The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1899-03-28

- the Senate, had become COL
uen oJ Of Dreyfus' innocence and
WIZ osk the government to grant
him a new trial.
H. onnesI for a new trial, however,
..IH brought about the statement that
-,nort from the Cficer who had
0.orfns in charge stated that the ex-
C,D+ajn had admitted his guilt. This
mort Dreyfus' friends Indignantly de
-ia5 His brother, III. Matthew Drey
Ans addressed a letter to the War Min
ister in which he plainly stated that
Can't. Dreytus had been convicted Of
another mans crime. The guilty man,
he said, was Count Esterhazy, a major
in a regiment of French infantry.
Specimens Of the handwriting OF both
Esterhsz y and Capt. Dreytus were
DroduCed and compared with that Of
the let Of documents referred to, and
many pronounced Esterhazy to be the
guilty man, as the handwriting Of the
lis of documents seemed to resemble
that Of Esterhezy more than that Of
Drevfus. Now came, however. the as
sersiou of n of the witnesses, General
de PelIieux, that there was in the War
Department a letter, written in 1896,
wbich contained additional and Rbso
luteIy convincing proof OF Dreyfus'
puiIt, General de Pellieux's assertion
was corroborated by the Chief Of the
General Staff, General de Boisdeffre.
The next day, in an open letter, Lieu
tenant Colonel Picquart, who had been
retired on account Of his advocacy OF
Dreyfus' case, offered to prove that
this letter was a forgery,
A few weeks later Lieutenant Col
onel Henry, who had been one OF the
chief witnesses Of the prosecution at
the Dreyfus trial, admitted that he
had forged the letter himself. H3 was
instantly put under arrest, and a few
hours after being led to the Mont Vale
rien fortress, committed suicide.
This brout about a revulsion Of feel
ing and people of all classes demanded
that Dreytus be given a new trial. We
conclude this article with the follow
ing account of the latest developments
of the case, taken from the March issue
of the Arena:
The Dupuy cabinet, which took
Office pledged to SECURE the revision OF
h Dreytuscase, to discover the guilty,
and to Justify the innocent, has dem
onstrated its purpose to defer consid'
Grafton of the matter, and, if possible,
to prevent the re trial Of Dreytus. NJ
Dupuy made a startling admission OF
weakness, or worse, when he recently
laid before the French chamber a bill
providing for the withdrawal OF the
papers in the case from the criminal
section of the Cour de Cessation
which had very nearly reached a de
cision upon the question Of q re tria
for the prisoner of Devils Island and
handing them over to the full bench o.
appeal. The chamber has approved
the premier's proposal, and, if no Other
legislative agency prevents the carry
ing out of the governments program
the Dreyfus case will be recalled from
its Judicial phase, and will re enter TIT
field Of politics. The animus OF thit
latest and most and most Transparent
move against revision can be best sp
preciated when it is known that tht
majority of the membership Of thC
criminal section Of the Cour de CASA
ton are in favor Of re trial, while tht
full berch Of the court is understood
to be convinced of Dreyfus' guilt, anC
is, therefore, opposed to a revision o
his case az a useless performance. Tn
reference Of the case, then, virtually
means that the republic will make n
effort to do justice, if justice has no
already been done, to former Captain
Alfred Dreyfus, the Jew"
We have dealt at length with thi
case because it is go often discusset
and 80 little understood because it ha
attracted the attention Of people in al
parts of the globe, and is an evidenc
Of the deep race prejudice whicl
threatens the peace of the second great
est republic of the world.
Perhaps the most gigantic trust i
the world will be the n which ]. Piel