Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1899-08-19
AGAINST DREyFUS
Gems. Gonse and Dois-
defIe Testify sttiiIij Today
DENY P|cQvART's EVIDENCE
Maj. Cuignet Declares Schnei-
der Letter is Genuine.
SAYS TEE DENIAL WAS FORCED
Cites Other Information Obtained
bv Same Officer.
SAYS TIE DENIAL Was FORCED
y DAY OF NAL s

RENNES. August 1a-No special incident
| oec ured this morning when the second trial
by court-mardaI of Cartdin Alfred Dreyfus
of the 1Ith Ar,llery. charged with treason,
was resumed at the Iycee.
The first witness called today was Major
Cuienet. formerly attached to the ministry
of war.
The witness, who declared he was con-
yinced nj the prisoners guilt. was eross-ex-
aminei by Il. }'emauSe. OF counsel for the
defense, who succeeded in pointing ous that
several of his statements coutradicted his
previous dispositions.
The president Of the court, Col Jouaust.
asked Dreyfus ii he had anything to say,
wllereupon the prisoner rose and again We
hemantly protested against the denuncia-
tions leyeIed against him, an innocent man.
General de Boisdeffre was the next wit
ness called.
Following is the evidence in detail:
Major Cuignet. The first witness called,
was Tot in uniform, as he is not al present
attached to any corps.
Before beginning an account of the spe-
| cial Investigations int, the case which
was ordered to make by ministers of war,
OHl ~ C'iN az nae 10 NJ. uS L GIt-N1lneI,
said The witness, Il wish to mention per-
sonal fact, which. in conjunction with the
evidence already heard. will constitute
fresh proof OF the prisoners indiscreet be-
havior when employed on the headquarters
staff. l was on the staff when Dreyfus was
n probationer. during the latter half of
1898. Among other duties. l WAS connected
with the railroad service and the mining of
railroads, with the view of interrupting
traffic, in case of need. 1t is hardly neces-
sary to point out the secret character of
such matters. Dreyfus was prcbationer
on the eastern railroads and had been or
dered to specially study the mining on
Them, and possessed information relating
solely to them.
Wanted the whole Scheme.
"One day Dreyfus asked me to give him
the general scheme of mining. which [ pos
sessed, giving as a reason for his request
that he was anxious to increase his knowl-
edge, and that it was necessary for him to
Znow the general scheme in order to prop
erly carry out the work intrusted to him.
I replied that 1 did not see the necessity
# giving him the scheme. and that in any
case, he had better apply to his own chief,
Major Bertin. Dreyfus pretended Bertin
would not i1npart any information. Day
after day he pestered nle, so that finally,
having no reason to distrust him, l began
giving him explanations. Dreyfus displayed
the keenest interest and took copious notes.
When, later, his house was searched these
notes We're not discoVerab Bile l do not know
what became of them But it is difficult to
believe they were destroyed, considering
The Importance he seemed to attach to tha
information and the persistence shown in
procuring it.
After launching the above declaration,
which he apparently considered to be
weighty evidence of the treachery of Drey-
fus Major Cuignet proceeded to recount
in detail the task which General Gonse as.
signed to him in May, 1898, of classifying
the documents in the Dreyfus, Esterhazy
and Picquart cases.
"The first question I will ask here is
said the witness, is Dreyfus guilty? My
conviction of his guilt is based three
grounds:
First. His confessions to Captain Le-
brun- -Renault.
Second. The technical nature of the
contents of the bordereau.
Third. The results of the examination
of the secret dossier.
II will add to these three points the
evidence of the expert Bertillon 0aughter)
as in direct proof, the means employed by
the Dreyfus family to secure the prisoners
rehabilitation.
81 protest that a campaign has been I'M
dertaken against justice, truth and our
country
The majors outburst of heroics evoked
cynical smiles and indications of dissent.
coupled with marks of assent from the as
sembled generals.
Discusses the DOssier.
The witness next spoke of the secret
dossier of the war. ministry, containing in
formation relating to the interview between
M. Trarieux, former minister of iustice
and Count Ternielli the Italian amhassa-
dor, which country said Cuignet. s.bene-
flied by the treachery''
Regarding the confessions said TO have
been made to Captain Lebrun-Renault who
said he still believed they were authenti-
Gated. the witness added:
If people do not believe the confessions
to Captain Lebrun- Renault they will be-
lieye no human testimony"
Continuing, the witness reasserted that
the bordereau was written by Dreyfus at
the end of August and. incidentally the
major protested against Colonel Picquart's
against Patty de Clam. He
then returned to the secret dossier of the
war Office, from which, he declared, the
court was sure to draw important deduc-
tons.