The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1899-08-14
The Political Bearings of the
Dreyfus Trial..Forees Array.
ed for a Finish Fight.
is NOW "a NECK OR NOTHING. /"
Dreyfusards Have the Brains and
Dash and the NationaIists
Social aud Other Prestige,
The DEPOSITION OF MERCER
Analyzed..The Far Reaching Ell.
fects OF Revlsion..The Fur
Expected to Fly To-day.

ESpeSLSu 10 Fly 1O'uay.
Copyright. 1893. by The Associated Press.)
RENNEs, August l3.-The battle has
begun in earnest. Its political bear
ings are shown In the arrest Of Paul
Derouledc, the deputy and poet, and
twenty-three Of his numerous Royallst
and Bonapartlst allies who have pooled
with him against the republic. As in
the Boulangist conspiracy, the pool
would be OF little consequence but for
the military caste. which has found rep
resentatIve men in General Negrier and
some other generals having great COM
mands.
1t is a strange thing how the fight
thlckened around the shadowy and
emaclated red-halred Jew, whose uni
form of an artillery captain SO III fits
and BELTS his figure and physIognomy.
Last Mondays sitting OF the court
martial and the subsequent non-publIc
slttlngs were the first surprising oper-
atons, but yesterday was a field day,
in which the two hostile forces into
which France Is divided, and has since
the revolution set themselves in array
OF battle, and drew the first blood.
Each side stands committed to u GER
tain course. and has burned Its ships.
The actual Dreyfus trial is a trial Of
strength. cannot see a possibility Of
its ending In a drawn game. It is now
a neck Of nothing" combat, a desper-
ate fight, In which neither side will
give In unless utterly routed.
The Moral Situation.
The moral situation of the forces en-
gagged reminds one Of the armies of the
French revolution, and those they had
to fight. The Dreylusltes have the
brains, the forward Impulse, the dash
and the flexibiIlty. At the same time
they are raw recruits. gathered spOn-
taneously from the four points Of the
compass. Hatred Of the military caste,
and It may be. the secret hope OF re-
wards have made them homogeneous
The NatIonalIsts have social and
other prestige, members and organiza-
tIon. Their center is composed Of the
majority Of Frenchmen and French
women; their left wing is formed Of
1900 officers and their right wing con-
sits Of the church. All profess respect
for legality, but only from the lips out.
One side is just as interruptions as the
other, but the most active and less
numerous side does really fight for the
cause OF humanity, Justice and truth.
The Dreyfusltes have. at any rate, won
bellIgerent rights, and they are sure Of
the friendly neutrality Of the govern
ment. Their adversarIes can no longer
make use Of the rope that hung PIckard
or the razor that cut Henry's throat.
The minister Of war could not II he
wanted to read a forged document in
parliament. 1t is Impossible now to
stun the dossler with fables lt for
Mother Goose's tales. But organIza-
ton, numbers. prestige and wealth
mean staying power.
Doubtless the Dreyfusites are sup
piled with Jewish funds without ac-
ceptIng N. de Freycinets estimate OF
20 1000 francs. The sums subscribed
by English and German Jews must be
enormous, but like wealthy GentIles,
rich Jews are fond of the pomps and
vanltles Of life, the titles of arIstocratic
society. Many Of them are frightened
already at the onwnrd pace of the
Dreyfusltes.
NIercIcr's Deposition.
General MercIer's deposition was In
inaudibIe unless to the Judges and short
hand reporters. 1t fell fiat, his voice
and delivery being bad. But we have
It now in print. 1t has qualities for
which we did not give 1t credit during
delivery. They are easy-flowing state
ments, plauslbillty and the art OF lull-
ing suspicion. As the deposition ap-
pears In full it will be everywhere read
with delight by those already persuaded
that Dreyfus Is n traitor. They will
not see that It is Pecksniflan, what wns
OF feline perfidy. figurntlvely speaking.
The deposition, which was really n
speech for the prosecution, shows Mer-
cier to be n fautIst OF the highest or
der. He never loses his way In the
most intricate variations. and keeps in
view that Dreyfus Is n cool, calculating,
we'll Informed traitor.
The Immediate issue OF the fight is the
freedom Of Dreyfus, but yesterdays In
cidents and episodes are the beginning
OF n struggle Of fRr-renchinB conSe-
quencs.
must give the Natlonalists credit
for having. from tho very beginning,
foreseen what revision would lead to.
They, in many things, showed blind
ness. They accepted the madman.
oucsnny de BeAurepRIro. as their
spokesman. But they had n keen In
stinot for the ultimate trend Of the re-
vislonist movement.
Dreyfus ia generally unfortunate in
the use Of the pen. He lacks artistic
FcnslbIIltIes. and cannot dISaSHocIate
himself from his ego to enter into the
feelings Of others. One sees this harsh