The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1899-08-29

the head Of the anthropometric depart
ment of the prefecture of police of
Paris, a concluded the first INSTALL
ment Of his so-called demonstration of
the guilt of Captain Dreyfus, a promi-
nent Dreyfusard referred to him as
1.-The fin de steele Cagliostro."
The Dreyfusards refused to regard
him as anything but the prince of
quacks. They covered his remarks with
ridicule and protest that the admission
of his fantastic theories as violence be-
fore the court-martial is a disgrace to
France.
&C est une honte'' was the remark
heard on all sides when the session
closed and the audience, mainly made
up Of Dreyfusards, was being pressed
outside by the gendarmes, who clear
the court room as soon as the court
adiourns.
Nevertheless, even the Dreyfusards
do not deceive themselves as to the
effect M. BertillOn's testimony, or dem
onstration" may have upon the judges,
who, they fear, will be gulled by what
the Dreyfusards consider spurious. All
the judges have passed through the
EcOle P~OlytecniQue, the highest school
of science in France, and they are thus
peculiarly interested in such evidence"
as NJ. Bertillon's. Moreover, with the
aid of the innumerable diagrams and
specimens of writing which he submits
to them, they m be able to follow his
reasoning intelligently, which is more
than any member of the audience could
do today. If the judges accept Ber-
tillon's premises-that Dreyfus, as an
expert spy did not write ordinary
handwriting fhnt in close imitation
even continuing to give the letters the
appearance of having been traced in
order to be able to repudiate them as
a forgery if detected, then the struc-
ture built upon this groundwork may
be scientifically correct.
Even Dreyfus, when shown Bertil-
Ions demonstrations, admitted the in
genuity and plausibiiity of the system,
though he naturally declared that it
was built upon a false basis.
A remarkable feature of NJ. Bertil-
Ions deposition was the heat and excite
ment he put into what was expected to
be a calm dispassiOnate statement of
his theories. He Numbered, shouted
and waved his arms as though engaged
in some terrible dispute. Once he lit
orally shrieked, and numbers of the
usual audience who had been unable
to follow him and were taking the air
in the court yard rushed back into the
hall breathlessly, inquiring what had
happened and imagining that he was
Illuminating some dreadful denunciatfon
of the accused.
Their excitement was turned into hi
larity when they found that he was
merely impresSing upon the judges the
significance of the exact Space-meas-
ures in centimetres-between two words
in the bOrdereau.
The military witnesses, all of whom
sit in a bunch, leaving Colonel Pic
quart and NJ. Bertullus severely iso-
lated, followed M. Bertillon's state
ments with a grave and wise express
sion of countenance, upon which never
a suspicion of a smile appeared, as
though they understood every word.
Evidently they had receive a mot
d'ordre to preserve this attitude, for
without seeing the diagrams, they could
not have understood any better than
did the general public.
The Echo de Paris announced today
that the counsel of Dreyfus had OBJ
tanned possession of certain documents
mentioned in the bordereau in Ester
hazey's writing which they would pro-
duce in court next week as a coup de
theatre. The correspondent Of the Asso-
ciated Press inquired as to this IN
competent Dreyfusard quarters this at
ternOOn. He was assured that the
statement was erroneous, but was also
told that the defence intended IN the
event OIL captain DIeyIuS UcIIS lCCOii-
demned, to ask the German government
to communicate these documents prov
ing his innocence, and that they had
reason to believe that such a request
would be granted.
Following are the proceedings in de-
tail:
HTO REFRESH GRIBELIN'S MEM
= DRY.
1t the opening of the session today
considerable was caused by
the request of M. Gribelin, the prin-
.cipal archivist of the headquarters
staff. for permission to absent himself
for tWenty-fOur hours, owing to a sum-
mons of the minister of war, General
MARQUIS de Gallifet, who desired to see
him in Paris.
# was suggested that the minister
of war wished to refresh NJ. Gribein's
meory, which has been so strongly
anti-Dreyfus.
DE CLANS CERTIFICATE OF ILL
NESS.
Then followed the reading of a med
icaI certificate, signed by two doctors
whose names were not familiar to the
audience, setting forth that Colonel du
Patty de Clam is too i'll to leave his beo
and appear at Rennes, at which the
audience was not surprised.
Madame du Patty de Clam also vAote
the SONC1 IALlCIl SOlIIlllASSo-S -
written, supplementary deposition from
her husband
M. Labor, after securing the names
of the doctors, who signed the certlh-
cate, asked the court to appoint two
we'll known physicians to report Off
cially on du Patty de CLAIMS condition
Colonel Jouaust, however, declared II
was useless to do so. as the condition OF
the invalid was we'll known.
Rowland Strong, correspondent OF
The New York Times. and a member
of the staff Of The Observer. of Lon
don, was the first witness called. H
4 described at length interviews which
A.he had with Esterhazey, saying The
observer offered Esterhazey $500 fol
certain documents and a confession
ina he wrote the bordereau as pub
ished April 25th.
- Replying to the court, Mr.. Strong
said that Esterhazey, while admitting
the authorship of the bordereau' sale