
sentiment, and who were suspected OF
being out of sympathy with the republic,
and choked them into silence and dis
cipline. Other officers whom he knew to
be loyal to the republic and could be
trusted he elevated. lie wrested from
the hands Of a clique of high officers
patronage that could be used for bribery
and corruption, and with consummate
tact has gradually taught the rank and
file Of the army TO realize that the mill
tary are the servants, and not the mas
ters, Of the people. in short, we
are told that to-day the army, instead
Of being a menace to republican institu-
lions, IS rapidly becoming their bulwark
and that De Gallifet, despite his once
royallst predictions. has accepted re-
publcanism as a certainty. kept his oath
In word and deed. and brought France
nearer TO being a true republic than she
ever was before. SO, we say, that
whether Dreyfus presses his case further
or not--whether he gets a formal en-
dorsement of the worlds verdict or not
his country owes him debt Of gratitude;
for, primarily, he was the instrument in
giving her the man for the hour Of her
cxtrprnifV