The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1899-05-02
CROOKED WORK
IN DREYFUS CASE
Revelations of Colonel
Patty du Clam.
Special Dispatch to The Call.

PARIS. May 2.-The Figaro, continu-
ing its publica- on of testimony offered
by the Court of Cessation in the Drey-
fus inquiry, prints to-day the deposit
ton of Lieutenant Colonel Patty du
Clam, who on April 20 deposed that be-
ing invited to reply frankly to the
statements of Captain Cuignet, he had
obeyed as a soldier, without asking
written orders from his SUPERIOR con-
tenting himself with oral ones.
Referring to his silence in the face of
accusations and to his being placed on
the retired list, the witness asserted
that he was the most disciplined of
soldiers" and had merited the fate
melted out to him. He. demanded to be
confronted with Captain Cuignet and
the other accuSerS.
In replying to numerous questions he
said that when General lie Mouton Bots
deffre, chief of the French general
staff in 1894, wanted him to act as
police officer in the Dreyfus affair. he
asked to be excused and recommended
Lieutenant Colonel Picquart for the
task. General Boisdeffre refused to
accept this suggestion.
Throughout the inquiry, the witness
affirmed, he had only acted on the adj
vice of the experts in handwriting, NM.
BertillOn and ChOcherfort. NJ. Bertil-
lon advised him to dictate lines to
Dreyfus and therefore accompanied
him.
The report was presented in October,
1894. 1t did not draw the inference of
the guilt of Dreyfus, but merely stated
certain facts. In December, 1894, Colonel
Sandherr sent him (Paty du CLAIM a
doSsier Of secret documents to report
upon, and the report which was the
result of his collaboration with
Colonel Sandherr went to General Mer-
cier, then Minister of War.
Coming down to the events of 1896,
Colonel Patty du Clam said he was
ignorant of the doings of the intelli-
gence bureau during this period, but
he indicated M Decrion as being at the
head Of a veritable mandatory of
fOrgeries for Lieutenant Colonel Henry.
(The Figaro remarks that NJ. Decrions
evidence has been forgotten or sup
pressed in the dossier of the inQuiry)
Colonel Patty du Clam said General
Come told him in 1897 that he had
infinitely investigated the affair and
had proved EsterhaZys innocence of
treason. Again in 1898 General Come
told him it was imperative to save
Esterhazy at any price in order to pre-
vent his committal of the irreparable
acts of suicide or flight and also to
avoid diplomatic difficulties, as war,
owing to the lack of preparations,
would then be disastrous.
1t was decided, the witness cOntin-
ued, to save Esterhazy and MN. Crib
bel and Pauffin de st. Morel and the
witness were intrusted with the task.
Then for the first time the witness
acted, he declared, with Esterhazy,
whom he had only seen once in AL
geria eighteen years previously. He
accepted the responsibility for what he
had done, but declared that he only
acted on orders. He admitted giving
Esterhazy a draft of the articles signed
"Dixi," and also drafts of letters ad-
dressed to the President of the republic,
the sending of which was authorized
and covered by General Boisdeffre after
a conference with General Come.
In the course of the examination
Colonel Patty du Clam denied that
he had made any communications to
the press such as Captain Cuignet had
accused him of doing, adding that this
kind of work was done by Henry and
Pauffin de st. Morel.
Patty du Clam, in the course of his
evidence, said that when NJ. Cavaignac
became Minister of War he (Paty du
Clamp wished to warn him of Lien
tenant Colonel Henrys forgery, but the
Minister refused to see him until after
an Interpolation had been made.
nen lie AoIu lile hhlLllolCi ina Nv
had doubts concerning certain docu
ments M Cavaignac replied: Mind
your own business"
This statement, the Figaro says, pro-
duced a sensation in the court and
Patty du Clam became frightened and
asked to have it suppressed.
The witness further said that Lieu
tenant Colonel Henry alluded to Gen
eral MERCER when he wrote to his wife
you know in whose interest L have
acted
Replying to direct question
Paty du Clam said General de Bots
deffre promised to cover me; now he
sacrifices me-