The Yale expositor., 1906-07-20
INDICATION OF CAPT. DREYFUS|


Of treason has been practically as
cured, and it is said he will be given
the ribbon of the Legion of Honor.
Prosecutor General Baudouin. in
concluding his address to the SUI
preme court, formally asked the
court to quash the verdict OF the
Rennes court-martial without re-
trial.
1.-THE peace OF the country" the
prosecutor said, demands it, and the
whole world awaits the courts sum-
mary disposition of the subject, which
will be a triumph for justice and
truth"
With the government prosecutor
asking the court to quash the Rennes
verdict without retriai, the supreme
courts decision goes without say
ing.
Quashing the Rennes verdict leaves
Dreyfus an officer in the French army,
cleared of all dishonor. 1t entities
him to a command. He will be in the
line of promotion.
The French people years ago ceased
to look upon Dreyfus as a traitor.
Instead he long has been regarded as
martyr, and the judgment of the
court restoring him to the army will
be acclaimed as an act of national
restitution to a greatly wronged man.
Story of the Dreyfus Tragedy.
Alfred Dreyfus, Jew, was a cap
tain in the French army in 1893. He
was a modest, unassuming man, liv-
ing happily with his wife and chill
dren. Fate made him the victim OF
one of the greatest conspiracies de-
veloped in the history of modern Eu'
rope.
For some months before 1894 It was
known to the French government that
some French officer was traitorously
selling French military secrets to
the German staff. 1t was known that
Germany had bought the secret of the
French method of charging melirite
shells and also the secret that bat
teries of the new No. 120 guns had
been assigned to the Ninth army
corps.
1t may be stated right here that
It is now generally admitted that
the real traitor was one Commandant
Esterhazy, a blackguard, a gambler,
and a degenerate, who for some mys-
terious reason was shielded by every
one in the conspiracy. When he
could no longer be used Esterhazy
was driven from France. He went TO
London, where he lived and died in !
wretched poverty, after selling the
secret of his treachery TO a newspa'
per for few shillings.
No one outside of the conspirators !
knew that Esterhazy was the officer |
who was selling French military |
secrets to the German staff. The task !
of discovering the traitor was placed !
in the hands of the intelligence bu-
reau of the French general stan. IN
1893 the chief of the intelligence bu- |
reau was Col. Sandhurst. He set his
spies to work.
Discovery of the Treason.
It was not until September, 1894. |
that the spies of the secret intelli- |
gence department discovered in the !
waste paper basket of Lieut.. COL Won |
tary attache, fragments OF a paper |
which, when pieced together, formed |
a memorandum, of which this Is the |
translation:
"In the absence of any news indicat- |
ing your desire to see me, reverthe'
less send you, sir, certain informa.
ton of interest: () A note on the
hydraulic brake of 120 (method of
operating this piece); note on the |
outpost troops "a few notifications
will be made in the new plan); CD a |
note on modification in artillery for
nation; (4) a note relating to NADIA
gascar; go the scheme relative to
the manual of field firing of March |
IA, 1894. am just leaving for
the maneuvers."
The foregoing memorandum after
wards became known as the famous
"bordereau" which figured through.
out the entire Dreyfus case.
Choose Dreyfus for Victim.
Col. Sandherr, chief OF the secret |
intelligence bureau, was the first man
to directly accuse Dreyfus of writing
the bordereau He II was who first
suggested that the writing resembled
that of Dreyfus. He pointed out that
Dreyfus was a native of Alsace. and
that he spoke and wrote German as
fiuently as he did French. (The Dor
dereau was written in Germany
On October Is, 1894, Capt. Dreyfus
was called to the war Office. He was
ushered into a room where he found
Maj. Du Patty de Clam seated at a
table He was asked by the major to