The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1899-09-08

since the captain had testified. saying
the Dreyfusard press had been calling
him a false witness, etc.
The general declared that he gave an
order in 1894 that nothing should be
done with the various translations Of
the Panlzzardl dispatch, adding that
he. himself, was present when the pack
cts of secret papers for the court mar
tial was made up, and 1t did not COM
tain the PanizEardi dispatch. He had
since questioned the judges of the court
martial on the subject, but not one
of them was prepared to swear that
the dlspatr!, was not submitted to them
because their recollections were now
rather vague.
This statement Of General MERCER
evoked a chorus OF disguised "ohs"
from the audience.
General MercIer proceeded to call at
tention to contradictions in Captain
Freystaetter's statement, reading an
old letter from the captain to friend,
In which he declared his mind was
made up in 1894, before he saw the Sc
cret dossler, and another letter. from
an oHicer who was In company with
Freystaetter In Madt gaScar, wherein,
the writer asserted that Captain Frey
staetter talked of the court martial of
1894. but never mentioned the Paniz-
EardI dispatch.
After this General Mercler brought up
two bad points in Captain Freystaet-
ter's career. While in Madagascar he
was guilty of an act Of disObedience
to his chief, and he also executed thirty
natives.
This assertion caused certain Inn
precision in the audience. and Colonel
Jouaust asked General Mercler to alb
stain from giving any further partIcu-
lars. The general added that he firm-
ly believed Freystaetter was brave
man, but he thought the two acts re-
ferred to showed he could not be entire
ly trusted. He asked the Judges not
to allow the captains evidence to shake
their confidence in his own deposition,
but to lend him the same credence as
though the Freystaettcr incident had
never occurred.
The court then retired to deliberate
on n. laboris application, and its
probable decision was eagerly discuss
ed. Every one in court stood up when
the Judges returned. Colonel Jouaust
gave the order, present armsW to the
guard Of soldiers at the bottom OF the
hall. while he. standing. and with the
other Judges standing on either side OF
him read the announcement that the
Judges had unanimously decided that
the president. Colonel Jouust, was COM
petent to order a rogatory commission.
and that the judges, as a body, accord
ing to the military code, were not COM
petent to do SO.
". Labor then asked Colonel Jouaust
II he Sun maintained his refusal to
appoint commission. the colonel hav'
ing, when NJ. Labor submitted his con-
illusions, said he was opposed to the np-
pllcatiOns.
Colonel Jouaust replied Yes" and
the evidence OF Colonel schwarzkoppen
and Major PaniIEardi. with regard to
their relations with Dreyfus, was thus
excluded.
The refusal of Colonel Jouaust SEEM
ed lnexplicable because 1t appeared to
be his duty to receive all evidence d.
rectly bearing on the case, and more
especially the evidence OF the two al
taehes, the refusal of whose evidence is
equivalent to slight on their respec-
tive countries.
That Colonel Jouaust's decision
means the condemnation of Dreyfus
was the unanimous opinion OF the anti
Dreyfusards, and It was also the Im-
preston of majority of the Dreyfus-
ards, whose last hope is that Colonel
JouauSt only dared to refuse to take the
evidence of Colonel schwarzkoppen
and Major PanizEardi because the
court has already made up its mind to
acqult the prisoner.
After the decision of the court re-
tusing to examine the attaches by com,
mission had been delivered, reports re.