Washington sentinel., 1899-06-03
The Dreyrus Case.

trial before a court martial. An
inquiry into the alleged
evidence" by which he was con-
victed has been made by the civil
section OF the Court OF Cessation,
and it is understood that the pres
ident of the court has reported in
favor of revision. This report, it
is intimated, will be accepted by
the Court Of Cessation, and Drev-
fus will be brought back to France
and retired. Thus. itappears, JUS
tice will at last be done to man
who has suffered greatly for a
crime which it was not proved that
he committed, his conviction be
ing based upon the flImsiest evil
dence imaginable. Dreyfus in the
light OF recent revelations was the
victim OF a conspiracy in which
prominent army officers were i'm
plicated. The disclosures which
have been published in the French
press in the last few months estab-
lish this fact beyond reasonable
doubt. Itwas a clumsy conspiracy
at best and would have been ex-
posed long ago under any other
system but that which obtains in
France. AS palpably fraudulent
as most OF the proof of Dreyfus'
guilt was, however, it is probable
the conspiTators would have tri-
umphed to the last had it not been
Tor the indignant and caustic pro-
tests OF English and American
newspapers. What the French
press did not dare to print, or was
induced" not to print, found pub
lication in the English press, until
finally the evidences of conspir-
aSy were known to all the world
except France, and the French
government and people were prac-
tically On trial before the enl.Ght-
ened public opinion OF the world.
Dreyfus has not been without
friends. even among Frenchmen.
Some OF the ablest men OF that
great nation have questioned the
methods by which he was convic-
ted, and while they have not posi-
lively asserted his innocence, they
have declared that his trial was a
travesty of ustice. The masses OF
the French people were under the
influence OF the army, however, as
represented in part by the officers
whose connection with the con-
spiracy has now, been proved.
They believed an attempt had
been made to sell military secrets
to a foreign government and that
the guilt OF Dreyfus had been es-
tablished beyond question. Il
never occurred to them that officers
holding high positions in the army
could have concocted a scheme tc
fasten guilt upon an innocent man
1t is, indeed, doubtful whether the
majority Of the French people
knew anything OF the evidence
on which Dreytus was convicted.
They did know, however, that the
| judgment OF the court martial had
been accepted by the government
that Dreytus had been publicly
disgraced and sent away to South
America for puni shment, and
doubtless many OF them thought
that the army had been we'll rid oi
traitor While they are violently
opposed to revision, the French
government is wise enough to
realize that it cannot permit such
verdict to, stand and retain the
respect OF the civilized world. II
| Dreyfus'iHnocence is proved at the
new trial, as it probably will be,
the French government should
punish most severely the conspir-
ators who plotted against man
who had committed no crime and
who we're themselves, for this rea-
son, guilty oi one Of the greatest
| crimes Of the century.