The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1899-09-08
YESTERDAYS DREYFUS CASEE
Shows Desperation to Which the General Staff is Drfven"Ihe
Chief Witness a Foreigner About Whom the Prosecution
Know Nothing.-A Sharp Tilt Between Labor and Jou.
aust-Gonse in a Tight Place-.Secret Session of
the Court Not Approved by the Govern.
ment.Letter From EsterhaZey.


beginning to display a fear that the
verdict may give rise to troubles, and
orders have just been received by two
regiments of infantry and one cavalry
regiment, already within hail of Rem
mes, to hold themselves in readiness to
march on the town at the first sign of
disorder, to occupy all strategical
points and to repress manifestations in
their inception.
The local anti-Dreyfusard organs, by
their anti-foreign articles have already
singled out foreigners as enemies of
the country and there is fear that for
eign journalists will be the first vic
Tins Of the violence Of the mob-not so
much A~nglo-Saxons as Austrian, Ger
man and Russian Jews. who form a
majority Of the press representation of
their respective countries.
Today's session opened rather badly
for Captain Dreyfus, as a surprise was
sprung upon the defense in the adven
of an Austrian political refugee, Eu-
gene C~ernuschi, who came out with a
fiat-foOted denunciation Of the accused,
which, even though it may eventually
be proved a pure fairly tale, is bound
for the moment to exercise a malig-
nant influence upon the French people,
who have not seen Cernuschi and are
thus unable to form a personal opinion
Of the man who launched these direct
accusations against Captain Drey-
fus.
Cernuschi's appearance is ~undeniably
against him. Nobody even suspects
that he is what he claims to be, g, scion
of the royal Servian house. On the
contrary, one would a k him to be a
groom dressed in his best Sunday
suit.
1t was remarked that as soon as he
had delivered his testimony and M.
Labor had asked to have him put on
oath at tOmOrrOW'S session ehind
closed doors in order hat he might be
punished, if guilty Of perjury, he left
the court room and was not seen
again.
Cernuschi's testimony which was in
the form of a letter to the president OF
the court martial, Colonel JOuaust was
most uneqivOcal. He claimed that on
three distinct occasions, twice in
France, and once at Geneva, he was
told by a high placed foreign officer
that Dreyfus had communicated trea-
sOnable documents to a foreign power.
In the third instance Cernuschi said
the officer showed him documents en-
anating from Dreyfus, and that this
officer left France hurriedly two days
prior to the arrest of Captain Dreyfus.
The allusiOn was evidently to Colonel
Schwartzkoppen, the military attache
of the German embassy in Paris in 1894
whose movements were coincident with
these described as the movements Of
the officer of Cernuschi's deposition.
Now this evidence is Of transcend
ent Importance to the prosecution, and
it is incredible, unless Cernuschi is
proven to be a humbug, that the gov
m commissary, Major Carriere,
should have admitted that he had re-
ceived a letter from him, offering i'm
pOrtant testimony and thrown it aside
on the ground Of it's coming from a po-
litical refugee.
The deposition evoked expressions of
i~ncredulity. One suspicious feature
was the fact that although the witness
said he could not speak french flently,
his letter to Colonel Jouaust, asking
an opportunity to testify, was drawn
up in perfect French. He explained
hat he had been assisted by his wife
in writing the letter.
LABORTS HOME THRUST.
This introduction of a foreigner as a
witness for the prosecution gave NJ.
Labor an opportunity to submit the
most important request he has made
throughout the trial-a request which
if granted by Colonel Jouaust, though
his is extremely doubtful, would GER
tainly have momentouS consequences.
NJ. Labori announced his intention,
in view of the step taken by the prose-
cution in calling foreign evidence, to
ask that inquiry should be made
through the regular diplomatic chan
nels as to whether the documents men,
toned in the bordereau were actually
communicated, and if so, by whom.
This involves an application to the
German government, which the court
martial is scarcely likely to approve.
In any case this means the l~engthening
oF tho frioI fnr cnxrarol u,AnIyc
The introduction of Cernuschi and
the other developments of the day, it
is generally predicted, imply another
~fortnight's sitting, at the least. Carnu-
schi will be heard tomorrow behind
closed doors. AT the same time there
will probably be an examination Of the
secret dossier to which Captain Cuignet
referred this morning, and which NJ.
Labor Immediately asked to havepro-
duced in court. This dossier consists
of twelve or fourteen documents, and 1t
is difficult to see why, If they had any
value. the etat major have not had
them produced earlier. The etat majors
are not in the habit of holding back
documents calculated to prove OF the
slightest service to their cause, as is
shown in the case of the note concern
ing NJ. Hadamard's doubts of the inno-
cence of his course which was incor-
rect but was, nevertheless, included in
the secret dossier, while the important
document stating on the authority of
the French minister in Rome that an
Italian military attache paid Esterha-
zey 200, 900 francs was s~tudiously omit
ted from the secret dossier. 1t is per-
fectly evident that the Italian attache
did not pay Esterhazey such a sum on
account of, as the French say, his beau
tiful eyes, and the document was the
best evidence that EsterhaZey is the
traitor. Nevertheless, the etat major
carefully kept this out Of view.
M. Painleve, the distinguished math-
ematician, cornered General Gonse on
fine ~Iatter's falsified version of NJ. Ha-
narda's remarks, concerning Captain
Dreyfus, and the name in which
,Gonse sduirmed and his woebegone ap-
naarance almost aroused pity for him.
ROGET FEELS UNwELL.
General Roget also appeared to begin