The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1899-09-07
Refusal viii Mean the Prisoners
Condemnation.
&c Is Relieved i'm France That German
Emperor viii Not Refuse.

that Savlgnaud had more or less maligned
his former master, M. Labori questioned
NJ. Trarieux with regard to the pesit
bleu.
III. Trarieux replied that he had exam
ined the petit bleu. which had been the
cause of the accusations against Lieut..
Col. Picquart. If the witness had not
known in the first place that the genuine
document had been falsified he would not
have received Picquart at his house the
day the latter was to be arrested.
The witness had not accused Command.
ant Lauth any more than others. Lauth
had not believed the document might
have been tampered with until after he
was asked to conceal the traces of its hay-
ing been torn. He must have yielded to
the influence of the plotting rampant at
that time.
Nj. Trarieux vehemently defended Pic
quart against thu charge of tampering
with the petit bleu. Picquart therefore
was u man OF untarnished honor when he
was prosecuted fer forgery.
When the witness Investigated the real
motives OF the persecution he learned
that Pioquart was accused Of maxim
erasures in the petit hleu. All the evil
dence showed that picquart was not con-
nected with the erasures which thus con-
stituted new forgery and a new device
to squslch Picquaft
81 cannot believe. +" added the minister
of Justice warmly. ''that the number of
| persons who perpetrated these forgsries
was very great We have discovered one
source from which emanated other forEer-
les. have not far to go to seek him."
Nj. Trarieux's remarks brought Com
mandRnt Lauth to his feet. The COM
mandant declared that he took no excep-
ton to PicquarE's Instructions to look
for traces Of the tearing Of the petit bleu
but that when he saw the use Piequart
wished to make of the petit blsu he OPP
posed the project. Lauth proceeded to
accuse Picquart of the most profound
contempt for the officers Of his depart
ment and their home life. The day of the
Cars entry into Paris. Comman dant
Lauth ass rted. Piequart introduced to
the witness and Nine. Henry, n woman
unit to be In their society and whom they
bad since discovered to be the wife of a
magistrate.
Lieut.. Col. Picquart sprang to HIS fest
and vigorously protested against the
monstrous allegation.
General Zurlinden followed. He ex-
planned that he deposed both In the capae-
| ity of military governor of Paris and
minister of war. He had played a most
| prominent part in the Du Patty de Clam,
Picquart and Esterhazy cases. He
thought 1t absolutely necessary that the
charge of forgery against Picquart should
be cleare d up by the court. Lieut. Col.
PiequaTt WAS then in the custody of the
| civil authorities but the minister of Justice
drove the witness to have him arraiRned
before court martial not for making
an erasure in a document, which was In
significant, but for forgery. NJ. 1rarieux
broke in upon the deposition OF General
zurlinden to reproach the witness with
being responsible for ten months ground :
less imprisonment of Picquart and an
unwarrsntsd prosecution resulting In the
dismissal of the charges.
| On further explanations by General
zurlinden, M. Labori asked permission
to speak. hi. Labori requested that the
letter from the minister of justice to Gen.
eral Zurlindan be read. General Znrlin-
den had asked that the minister of Justice
make preliminary inquiry into the ORR
GIN Of the petit hleu to which the minis :
ter replied that Lieut.. Col. Picquart was
in the foreign service at the time the
srasure from the document was made.
and that the proposed Inquiry was be-
yond the scope of the common law unless
a civilian participated in the suspicious