The Portland daily press., 1899-05-30
Decision as to Retrial to be Given
Friday.
Prisoners Protestation
of Innocence.
His Conversation With Col.
Henry Quoted.

I Paris, May &c. The court of cessation
met today to hear the debates In the sp-
plication for revision Of the. .Dreyfus
case.
The procedure will consist of the read.
Ing of the report of the president Of the
civil secuion OF the court, NJ. Ballot de
Beaupre. speech by Maitre Morard.
counsel for Mime. Dreyfus, and an address
upon the part of the public prosecutor.
NJ. Manau, after which the court will re.
| tire to deliberate upon verdict, which,
| it is expected will be rendered on Friday
or Saturday.
| The doors of the palace Of justice were
opened at IL O'Clock. Persons connected
with the case, newspaper men and others
began to arrive half an hour previously.
There was much animation In the Hobbies
| of the palace, but the crowds in the vi
cinity were not numerous. Extensive
precautions were taken to preserve order
inside and outside the building. The
colonel commanding the usual guard at
the palace has special reinforoements sent
| by the military governor of Paris, Gen.
Zurlinden, under his command, aud con-
siderable forces of military and mounted
police have been assembled at the bar
racks in the vicinity of the court.
Spectators about the palace were SELL
ing seats at points of vantage from 10 to
| 20 francs each, but the business done was
not as good as during the Zola trial, when
they easily obtained 40 francs for seats.
The court room was filled with Paris
| ian celebrities, the greater part of the
hall having been reserved for tickethold-
ers. .
/ were among those present and absolute
| tranquility prevailed. There We're about
| 20 ladies among the audiences filling the
galleries.
The proceedings commenced at noon,
amidst profound silence, the president
of the civil section of the court reading
| his report on the case. After recalling
| the conditions under which the prosecu
| tion of Dreyfus was instituted in 1894, he
dealt with the contradictory evidence OF
| the experts in handwriting and men
toned the protest of innocence by Drey-
| fus to Lieut.. Col. Henry. "This odious
accusation is the death of my life did
not come within his competence. NJ.
| Ballot de Beaupre then read a number
of eulogies on Dreyfus where the latter
was a military school probationer on the
general staff, his information by Lieut..
|
persisted in denying having had relations
with any foreign embassy and his state
| ment that he bad not given any
documents to any agent relating the de-
| fense of the country.
The reporter afterwards described the
scene in Du Patty DeClam's office in the
presence of the chief of detectives, NJ.
Gochfert, and sketched the history of the
| Dreyfus family. According to Du Patty
| De Clam, Dreyfus, when he saw the re-
sem bance to his handwriting, exclaimed:
"1hey have stolen my handwriting.
1t was ais pointed out that Dreyfus,
when the report of Ormes-Chevilles was
presented at the court martial, protested
he had never seen the 120 short gun used
and that he did not know before July OF
the disposition of the frontier forces. The
prisoner also said he had not had a copy
of the firing manual, knew nothing of
the documents respecting Madagascar and
said to the reporter of the court martial:
II have now been more than six weeks
| in confinement. / swear / am innocent.
The son of an Alsatian Pro testant, l
| abandoned everything to serve France,
soldiers on the battlefield. The martyr
dom l suffer Is atrocious.
NJ. Ballot De Beudpre then dealt with
the Ormes. q hevillas report OF Dreyfus's
relations with married women
The report said the first suspicious OF
| y
was struck with the similarity of the
word "artillery" in the bordereau and
in document written by Dreyfus.
| Continuing, the report dealt with Lieut..
Col. Henry's act of his conversation with
Dreyfus when the latter WAS transferred
to the Chermiche Medi prison. Dreyfus
said: sit Is terrible. l am accused of
frightful thing"
Henry then asked what he was accused
of, and Dreyfus replied: II am accused
of the crime of high treason"
"The devil'' answered Henry. "But
| on what groundF
II don't know" said Drsyfus. "I am
nearly mad. would prefer to receive
bullet in the head. l am not guilty.
| This accusation Is the death of my life."
| To this, Henry said: "Jf you are not
guilty you must not lose your head. An
you familyr'
"Yss," replied the prisoner. "A wife
and children. 1 am we'll of and l must
have justice done me-"
"That does not come within my compe-
tence," was Hsurys next remark, "but
Justice will certainly be done you; Do
you know what you are accused or
"Yes. 1 am accused of giving doou-
ments to foreign power"
what documentsy'
"I don't know. Dupaty de Clam only
spoke of secret and confidential docu-
| iucHts, Wiuhout lurbucr cAPieii"ooA'
replied that during my probation at the
general staff office many documents
passed through my hands but that COM
municated them to nobody"
| The Ormes- -Chevilles report concluded
with saying that Dreyfus. having sly
and very obssquious character he WAS
adapted for espionage.
M. Ballot de Beaupre then reviewed the
judicial history of the case and said 1t
| now rested with the court to pronounce
iudgment. Ha upheld the statement that