The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1899-08-23
NJ. LABORI COMES TO
THE RESCUE Of DREYfUS

Continued from Page u
vestigations, and how ii was only whei
4 Esterhazy's handwriting was show
him that his hesitation ended The let
ter also described the moments OF an
guish the writer experienced during tn'
course of the campaign, and dWeit OF
the opinion expressed in the judgmen
of the court of cessation end. the con
LESSONS of Esterhazy that he was th'
writer of the bordsreau. In conclusion
the letter said:
You will permit an old Alsatian
Monsieur lie Presidente, to express the
sentiment that the hour of justice VII
soon strike in the interest of the N my
and the country" (Great sersation.)
Replying to NJ. Denange, Berth FUR.
Their explained his connection with NJ
Scheuerer- Kestner. AT the maneuyers
that year. witness told General Billot
of the action NJ. Scheuerer-Kestnel
was taking, and the general replied:
Tell him not TO do anything. l shall
appeal TO my old friend"
Il telegraphed to NJ. Scheuerer-Kest-
ner accordingly" said Berth, for
could not enter Alsace. the Germans
having brutally forbidden me to &c
| there"
NJ. Demange reminded the witness OF
q remark he made to NJ. Ferdinand
Scheuerer- Kestner. namely, there are
| only five of us who know this terrible
| secret. One out of five must betray
it before you can know anything"
! Counsel asked if the secret was not
that Dreyfus was innocent.
NJ. Bertin-Oh, no.
| NJ. Demange-According to the terms
of the conversation?
Lieutenant Colonel Berth, energetic
| ally-No, no, and I'll tell you why. i
have never concealed two things from
the members of the Scheuerer-Kestner
family. Firstly, that NJ. Scheuerer-
Kestner would be doing a great serv-
ice if his efforts resulted in establish
ing the innocence of a man who had
worn the uniform OF French officer.
Secondly, that l was convinced of the
guilt of Dreyfus. (Sensation.)
"Must Get Rid of This Jew"
NJ. Demange-Did you not once make
the following remark: This Jew was
thrust at headquarters, and we had to
get rid of him."
Lieutenant Colonel Bertin-No, never.
l absolutely deny it. When 1 was in
the war Office the Jewish question was
never raised. Dreyfus was regarded as
a comrade. / confided all my secrets to
him and gave him the password of my
locker. A number of my official re-
pOTlS were mere IedQ uudllllIlOuoiy icS-
ognizing Dreyfus as a brilliant officer,
who was anxious to succeed. The re-
ports of the headquarters staff alone
cast imputations upon the prisoners
character.
NJ. Labor asked the courts leave,
with the permission of Lieutenant Col
onel Berth, to question the witness on
a delicate subject. He referred, con-
tinued counsel, TO a remark made by
Berth at a dinner, at which M. La
bori was present, at the house of a mu-
tual friend, fortnight after the de-
graduation of Dreyfus.
Il have absolute confidence in the
good faith of Lieutenant Colonel Ber-
tin" added NJ. Labor, land L am con-
WINGED that if his recollections are eX-
act enough he will not hesitate to re-
ply
Berth asked the lawyer to mention the
name of the mutual friend who gave
the dinner. NJ. Labor whispered the
name and the witness nodded assent.
NJ. Labori-Do you remember that
you were among the first to suggest to
me the belief in the innocence of Drey-
fus?
Bertin-No. no. 1t is impossible.
Labori-Does the witness remember
that during the course of the dinner he
became excited in talking about Drey-
fus?
The lieutenant colonel pointed out
that the terms of intimacy which pre-
vailed at the dinner must be taken
into account: reminded NJ. Labor that
he was an old friend of his fathers. and
wondered whether counsel was still the
same man. who. taking the witness
hands ON the occasion of the dinner,
said: Il will never forget what you
have done for my father"
Oh
said that. you replied that NJ. Demange
had already defended other spies and
that he was an official defender.
Lieutenant Colonel Berth admitted
the truth of NJ. Labori's statements
u. Labori-YoU should be sure re-
garding the intervention of Maitre- De-
mango, because a barrister of his
standing is not appointed officially I'M
less there are important reasons for il.
Counsel proceeded TO relate how.
when he left Lieutenant Colonel Berth,
he discussed the foregoing converse
ton with his wife, and wondered what
security could be found in the oath or
judgment of men who believed things
so ridiculous.
My belief in the innocence of Drey-
fus," NJ. Labori added, began that
day. / give you my word of honor that
Colonel Berth admitted he
had a grudge against NJ. Demange,
saying it was because he defended
Dreyfus badly by persisting in making
Dreyfus deny all the charges against
him. Lieutenant Colonel Berth evil |
IDENTIFY thought Maitre Demange ought |
to have joined with the others in trying
to convict Dreyfus.
Dreyfus Objects to Insinuations.
Dreyfus here arose and objected to
Lieutenant Colonel Bertin's insinua- :
ton. The prisoner recalled his suffer- /
ings and feverish nights on Devils |
island, and reiterated again and again /
his love for the army and love for |
France. (Sensation.)
Colonel JouaUst here declared the in ,
cident closed. etc. etc, etc.
4 brief adjournment followed, and |
when court resumed, Major Gendron !
was called ito testify regarding the /
Austrian woman. Nine. Dely. He said F
he had taken tea at her home on a
single occasion. and that he thereafter /