New-York tribune., 1901-05-04
CAPTAIN DREYFUS.
HIS sUFFERINGs DESCRIBED BY HIM
SELF

FIVE; YEARS OF MY LIFE. ls94ls99. BY Alfred
oreyfus, ex-Captain of Artillery in the French
Army. Octave, pD. xiv. 3d. Mcclure Philhps
The world has been asked 10 regard the Drey-
fus incident as closed. To the world Captain
Dreyfus addresses these words. in glancing at
the court martial at Rennes:
In spite Of the plainest evidence. against all
Justice and all equity. I was condemned Ana
the verdict was announced with extenuatnG
circumstances" Since when have there been
eNtenuating circumstances for the crime or urea
son? Two votes however were given for me.
Two consciences were able to rise above part
spirl: .Ieave the higher ideal ana regaIo "a
only mans inalienable right TO justice AS u
the sentence which five judges dared 10 piO
nounce, do not accept It,
Possibly the publication Of this book. in which
the victim OF "a judicial error" once more pro-
tests his innocence and traverses the suherihss
he endured from the time OF his arrest In 1881
20 his liberation in 1899 may reopen the closed
incident and lead 10 the complete rehaoilitauoh
for which he pleads. If II does So however Il
win not he through the force Of detailed argu-
ment; Of that Captain Dreyfus gives US very ilt-
tie. The book viii be potent, if at all, simply
as a human document, poignant story OF
grinding misery, as a pathetic but manly appeal
,o the sympathy of the nations. There is COM
rlaint in it. of course, but it does not take the
form OF angry recrimination. With great self
restraint and dignity the author states his case,
exhibits his experiences as prisoner, and tacit-
iy leaves the appalling picture that he draws 10
sink into the public mind and do its work. The
book IS in part a narrative, but consists chiefly
of the authors diary, written while in confine-
inent on Devils Island, and Of letters that passed
between him and his wife. There is also a note
several pages long by Commandant FOrzinett'
the excellent custodian of Dreyfus in the
lat
sent when first arrested. 1t includes the follow
ing statement
During the years that have spent as the head
Of various military prisons L have acquired
great experience OF prisoners and do not fear
20 say, and to say deliberately. that terrible
mistake has been made. I have never regarded
Captain Dreyfus a traitor to his country and
uniform.
The commandant affirmed his opinion in the
presence OF high officials and political person
ages and states that the government was we'll
aware OF his views. But that those views
made no difference TO any one is easily under
stood when we read this passage in his note:
Between the 18th and oath of October. Major
du Patty de Clam who had arrested Dreyfus at
the War Office came twice with a special
thorization from the Minister examine him.
Before seeing Dreyfus he asked me If he could
not enter his cell softly. carrying a lamp pow
erful enough TO throw blaze OF light on the
face of the prisoner. whom he wished to surprise
and embarrass. i said this was impossible.
But. in the long run, pretty nearly anything
proved possible for the authorities. When Drey-
fus was hurried off to the lie de Re prison after
his public degradation. his guards used him with
brutality giving him no time 10 pick up
his eyeglasses When the prisoner saw his wife
for the last time before his departure for Devils
Island neither of the two informed Of the
change impending; and when Nine. Dreyfus
asked the jailers 10 tie her hands behind her
back and allow her to approach her husband
and kiss him, she roughly refused But on
his sea girt rock Captain Dreyfuss worst Ills
began. He lived In conditions extremely and
unnecessarily painful, and with everything done
that possibly could be done 20 break him down
Raw coffee was given TO him. and. no means TO
cook 1t provided. For grill on which TO broi
the small ration of meat allowed him, he had to
be content with an old piece OF sheet iron picked
up on the island. Obliged TO prepare his food in
old tin cans and eat it Off paper bits of scrap
iron, he swallowed dirt and rust thus ag
gravating the physical troubles superinduced by
his close quarters and the pitiless heat. In
passage Of the diary read: 1T is enough for
me TO ask from the chief guard anything of
common necessity, no matter how Insignificant,
10 have my request abruptly and instantly
fused" Correspondence with his wife supplied
the sole ray OF comfort in his captivity, but
. Nine. Dreyfus forbidden 10 mention In her
N letters her husbands case, events relating TO
II, even such matters Of public discus
sion" The last touch is put TO the tragedy by
the incredible precautions taken by the govern
ment lest Dreyfus might hold communication
with the outside world and escape Through
two months and half, while a solid palisade
was being built around his hut he was kept
rigdly in the latter his feet being ironed 10 his
bed at night. Permission to buy a few carpen-
ter's tools. so that he might divert his mind
use them as means Of escape. Il fail TO see
myself" he grimly observes, escaping on a
carpenters plane from an island where 1 am
kept under scrutiny night and day"
But we need not multiply examples The
whole dreary business recalls the worst phases
OF the Middle Ages. rather than the closing
years Of the nineteenth century. And still Drey-
fus is not bitter! At all events his book gives
no sign OF such result of his sufferings In
the worst agonies of mental strain he preserves
his faith in justice and steels his will 10 endure
all that he may ultimately triumph Even on
his way 20 the lie de Re, when the mob is per
mitied TO fling its scOrn in his face he confines
himself to remarking: How heavy must the re-
sponsibility weigh those others who in tor
turing an individual are also abusing the conf
oenee OF an entire nation," His devotion 10
France remains unshaken. That is one of the.
most touching elements in this simple sincere
memorial OF frightful ordeal