The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1908-06-05
'DRFYFUS
! IS SHOT At
zO[A'SB BIER
Attempted Assassination in the
Pantheon Before Brilliant
Assembly
Devils Island" Hero Wounded
by Bullets, but Escapes
With Life
Shooting Ends Ceremonies at
CanOnization of Author
of ''TAccuse"
Wouldbe Slayer Says Crime Is
Army Protest Against
''Dreyfusism" i

PARIS, June AUST at the
close of the ceremonies attend
ing the canonization of Emil
Zola in the Pantheon today,
when the president of France,
the premier and host of minis
tiers of state were taking their
departure, Louis Anthene Gre
gori, a military writer of note,
drew a revolver and fired two
shots point blank at Major Alfred
Dreyfus. for whose liberty Zola fought
and won. Dreyfus escaped with
slight wound.
Men distinguished in all walks of
life filled the Pantheon, and when the
shots rang out there was intense ex-
citement for fear that the president
had been assassinated.
The affair has created q tremendous
sensation in Paris. and the motive OF
the wouldbe assassin is the cause OF
much mystifcatiOn, for Gregorf. in
stead OF Being an ordinary fanatic.
such as is carried away by the political
passions of the moment. is a man OF
mature age. having been born in 1874.
and was highly esteemed in the circles
where he was known. He was one OF
the correspondents who followed the
big French and German maneuvers, OBJ
tanning data for technical papers.
Some do not hesitate to express
the opinion that he may have been
the tool of little clan OF royalists,
who, under the name of L'Action Fran
caise, have never ceased to insist that
the court of cessation illegally pre-
vented an appeal OF the Dreyfus case.
nor abandoned hope of seeing a re-
vision favorable to the contentious
of the nationalists.
Other stories are afoat to the effect
that there was an actual plot of roy
alist Catholic students to dump the
hearse containing Z0las body into the
Seine last night, but that it was dis
covered and frustrated
NOT SERIOUSLY INJURED
Major Dreyfus was not seriously in
jured. A bullet entered his forearm, but
did not injure the bone At a late hour
night the official statement was made
that his condition was favorable and
that no complications were feared.
Gregori fired the first shot from be-
hind Dreyfus, the ball penetrating the
sleeve of his coat and burying itself in
a flower pot at the base of the cata-
sound OF the detonation he threw I'D his
left arm over his heart The second
shot was fred point blank at his breast.
the bullet entering the wrist and rang
ing upward
Gregori made a statement to the po-
lice directly after his arrest, and during
a second Interrogation tonight he said-
II did not wish to kill Dreyfus. 1t
is true I aimed at him, but I only
wanted to Craze him. My object was to
protest against the participation OF tho
army in the glorifcation of Zola and
the rehabilitation of Dreyfus. My blow
was aimed less at Dreyfus than at
Dreyfusism."
During the day the police made sew
eral hundred arrests. but no-serfous i'm
portance is attached to these, for the
prisoners are mostly students and row.
dies who took part in numerous street
brawls.
Emil zoIa, who died in September,
1902, was 10 years ago condemned to a
years imprisonment for addressing to
Felix Faure then president of France
the famous letter ~JAccuse," in which
he laid bare the conspiracy in the gen.
eral army star against Major Dreyfus.
Today his dust was Inferred with na-
tional honors in the Pantheon. the
French temple of fame. with impressive
ceremonies.
AROUSED OPPOSITION
The proposal to give Zola glorious
burial made first in 1906. aroused In
France all the dormant animosities that
came out during Dreyfus' trials. and the
transfer of his ashes, although duly
voted by the chamber and the senate.
had to be twice postponed because OF
the state of public opinion. Disorders
and rioting were expected today and
the authorities found 1t expedient to
take measures for the preservation OF
peace.
The opposition to removing the re-
mains OF ZoIa to the Pantheon arises
from the fact that he is thus honored
because Of his famous letter. not be-
cause of his literary fame. He was
the first successful leader in the Drey-
fus war; he vanquished the general
staff of the army. and to give him glo-
rious burial in the national Pantheon
at the side OF Berthelot and President
Carnot Victor Hugo. Voltafre and
Rousseau to an accompaniment OF mar
tiaf music while long lines OF soldiers
fled before his tomb, aroused the pas
sions OF a large number Of the French
people
The program for the ceremonies was
carefully arranged to avoid any or
ganized street manifestations. There
was no public lying IN state under the
Arc de Triomphe, as in the casa oc