The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1906-07-13

htufIdl hDuHt over the fiNt. hulNtt
who was the challenger. fired first and
missed. Picquart fired In the air.
The Dreyfus infamy died hard. For
twelve years this amazing opera bouffe.
composed OF political Intrigue. chilean
cry. ridiculous mystery and a sham
show Of patriotism. periodically for
twelve years has thrown all France
into state OF hysterla. and because
there is no passion more deeply i'm
planted In human nature than the love
Of justice and because II was believed
that Dreyfus was deeply wronged
man his conviction and Incarceration
for five years on Devils isle awakened
q storm Of feeling all over Europe and
America.
The Dreyfus case was far reaching
in its effect upon French affairs. 1t
divided and wrecked the Busson min
istry. caused a crisis In the Meline min
lstry In 1898 and caused the Dupuy
cabinet TO resign ia 1899 1t exposed
state OF gross corruption IN the
French army. II caused apprehehsions
OF war with Italy and Germany. A
dozen suicides resulted from the scan
dal Dreyfus' attorney. Labor. was
shot In the back. or his accusers and
prosecutors, Esterhszy, confessed for
ger and blackleg, became fugitive
from Justice; Colonel Henry, conspir-
ator. forger and traitor, committed sui
eide in prison, and Colonel Du Patty du
Clam and General MERCER displayed
records equally dark.
At one time the German emperor
was brought prominently into the case
and made Il statement IN regard to il to
the French government.
Alfred Dreyfus. the central figure in
one Of the most drama tic cases OF mod
ern political history, was born In AL
SAGE Of Jewish parentage In 1859 He
entered the Ecole Polytechnique In
1878, and he was appointed captain Of
the Twenty first regiment of artillery
in 1889. Graduating from the STAFF
officers college the next year among
the leading ten Of his class, he was APP
pointed to the general staff. where he
served until arrested on Oct 10, 1894
The famous bordereau. which was
the basis Of the entire Dreyfus case
consisted of fragments of a document
said TO have been found In the over
coat pocket of the German military at
tache in Paris, Colonel Schwartzkop-
pen. In October, 1894 When fitted to
gether they constituted II report touch
ing some minor war and tactical plans.
obviously written by French spy
owing TO similarity between the
handwriting on the single page of the
bOrdereau and that of Captain Drey-
fus, and to the fact that he was the
only jew on the general staff, he was
suspected of being the spy. He was
secretly arrested Hatred of Hebrews
was so strong in the army that the
himsiest appartion of evidence against
him was accepted. His trial by court
martial was conducted behind closed
doors. and verdict of guilty was rem
dered on the strength. not of the Dor
dereau, but of dOssier, which. in VIC
lation of law was submitted by Gen
eral MERCER and kept secret even from
Dreyfus' counsel. The chief document
of this dosSier was afterward proved
to be forged by Colonel Henry. The
officers who sat in judgment on Drey-
fus. paralyzed by the fear of giving
the lie to their superior officers and
not understanding the illegalty of the
of the dossier, yielded to
the pressure from high sources and
condemned Dreyfus to life imprison-
ment i'm a fortress.
At Paris Dreyfus in full uniform
was marched into square of 5000
troops and degraded before his com
rades by having his sword broken and
mis- facing cut away. At this Dreyfus
shouted in a loud voice:
give Ia France! You have degraded
an innocent man. swear | am limo
cent"
He would have spoken further but
roll of drums overwhelmed his voice,
while the populace without the square
screamed, death to the traitor.'
A few weeks later Dreyfus was TAX
en- to Devils isle, formerly n leper col
ony, off the coast Of French Guiana.
In the living tomb of Devils island
Dreyfus was kept in ignorance Of the
incessant labors of his wife and friends
in his behalf Under the eye of six
armed soldiers, who met his every
question with silence, confined to a
small section of hot, sickly and bar
rem rock In the tropics. he watched five