New-York tribune., 1899-06-07
TgOROUGH JOB IN FRANCE.

rho urancb Government means business. IL
l.. ro,,,ro down to business. Capture OF crimi-
nal tools does not satisfy 1t. 1t proposes 10 hnu
and puuish the criminals who used those tools'
oven the chief criminals. That Is what the ac'
.ion Of the Ministry signifies when II transfers
General Roget removes Lombart, the Advocate
General: prosecutes Tardf, the presiding judge
Of the farcical Deroulede trial, and prepares 10
hiring General Mercier, the former Minister oi
War: General de Boisdeffre, General Gonse
and General Pellieux to trial. These may, OF
course be "all honorable men," But II VIII Dc
Interesting TO have their exact degree OF honor
defined. They have all been intimately asso-
cIated with cases which have been reproach
IN France and scandal to the world. We shall
500 how close IT is possible to come to pitch
without being deflled.
Du Patty de Clam says he acted In the Drey-
fus case In accord with the wishes of his chle1s
Esterhazy says that he wrote the Dordereau anu
committed other forgeries in obedience 10 the
will OF his chiefs Henry, the least unmahiy oi
the three, confessed that he had forged ie'ter
under orders from his chiefs. and then ne Kliieu
himself rather than expose those chie1s, or no'
,mprobably. was murdered by them lest ne
should do So Now, generally speaking hotn
inc that any of these three scoundrels could say
under oath would be worthy Of credence CT no
tice. But the fact that they all exactly agree
on This noint added to other indications or cor
roborative purport. may we'll form food for pass
inc thought IT is scarcely conceivable that
three obscure minor officers like these' one Vi
them illiterate one ruined deDauchee anu one
q crack Drained crank could have originated
developed and carried out this whole Dreylus
business. The law Of natural probabilities points
strongly IN the presence Of other and bigger men
in the conspiracy
There are moreover, as we have SAID, olner
indications. 1t is known that one man, Gen
oral said with cynical frankness that even II
Dreyfus were innocent he must not be liberated,
for that would mean the ruin Of too many I'M
portant men. It is known that another, Gen
eral and at that time Minister presented 10
the Dreyfus courtmartial secret evidence
which he probably knew was forged and whlcn
he himself deliberately garbed, and thus, and
thus only, obtained a verdict of CONVICTION
against that unhappy officer. There is, too,
most suspicious eagerness on the part OF certain
high officers or of their friends 10 make ex-
cuses and to offer reasons why, no matter what
else may happen, they cannot or must not oe
brought TO b00K. One SloOu too Niusc w O'hNi
great personaces Another was identified with
the Russian alliance. And so on, all unmindful
OF the sound French saying that he who excuses
accuses.
The French Government is in no MOOD lor
whitewashng That process was tried last week
in the case of Deroulede The sequel to IT, at Au-
teuil on Sunday, was not encouraging. III was
tried some time ago in the case OF Esterhazy'
with equally unsatisfactory results, The GOV
cinment and, we confidently believe, the people
are tired of It. The magnitude of the iniqulty
that has been wrought and the evident animus
of those concerned in it do not commend the con-
spirators to the charity of silence. a thorough
sitting Of the whole case from beginning to END
is needed, and not only of the trumped-up case
against Dreyfus but of the case against tnose
who trumped il up, that whole cabal of royal
lists. Jew-baiters army bureaucrats and the rest,
which for years has been dragging the honor Of
the French Army French justice and the French
nation through the mre for the sake OF screen
ing the rascality of its own members. Such a
radical settlement of the whole matter, no mat
ter who may be hurt will be the best possible
thing for France; and. If we do not greatly mis-
take the temper of the French Government and
Of the French people, that is exactly what is
speedily coming to pass.