The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1899-09-17
IT HAS SHOCKED GERMANY
Dreyfus Court Martial's Insult
Is Keenly Felt.
WAS ACTING FOR RUSSIA
A Mass OF Testimony Said to Exist Show
ing That Dreyfus Was Spying for
the Czar-Public Opinion Divi-
ded on the Boycott

Copyrighted 1899 by Associated Press
Berlin, Sept. 16,-Though the govern
ment has taken pains to preserve its
equilibrium, the result of the Dreyfus
trial has tremendously shocked the
German people, irrespective of creed
and politics. The bitter insult implied
by the total disregard upon the part of
the Rennes court of the official Reichs-
Zaneiger's declaration of Dreyfus' inno-
cence is deeply felt here. Owing to the
peculiar relations with France these
sentiments have not found full vent in
the press and the government organs
have even done their best to smother
them.
But in conversation the real feelings
of the people, Indignation and almost
contempt are universally and freely eX-
pressed. A small majority composed
of anti-Semites and some agrarians and
conservatives, more or less approved
the sentence. The Hamburger Mach
richten, formerly the late Prince Bis
marck's organ, made itself their mouth
piece, asserting repeatedly that the
evidence against Dreyfus this time was
no more than had previously been made
public and that Dreyfus had been con-
victed not for spying for Germany, but
for Russia, citing a mass of alleged
evidence in support of this assertion.
When those were disputed and ridiculed
by the bulk of the press the paper said
the information was derived from a
source excluding all doubt of it's au-
thenticity and correctness and was cor
roborated by several competent per-
sons. This view was shared by num-
Der of prominent papers, including the
Deutche Tages Zeitung, the Stats
burger Zeitung and others. The CORE
spondent here of the associated press
has interviewed a prominent foreign
official who said:
THE government was not surprised
at the conviction of Dreyfus. The
Reichszaneiger publication was largely
for the purpose of depriving the world
of the chance of saying Dreyfus had
again been sentenced because Germany
kept silent. We suppressed the publ
cation until the last moment, as we sus-
pected it might hurt rather than bene-
fit the accused.
Regarding the comments of the
Hamburger Nachrichten, we think 1t
quite likely the paper is making the
statements on good authority. Many
well informed persons believed Dreyfus
had Russia and not Germany to deal
with.
Concerning the talk of boycOtting
the Paris exposition it is not Germany's
part to put herself in the foreground in
such movement. The official relations
of France and Germany have not suf-
fered in the least through the sentence.
There is no intention on the part OF
the government to join in any directly
unfriendly step against France. Tne
best proof that we do not mean to sus-
pend preparations for the exposition is
that the commissioner, Herr Richter,
has just started for Paris
The reported connection of Dreyfus
with Russia is also common talk in di-
plomatic circles here, where it finds
credence 1t Is also stated that evidence
of this was produced at the secret SEES
sion at Rennes; that Delcasse's hurried
visit to st. Petersburg just before the
court martial is cited in support OF this
theory. On the question of Joining in a
boycott public opinion is divided. The
big majority favor active participation
in the exposition, while number OF
leading and influential papers like the
Vossische Zeitung, Frankfurter Zeitung
and Tageblatt advocate abstentatlon.
1t is reported that few important
firms and several commercial associa-
tions have declared their determination
to abstain, but these so far are the
exception and not the rule. The bulk
of influential opinion seems to await
the action of Germany's principal COM
petitors in the commercial race, especi-
ally Great Britain and the United
States, and will be guided thereby.
The army maneuvers this year are re-
garded as a mediocre success, owing to
various causes, chiefly unfavorable
weather. During four days of sham
warfare in South Germany it rained in
torrents.