Daily inter mountain. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1881-1901, 1899-04-11
A Former President of France
on the Stand.
WHAT HE NEWOF THE CASE
The Act of Treason Had Not Placed a
Fareign Power in Possession
of Valuable Secrets.

Paris, April 10.-The Figaro continu-
ing it's publication of testimony in the
Dreyfus case before the court of cas-
sation, gives the testimony Of NJ. CAST
mir-Perier, former president of the re-
public.
M. Casimir-Perier began his statement
by expressing a desire in the face OF the
disordered state of affairs, to place him
self unreservedly at the disposal or the
tribunal to answer all questions that
might be asked. He aid he was u1ia BILE
to- give the exact date when Gen. MERCER,
when minister of war, acquainted MN
with the Dreyfus affair. Gen. MERCER
first alluded in a general way to the small
confidence the general staff placed in
Dreyfus, adding hat the ministry of war
had been informed of the ~ommunlcatlon
of a document to a foreign power and nae
learned from a foreigner that leakaSes
had occurred from the general staff, but
M. Casimir-Perier said he was led to be-
lieve that all this merely concerned oral
communications and he had no know
edge tina any documen had passed. ON
Jam. 6, 1895, he received a visit from COunt
Won Munster, the German ambassador
who communicated to him an official and
personal demand Of Prince HOhenlohe,
the German chancellor, that he, as presl-
dent of the republic, should formally deny
that the German embassy was involved in
the Dreyfus affair.
M. Casimir-Perier told the court that
in reply to Won Munster, he pleaded his
constitutional responsibilities. but Of
fered as a. private individual to give
every assistance. Then he informed the
German ambassador that the document
in question had been found at the Ger
man embassy. Count Won Munster re-
piled that this appeared to him impossi-
bic, adding that the embassy certainly
had received many documents, but that
no important communication could have
escaped.
To this Nj. Casimir-Perier answered
that, happily, the document was not re-
garded as important and that neither he
nor the government desired to implicate
the German embassy in the affair, thai
nothing had been proved to show that the
embassy solicited the document and the
government did~not wish to hold tho ON,
b21Sy or themselves responsible for pa.
pers thus conveyed. 1t was sufficient
the papers had been fourd at a foreign
embassy and presumably emanating from
a French officer-to fix the guilt of thai
officer.
"As Court Won Munster insisted OF
obtaining d note categorically exculpat.
ing the embassy" continued Mr.. Cast.
:nir-Perier. Il suggested that it would be-
unnecessary to indicate the German EN-.
bassy alone, but that all the embassies
and legations in Paris should be 1ciudet
as each might remain under suspicion i
the Germans alone are exculperated. Sucl
a note, I said. it was the province of thu
president of the council to issue and
suggested that it need not differ from
similar notes previously issued. On tht
AMBASSADORS request, 1 appointed an,
other interview with the president of thu
council, but a few days later Count Vo1
Munster informed me that the inciden
might be regarded as closed"
NJ. Casimir- Perier, continuing. sale
he had only heard of a single secret docu
ment. the one containing the expression
'Cette canaille de D. devionte roolo
ment trOp eXigeante" Chat beast of
D. is really becoming very exciting.