1 THE DREVFUS AFFAIR 1 I , « T _ | / History of the Sensational Case Told Succinctly xf )) and in Chronological Order. nZ v The Bordereau, the Secret Dossier and '/ji u. * the Conspiracy. -wj. HLFRED DREYFUS, captain in the Fourteenth regiment of artil lery in the French army, was at tached to the second bureau of the general staff, where future plans of mobilization and other military meas ures of great importance are discussed, prepared and drawn up. For some time a constant "leakage" of these confiden tial documents had been noticed, de tectives had been employed and Drey fus was under suspicion. On October 1, 18U4, he was suddenly detached from the war office and appointed to service in the Thirty-ninth regiment at the Ecole Militairc. On October 14 he re ceived at his luxurious home near the Troeadero a summons to attend at the ministry of war. and he went there the next morning. He was received by Maj. <lu Paly de Clam, who said that he was very busy and asked the captain to help him by taking down a letter that lie would dictate. There were other persons in the room whowerestrnn«yers to Dreyfus, and—a circumstance that only struck him afterward—an ar rangement of mirrors by which his CAPTAIN ALFRED DREYFUS. (From a Photograph Taken Before His Deportation and Suppressed by *he French Government.) cvery movement and expression could be seen by everybody present. Du Paty then dictated to him the memorandum which afterward became famous as the bordereau. At one point Du Paty sud denly asked Dreyfus what was the matter, and asserted that his hand shook. Dreyfus replied that his hands were cold. Then lie was left alone in the room and found a loaded revolver lying among some papers ou the table beside him. Half an hour later M. Cocliefert, head of the detective police, accompanied by Commander Henry, of the second bureau, entered, and Drey fus was placed under arrest on the charge of high treason and taken to the Cherche-Midi prison, nil the time protesting his innocence. The order committing him was dated October 14. the day before he was arrested or ex amined. On October 2* a hint of the arrest was conveyed to one of the Paris newspa pers and the next day an ambiguous (Present French Minister of War Who Insisted Upon a Revision of the Dreyfus Case.) note appeared in that journal asking if it were true that an important military arrest had recently taken place. This set everybody talking, for in France anything concerning the army is con sidered of paramount importance. Wild stories were afloat, and the excite ment reached fever heat when the news was confirmed on November 1, by the appearance of a brief official communi cation in all the papers. Dreyfus was kept in close confinement until Decem ber 0, when his counsel, M. Demange, was allowed to see him. On December 10 Dreyfus was arraigned before the court-martial, which was held in the Conseilde Guerre building, opposite the Cherelic-Midi prison. Great crowds gathered to sev him cross the street and shot:?"'!: "Death to the traitor!" The trial was secret and lasted until December 22, when the court found the prisoner guilty and sentenced him to transportation for life, after being sub jected to military degradation. On the morning of January 4 the condemned man was ordered to put on a captain's uniform that had been spe cially prepared by having the lace on the cap, the red seams of the trousers, and the buttons and trimmings on the tunic taken off and then stitched on again loosely enough to stay in place, but so loosely that they could easily be torn off. The sword that he was made to buckle on had been filed on each side about half way down the blade. He was then searched, handcuffed, placed in a prison van. and taken by a military es cort to the Ecole Militairc, where he was marched between guards into the cen ter of a hollow square of troops in the large courtyard of the school, lie had already twice asserted his innocence to Capt. Lebrun-Renaud, who commanded his guard. The morning was misty and rainy, and the courtyard was a muddy waste, round which loomed the build ings with windows filled with faces, while a vast crowd that surged and pushed in tlie avenues without uttered loud anil menacing eries against the priso&»r». At exactly nine o'clock the drums rolled, the troops presented arms, and the regimental band played a melancholy tune. The sentence was read, Dreyfus standing iirmly with head erect, his left lnwid resting on the pommel of his sword, and his eyes look ing squarely in the eyes of Gen. Darras, who commanded the troops. Then a gigantic sergeant tore the triple band from the captain's cap, the buttons from his coat, the gold lace from the collar and sleeves, and the red stripes from his trousers. As the sergeant flung them on the ground Dreyfus threw up his arms and cried in a voice heard far beyond the limits of the court yard: "You are degrading an innocent man. Long live France!" \ roar of execration answered him: "Death to the traitor!" and the big sergeant roughly tore the sword belt from him, wrenched the sword from its scabbard, broke it across his knee, flung the fragments on the ground and stamped upon them. Then, amid howls from the mob without, the degraded officer, a grotesque and lamentable figure in his defaced uniform, was marched round the hollow square, protesting his innocence and crying: "Long live France!" while the drums rolled in or der to drown his voice. Finally, after being photographed and measured as a criminal, lie was driven in the prison van to La Sante prison, and thence taken, on January 10. to La Uochelle, where he was embarked for the neigh boring lie de lie, on which is the prison wherein convicts sentenced to trans portation await their embarkation. Mobs all along the route sought to at tack him, and the guard of gendarmes had to slrnggle hard to keep their pris oner from being murdered. lie was eventually taken to the Ilcdu Diableofl* the coast of French Guiana. The chronology of this famous ease follows: OCTOBKR, ISOt—Oen. Mercier, minister of war, gives i.rder after an Investigation conducted by Commandant du Paty de flam to arrest Capt. Alfred Dreyfus. This is done by Du Paty de Clam and M. Cochefort, chief of detective*. Oapt. Dreyfus Is lodged in the Cherehl-Midi prison by Lieut. Col. Henry, who deliver.; him to Commandant Porzinfttti. In charge of the prison. NOVHMHKR, ISO I—An Indictment >s found against ('apt. Dreyfus by the ofl'cers of the bureau of Information connected with the general staff. DECKMBER, ISM—The first council of war, assembled at Cherche-Mldl, unani mously condemns Capt. Dreyfus to de portation for life in an inclosed fort idea tion. JANUARY 4. 1895—Capt. Dreyfus is de graded by (Jen. Darras in the School of War. FEBRUARY, ISO.")—Dreyfus is taken *jy the steamer La Rochelle to the island de Re, thence to be embarked for Devil's island. MAY, 1896--Lieut. Col. Plcquari discovers the "petit bleu," successively attributed to Cols. Panlzzardl, military attache of CAMERON COUNTY PRESS, THURSDAY, AUGUST 31, 1899. the Italian embassy, and Sch warzkoppen, military attache of the German embassy, and addressed to Commandant Ester hazy. Lieut. Col. Picquart comes to the conclusion that Commundant Esterhazy Is guilty. SEPTEMBER, IS9G—The Eclair publishes the secret document: "Ce canaille de D-" OCTOBER, 189S—M. Barnard-Lazare pub lishes his first pamphlet tending to show innocence of Dreyfus. NOVEMBER. 1896—Publicat'of: of the copy of the bordereau in the Matin. M. Cas telln, representative from the L'Alsne district. Interpellates Gen. Billot, min ister of war, upon the publication of papers connected with the trial. MAY, 1897—First disputes between Lieut. Cols. Picquart and Henry. JUNE, 1897—Lieut. Col. Picquart take 3 counsel with Mme. Leblois. JULY, IS!I7 Mme. Leblois interests M. Scheurer-Kestner, vice president of the MAITRE LABORI. (Dreyfus' Attorney Recently Wounded by an Aciatiin.) senate. In the case of Dreyfus, who de clares on the 14th to his colleagues in the Luxemburg palace that he is "convinced of the innocence of Dreyfus." OCTOBER, 1897—M. dc Castro, banker, be lieves that he recognizes in the facsimile of the bordereau, once more published In the Matin, the handwriting of Com mandant' Esterhazy. M. Ranc, senator of the Seine district, carries to the lobby of the chamber of deputies the speech de livered by M. Scheurer-Kestner In the senate. He has, on the 30th, an inter view upon this subject with Gen. Billot, minister of war. NOVEMBER, 1897—Interview of M. Ma thleu Dreyfus, brother of the condemned, with M. Scheurer-Kestner. Beginning of the campaign of the Figaro in favor of a revision. M. Mathieu Dreyfus officially ac cuses Commandant Esterhazy with being the author of the bordereau; Esterhazy is turned over to a council of investigation. Commandant Forzinetti is dismissed be cause he stated to M. Henri liochefort that Dreyfus is innocent. Search of the home of Lieut. Col. Picquart in Yron- Vtllarceau street. Lieut. Col. Picquart is recalled from Tunis, where he had been sent on a mission, and is examined by Gen. Pellleux, commissioner of investi gation in the Esterhazy matter. DECEMBER. 1897—The Dreyfus border eau, examined in 1894 by the experts Go bert, Pelletier, Charavay and Crepiux- Janun, is turned over to the papers in the Esterhazy case and is submitted to a new examination by the experts Bel homme, Couard and Varlnard. Interpel lation In the chamber of deputies and in the senate; Gen. Billot declares that "Dreyfus has been justly and legally condemned." Letter of Emlle Zola to the young people of France. The docu ments of Lemercier-I'icard upon the "factory of forgeries" of a syndicate [documents themselves recognized as for geries in the trial*] are published in the Intransigeant. Call for a court-martial by Gen. Saussier to try Esterhazy. JANUARY, 1898—In consequence of a re port by Commandant Ravary, Command ant Esterhazy is acquitted by the court martial presided over by Gen. Luxer and leaves the Cherclie-Midi prison on the arm of his friend, Mile. Marguerite Pays. He receives an ovation in the street. Lieut. Col. Picquart lodges a complaint upon the subject of two Telegrams signed "Blanche" and "Speranza," addressed to him at Tunis and intended to compro mise him. On the 13th Aurore publishes Emile Zola's "I accuse" letter to the president of the republic. Lieut. Col. Picquart Is arrested. The chamber of deputies votes the order of the day upon the motion of M.de Mein, representative DREYFUS' PRISON ON DEVIL'S ISLAND. of the Morlalx district, accepted by M. Guerin, minister of justice, and demand ins that the Aurore be prosecuted. The 1«-tt«• r signed "Uhlan," produced by .Mine, de Boulancy, and work of Commandant Esterhazy, is delivered to M. Bertulus, examining magistrate. Beginning of pub lic meetings of the revisionists in the Tivoli-Vaux hall. The minister of war lodges complaint against M. Kmile Zola and against the Aurore. Messrs. Zola, author of"I accuse/' and Perreux, pub lisher of the Aurore, are summoned. M. Jaures address this question to M. Mellne, president of the cabinet: "Has or has not information been given to the court-mar tial of which the defendant knew noth ing?" M. Meline refuses to answer. FEBRUARY. 1898 Formation of the League of Human and Citizens' Rights. From the 7th to the 23d Aral tr:ai of Zola in the court of the Seine under the pres idency of Councilor Delegorgue. M. Labor! defends Emile Zola, M. Albert Clemenceau defends M. Perreux, and M George Clemenceau defends the Aurore. Zola is sentenced to one vear in prison and a tine of 3,000 francs: \I. Perreux to four months in prison and a tine of 3.W0 francs. Lieut. Col. Picquart :s placed on the retired list. MARCH. 1 Sf»S— Tl l e revision 1 sts provo ln e an incident in court during t: «» attempt of M. Jules Auffray, who prr.claims in favor of the Z< la Jury, to mpke himself heard. The incident has r.o con.se i ieiu es. Bui cide of Lemercier-Pica"d Duel netween Picquart and Henry. Km lie Zola and the Aurore appeal on rh«* ::*th against the sentence of February £3. APRIL, ISSB Annulment <>f tl*.G sentence against Messrs. Zola and Perreux because the minister of wa * n;ul not the court- martial made the complaint. This com plaint is made by the court-martial on the Bth. MAY, 189S—Second Zola trial before the court of Versailles under the presidency of M. Perivler. Tumultuous scenes re sult when the court 13 declared to l.a\e no jurisdiction. JUNE, 1898—Minister Mellne is relieved from office and M. Brisson appointed to form a new cabinet. JULY, IS9B—M. Cavaignac, minister of war, affirms in the chamber of deputies the guilt of Dreyfus. His speech is voted to be posted throughout France. Ex-Lieut. Col. Picquart is pfosecuted for having communicated papers of the ministry of war to Mme. Leblois. Commandant Ester hazy and Mile. Pays are arrested upon the charge of having manufactured the "Blanche" and "Speranza" telegrams. Third Zoia-Perroux trial before the court of the Seine and Olse district. Both are sentenced, as before, to imprisonment of one year and a line of 3,000 francs. The next day Zola disappears mysteriously. On the Kid his name is erased from the roll of the Legion of Honor. Suit of M. Picquart against Du Paty de Clam. The court of appeals sentences Messrs. Zola and Perreux to one month in prison and a tine of 3,000 francs for defamation cf the experts Belhomme, Couard and Varl nard. The defendants also have to pay 5,000 francs damages. On the 30th M. Bertulus, examining magistrate, renders a decision closing the prosecution in the Blanche and Speranza affair against Du Paty de Clam, Esterhazy and Mile. Mar guerite Pays. AUGUST, 1898—The chamber of deputies orders the prosecution of Lieut. Col. Du Paty de Clam to be dropped. On the 13th Esterhazy is s?t at liberty. On the 30th Lieut. Col. Henry admits to M. Cavaignac that he Is the author of the paper "Ce canaille de D—." He is arrested and im prisoned in the Mont-Valerion. On the next day he cuts his throat with a razor. Gen. Bolsdeffre, chief of staff, is dis missed. SEPTEMBER, 1898—Dismissal of M. Ca vaignac, minister of war. Gen. Renou ard succeeds Gen. Bolsdeffre. and Gen. Zurlinden succeeds M. Cavaignac. Un the sth Mme. Alfred Dreyfus writes to M. Mornard, keeper of the seals, asking for a revision of the trial of December, 1894, against her husband. Lieut. Col. Du Paty de Clam suspended from active service. On the 20th the council ol' the cabinet directs the court of cassation to order a revision of the Dreyfus case. Gen. Zur linden Is dismissed and succeeded by Gen. Chanoine. Commandant Esterhazy is dis missed and disappears immediately. League of Patriots is reorganized. OCTOBER, 1898—Troubk; at a public meet ing caused by Messrs. De Pressence and Deroulede. Attorney General Manau fin ishes his Investigation and demands revi sion of tiie Dreyfus case. M. Leow, pres ident of Die criminal chamber, appoints M. Bard reporter. Search of Zola's res idence and confiscation of a table to pay his fine. The table is sold for 23,000 francs. On the i.'itli Gen. Chanoine is dismissed and the Brisson cabinet ends. On the 27th-29th discussion in the criminal cham ber of the court of cassation upon the demand for revision. NOVEMBER, 1898.—The Dupuy cabinet takes office on the Ist. Gen. Renouard is dismissed and replaced by Gen. Brault. The criminal chamber decides that Drey fus is to be informed by telegraph of the demand for a revision and to be notified to present his means of defense. M. do Pressence is expelled from tho Legion of Honor. The court of cassation begins its investigation on the 21st, and hears Gens. Itoget, Gonse, Bolsdeffre, M. Pic quart and othens. DECEMBER, IS9B—The criminal chamber receives communication concerning r.ie secret dossier from the minister cf war. JANUARY, 1899—M. Quesnay de Beaure paire, president of tho civil chamber of the court of cassation, resigns, lie is re placed by M. Ballot-Beaupre. The crim inal # chamber examines Du Paty de Clam, Trarieux, Couard. Belhomme. Varlnard. Bertillon, Gobert, Esterhazy and Hano taux and proceeds to examine the dossier of the minister of war. FEBRUARY, 1899 M. Renault-Morllere, reporter of the commission for the pro cedure of the revision, reports favorably to such revision. Discussion in the sen ate concerning a law to dispose of the criminal chamber. MARCH, 1899—The senate votes to dispose of this chamber and directs the enrtre court of cassation to proceed with the revision. The latter court examines again the secret dossier. APRIL, 1899—The Figaro publishes the rec ord of the investigation of the court of cassation and is fined 500 francs. The court hears Messrs. Lepine, Frystaetter, Bertillon and Roget. MAY, 1 S99 —jr. Ballot-Beaupre finishes his report to the court. JUNE, I*99—Paul Deroulede acquitted. Court of cassation decides in favor of Dreyfus on the revision. Esterhazy con fesses having written the bordereau. JULY, IS99—Dreyfus returns to France on the 3d. Governor of Devil's island dis missed for cruelty to Dreyfus. Ksterhazy refuses to testify before the new court martial whiah is to retry Dreyfus. AUGUST, IS99.—New trial of Dreyfus be gins on the 7th. August 7, IS'J'J, the court-martial held its first session. The court was com posed as follows: Col. Jouaust, director in the engineer corps, president. Lieut. Col. Brongniart, director of the school of artillery. MaJ. De Brean, of the Seventh regiment of artillery. Maj. I'rollllet, of the Tenth regiment of artillery. Maj. Merle, of the Seventh regiment of artillery. Cant, l'arfait, of the Seventh regiment of artillery. • 'apt. Beauvals, of the Seventh rpglmwt of artillery. Counsel for Dreyfus were Maitres I.abori and Demange—the latter one of the most celebrated criminal lawyers in France. Maj. Carriere represented the government as counsel for the pros ecution. Early on Monday morning, August 14, while Maitrc Litbori, one of Dreyfus' attorneys, was on his way to the court, he was shot by an assassin and seriously wounded. THE FAMOIS BOHDEHEAI'. ArktionlptlKCil to He tho Miiin Evi dence Asralnnt Dreyfnu. The famous bordereau (memoran dum list), which is acknowledged to be the main evidence against Dreyfus, was discovered in April, 1594, among waste papers from the German embassy, in the particular department of Col. Count Sch warzkoppen, the military attache, by secret emissaries of the French gov ernment, who had bribed the janitor to surrender these papers. It is in translation as follows: In the absence of any new* indicating your desire to see mo, I nevertheless send you, sir, certain information of interest; 1. A note on the hydraulic brake of 120 (method of operating this piece). MME. DREYFUS. (The Faithful Wife of the Unfortunate Captain.) 2. A note on the outpost troops. (A few modifications will be made by the new plan.) 3. A note on modifications of artillery formation. 4. A note relating to Madagascar. 5. The scheme relative to the manual of field firing (March 14, 1894). This last paper is extremely difficult to procure, and I can have it at my disposal DE G n I T AIIN only for a very few days. The ministry has issued a definite number to the corps, and these corps are responsible for them; each officer is obliged to return his copy after tlie maneuvers. If. therefore, you wish me to take from it whatever may in terest you, and hold it afterward at my dis posal, I will take it, unless you do not want me to make a copy in extenso and address it to you. I am just leaving for the maneuvers. According to Esterhazy's voluntary confession, made to a London news paper, and repeated since then, it was lie and not Dreyfus who wrote this bordereau. Esterhazy states that lie wrote it at the instigation of his su perior officers, intimating hut not say ing so in so many words that (ten. Mer cier, then minister of war, ordered the bordereau written. In a letter written to the Siecle March 25, IS9S, I'aniz zardi, military attache of the Italian embassy, relates that Count Sohwarz koppen received the articles enumerat ed in the bordereau, but was entirely unaware of the existence of the mem orandum itself, for it had been stolen before it reached him. Tin: SKC'IJIOT nossiKH. IlreortlM of tlie Trill I 1* reserved by (lie Dciinrtmcnt of War. The secret dossier, which figures so prominently in the Dreyfus case, is a collection of papers belonging to the war department and collected in con nection with the case. These papers are said to contain proof of Dreyfus' guilt even beyond the bordereau. The latter was admittedly written by Ester hazy. During the first Dreyfus trial this dossier (which in free transla tion would mean "record of the case") was submitted to the court-martial in executive session, not even Dreyfus' at torneys being permitted to be present during this examination. There are, all told, some -100 documents in this col lection. These papers are examined in secret session, but Dreyfus' attorneys are present, so they may be informed of the record of the charges based upon these papers. Secrecy is demanded by the government because it is claimed that publication would cause compli cations with foreign gavernments. The secret dossier has been in exclusive control of the general staff up to the present trial, and there is, of course, no saying what it may contain. So far the entire nasty Dreyfus mess lias shown so much corruption, conspiracy and forgery that the value of this se cret dossier is very problematical. Till'! KMPEIIOR'S DKMAI.. Stiiten 'l'lint Germany llouKlit Xu se i-rrfi from Drcyftiw. The enemies of Dreyfus laid partic ular stress upon the alleged fact that the accused officer had sold army se crets to Germany. This charge was disproved August 12 '/y ex-President Casimir-Perier who, before the court martial, read the text of a dispatch re ceived by Count von Munster-Leyden burg, the German ambassador at Paris, from Prince Jloheniohe, the German imperial chancellor, which the former communicated to M. Casimir-Perier during a visit to the Elysee palace. "His majesty, the emperor, having every confidence in the loyalty of the president of the republic and the gov ernment of the republic," it ran, "begs your excellency to tell Af. Casimir-Per ier that it is proved the German em bassy was never implicated in the Dreyfus affair. His majesty hopes the government of the republic will not hesitate to declare so. "Without a for mal declaration the lege.id which here continues to spread regarding the Ger man embassy would compromise the position of the representative of Gcr many." The communication is signed "llo henlohe." oioxrcsis OF THK CASE:. IIOIT «L«e Web to Catch Capt. Drej ftm Wan Woven. Gen. Mercier was minister of war when the French spy at the German embassy brought to the secret service of the French army the fragments of the bordereau. The report was re ceived by Col. Paty de Clam, head of the secret service. He was a violent Jew-hater. He appealed to Bertillon, and the man who invented the Bertillon system for measuring and identifying criminals, following l'aty's suggestion —who in turn reflected Gen. Mercier's antipathy to the Jews —said it looked like Dreyfus' handwriting. It was re ported. Mercier ordered that Dreyfus be arrested. Paty de Clam tried to prepare the ease against him. it was not strong enough to suit Mercier, and the minister of war secured a pleader whose skill was as great as l'aty's in famy. The anti-Semitic party and i press had doubts of Mercier, and caught at tlie first hint of Dreyfus' denial to charge the minister with trying to smother the case because Dreyfus was a Jew. That added fuel to his flame, and Mereier became the most rabid, foe of the imperiled captain. The press rewarded him by declaring him the paragon of patriots. Yet he knew he could not crush Dreyfus with the ma terial at hand, and lie must act at once. He rose at the first court-martial— minister of war in the republic's cabi net —and said: "Gentlemen, there is something more. I shall read you one sentence l'rom a letter in cipher that some months ago came into possession of the ministry. You will comprehend its source, although 1 am not permit ted to present its context: 'Decidedly this scoundrel of a Dreyfus is becom ing too exacting.' " lie had wholly, deliberately changed the sentence, for the paper from which he read <1 id not contain the name of Dreyfus, but the initial "D." only. Oil this bit of ir regularly submitted, boldly perjured EMILE ZOLA. (The Man Who Compelled the Government to Hear Dreyfus.) bit of evidence the judges based a de cision they had already formulated. Furthermore, that scrap of paper in Gen. Mereier's trembling hand was in not even the remotest manner con nected with the alleged selling of French army secrets (o the Germans. It was a fragment from some inter cepted correspondence, passing be tween attaches of different embassies, and related to matters even more in famous, more unspeakable, than any treason of which Dreyfus was accused. But (Jen. Mereier's best efforts could not keep the truth buried, nor could his subserviency to the rabble and the rank alike secure him in his seat as minister of war. He has been warned to leave France, but has chosen to *— main, at lensr for the present. 3
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers