The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1899-08-29

w I'LL 81 a
Rennes. August 26-"Dead men tell
no tales" This is the barricade behind
which General Mercier and the general
staff have intrenched themselves; but
there is one weak point in their de-
.fence-Colonel du Patty de Clam-and
the military clique know it and are
striving to the utmost to keep him out
Of M. Laboris clutches. If they can
prevent du Patty de Clam, who is now
called the 'sick man of the Dreyfus af-
fair" from appearing at the witness
bar they can effectually put the silence
of the tomb between truth and justice.
NJ. Labori is fighting tooth and nail
to drag him into court, but Colonel
Jouaust persists in refusing him the
necessary assistance.
While the Dreyfusards believe du
Patty de Clam is not seriously i'll, they
feel a secret dread, which is expressed
in the significant remark, not infre-
quently heard "Sandherr is dead;
Henry committed suicide, and du Patty
de Clam will die
The conformation today of Colonel
Maurel, Captain Freystaetter and Cen
erdl MerCler was an expos
ure of the fraud and dishonesty Of the
general staff, which the absence Of du
Patty de Clam alone prevented from be-
ing complete. The defense might de-
mand that a rogatory commission be
sent to examine du Patty de Clam on
his sick bed, but MN. Labori and De-
mango despair of obtaining a Satisfac-
tory result therefrom. They want to
have du Patty de Clam in court and
turn the screws of the rack themselves.
Today's session tore the last shred of
credit from Mercier, but added the
name of Freystaetter to the little roll
of heroes who have risked everything in
the defense Of DreyfuS.
MERCTER DRIVEN TO DESPERA-
TION.
After the court rose and all the pub
lie were supposed to be excluded, Gen.
eral Mercier accosted Colonel Maurel in
the court yard and gave him a piece Of
his mind, even going to the extent of
calling him a blockhead. Maurel vain
1y protested his helplessness and the i'm
possibility of warding Off Laboris home
thrusts in view of Captain Freystaet-
ters testimony. Finally Mercier left
him in temper.
TESTIMONY IN DETAIL.
Following are the proceedings in de-
The temperance on the stage of the
properties of M. Bertillon, the dis
tinguished anthropometer, was the sig
nal of an outburst of hilarity on the
part of the audience. The scenes of
yesterday were repeated. The prisoner
was apparently quiet different as to
what was going on and the judges and
counsel alone attempted to follow the
specialist in his interminable cryptic
graphic problems.
AS the comedy was prolonged it grew
f11nt rrrrI,f ?
out newspapers and chatted in low
tones.
M. Bertillon, at one point, advanced
alleged fresh proofs against the priS-
oner, namely in the Dreyfus papers
seized at the war office and in which
the specialist said he found two words
had been traced.
AS he proceeded the witness became
imbedded in paraphernalia. His lee
5ture, delivered in funeral tones, began
to pail on the judges, who. finally, only
paid the most attention to the examples
submitted.
One of M. Bertillon's demonstrations
was handed to Dreyfus, who closely
! scrutinized it and returned the paper
with a diSdainful shrug of his shoulders
and without uttering a word.
In summing up the results OF his
test, M. Bertillon said: Fully under
standing the responsibility of so posi-
science, I declare today, as I did in
1894, on my oath, that the bordereau lis
the work of the prisoner here" (Sen-
Sation.)
Dreyfus heard this assertion un-
moved
how he explained the similarity Of the
handwriting of the bordereau and that
OF Esterhazey, to which he replied that
since 1894 Esterhazey may have prac-
ticed initiating writing of the bordereau
in order to render possible the substi-
tuition Of himself for the prisoner. In
support of this theory, M. Bertillon pro-
duced fresh array of plates which he
allaged proved his hypothesis in re-
gard to Esterhazey "Esterhazey," ex-
claimed M. Bertillon, lis a man of
straw and a scoundrel. I have said
this ever since the commencement Of
the Zola trial.
There was a sensation in court at
this remark, which was turned to
laughter as the witness, in his excite
ment, knocked his portfolios to the
ground.
M. DemAnge asked M. Bertillon if he
had submitted Esterhazey's handwrit-
ing to the same tests as the bordereau
The witness replied in the affirmative,
explaining, however. that the tests were
less complete than in the case of the
prisoner.
Counsel reminded the witness that he
said in 1894 that he found in the bor-
dereau a cryptographlc signature ''Al-
Afred Dreyfus.''
M. Bertillon replied that he was not
Z now positive on this point, to which he
added he attached mo Importance
whatever"
- Referring to M Bertillon's state
ments yesterday that he found in the
bordereau words Dreyfus was in the