The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1899-09-12
TWO QUESTIONS IN THE DREYFUs

| TWO QUESTIONS IN The DhE Is
CASE.
There are two questions in the Dreyius
case which are now attracting attention.
one is, will the case be revised by the
council of revision, if Dreyfus applies for
| a revision. or win 1t so before the court
Of cessation. which is the supreme court
OF France? The other is, will
the verdict in the Dreyfus case affect in
juriously the exposition, which takes
place next year?
According to a cablegram in the Herald
under ordinary circumstances the case
would be revised by the council of revis-
ion In this case, however, the courtmar-
tlaI having got its authority from the
court of cessation, that court alone has
the right TO revise the judg-
ment The council of revision could
do nothing more than review the proceed
ings and see that every legal requirement
had beeen complied with. 1t is assumed
that the court of cessation has the power
to do a great deal more than that. 1t went
into the case thoroughly when it reviewed
it. The conclusion to which it came was
that no proof of Dreyfus' guilt was sub
mitted to the courtmartial of 1s94-that the
testimony which was submitted showed
his innocence. It declared that testimony
which would have afirmatively establish
ed his innocence beyond shadow Of
doubt was withheld and false and fraud
ulent testimony permitted 10 be INTRODUCED
10 convict him. 1t said that he did not
write the bordereau, but that Esterhazy
4I,.r owl
dence that he ever sold documents reiat-
ing to the military affairs of France to a
foreign government. 1t practically said
| that the only thing the courtmartial had
| to do was to make a formal acknowledge
ment that Dreyfus did not write the bor-
| dereau. and therefore was not the betray-
er of the documents mentioned therein
The court of cessation is the highest
| court in France. II is composed of forty
seven of the most eminent jurists of the
nation. 1t is the judgment of this high
court that the military tribunal ignored
and treated with contempt. The military
court exceeded its jurisdiction, and tried
| Dreyfus in accordance with its own views
as TO what course should be pursued. 1t
| is probable therefore that If this court gets
jurisdiction of the case again it will ex-
press its opinion of the military court very
freely, and Will undo it's work as far as 1t
can.
1t seems remarkable that a military
court. composed of seven officers of the
army, should have more influence with the
people of France than the highest court in
the nation. composed of nearly half hun
dred of the leading lawyers. But it is
fact that il has, because the great majori-
ty of the French people pretend to believe
that Dreyfus is guilty. The only expiana-
ton OF this condition of affairs is that
Dreyfus is a Jew, and the Jews are hated
by the French people.
Now as to the other questionable ques-
ton whether the verdict against Dreyfus
will hurt the exposition: There is no doubt
that il will TO a very considerable extent,
but not to the extent that there is, at
present, a disposition to think it will. AS
a general thing the Jews will stay away
from Paris. and many others who had in
tended to make exhibits will not do so,
for two reasons, namely, their contempt for
a people who tamely submit to seeing JUS
tice perverted and because of the fear that
there may be troublous times in Paris dur
ing the exposition's progress. But it is
probable that the attendance will not be
very much less than it would have been if
the verdict had been in favor of Dreyfus.
That is the view taken by Rabbi Hirsch
of Chicago, who was in Paris few weeks
ago and made a pretty thorough study of
the situation In his opinion the indigna-
ton aroused by the injustice done Dreyfus
will gradually disappear, and the case will
be looked upon as belonging to the past
before the exposition opens. Americans,
he says, were very indignant because
France sympathized with Spain in the
Spanish American war, and yet Paris was
crowded with Americans during the past
summer, spending their money freely IN
the gay capital.