The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1899-09-14
THEY KNEW DREYFUS.
Attitude of the French Colony I'm New
YOrk-One Mans story.
New York Letter in PHILADELPHIA Telegram

1t is surprising how numerous Captain
i nfesy.uss personal acquaintanSesLyes, even
intimate frlends-aTe, lip New York. Within
the past two weeks they have grown like
mushrooms, and think. if the French gen.
erals could get hold of the names of these
countless intimate American friends of the
condemned man, it would be easy matter
to them to cook up another charge against
him for conspiring with. the Yankees
garcons'' in the environment of the up
town French quarter who waited upon Cap
tain Dreyfus in some boulevard cafe: you
Will find Alsatians by the score who knew
Dreyfus when he was a wee bit of tot
and l have even heard Of woman who
be concerge in honse ber the no
family used to make regular calls. What
these people don't know about Dreyfus is
hardly worth while knowing; the only rea-
yarns 1 have heard is that take no stock
in them. A
One man have come across whose story
pears the earmarks of truth. He is waiter
In one of the hotels which visit daily in
search of news. and his colleagues heard
him speak of Captain Dreyfus when no one
man says ne served under Captain Dreyfus,
and the only. remarkable statement which
ne makes is that Dreyfus was known as be-
who were members of his company; so
much so, in fact, that recruits of that re-
ngi9n tried their utmost to be assigned to
another company than that OF Captain
Dreyfus This would go to show another
admirable trait of the unfortunate army
officer which has thus far not been known.
knowing the prejudice that is rampant in
the French army against his co-religionists,
he exacted from those under him more work
and more rigid discipline, rather than show
ing the slightest Partially for them. He
sought to efface this prejudice by making
those Israelites who were In his company
so perfect i'm their military training that his
zeal was often misinterpreted as hatred of
his own co-religionists. The opinion in the
French colony was by no means as absolute
ly directed against Captain Dreyfus as some
of the superficial reports would indicate.
1t is probably more difficult to find repre-
sentative men in the French colony here
than among any other foreign-born class of
our metropolitan population Men like Law
ordinarily quoted as prominent Frenchmen.
are, from all hear, pro-DreyfusardS; and
at the Hotel Martin / have heard almost
exclusively arguments favorable to the con-
demned man. The French colony here is by
no mears made up of Frenchmen alone; the
French-speaking Swiss and Belgians form
quite large percentage. The latter ele-
ment is almost wholly opposed TO French
military spirit that underlies che Dreyfus
conviction. There is not the slightest dan
ger that the example of that Chicago en-
ployer. who discharged his French employees
because they were anti-Dreyfusards. will
be initiated here. / understand that the
largest number of French workingmen here
abouts In any one industry are TO be found
In the various silk mills. Manufacturers as
rule are too prosaic for such emotional
! action, and, besides Ii would be a grievous
wrong The Frenchman in this country or
for that matter in his own. is not TO be held
responsible for the acts of few generals.
though he may be In sympathy with their
doings from a misinterpretauon or that
ton, admire-the style of patriotism which
exclaims: my country, right or wrongi'