The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1906-07-15

rival was asked to take a dictation from
Commandant du Patty de Clam observ-
! ing that his fingers trembled. Du Patty
de Clam asked him why. To this tho
captain replied that his hands were cold.
The eommandant at once interpreted this
as proof of the mans guilt and forth
with had him arrested. To Dreyfus' hor-
rified appeals for a reason for his arrest
the commandant said: You know well
enough Your emotion in writing the
letter which 1 dictated to you just now
Is sufficient proof. It is useless for you
to argue before such evidence Your
| treason Is discovered"
The story of the eourt-martial held be-
hind closed DOORS with Du Patty de Clam
and Colonel Henry as the chief witnesses
against him, has been written again and
again, and is familiar to newspaper read
ers. Following the verdict of the court.
Captain Dreyfus was taken to the quad
rangle of the Ecoe Militaire and there,
in the presence of the assembled troops,
| the symbols of his rank were torn from
his uniform, his saber broken. and then
to the strains of "The Rogues March he
was marched along the line of the men
he had commanded. subjected to the in
suits of those who had once respected
him, while to his piteous cry of 81 am
innocent" came the fierce howl of the
mob demanding his death.
After the shameful ceremony of degra-
dalton, Dreyfus was given into the hands
of gendarmes and disappeared from the
eli Of
place of his exile was Devils Island, at
the coast of French Guiana Here he was
kept under the strictest watch In Hide
hut divided into two parts by an iron
grating. This was surrounded by wood
en- palisade resting upon stone wall,
completely shutting out view of the
outside world. Here he was denied even
| sufficient air, and his exercise was re-
dueed to mere pacing to and fro in
his narrow quarters.
! But in France the movement which was
to result in the vindication of Dreyfus
was on foot. Little more than year
after the departure of the Captain Col
onel Picquart, who in the interval be-
came head of the intelligence department.
/ iSSSAf W Oii a spy d AoIH telegram caro-,
known as petit bleu, addressed to Es-
terhazy It's contents and writing con
WINGED Picquart that Esterhazy was the
| author of the bordereau. When he
! brought the matter to the attention of
his chiefs he was told that the utmost .
prudence was necessary, and that il moth
ing were said no one would be any the
wiser Pcquart. being a man of con-
science, refused to be silenced, and it be-
came necessary to still further tangle
the web of receit, prejury and forgery
! which had been woven to hold an inno-
cent man.
| Colonel Picquart was sent on a mission
to Tripoli Colonel Henry succeeded him
in the intelligence department and at
once accused him of having forged the
petit bleu himself in order to implicate
Esterhazy, who was tried and acquitted
| by a packed court-martial. Colonel Pic
quart was arrested and prosecuted. He
was imprisoned at Cherche MILL where
Dreyfus had been before him, and
| deprived of his commission in the army
His enemies had apparently conquered
! but he had aroused in the minds OF men
the belief that there had been miscar-
riage of justice in the case of Captain
| Dreyfus.
| Despite the fact that the conspiracy on
the part of the guilty was far-reaching
and powerful the public belief that a
| great wrong had been done grew and
strength, and Zolas famous letter of ac-
cusation Jaccuse) added to the senti-
! Tha Of he
was shown in the trials of lola, follow
ing the publication of this letter. for he
was convicted of SANDER, and to escape
a sentence of imprisonment was foreod
!, to flee to England.
With Picquart disgraced and lola ex-
lied, things looked dark indeed for the
| Dreyfus cause. Then came the turn. The
| whole French nation was aroused. Tho
| individual victim had become minor
consideration. The honor of France was
at stake. The continuance of the re-
public was threatened. Ministries were
endangered and one fell The courts dis
cussed the case. The chambers debated
| it. Dreyfus was a political and a ma
tional issue.
Seven months after lola was convicted
| Colonel Henry. forced to the wall. con-
| fessed his forgerles of anti-Dreyfus evil
| dence, and the next day, after a visit from
prominent generals, was found in his
cell. dead, 1t is believed, by their orders.
A week later Esterhazy fled from France.
| These two were the men who, having sold
their country, tried to fix their crime on
the innocent captain of artillery. The
| bordereau which the whole case
| turned was written by Esterhazy from in
formation supplied by Henry. When dis
covered they naturally, in self-defense.
| selected as scapegoat the man who, be-
| cause of his race, would be most easily
| convicted.
| Henry's confession and Esterhazys
| flight were followed by recommendation.
| for a new trial, and Dreyfus was re-
| turned to France.
| Again he was found guilty and SEN
| fenced The sentence was not carried
| out however, the president interposlrg
| a pardon. Dreyfus retired to his couii-
| try estate. and for the past six years hls
been untiring in his efforts to clear his
| name and fame. At last his effort has
1 met with success.
4
THE CRUISE OF SECRETARY ROOT
BY McLandburgh Wilson in the New Yorf
Times.