New Ulm review. (New Ulm, Brown County, Minn.) 1892-1961, 1899-09-13
AN INFAMOUS VERDICT.

france, IOr the Crlal OIL Odpt. hllIcu
Dreyfus, has pronounced him guilty of
"en.ering into Vaccinations to send Sc
cret documents to a foreign power, with
'extenuating circumstances, and has
sentenced him to 10 years detention
The detention means Imprisonment in a
fortress, aud fort in the island of Cor
sica is mentioned as the place where the
sentence will be carried into execution.
This was the second trial of Dreyfus.
It will be remembered that as the result
of his first trial, several years ago, on
substantially the same charges, he was
condemned to be degraded from his
rank in the army, to have his sword
broken, and to perpetual Imprisonment
on the Isle du Diable, probably one Of
the dreariest and most unhealthful spots
on earth, where, during the years of his
captivity he was lnhumanly. tortured,
both mentally and physically, by his
jallers. - .-'..
Owing to the profound agitation in
France and the widespread belief in
Dreyfus' innocense, ARISING from the con-
fesson of several of the witnesses against
him that they had forged the documents
upon which he had been condemned, the
case was brought before the court Of
cessation, the highest tribunal IN France,
and upon review that court set aside
the first verdict and ordered a new trial.
Dreyfus was brought back to France
and the second trial was had, with the
result above announced.
Many are familiar with the details of
this case, with it's "bordereau," it's "se-
cret dossier," and other array of French
descriptive idiom, and we will venture
to say that their perusal of the pub
lished evidence and arguments has CON
vinced SO out of every 100 impartial
American citizens that Dreyfus is iano-
cent of the charges made against HIM,
and that his conviction grows out of the
determination of the members of the
courtmartial to shield the army at all
hazards.
They have been able to perceive that
all the vital testimony against the un-
fortunate victim has been either forged
or founded upon forgery and perjury,
and the fair inference is that the slurs
against his character which have formed
the siaelights of the prosecution are OF
the same nature. Officers high in the
French service did not hesitate to COM
NIT forgery and perjury avowedly "to
save the honor of the army" and the
judges in this second trial have not hesl-
tated to violate their oath of mpartiali-
ty for the same purpose. -.
: The terms of the verdict, "with extern
uating circumstances" show its false
ness and inslncerity. If Dreyfus is gull
ty at all, he is guilty Of treason. What
extenuation can there be for treason
Would Benedict Arnold have been found
guilty with extenuating circumstances
if he had been caught by Gen. Washing
ton2 The judges in this case b ad an in
famous purpose to serve, namely, to
shield the rotten French army, and they
dared not face the indignation of the
civilized world by remanding Dreyfus tc
Devils Island, so they pronounced him
guilty with extenuating circumstances
in order to find an excuse to mitigate
his punishment and thus perchance soft
en- the contempt and condemnation Of
Europe and America.
FrancetWill suffer, and ought to suf.
fer, for this Infamous verdict. Wherever
high ideals of justice are cherished sht
will be held in adherence, for the yer
dict appears to be in Difference to The
weight of popular sentiment. But VIZ
must do the French people the justice t
say that there are among them many no
BILE and high. minded who will condemn
the verdict almost as bitterly as enlight
ened foreigners debut, alas, they ar
in a sad minority.
There is quite a widespread belief thai
Dreyfus will be ultimately pardoned By
the French executive. It is possible thai
ne and his friends will not DO willing tc
accept such pardon, but that they will
move tor another. rerisv BY the eosst 81
CESSATION and new trial. We shall see,