Vernon County censor. [volume] (Viroqua, Wis.) 1865-1955, 1899-08-30
THE DREYFUS TRIAL.
Some Dramatic and Sensational Fea-
lures of the Evidence.


lures of the Evidence.
Dramatic and sensational as was
Thursdays session of the Dreyfus court
martial, it yielded less substantial alyan-
tage to the defense than the friends of
truth and justice cGanticipated. The po!iti
cal character Of the trial was strongly
emphasized. For the first time the court
itself directly interviewed to shield and
protect the military witnesses. The re-
frain SO familiar at the Zola trial, "this
question will not be put" was frequently
heard during Laboris attempt to cross
examine Mercier the chief Of tie con-
spirators. Besides, many of the Ques-
tions which counsel did put and which
the court could not decently rule out as
irrelevant MERCER simply declined to an
swer.
With an unprejudiced court a few ses-
sions like that of Thursday would mean
verdict of not guilty. The testimony
of such witnesses as MERCER is evidently
valueless, for only their Illegal refusal
to answer proper questions saves them
from disgrace and exposure. But there
seems no reason for believing tlSlt The
court has any conception of law, evil
dencc or justice, that it is able and will
ing to distinguish between the suspicious
and opinions of mighty champions Of
the army" and actual valid and proper
testimony.
All that Labori succeeded in showing
was that MERCER was intriguing with
Patty de Cam on the very eve of the
present trial, that he inserted an alleged
discriminating document in the secret dos
sier which he had Illegally held and that
he had tried to prevent the defense from
knowing its contents. This document
Col. Jouaust was forced to rule ont. All
the rest of the scathing cross-examina-
tion related to the trial of lS.l4, now
known to have been fiagrantly lawless
and unfair, and rad no bearing on the
question under inquiry except as tending
to prove the existence of prejudice and
conspiracy.
At the opening of fridays session of
the court-martial, q doctors certificate
to the effect that it was impossible for
Du Patty de Clam to be present was
read NJ. Labor asked the court that
an official physician be sent to examine
De Clam, but Col. Jouaust refused.
Rowland Strong, Paris correspondent
of the London Observer, and the only
court, was the first witness called on
Friday. He was resplendent in red whis-
kcrs and London clothes Strong told
how he tried to buy Esterhazys confess
sion for publication, and that EsterhaZy
had admitted he wrote the b0rdereau.
When Esterhazy quilted prison he told
Strong several times that he would tell
all and that it would ruin De Clam and
all those who had abandoned him. Strong
said Esterhazy impressed him as being
thorough crook and swindier.
NJ Colbert, handwriting expert of the
Bank of Franco, was called Colbert told
how he was originally called by the war
Office to examine the bordcrrau. After
comparing It with specimens Of Dreyfus
handwriting he declared that from first
to last it was not the work of accused
Gen. GonSe was called 10 confront the
witness Gonse said that Colbert was
wrong in the details of his testimony,
whereupon the expert earnestly demon
strated the correctness of all he had said.
Gonse retired discounted, but insinuated
| that Dreyfus had known the witness III
the ank. Dreyfus denied emphatically
that e had ever known Colbert.
| The rest of the days session was given
! over to the testimony of N. Bertillon,
| head of the anthropometric department
| of the Paris police, and who maintains
| that he has proved Dreyfus was the au-
| thor of the bordereau.
Bertillon came into court accompanied
| by four soldiers carrying charts, portfo-
| los. compasses, logarthm tables, photo
| graphs, etc, which looked like the proper
| ties in a comic opera. The audience
| burst into laughter at the sight. The
! Judges themselves looked disniayed as
| the procession approached the platform,
| and all those in the court who did not
have to be there fed from the room. The
rush for the doors was noted by Bertll-
lon, who remarked that it took inteill-
gent people to understand what he was
| going to demonstrate.
After arranging his paraphernalia
about him on tables and chairs. the wit
ness began by stating that the hordereau
had bee- produced by the forces of ma
| t11re but that somebody mist have writ
ten it. This was given in the manner of
a man announcing a great discovery. NJ.
| Bertillon continued by declaring tEat the
| bordereau had been traced by Drtyfus,
| who had cleverly initiated his own hand
| writing. linen BeflllluH pIVCftuFu "
give the exact measurement of each pen
stroke. and showed the court large
diagram resembling the plan Of fort
| ress.
This he claimed proved mathematically
| that Dreyfus was gully. The witness
stopped constantly to unite packages and
| surround himself with Il mysterious ap-
| paratus to the increased bewildermeut
| Of his auditors Bertillor proceeded to
| demonstrate his whole system, which,
with its ratios and angles was under
| stood by no one in the court. fhe table
in front of the witness was filed with
| charts which came inexhaustively from
| numerous pouches. Bertillon's exhibi-
ton discredited the whole expert sys-
| TEN. His reasoning was based on taking
as fac. some charge against Dreyfus
which was unsupported by evidence and
then arguing in circle until he reached
the starting point His methods seemed
to Impress weakniinded peoi!e that
something was being proved. BertiIlon's
testimony was not concluded when court
i