The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1899-08-26
M. VIZ ILLS STATEMENT
READING OF HIS DEPOSITION
% CREATED A SENSATION.
EVIDENCE OF HANDWRITING EXPERTS
All Greek to Every One but the Judges Fears
Entertained by DreyfuS' Friends that
it VIII Effect the Case
UnfayorabIy,
UnfayorabIy,

Rennes. France, August 2J-After
NJ. Bertillon, the handwriting expert,
who is at the head of the AnthropOme-
trio Department of the Prefecture OF
Police of Paris, had concluded the first
installment of his so-called demonstra-
tion of the guilt of Captain Dreyfus, a
prominent Dreyfusard referred to him
as 'the fin de sicle Caglostro."
Nevertheless, even the Dreyfusards do
not deceive themselves as to the eff
feet NJ. Bertillon's testimony, or dem
onstration" may have upon the Judges,
who they fear, will be gulled by what
the Dreyfusards consider spurious tes-
timony. All the judges have passed
through the Ecole Polytechnique, the
highest school of science in France, and
they are thus peculiarly interested IN
such .'evidence" as NJ. Bertillon's.
Moreover. with the aid Of the innumer-
able diagrams and specimens OF writing
which he submits to them, they may
be able to follow his reasoning intelll-
gihIy. which is more than any member
Of the audience could do today. If the
Judges accept Bertillon's premises
that Drpyfus, as an expert spy, dld not
write ordinary handwriting, but IN close
imitation. even contriving to give the let
ters the appearance Of having been
traced in order to be able to repudlate
them as a forgery if detected-then the
structure built upon this ground-work
NAV be- scientifically correct.
Following are the proceedings in detail;
Rowland Strong, correspondent OF the
New York Times, and member OF 1he
staff of the Observer IT Lon
dom called He described ut
length interviews which he mad with tls-
terhazv. saving the Observer offered Es-
terhazy 500 pounds sterling for certain
| documents and a confession that he
| wrote the bordereau as published Aprai
25th.
Replyinr to the court, Mr.. Strong said
| that Esterhazy, while admitting the au-
| thorship of the bordereau said the docu-
ments enumerated in it had been betray-
! ed by Dreyfus to Germany.
| NJ Henri Wen, a former officer Of the
| Headquarters staff was then called bat
! he was absent and his Deposition was
read. NJ. Weill's statement i'm substance,
was that Esterhazy told him in 1884 that
! Dreyfus was innocent. but that TINS
would not prevent his convictiom be-
/ cause he was Il jew. (Sensation.)
The evidence of the handwriting eX-
norts followed NJ. Colbert after testify
inc TO the facts published April 22nd and
Arril 24th. vehemently protested
against the insinuation that he was mn
| interested witness. He referred to his
thirty years of services during which he
had reported on thousands of documents
| and added, visibly affected:
| protest against the term interested
| expert.'" adding, turning towards the
prisoner. "aftter adj / have no right to
! complain when | look at this UnGortrnate
mnn now before YOU" (Great senSationl
M. Colbert asserted that the handwrit-
! ing of the bordereau was natural and
| fluent and that it was almost illegibF.
| whereas DreyfuS, even when writing
rapidly always wrote legibly.
General GonSe, it appears from the
testimony, was greatly enraged when he
| learned of the result of NJ. Gobert'S eX-
| animation of the bOrdereau and visited
| the expert repeatedly.
1t was after NJ Colbert had refused to
incriminate Dreyfus that NJ. Bertillon
was entrusted with the examination of
the bordereau and after a few hours
study. NJ. Bertillon positively attributed
the bordereau to Dreyfus. From that
time forward NJ Colbert heard nn more
Of the Dreyfus ease He was not asked
totsuEnit a report.
The witness identified the hordereau
as the same which was submitted to him
and he proceeded to point out the ide1-
tity of letters therein with letters in
documents admittedly written by Ester
hazy saving that the resemblance was
not apparent in DreyfrIs' handwriting.
The expert refused, in reply to a ques
tion by the court, to admit that the hCr-
dereau was written in disguised hand
He said it had tecn written with great
rapidity, precluding all idea Of Goctoring
or tracing.
Dreyfus here declared in the most posi-
tive manner that he had never been at
the Bank of France. where NJ Colbert
was employed, or had relations with any
one there.
NJ Bertillon, the next witness rrefaced
hrs evidence by saying his explanations
"nld be understood only by a very
limited nrmber and therefore. he asked
the court to permit him to refer TO docu-
ments which he had brought, in order
to make his evidence more iptel!igihle.
The specialist then unpacked packages
of photographs, plans, etc, and another
Continued on Sixth Page)