The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1899-08-28
BERTILLON
VERIFIED.
Field Day For Writing Experts
In Dreyfus Trial.
n. Paray-JavaI Takes Up the
Demonstrations
Of the Great Detective, and
Riddles Them.
GEN. MERCER is GLUM
But He Has Not Run Away, as
Was Reported.
Capt. Freystaetter Ostracised
by the Military.
Much Of the Evidence Is Favor
able to the Accused.
GEN. MERCER is GLUM
But He Has Not Run Away, as
Was Reported.
Capt. Freystaetter OStracised
by the Military.
Much Of the Evidence Is Favor
able to the Accused.

Rennes. Aug. 2S-When the fourth
week of the second trial by court mar
tiaI of Captain Alfred Dreyfus' OF the
artillery. charged with treason, opened
in the Lycee building this morning Gen
MERCER. who was minister OF war
when Dreyfus was first tried in 1874
was present as usual. in the front row
of the witness seats. thus definitely set
ting at rest the reports as to his nav
ing fed to the island of Jersey and as
to his arrest. The first witness called
TODAY was NJ Paray-Javal, the
draughtsman, whose evidence was IN
terrupted on Saturday by the adjourn
ment of the court
NJ Paray-JavaI was called by the ae-
fense to refute the. system by whlch
NJ RertfIlon. chief of the anthrOpo-
metric department of the Paris pre-
lecture of police last week attempted
TO prove that the prisoner wrote the
famous bordereau in a disguised hand
and bv means of a key-word interest
and that it could not have been written
bv Esterhazy although the dOcuHleIlt
was in q handwriting resembling th1l
of Esterhazy-
RERTIILON THEORY ATTACKED.
With the aid of blackboard, NJ
Paray-Javal demonstrated the IaIacy
of NJ BertillOn's calculations ana crltl-
cised the iatter'S unfalrneSS IN not SUI
iacrinr Fsterhazy' handwriting TO the
same tests as the prisoners writing Al
the same time the draughtsman de-
clared that even if NJ. BertillOn had
done 50 the results would not have
proved anything
In brief this mornings session may
he said to have been a field day for the
handwriting experts who devoted them
selves TO demOlishing one another
evidence. The public followed the
depositions listlessly but the judges
and counsel listened with the greatest
attention
Gen. Mereier did not seem to be very
cheerful today. He hardly said a word
tc Gen. GOnse during the whole morn
ing but during the brief supension of
the courts sitting he and Generals
Gonse and Roget walked up and down
the court yard of the Lycee. engaged in
conversation
Gen. De Boisdeffre was not present in
court today. He has been absent from
the last few sessions and it is rumored
here that he is deSirOuS of leaving the
sinking ship of the general staff.
The center of interest in the court
yard was Capt Freystaetter OF the
marine infantry who testified so favor
ably to Dreyfus on Saturday and who
seemingly gave the lie to Col Maurel
who was president of the court martial
of 1894 in a most important feature of
the latter's evidence. The captain,
dressed in a blue black tunic, indigo
blue trousers and wearing his five
decorations, held a veritable reception
of his friends. who pressed around him
and shook his hand. These friends,
however. were all civilians Not
single uniformed officer spoke to him
which is the first fruit of his frankness
and a clear indication of the determina-
tion of the military clique to Ostracise
him.
He IS PULVERIzED.
When the first two witnesses had
testified and argued against NJ. Bertil-
Ions system. it was the opinion Of the
sympathiZers of Dreyfus that if the
statements of the witnesses were cor
rect they had simply pulverized NJ.
BertiIlOn. The latter wished to reply
but the president of the court. Col.
JOuauSt. declined to allow the special
ist to go over his evidence again, tax
ing the ground that the evidence would
never end if every expert did the same.
An amusing scene followed. M Ber-
tillOn pleaded that he had a personal
statement to make and mounted the
platform. But he hardly uttered half a
dozen words when Col. JOuaUst saw he
was merely regrinding his evidence
and to the great satisfaction of the
audience curtly told the specialist to
leave the platform, which he did dis
cOmfitted-
NJ. Tessionere's testimony against
Dreyfus then followed and then NJ
Charavay. the expert who had prev
lOuSly declared Dreyfus was the au-
thor OF the bOrdereau, was called to the
witness bar His testimony proved to
be of the greatest interest as he came
20 confess he had made an error and
said he was now convinced that Ester
hazy and not Dreyfus wrote the bor-
dereau- This announcement made a
deep impression the court and was
greeted with general murmur of
satisfaction.
FAVORABLE TO DREYFUS
The next expert NJ. Penetier, also
testified favorably to Dreyfus.
NJ COuard. another expert, then de-
posed that as the result of his examina-
tion he had become convinced that the
bordereau was not written by Ester
hazy but he could not say it was writ
ten by Dreyfus because he had not
seen the prisoners handwriting This
witness kept the court in a continual
roar of laughter by the extraordinary
modulations of his voice, misplaced
emphasis and gestures.
Ihe hnaI witness. M-Varinaud main
tanned the declaration he had made be
fore the court of cessation that the
bordereau was not written by Ester
hazy
Col JOuaust then announced that NJ
de FFeycinet, who resigned as minister
OF war May of the present year. and
who was succeeded by NJ Krantz who
IN turn was succeeded by Gen De Mar
Quis de Gallifet on the downfall of the
Ou Puy ministry would be among the