Los Angeles herald., 1906-07-09

After fight Of nearly seven years for
recognition of his right to a new trial
and fair trial, and at the end Of an
inquiry ordered by the supreme court
Of France which has extended over
twenty-seven months, it now seems
likely that the innocence Of Capt Al
fred Dreyfus falsely accused of high
treason thirteen years ago, will be
published to the world in official man
ner and his name returned to the list of
officers OF the army.
When the charwoman employed to do
the necessary housework al the German
embassy in Paris was about to light
the fire In the office of Count Munster
one morning late in September, 1894,
she found beside the CRATE sheet Of
letter paper torn into four pieces. It
was letter paper n ore or less distinc-
tive, being ruled i'm the small check pat
tern which is neither common nor un-
common in several European countries.
Price Of Charred Paper
Had she tossed the fragments be-
tween the bars and applied a match.
she had saved great nation much of
reproach and not It little disgrace. For
these four scraps Of paper. later pieCed
together constituted the famous Dor
dereau' of what afterward came to
he Known as Paffaire Dreyfus.
But French charwomen employed to
do housework i'm the diplomatic head
quarters of the traditional enemy Of
France are not supposed to throw away
or to burn documents which smell nf
mystery and suggest treason. Moe
over, to do so, is to lose much good
money. And so, having lighted her
fires, this particular charwoman lost
no time, but hurried with her find to the
intelligence department of the French
war office.
There, certain Col Henri. who had
recently been placed in command of
this secret service bureau, and who was
destined to become known in every cor
ner of the world for his activity in be-
half of the great injustice of the CEN
tury, patched the pieces together Many
hundreds of thousands of people have
heard Of the Dreyfus "bordereau," but
comparatively few know actually what
was disclosed when this patchwork was
completed. Here, then, was the re-
suit
sir,
although you have not asked to
see me, send you some interesting in
telligence
"QD A note on the hydraulic brake
No. 120 and how it is worked.
"(2) A note ON covering troops-sev-
forward in the new plan.
"(3) A note on a modification in the
formation of artillery.
'I4) note referring to Madaga scar.
90 ManueTs project for field ar
tillery gun practice-March IA. 1894.
This last document is extremely diff
ficult to procure, and l have only a few
days at my disposal. The minister for
war has sent particular number Of
- I'D ,.A
responsible for them. Every officer
possessing one must return it after the
maneuvers. If you like to take out of
this what interests you, and give it back
to me afterward, l will replace it; pro-
vided that you do not require me to
copy it in extenso and to send you a
copy.
II am just starting for the maneu-
vers"
Naturally. there was excitement in
the intelligence department. 1t is not
known definitely who first suggested
that the handwriting was similar to
that of a certain captain of artillery,
but it is now generally believed that
it was Henri himself But whoever it
may have been. there cannot be the
slightest doubt that the suggestion was
accepted with alacrity, and, proceed
ing on the assumption that the accused
is guilty until he can prove his lnno-
cence. the prosecutors rapidly built up
a case against this officer.
Dreyfus Was Unpopular
For Alfred Dreyfus was not popular
among his fellow officers. In the first
place he was a Jew and in the second
place he had more money than most
of the other members of his mess. But
these were not the only reasons. He
was cever-and he knew it. Appar-
emily, this knowledge bred supercilious-
ness and something of arrogance in his
manner toward his fellow officers.
On Saturday, October 13, 1894, he was
dining with his wife and two children,
when he received an official communi-
cation ordering him to report at 8
O'Clock on the following Monday morn-
ing for general inspection. 1t was .eX-
pressly specified that he should appear