The evening times., 1899-08-17
THURSDAY, AUGUST IL, 1899.
The shame of France.

There is sinister evidence that the anti
Dreyfusard campaign of assassination, be-
gun with the attempt on the life of Maitre
Labori, has not been abandoned because OF
lls failure in that case. 1t seems simply
Incredible but il is the consensus OF soper
opinion among correspondents and all oth-
pr intelligent observers in Rennes, that
General Roget gave his lying, malicious,
and Insulting testimony before the court
martial yesterday with the single purpose
of exasperating Captain Dreytus ana
tempting him to violent demonstration
against the witness; whereupon it is be-
neved to have been Roget's intention TO
shoot him on the spot.
1t is regarded as certain that General
Roget came before the tribunal more IN
performance of a murderous mission, con-
fded to him by his associates in the gen
eral staff conspiracy, than for the sake OF
adding his moiety OF gossip, puerility, and
perjury to the mass of such stuff already
dumped upon the court by Mercier and
others of that sort The wonderful self
control OF Captain Dreyfus probably saved
his life for the time being, but the end is
not yet.
The opinion is next to universal in
Rennes that the high military criminals
fearing the effect of an acquittal by the
courtzmartial. which would bring disgrace
and infamy upon their heads, are deter
mined that Dreyfus shall not live long
enough to be exonerated. With this de-
sign. it is known that the army certainly,
and the president and members OF the
eourt-martial probably, are in sympathy.
As for the populace, they are for killing
Oreyfus on general principles. merely be-
cause he is a Jew, and has brought trou-
Bile to-eminent Christians like Mercier.
ZurIfnden Roget EsterhaZy. and the like.
In this country we have had altogether
wrong idea of the popular feeling in
France regarding this horrible affair
Americans have been led TO believe that
the Dreyfusard madness was almost
entirely confined to the misunderstanding
agitators and revolutionary mobs Of Par
Is and perhaps Marseilles and one or two
Ither large cities. But the developments
in connection with the shooting of Labori,
show that this was a mistaken idea. 1t is
now realized that even among the ordi-
narily slow and unexcitable Bretons of
Rennes and its surrounding country, there
is intense agitation under the surface, and
a scarcely concealed readiness to join in
general massacre of Jews and Dreyfusards,
in the event of Dreyfus' acQuittal.
There is little doubt that a conspiracy
as wide as the boundaries of France has
Seen in process Of active organization for
three weeks, its object being to start a
revolution by means of simultaneous out
breaks and massacres in Rennes and
Paris Immediately on the conclusion of
the trial. The chances for such a move
ment have been greatly increased by the
apparent cowardice Of the government in
allowing itself TO be openly defed by
Guerin and his crazy anti-Semite crew in
Paris. The one hope for order and jus
tice was the assumed courage and deter
.ninaiion of Loubet and the Marquis de
Gallifet; but even they seem TO have beel
suddenly stricken with moral paralysis,
and the effect of their paltering with
armed and fortified outlaws in the heart
OF the capital, is demoralizing and may
prove fatal to the republic.
A month ago we would have secuted the
Il
which all the adherents of single religion
were to be the victims, could be possible
in civilized and nominally a Christian
country. Today such a thing is not only
possible, but there is reason to believe that
such a conspiracy exists in France. and
that il is being promoted by that irrecon-
cilable element of the French provincial
clergy who not only hate the Jews with an
intensity that We cannot at all understand
In America. but who also regard a revolu-
tion in which they should be exterminated
or driven out of the country, as intrinsi-
cally desirable, and politically a blessing,
as it will tend to the restoration of mon
lrchy and ultramontanism.
As We suggested this morning. the con-
Fiction grows that under existing condi-
tions the French people appear to be about
as capable of self-government and of en-
joying the blessings of liberty as would
be the inmates of a madhouse