The Houston daily post. [volume] (Houston, Tex.) 1886-1903, 1899-08-14
TRIAL HAS BEGUN IN EARNEST
1T IS NOW A FIGHT BETWEEN TWO
POLITICAL FACTIONS.
Each side stands Committed to a
Certain Course and Has
Burned It's ships.

Copyrighted, 1893, by Associated Preas)
Rennes. August 1S.-The battle was be-
gun in earnest. Its political bearings are
shown in the arrest of Paul Deronlede, the
deputy and poet. and twenty three OF MS
numerous royalist and Bonapartist allies
who have pooled with him against the re-
public. AS In the Boulangist conspiracy
the pool would be of little consequence
but for the military cast which has found
representative men in General Negrier and
some other generals having great COM
mands,
It is a strange thing how the fight
thckens around the shadowy and
emaciated aud red haired Jew, whose uni
form OF an artillery captain so i'll fits and
be. his figure and physognomy. The
last ten days sitting OF the court martial
and the subsequent non-public sittings
were the first skirmlshing operations. bat
yesterday was field day. in which the
two hostile forces into which France is
divided, and has been since the reyolu-
ton, set themselves in array OF battle and
drew the first blood. Each side stands
committed TO a certain course and has
burned Its ships. The actual Dreyfus trial
is a trial OF strength, can not see a
possibility of its ending in drawn game
1t is now a neck or nothing combat,
desperate fight In which neither side will
give in unless utterly routed.
The moral sum OF the forces engaged re-
minds one Of the armies of the French
revolution and those they had 10 fight.
The Dreyfusites have the brains, the
forward impulse, the dash and the iieAi~
bility Al the same time they are raw
recruits gathered spontaneously from the
four points of the compass. Hatred VI
the military caste. and it may be the
secret hope OF rewards, have made them
homogeneous. The nationallsts have so-
cial and other prestige, numbers and or
ganzation. Their center is composed of
the majority OF Frenchmen and French
women their left wing is formed Of a.
600 officers and their right wing consists
OF the church. All profess respect for
legality, but only from the lips out.
One side is just as INSCRIPTIONS as the
other, but the more active aud Pss num-
erous outside does really fight for the
cause Of humanity justice and truth The
Dreyfus!tes have, at any rate. won bell
ligerent rights and they are sure of the
friendly neutrality of the government.
Their adversaries can no longer make use
of the rope that hung Piekard, or the razor
that cut Henrys throat. The minister OF
war could not, If he wanted to, read q
forged document in parliament. IL is TN
possible now to stuff the dossler with
fables At for Mother Goosss tales. Bar
organization, numbers, prestige and wealth
mean staying power. Doubtless the ORGY
fusites are supplied with Jewish funds
without accepting NJ. De Freycinetfs esi-
mate OF 39,000,000 francs
The sums subscribed by English and
German Jews must be enormous but like
wealthy Gentiles. rich Jews are fond of
the pomps and yanlties Of life, the titles
of arlstoeratic society Many of them are
frightened already at the onward pace
of the Dreyfusites.
General Mercier's deposition was maud
BILE, unless to the judges and shorthand
reporters. 1t fell fiat, his voice and de-
livery being bad. But we have Il now IN
print. 1t has qualities for which we did
not give 1t credit during the delivery
They are easy, flowing statements, plausible
and have the art of lullng suspicion. As
the deposition appears In full in the pa
pers 1t VIII everywhere be read with de-
light by those already persuaded that
Dreyfus Is traitor. They will now see
what was Pecksniffian, wha, was OF feline
perfdy; fguratlvely speaking, the deposit
ton, which was really speech for the
prosecution, shows MERCER TO be Il fautist
OF the highest order. He never loses his
way in the most intricate variations and
keeps In view that Dreyfus is a cool. call
culating, well informed traitor
The immediate issue of the fight Is the
freedom of Dreyfus, but yesterdays in
cidents and episode are the beginning OF a
struggle OF far-reaehing consequence.
! must give the Nationalist credit for