M. Labori.—“I ask first not what this file contained, since it is secret, but to what it related?”
M. Ravary.—“I do not exactly understand. A witness said that there was a document spread between M. Leblois and Colonel Picquart. I know nothing more.”
M. Labori.—“Unless it is understood that there is always to be some method of evasion, I insist on a reply from M. Ravary. Here we are squarely in the Esterhazy matter. We have Major Ravary’s report. He was the official reporter. It is not possible that he accepted testimony that has been contradicted here by the evidence of M. Gribelin and M. Henry. It is not possible that M. Ravary accepted evidence without pressing the witnesses. It is not possible that a matter so serious as a secret file should have been referred to in a report read to the council of war without resulting in an examination of its contents. I do not ask what its contents were, but to what it related. If the witness cannot answer, I shall infer that judicial examinations before a council of war are carried on as we have never seen them carried on in trials in which we take part.”
M. Ravary—“I protest that all our examinations are carried on with the greatest honesty and conscientiousness. As to the document of which M. Labori speaks, it did not interest me, and for this reason. I had an accused man before me, Major Esterhazy. I was to seek proof either of his innocence or of his guilt, and this document had nothing to do with Major Esterhazy.”
M. Labori.—“This document was a part of the Esterhazy file. I ask the court to ask M. Ravary, who conducted the examination, what this document was.”
M. Ravary.—“As to that, I am completely ignorant.”
M. Labori.—“That is enough; I am satisfied.”
M. Clemenceau.—“The witness said in his report that there was a file of documents open on Colonel Picquart’s desk. I should like to know if he maintains that declaration.”
M. Ravary—“It was so stated in the testimony of either Colonel Henry or M. Gribelin.”
M. Clemenceau.—“I remind the court that M. Gribelin said that there was a file of documents in an envelope. Colonel Henry said the same thing, and so I ask the court to recall M. Gribelin.”
M. Ravary.—“I said either M. Gribelin or Colonel Henry.”
M. Gribelin, being recalled testified as follows: “What Isaid was that the documents were contained in a yellow envelope; they were not scattered; I even specified, in my written deposition, that they were not searching the documents.”
M. Ravary.—“My report is a sincere expression of the file of documents. Let the file be called for.”
M. Clemenceau.—“M. Gribelin says that the file was in an envelope.”
M. Ravary.—“The envelope was cut lengthwise.”
M. Clemenceau.—“The documents were in an envelope, and the side of the envelope was cut; so it was impossible to know what was in the envelope.”
M. Ravary.—“But there was not one visit simply; there were several. M. Leblois has been seen several times at the office of Lieutenant-Colonel Picquart.”
The Judge.—“We know it.”
M. Clemenceau.—“Let us not depart from the question. M. Gribelin says that on the day that he entered there was a file of documents on the desk relating to carrier pigeons,—documents in an envelope.”
The Judge.—“Exactly.”
M. Clemenceau.—“The report says that there was an open file of documents from which had been taken a document containing these words, ‘That scoundrel D....’”
M. Ravary.—“But I wrote that in my report on the strength, not of M. Gribelin’s testimony, but of the testimony of another. Send for the Esterhazy file, and you will see.”
M. Labori.—“But we ask nothing better.”
M. Ravary.—“That does not concern me. My conduct was that of an honest man; that is all.”
The next witness to take the stand was General de Pellieux. “I feel,” he began, “that it is necessary that the whole truth should be known, and I shall tell it.”
M. Clemenceau.—“We shall remember this promise.”
General de Pellieux.—“On the 14th of last November, M. Mathieu Dreyfus lodged with the minister of war a complaint against Major Esterhazy. He formally accused him of being the author of thebordereauthat had led to the condemnation of his brother, basing his accusation upon an absolute similarity of handwriting. On the 16th I received from the military governor of Paris an order to make a military investigation. I was instructed to give M. MathieuDreyfus an opportunity of proving his charge. I sent for him. He brought me no proof of any sort,—nothing but allegations. In reality, my investigation was virtually over, but, in view of the public feeling that the charge had created, I felt that I could not stop. I received from M. Scheurer-Kestner the names of M. Leblois and Colonel Picquart. M. Leblois came. He had a file of documents, composed of letters,fac-similesof Major Esterhazy’s writing, a telegram in characters similar to those used in print, which had been addressed to M. Scheurer-Kestner, and of which I do not recall the terms, and fourteen letters from General Gonse. He showed me these fourteen letters, and I read them. I read likewise the drafts of the letters addressed by Colonel Picquart to M. Leblois. The latter told me that he had been long in relationship with Colonel Picquart, and had often been to see him at the war department, and he gave me a history of his relations with Colonel Picquart. These relations, then, are admitted. M. Leblois has been at the office of the minister of war, and he has in his hands letters from Colonel Picquart. For some days there has been talk of the communication of a secret file. It is admitted that Lieutenant-Colonel Picquart placed General Gonse’s letters in the hands of M. Leblois. It is admitted that he said to M. Leblois, who repeated it to M. Scheurer-Kestner, that a file in a war office contained a document formally accusing Major Esterhazy of treason. Here I will point out that, in my opinion, there is nothing more secret, nothing more sacred, in the world than an examination begun against an officer for the crime of treason. There is nothing in the world so sacred as a man’s honor, as long as he remains unconvicted of the crime with which he is charged. Well, Colonel Picquart told M. Leblois that in the office of the minister of war there was a file containing a document that formally accused Major Esterhazy of treason. I defy anyone to contradict me. There you have communication of a secret file, proved and patent.
“Now I can explain General Gonse’s letters. They do not relate to the Dreyfus case, but solely to the Esterhazy case. General Gonse recommends his subordinate to act with the greatest prudence. He tells him that he does not wish to stop him in his inquiries,—naturally, for they never stop an inquiry, once it is begun,—but at the same time he cautions him against taking irreparable steps, such a step as the immediate arrest of Colonel Esterhazy would have been. I reported to the military governor of Paris that there wasno proof against Major Esterhazy, but that Colonel Picquart had made a serious blunder from a military standpoint. As a result of this first report, it appeared that there had been some confusion, and that it was the intention of the minister that my investigation should be a judicial one. The governor did not so understand it, nor did I.
“I immediately began a new investigation, with a clerk, and acting as a magistrate. I summoned the accused, and confronted him with the charges against him. But first I had a search made of Colonel Picquart’s premises. Because of this search I have been bitterly attacked. Let me say that it was my absolute right, given me by the code of military justice as a judicial officer of police. Moreover, it was my duty. This search had been demanded of me, and I could not refuse without being suspected of an indisposition to get at the truth. So I instituted a regular search through M. Aymard, a police commissioner connected with the government of Paris. The results of the search were brought to me under seal, and I broke the seal in presence of Colonel Picquart. Of the documents taken I kept but a single letter, to which I will refer directly. All of the other letters I returned to Colonel Picquart, after a cursory glance at them. There were numerous letters from his mother, which I have perfectly respected, and numerous letters from Mlle. Blanche de Comminges, one of which was the only document that I retained as being possibly of interest. Then I summoned the various witnesses whom I had seen in my first investigation, and examined them on two points. First, concerning thebordereau. M. Mathieu Dreyfus had accused Major Esterhazy of being the author of thebordereau. About thisbordereaumuch has been said. Few people have seen it; I believe that it would be easy to count them. But many have seenfac-similes, and I, who have seen it, must say that thesefac-similessingularly resemble forgeries, and that to pretend to base an expert opinion of handwriting onfac-similesthat have appeared in the newspapers is, it seems to me, to go a long way. Nothing less resembles the newspaperfac-similethan the originalbordereau; consequently all the expert testimony made so lightly is of no value.
“I listened to Major Esterhazy’s defence concerning thebordereau. As it is well known, I will not repeat it. He tried to demonstrate that it would have been impossible for him to produce the documents of which thebordereauspeaks. The council of war has judged that matter, and Iwill not insist. But in the course of Colonel Picquart’s examination an incident occurred. He spoke to me of the document of which M. Leblois and M. Scheurer-Kestner had spoken to me, a card-telegram which, according to Colonel Picquart, was of the same origin as thebordereau. This document was torn,—had been torn and pasted together. It contained writing which seemed to prove, according to Colonel Picquart, that Major Esterhazy was in suspicious relations with an agent of a foreign power. The first thing to be done was to establish the genuineness of this document, Lieutenant-Colonel Picquart being the only one who had any knowledge of it. It was very certain that this card-telegram had not been sent to the person for whom it was intended, and consequently had not reached him. That in itself was sufficient to invalidate the authenticity of the document; it had not been deposited in the post-office, and bore no post-office stamp. In examining other witnesses, I spoke of this document, and learned that attempts had been made to give it the appearance of authenticity that it lacked. It was desired to have it so photographed as to cause all traces of tear to disappear, that it might be said: ‘It was torn afterwards; when it came, it was intact.’ An effort was made also to have a post-office stamp placed upon it, in order that it could be said that it had been seized in the mails. To me this document had no appearance of genuineness. I am astonished that Colonel Picquart, chief of the bureau of information of a great power,—we have not yet fallen to the level of the republic of Andorra or of St. Marin,—an officer who ought to be intelligent, should be naive enough to believe that a militaryattachéof a great foreign power would have corresponded with one of its agents by a card-telegram. A card-telegram left with a janitor, and liable to be opened by a janitor, or any other servant,—is it thus that they would have corresponded with Esterhazy? I confess that I did not believe it. I said to Colonel Picquart: ‘You have sought other proofs against Esterhazy; what means have you employed of finding them?’ And I come now to a very serious matter. He confessed that for months, without the order or the authorization of his superiors, General Gonse and General de Boisdeffre, he had been seizing in the mails all of Esterhazy’s correspondence. For eight months he opened that officer’s letters, and was obliged to admit that he had found nothing. He admitted that without orders he had had that officer’s premises searched, overturning his furniture, disarranginghis wife’s effects, and ransacking the apartments; and proof exists—at first he admitted it—that a piece of furniture was forced open, and, being unable to lock it again, they had a key made for that purpose, so that today, instead of two keys for this piece of furniture, there are three. It seemed to me that this was proof of inadmissible manœuvres, and I confess that, when a council of war acquitted Esterhazy, I was not astonished. Of my participation in that acquittal I am proud. I succeeded in showing that there were not two traitors among the officers, but only one, and that he had been justly condemned. General de Boisdeffre and General Mercier were allowed to say a word of Dreyfus; I ask to be similarly authorized.”
The judge refused to allow the request.
M. Clemenceau.—“Just now I heard the witness say that there is nothing more serious than to communicate documents accusing officers of treason, especially when these documents were secretly filed in the office of the minister of war. I ask him, then, for his opinion concerning the following facts: a secret document was taken from the office of the minister of war, carried about Paris by a veiled lady, and handed by this veiled lady to Major Esterhazy, who brought it back to the office of the minister of war, and, strange to say, the minister of war gave him a receipt for it. I would like to know the opinion of General de Pellieux on the withdrawal of this first document.”
General de Pellieux.—“I have no opinion to express.”
M. Clemenceau.—“Ah! very well.”
General de Pellieux.—“What opinion do you expect me to express?”
The Judge.—“Were you familiar, in the Esterhazy case, with the communication of secret documents by Colonel Picquart to M. Leblois?”
M. Clemenceau.—“That is not what we are talking about. It is agreed that, when General de Pellieux learns that a document accusing Major Esterhazy is communicated to a third party, he is indignant. It is established, on the other hand, that, when a document accusing another officer is carried about Paris, he has no opinion. General de Pellieux has said that he caused a search to be made of M. Picquart’s premises. May I point out to him that M. Picquart was a witness, and ask him also why he did not cause a search to be made of the premises of M. Esterhazy, who was the party accused?”
General de Pellieux.—“It was absolutely useless to searchthe premises of Major Esterhazy, as that had been done during eight months by Colonel Picquart.”
M. Clemenceau.—“Eighteen months had elapsed between what General de Pellieux calls the searches of Major Esterhazy’s premises by M. Picquart and the Esterhazy investigation. I repeat: How did it happen to occur to General de Pellieux to search the premises of a witness, and not the premises of the accused?”
General de Pellieux.—“I did not cause a search to be made of Major Esterhazy’s premises, because I was a judicia officer of police and did not deem it necessary.”
General de Pellieux then stepped down, and the defence offered the testimony of MM. Dupuy, Guérin, and Poincaré concerning the secret document, which testimony the court declined to hear for the usual reasons, and the hearing of which M. Labori insisted on by the usual motions. Then the stand was taken by M. Thévenet, former minister of justice.
Being asked what he thought of the good faith of M. Zola in writing the article, “I Accuse,” he said:
“I am absolutely convinced that M. Zola acted in good faith, and these are my reasons. In the Esterhazy case there was an astonishing gap, which I consider very important. The examination had shown that Major Esterhazy had received from a veiled lady on several occasions the copy of a secret document which existed in the office of the minister of war, and which demonstrated, it was said, the guilt of Dreyfus. Well, I say very frankly to the jury that what struck me in this military examination was that this matter of extreme importance was not thoroughly looked into. If the veiled lady really existed, why did they not search for her with much activity and patience, and why was not this important matter gone into thoroughly? I am astonished—and in parliament I am not alone in this astonishment—that the military authorities dropped this matter without a fundamental examination. If a secret document of this character had been taken from the office of the minister of war, a secret document on which everybody’s eyes were fixed, and which was securely locked in a closet, it was for the interest of the national defence that serious measures should be taken to avoid other leaks of this sort, for other secret documents might be similarly embezzled by this woman, or by some one in her confidence. Moreover, it would have been easy to make such an investigation. This woman had arrangedmeetings in somewhat strange spots; she had been taken there in cabs on two occasions, if my memory serves me; and Paris cabmen never exhibit a failure of memory when the courts call on them for testimony. Hence the cabman, and perhaps the woman, could easily have been found. At any rate, a serious investigation should have been made to find out how the document was taken.
“If the veiled lady is a legendary character,—which is possible, for I believe that in this case there are many legends,—the question was no less serious. For then the problem arises: how could a secret document, from the office of the minister of war, showing the guilt of Captain Dreyfus, have been communicated to Major Esterhazy, when it had not been communicated to Captain Dreyfus, whom this document accused? I can understand that M. Zola’s conscience has been troubled. And it is not only his that has been troubled. I can understand how M. Zola could arrive at the belief that the second council of war, inexactly informed by an inadequate examination, had perhaps misjudged.”
M. Thévenet was then asked by M. Labori what he thought of M. Zola’s good faith in writing that sentence in his letter to President Faure in which he accused the second council of war of having covered the illegality of the first council of war, in obedience to orders, by committing in its turn the crime of knowingly acquitting a guilty person. The witness answered:
“It is said that neither Dreyfus or his council were made aware of a secret document, which nevertheless had been communicated to the members of the council of war that condemned Dreyfus. Well, gentlemen, I am astonished that this question, which has been under discussion so long, has not been settled already. It is, in my opinion, not simply the only question involved in this trial, but the capital question of this entire discussion. It should have been met at the beginning, and it seemed to me—I ask your pardon for this allusion—that it was possible to answer it very frankly by a yes or a no. I have read the reports of the trial, and I have been surprised that this question, which has been asked, if I am not mistaken, has been met by silence. It has been put to honorable generals who were able to answer, but who considered themselves bound by professional secrecy. I say, gentlemen, that here we touch a question which is not simply a point of law, but a much higher principle,—that of the liberty of defence, the imprescriptible right which every accused man has of knowing onwhat evidence he is accused. Is it true, yes or no, that the first council of war considered documents that were not made known to M. Demange or to Captain Dreyfus? That can be answered by a yes or a no. They make no answer. What does that mean? If they had answered yes, the court of appeals would have passed upon it. Would that have established the innocence of Dreyfus? Not at all. He would have come again before the council of war, before military authority itself, and military authority, after examining the documents and submitting them to Dreyfus and his counsel, would have decided whether Dreyfus was guilty. But in that case Dreyfus would have had a chance to defend himself against documents that he had been permitted to read. Perhaps there would have been a second conviction. I do not know. But the trial would have been complete, the law would have been respected, and the liberty of defence—human dignity, I should say—would have been safeguarded. I declare, for my part, that, if the minister of war had come here to give his word of honor that no communication had been made to the council of war which judged Dreyfus, I should have bowed before his word. But let him give it. This it is that disturbs public opinion, and prolongs, and perhaps will perpetuate, this trial, which is an evil for everybody and an evil for the country.”
M. Zola.—“Surely.”
M. Thévenet.—“I say that this no should be spoken with a loud voice. But they are silent. What are we to believe? What are we to think? In what country are we living? Where are we? Is there a magistrate among those who listen to me, is there any of myconfrères, any person whatsoever, anyone among you, gentlemen of the jury, who can understand that we should be left in uncertainty on this important point whether Dreyfus, yes or no, was acquainted with the documents that proved his guilt, and, if not, why they were not shown to him, why they were not shown to his counsel, thatconfrèrewhom we all respect, bound to professional secrecy as well as the generals, and who is certainly as patriotic as anybody. That is what I have to say. And I finish with one word: I say that, for the reasons that I have indicated, perhaps at too great length, the good faith of M. Zola is on a level with his talent, and I consider that glorious.”
M. Thévenet was succeeded on the witness-stand by M. Salle, an aged member of the Paris bar, who was said to have received from a member of the council of war a confession that a secret document was communicated to it.
M. Labori.—“Does M. Salle know any fact of interest to the defence of M. Zola?”
The Judge.—“That is not a question. In relation to what?”
M. Labori.—“In relation to the affair of M. Zola.”
The Judge.—“That is not a question, either. I will not put such a question as that. Does it relate to the Dreyfus case or to the Esterhazy case?”
M. Labori.—“Permit me,Monsieur le Président, in spite of all my respect for you, to say that I do not understand this distinction. For this there are two reasons. The first is that, as I said yesterday, the only case in litigation here is the case of M. Zola. The second is—and it is upon this especially that I insist—that General Mercier, General de Pellieux, General Gonse, and others like them, come here, speaking of the decrees of justice with which they are familiar, sheltering themselves behind their privilege to avoid speaking, and nevertheless, one after another, with the same vagueness and the same uncertainty, throwing their word into the balance, convinced that, thanks to the love which this country has for itself, their word, as soldiers, will be sufficient, and need not be supported by any reason. We do not stop them. They have the right to say, one after another: ‘Dreyfus is guilty.’ They speak out thus, in spite of the decrees of the court, and no one blames them, for it is impossible to speak of the Esterhazy case without speaking of the Dreyfus case. For this reason, as for others, being given that there is a thing judged, as in the Esterhazy case, I see but one explanation of the gag that is placed in our mouths—namely, that they do not dare to speak of the Dreyfus case, which it is impossible to separate from the Esterhazy case. I ask that the liberty to speak be given to all the witnesses on all points that do not concern the national defence, and I ask especially that, when I put a question as discreet, as reserved, as moderate, as that which I put to M. Salle, face to face with a witness in possession of a secret which I know they do not want him to tell,—I ask that the question be put, or else I protest against the obscurity that is being thickened a little more every day because of fear of the light.”
The Judge.—“You can protest as much as you like. I have told you that I would put no question to the witness on this point. I repeat it, and so it will be to the end of thetrial. [To the witness.] Have you anything to say in relation to the Esterhazy case?”
M. Salle.—“Concerning the Esterhazy case I have nothing to say.”
The Judge.—“Of the Dreyfus case let us say nothing.”
M. Labori.—“But,Monsieur le Président, I do not wish to speak of the Dreyfus case.”
The Judge.—“Pardon me, you wish to speak of it indirectly.”
M. Clemenceau.—“WillMonsieur le Présidentallow me to put the following question? Was the witness told by one of the members of the council of war of 1894 that a secret document was communicated to the judges in the council-chamber,—a document which had been communicated neither to the accused or to his counsel?”
The Judge.—“I have told you that that question would not be put.”
M. Clemenceau.—“Then I ask a legal declaration to that effect from the court.”
The Judge.—“The court grants you a legal declaration of anything you like.”
M. Clemenceau.—“Oh!Monsieur le Président, it seems to me that you are going a little fast. My question to the witness involves the principal point in this case. The court will not put it. Under these circumstances I must offer a motion asking acknowledgment that in the presence of the accusation against M. Zola” ...
The Judge.—“The accusation concerning the Esterhazy case.”
M. Labori.—“I did not say that. I asked the court to put to M. Salle the following question: Does M. Salle know of a serious fact concerning the accusation against M. Zola that may be useful to him from the standpoint of morality and good faith?”
The Judge [to the witness].—“Do you know of anything in the Esterhazy case which” ...
M. Labori.—“I ask that the question be put in the terms in which I framed it.”
The Judge.—“You have no right to ask indirect questions in order to reach an end which you should not reach.”
M. Labori.—“Monsieur le Président, I use no indirect methods.”
The Judge.—“I ask your pardon.”
M. Labori.—“I accept no observations which imply that I desire to reach an end by indirect means.”
The Judge.—“You know the summons; you know the court’s decree. Let us not go outside of that.”
M. Labori.—“I do not go outside of it. And let me tell you,Monsieur le Président, since you blame me personally here, that I am convinced that, if you came here desirous of the light, but not knowing the light, knowing nothing of this affair, you would not know what I expect of this man; and therefore, when you refuse to put the question that I have just asked you to put, I say that you foresee the reply that would be made; I say that you make this a tendency trial, and I do not accept it.”
The Judge.—“I repeat that I will put only such questions as concern the Esterhazy case, and none that concern the Dreyfus case.”
M. Labori.—“I make no reference to the Dreyfus case. Here we come to the culminating point of this trial.Monsieur le Président, I ask your permission to offer a motion, in order to secure a decision from the court regarding the putting of the question which I ask the court to put.”
M. Clemenceau.—“I think it important to give due weight to this fact,—that, a witness being on the stand, the defence rises and says: ‘We maintain that this witness knows from the lips of a member of the council of war that a secret document was communicated,’ and that, confronted with this affirmation, upon which we insist, the court declares that the question shall not be put. We make the jury judge. Let the witness contradict us with a word.Monsieur le Présidentwill not have time to stop him.”
The Judge.—“Monsieur, do not answer.”
M. Clemenceau then offered his motion in legal form, and the court at once rendered a decree sustaining the president, and refusing to put the question, whereupon the court adjourned for the day.
At the beginning of the session the judge recalled General de Pellieux to the stand.
The Judge.—“Did not Colonel Picquart admit in your presence the authenticity of a letter of November 27, 1896, written in Spanish and signed ‘J’?”
General de Pellieux.—“I had only a copy of that letter. It began thus: ‘At last the great work is finished, and Cagliostro has become Robert Houdin. Every day the demigod asks if he cannot see you.’”
The Judge.—“Did not this word ‘demigod’ occur in one of the dispatches sent to Colonel Picquart at Sousse in November, 1897?”
General de Pellieux.—“Yes, and the expression occurs again in a letter signed ‘Bianca,’ addressed to Colonel Picquart by Mlle. de Comminges.”
The Judge.—“Did Colonel Picquart accuse Major Esterhazy directly of the two forgeries signed ‘Blanche’ and ‘Speranza,’ or did he accuse two other persons before accusing the major?”
General de Pellieux.—“In his first testimony Colonel Picquart accused Major Esterhazy. It was in later testimony that he altered his first charge, and said that the forgeries were committed by Major Esterhazy’s friends or by others.”
The Judge.—“Did he abandon his declaration later?”
General de Pellieux.—“He did not abandon his accusation of others, but he ceased to accuse Major Esterhazy, and, when I confronted him with the certainty that I had acquired, by an investigation at the office of the prefect of police, that the first telegram was from Souffrain, he said: ‘Souffrain is an agent of Esterhazy.’”
The Attorney-General.—“From whom was the letter signed ‘J,’ seized on the premises of Colonel Picquart?”
General de Pellieux.—“From M. Germain Ducasse, secretary of Mlle. Blanche de Comminges; and I think it would be a good idea to hear M. Germain Ducasse as a witness, but under certain conditions,—that is, to bring him here without allowing him to previously communicate with any other witness. He lives at 13, Avenue de la Motte-Piquet. Everything about this case seems to me strange. The minister of war has preferred a precise charge against M. Zola. M. Zola has accused the council of war of 1898 of acquitting a guilty person in obedience to orders. So far nothing has been said of this question.”
M. Clemenceau.—“It is the court that is conducting this trial.”
General de Pellieux.—“I ask permission to say a word of the way in which the case was presented before the council of war. The council of war, I may also say, did not have to judge an accused person. In military justice such a thing is possible. I mean that it did not have to judge a person formally accused. In Major Esterhazy’s case the reporter and the government commissioner had recommended an order that there was no ground for prosecution. Consequentlyhe appeared before the council of war equipped with this recommendation. The governor of Paris, General Saussier, my regretted chief, who has been my main stay throughout this affair, and who is as familiar with it as I am (perhaps we are the only two persons thoroughly familiar with it), did not wish to issue the order recommended. In this he differed from many authorities superior to his own. He desired the case to be carried through to the end. It was his wish that Major Esterhazy should be judged by his peers, by military justice, and he gave the order that he be put on trial. He gave it in order that both sides might be heard. I regretted that this trial was not public. I asked that it might be, but the government demanded closed doors. The best proof that the council of war was independent is that it refused closed doors, judging that it was for the public interest that light should be thrown upon the matter, at least partially, even though it were not possible to discuss the entire case in the open day. Can it be said that a council of war which, against the advice of the government, did not declare the doors closed was criminal? This council was made up of seven brave officers who have shed their blood on the field of battle while others were I know not where.”
M. Zola.—“There are different ways of serving France.”
The Judge.—“Oh! no phrases. You can only ask questions. What questions do you wish to put to the general?”
M. Zola.—“I ask General de Pellieux if he does not think that there are different ways of serving France. One may serve it by the sword and by the pen. General de Pellieux has undoubtedly won great victories; I have won mine. By my works the French language has been spread through the world. I have my victories. I leave to posterity the name of General de Pellieux and that of Emile Zola. It will choose.”
General de Pellieux.—“Monsieur le Président, I will not answer.”
M. Labori.—“Did not M. Leblois hand to General de Pellieux, in the name of M. Scheurer-Kestner, two letters from Major Esterhazy, and a dispatch written in characters similar to those used in printing, which bore these words: ‘Picquart is a rascal?’”
General de Pellieux.—“Those documents are on file with the other documents pertaining to the investigation.”
M. Labori.—“It is unfortunate that we cannot obtain these documents. Did not this dispatch show an astonishingresemblance to the dispatch that Major Esterhazy pretends to have received from the veiled lady?”
General de Pellieux.—“These two telegrams resemble each other as all documents written in the characters of print resemble each other.”
M. Labori.—“Did you take no pains to see the dispatch sent to Major Esterhazy by the veiled lady?”
General de Pellieux.—“No.”
M. Labori.—“Did not M. Leblois ask you to have an expert examination of the two telegrams at the time?”
General de Pellieux.—“The matter was never mentioned.”
M. Labori.—“In the dispatch addressed to Colonel Picquart, was not that officer’s name written without ac?”
General de Pellieux.—“Yes, he called my attention to it.”
M. Labori.—“Was not this peculiarity found also in the telegram signed ‘Speranza’ and addressed to Colonel Picquart at Sousse?”
General de Pellieux.—“Yes.”
M. Labori.—“And in an insulting letter addressed by Major Esterhazy to Colonel Picquart was not the name again written without ac?”
General de Pellieux.—“I do not know that letter.”
M. Labori.—“In the last interview that M. Leblois had with General de Pellieux on November 29 did not General de Pellieux say to M. Leblois that he could not order an expert examination of thebordereau, because thebordereauhad been attributed to Dreyfus by the verdict of 1894, and that to so order would be a reconsideration of the thing judged?”
General de Pellieux.—“Certainly.”
M. Labori.—“Did not M. Leblois attempt to refute this argument, which was abandoned by the minister of war himself when, after M. Scheurer-Kestner’s interpellation of December 17, he transferred thebordereauto the Ravary papers for expert examination?”
General de Pellieux.—“Yes. I will even add a detail. I did not think that I had the right, as a judicial officer of police, to subject thebordereauto a new expert examination. It was my personal opinion that to do that would be to reopen the Dreyfus case. I was not alone in this opinion, for, when I received the order, which I executed, to lay thebordereaubefore the minister of war and submit it to expert examination, I was confronted with a strike of experts. That is a rather rare thing. The experts for whom I sent refused to make the examination, basing themselves on theground that I had taken, and saying that to make a new examination of thebordereauwas to question the thing judged. There are five experts in the same court. Three of them had been concerned in the Dreyfus case. I sent for the other two. They refused to come. I immediately reported the matter, because I desired to close my inquiry as soon as possible, because I felt that the public was getting impatient, and because I was to make only a preliminary investigation. So it was on the order of the minister of justice to the experts that the examination was made. Major Ravary ordered it.”
M. Labori.—“Was not General de Pellieux present at the second session of the council of war held on Tuesday, January 11, 1898?”
General de Pellieux.—“I was present at all the sessions of the council of war as a delegate of the governor.”
M. Labori.—“Did not the general wear civilian dress?”
General de Pellieux.—“Yes.”
M. Labori.—“Did he not sit behind General de Luxer, president of the council?”
General de Pellieux.—“Yes.”
M. Labori.—“Did he not intervene several times in the course of the testimony of M. Leblois?”
General de Pellieux.—“I asked the permission of the president, of the public minister, and of the defence, to put some questions to M. Leblois. This authorization was granted. I think that I had the right to do so as a magistrate.”
M. Labori.—“Did not General de Pellieux take the floor spontaneously to correct an error of fact that had just been committed by General de Luxer?”
General de Pellieux.—“I never took the floor without asking permission of the defence, of the public minister, and of the president.”
M. Labori.—“Did he not take the floor to correct an error of fact that had just been committed by General de Luxer?”
General de Pellieux.—“I do not know to what you refer.”
M. Labori.—“The general must know, and cannot fail to remember, whether at a certain moment, in the course of the testimony of M. Leblois, he intervened to correct an error of fact committed by the president.”
General de Pellieux.—“I confess that I cannot remember.”
M. Labori.—“Did not the witness take the floor spontaneouslyto ask of M. Tézenas if he had no opposition to make to the continuation of M. Leblois’s testimony, and in these words: ‘You suffer him to speak?’”
General de Pellieux.—“Never.”
M. Labori.—“Did not M. Leblois ask a question of such a character as to necessitate some supplementary information?”
General de Pellieux.—“I will not answer. This was behind closed doors. You know very well that anything that happens behind closed doors cannot be revealed.”
The Judge.—“The general says it was behind closed doors.”
M. Labori.—“I ask nothing in general of a secret or confidential character. Furthermore, closed doors are possible in an assize court as well as in a council of war, and twelve French citizens can keep a secret as well as twelve officers. Consequently you are quite at liberty to make the witness answer. What I am after is to show that General de Pellieux intervened in the trial before the council of war. I do not ask him concerning what he intervened; I ask him whether he intervened. I insist that the question be put.”
The Judge.—“Offer your motion.”
M. Clemenceau.—“It seems to me that the general has been answering myconfrèreconcerning matters that happened behind closed doors. Never did the general, so far as I know, intervene before the council of war as long as the session was public. His intervention, about which he has been talking for the last fifteen minutes, took place behind closed doors. I ask the court, then, where the dividing line is to be drawn, and who shall say whether it is permissible to speak of things that happened behind closed doors to a certain limit, of which the witness shall be sole judge, and at which the witness may declare: ‘I will say no more.’”
The Judge.—“How do you expect the court to know, except by the witness, that the thing happened behind closed doors? [To the witness.] Does the question asked you relate to an incident that happened behind closed doors?”
General de Pellieux.—“I have been asked questions relating to personal intervention. That does not concern closed doors. Closed doors applies to things asked of the witnesses, but not to an individual’s attitude during closed doors.”
M. Labori.—“Permit me,Monsieur le Président, to repeat the question before asking you to put it again. Here are two questions belonging to the same order of ideas: first,did not M. Leblois offer an observation of such a nature as to bring out supplementary information?”
The Judge.—“You hear the first question?”
General de Pellieux.—“I will not answer, for it is a matter of closed doors.”
M. Labori.—“Second, was not General de Luxer then disposed to lay the question regularly before the council of war, and had he not already risen to propose to the judges that they retire to the council-chamber for deliberation?”
General de Pellieux.—“No.”
M. Labori.—“Did not General de Pellieux intervene spontaneously, saying that that was useless?”
General de Pellieux.—“No, I had nothing to say to the president.”
M. Labori.—“I have finished on that point.”
M. Clemenceau.—“We are far away from the question that I put. I come back to it. General de Pellieux has admitted that his intervention took place behind closed doors during the time for which the president of the council had declared closed doors.”
General de Pellieux.—“I do not deny it.”
M. Clemenceau.—“It is established by two successive answers made by General de Pellieux that he has answered questions of M. Labori relating to things that happened behind closed doors.”
The Judge.—“No, nothing concerning what happened behind closed doors.”
General de Pellieux.—“I said nothing at all relating to the case.”
M. Clemenceau.—“Did the intervention of General de Pellieux take place behind closed doors?”
General de Pellieux.—“Yes.”
M. Clemenceau.—“I conclude. Since the intervention of General de Pellieux took place behind closed doors, and since he has already testified concerning this intervention, and since M. Labori’s question refers to other facts concerning this same intervention, I am entitled to say that General de Pellieux, whenever it does not embarrass him, explains himself concerning the proceeding behind closed doors, but” ...
The Judge.—“The general has never answered on this point.”
M. Clemenceau.—“I no longer understand you.”
The Judge.—“It is I who do not understand you.”
M. Clemenceau.—“Then I will begin again. I say thatGeneral de Pellieux made answer to M. Labori, who asked him questions concerning matters that took place behind closed doors. Then, when M. Labori asked him another question about matters that also took place behind closed doors, General de Pellieux said: ‘I will not answer the question, because I have no right to speak of anything that took place behind closed doors.’ Therefore I establish a fact,—the fact at which I desired to arrive,—that General de Pellieux has constituted himself a judge of what he can, and what he cannot, say about matters that take place behind closed doors. He began by answering M. Labori concerning matters that took place behind closed doors, saying: ‘I consider that I can do so.’ Then at a certain moment he makes himself sole judge, and says: ‘From now on I cannot answer you.’ That is what I wanted to show. The witness has remembered things that took place behind closed doors, and then, when, for one reason or another, he thought that he ought not to go further, he stopped.”
The Judge.—“Is that all?”
M Clemenceau.—“Yes.”
After General de Pellieux, the court recalled General Gonse, and asked him: “Who are the lawyers of the minister of war?”
General Gonse.—“MM. Nivart and Danet.”
The Judge.—“Can a lawyer representing the minister enter the offices?”
General Gonse.—“No.”
The Judge.—“With whom must he correspond?”
General Gonse.—“With the controller.”
The Judge.—“Had Colonel Picquart been authorized to receive a lawyer in his office?”
General Gonse.—“Certainly not.”
The Judge.—“Are there questions of spying concerning which lawyers are consulted?”
General Gonse.—“None. Concerning these questions we apply directly to the military prosecuting officer, when it concerns a soldier, and to the government prosecuting officer, when it concerns a civilian.”
The Judge.—“What do you think of Adjutant Gribelin?”
General Gonse.—“All that is good. He is a servant beyond compare, of absolute discretion, knowing all the secrets of our offices, and in whom I have the greatest confidence. I add that he is as modest as he is intelligent.”
The court then called Adjutant Gribelin, the keeper of the archives.
The Judge.—“What I am going to ask you is of the highest importance. Did Colonel Picquart really ask you to have a postal stamp placed on the Esterhazy dispatch?”
Adjutant Gribelin.—“Yes, he asked me if I could not have a postal stamp put on that document. I swear that it is true.”
Adjutant Gribelin then stepped down, and the court called Major Lauth.
The Judge.—“Did Colonel Picquart ask you to cause every trace of tear to disappear from the photograph of the dispatch that he was to make?”
Major Lauth.—“Yes. He wanted to make the staff believe that he had intercepted the document in the mails. I remember that I said to him: ‘But, if you cause these tears to disappear, you will take away all value from the document, which should be kept in the condition in which it was brought to you.’ To which he answered: ‘You will be there to certify that this document is really in the handwriting of such a person.’ I answered him so loudly that my protest was heard through the partition: ‘Never in my life. I do not know this handwriting. It is a counterfeited handwriting.’”
The witness-chair was then taken by Lieutenant-Colonel Picquart. Being asked his residence by the court, he answered: “Mont-Valérien.”
M. Labori.—“Will Colonel Picquart tell us what he knows of the Esterhazy case, of the investigation that he made, and of the circumstances that accompanied or followed his departure from the war department?”
Colonel Picquart.—“In the beginning of May, 1896, the fragments of a letter-telegram fell into my hands. These fragments were pasted together by an officer in my service, Major Lauth, who was then a captain. When he had done this, he brought me this card-telegram, which was addressed to Major Esterhazy. I do not remember the exact language of its contents, but everything seemed to indicate that between Major Esterhazy and the writer of the card there were relations which seemed to me suspicious. Before submitting this card to my superiors, it not being a proof against Major Esterhazy, but simply a presumption considering the place whence it came, I had to make inquiriesregarding it. I applied to an officer who knew Major Esterhazy, and who had been in the same regiment with him. I need not dwell on the nature of the information that was furnished to me, but it was not favorable to Major Esterhazy, and it led me to continue my investigations as to his manner of life and general conduct. The result was not favorable to him. Major Esterhazy was always short of money, and was continually meeting with many little difficulties; and there was this strange thing about him,—that, while far from occupying himself exclusively with his profession, he nevertheless manifested a great curiosity about documents relating to matters purely confidential and having a peculiarly military interest. My inquiry having reached that point, I considered myself authorized to say to my superiors that there was reason to seriously suspect an officer of the French army. My superiors told me to continue. There is one thing that we generally do in dealing with a person whose behavior seems suspicious. We take a specimen of his writing, and compare it with documents in our possession. As a result of this comparison, our suspicions may be confirmed or may be weakened.
“So I began to look into Major Esterhazy’s handwriting, and, contrary to what has been often said, especially in a letter written to me by Major Esterhazy, I carried on my investigation by perfectly regular methods. With the consent of my superiors I went to the colonel of the regiment to which Major Esterhazy belonged, and asked him for specimens of Major Esterhazy’s handwriting. He gave them to me in the form of letters relating to the military service. As soon as I had these letters in my hands, I was much astonished at the resemblance between the handwriting and that of the famousbordereau, of which so much has been said. But, not being an expert in handwriting, I had no right to trust to my individual impressions. That is why I had these documents photographed, concealing, as has been said, in a deposition which I have read in the newspapers, such words as ‘My Colonel,’ or else the signature, or any other indications that might identify the writer; and I showed the photographs thus obtained to two persons thoroughly qualified in the matter, one of whom was M. Bertillon and the other Major du Paty de Clam. M. Bertillon, as soon as I showed him the photograph, said: ‘It is the handwriting of thebordereau.’ I said to him: ‘Do not be in a hurry. Take this specimen, and examine it at your leisure.’ He replied: ‘No, it is useless. That is thehandwriting of thebordereau. Where did you get it?’ ‘I cannot tell you.’ ‘Well, is it of an earlier date?’ ‘No,’ I answered, ‘it is of a later date.’ ‘Then,’ said M. Bertillon, in these exact words, ‘the Jews have had some one practising for a year to get the handwriting of thebordereau, and they have succeeded perfectly; that is plain.’ The second person to whom I showed a sample of the handwriting was Colonel du Paty, then major. I let him have it but a few minutes,—five minutes, I think,—and then he said to me: ‘It is the handwriting of M. Mathieu Dreyfus.’ To explain this I must tell you that Colonel du Paty pretended that, in order to write thebordereau, Alfred Dreyfus had made a mixture of his own handwriting with that of his brother. The pointer was a valuable one for me.
“There was still another thing that drew my attention to Major Esterhazy. An agent had told an officer in my service,—I do not know whether it was a superior officer or the head of a battalion,—let us say, a superior officer, about fifty years of age,—that he had furnished such and such documents to a foreign power. Now, these were the very documents spoken of to me by the comrade to whom I applied upon my discovery of the card-telegram.
“Now, I come to a period when I was entrusted by General Gonse with the task of inquiring whether the documents referred to in thebordereaucould have been copied for the benefit of Major Esterhazy. I knew that Major Esterhazy had not a few of the documents which he procured copied at home. I had been told to apply to the secretaries whom he had employed, in order to try to find out from them whether he had really copied these documents. It was a very serious matter. I confess that at that moment I considered my task almost finished. I said to myself: here is a card-telegram which has put me on the track of the major. It is not a document upon which he could be convicted, but it is a pointer. Then we have the testimony of an agent. This, too, is not so tremendous, but yet it reveals an astonishing coincidence. This agent says: ‘Here is a man who furnishes such or such a thing;’ and, on the other hand, here is a man who says to me: ‘This officer asks for such a thing.’ And, finally, there was a resemblance of handwritings, which to me was important. And there is another thing to be added to the long list. I do not wish to speak more precisely, or to further unveil the secret. But Major Ravary, in his report, speaking of me, says: ‘The belief of this officer seemed completelyestablished when he had reported that a document on file with the other secret papers applied to Esterhazy rather than to Dreyfus.’ Well, that is true. On examining the secret documents, as has been said by Major Henry, I saw that one of them applied, not to Dreyfus, as has been said, but clearly to Esterhazy. Following the orders of General Gonse, I tried to find out whether Major Esterhazy’s secretaries had copied documents referred to in thebordereauor included among those designated by the agent of whom I have just spoken. I did not continue long in this direction. I saw that it was impossible to divulge the thing without departing from the discretion within which I confined myself, whatever may be said, and I stopped. I questioned but one person, a certain Mulot, who appeared as a witness before the council of war, and who told me that he had been ordered to copy into books certain insignificant things, among which, in my opinion, the firing manual was not included.
“Then there happened a thing which caused me a little embarrassment in my operations,—the article in ‘L’Eclair.’ At that time I was absolutely convinced that Esterhazy was the author of thebordereau. Well, when the article appeared in ‘L’Eclair,’ I said to myself: here is a man who is going to admit what he has written; and I confess that that obscured matters not a little. I knew perfectly well that the article in ‘L’Eclair’ did not come from me. On the other hand, at the office of the minister of war, without saying anything very precise, the general manner seemed to give the idea that it came, not from me, but from my surroundings. I protested vigorously, and asked in writing that an investigation be made to find out who communicated this document to ‘L’Eclair.’ The investigation was not made.
“Later a second incident happened, which was to me even more disagreeable. The publication in ‘Le Matin’ of thefac-simileof thebordereau. A thing that especially struck me in the publication of thisfac-simile, which has also been attributed to me, was the omission of the few lines written by Dreyfus under the dictation of Colonel du Paty de Clam. These lines, to be sure, appeared in print, but the writing was not reproduced, and I believe that, if it had been, it would have made an unfavorable impression regarding those who were desirous of attributing thebordereauto Dreyfus.
“In short, these various incidents had produced a certain embarrassment, and I saw clearly that I would do well notto continue. Meantime came the announcement of the Castelin interpellation. I received an order to start on a mission the night before this interpellation,—that is, November 16, 1896. I should say that after the publication of thebordereauby ‘Le Matin,’ or about that time, Esterhazy came to Paris, where his attitude was extraordinary. I believe that some one saw him the day after the publication running through the streets like a madman, in a pouring rain. The witness is here, and will be heard. They would not hear him at the inquiries. Before the Castelin interpellation M. Weil, a friend of Esterhazy, received an anonymous letter, telling him that he and his friend were going to be denounced as accomplices of Dreyfus. It appears that Esterhazy received an anonymous letter to that effect, but I cannot certify to the fact so far as M. Weil is concerned. I will not amplify concerning the various and ever-changing phases of my mission. Leaving Paris November 16, I reached Tunis January 13 by way of the Alps and many other places. Until then, my relations with my superiors had been perfectly cordial. I received letters from General Gonse, in which he always shook my hand very affectionately. I must speak of one thing that happened while I was absent, and which I did not know of until General de Pellieux’s investigation. I believe that I shall be clearer if I speak of it now. After I had left Paris, I received information from General de Pellieux that my mail was being opened in my former office. As I could not tell anyone where I was going, I had left word at home that all my letters should be addressed to the war department. Consequently all my mail passed through the department, and General de Pellieux told me that all my letters were opened. I confess to my shame that I did not perceive that they had been opened.
“Now I pass to the time that I spent in Tunis. And I come at once to the month of June. Since the beginning of the year I had received a certain number of letters that said: ‘But, when I go to the war offices, they always tell me that you are on a mission, and that you will soon return.’ I concluded that they were not telling the truth to these worthy people, and I pinned to one of these letters a note,—rather sharp, I confess,—which I addressed to Major Henry in returning him the letter. This note read nearly as follows: ‘I wish that it might be said once for all to the persons who inquire for me that I have been relieved of this service. I have no reason to be ashamed of that, but I am ashamed ofthe lies with which my departure has been surrounded. Enough of mystery.’ That was written May 18. Early in June I received from the major, who previously had been my subordinate, a letter which I have here, in which he says that, after investigation, it is possible to explain the word ‘mystery’ by the following facts: (1) opening of a correspondence for reasons foreign to the service, and which nobody has ever understood,—this is an allusion to the seizure of Major Esterhazy’s correspondence; (2) attempt to suborn two officers of the service, to induce them to say that a document classified in the service was in the handwriting of a certain person,—I must say at once that these two officers have been transformed into one, and I do not know what has become of the second; (3) opening of a secret file of papers, followed by indiscretions prompted by motives foreign to the service.
“In the way in which these things were explained I saw at once insinuations, accusations, something extremely serious. I suspected that conspiracies were on foot. I even said to one of my superiors that this letter would not have been written, if there had not been something behind it. I answered directly that I had received the letter of May 31, and that I formally protested against its insinuations, and against the way in which the facts were stated. And then, not being at ease, for I did not know where all this was going to take me,—it was to take me to Gabès and to the frontier of Tripoli,—I thought it my duty to take precautions for my safety. I started for Paris, took counsel first of some military personages, and then went to M. Leblois, who was my friend, and for the first time, showing him this letter, I told him that I had been mixed up in the Dreyfus and Esterhazy cases. I told him so much about the first two paragraphs of this letter as was necessary for my defence, but I said nothing to him of the third paragraph, which seemed to me to relate to secret matters. At the same time, both as a deposit and that they might serve later for my defence, I gave to M. Leblois a certain number of letters from General Gonse,—I believe that there were fourteen in all, two of which have been published lately in the newspapers against my will,—together with my replies and some letters relating to my mission. I had previously destroyed such of these letters as related to matters of the secret service, especially a letter in cipher concerning sundry small matters. I left it entirely with M. Leblois as to the time when he should intervene, and as to the use thathe should make of the documents that I placed in his hand. He has acted as seemed best to him, and I approve of his course.
“Then I went back to Sousse, and heard nothing more of these matters, until it was made known in the press that M. Scheurer-Kestner was concerning himself with the Dreyfus question. At that time I wasen routefor the south. I had already started, when I was summoned to Tunis, where they asked me questions which at first seemed to me rather singular. They asked me in the first place if I had not allowed a secret document to be stolen by a woman. It was very easy for me to answer that I had never carried any documents away from my offices, and that there was no sort of possibility of a woman’s taking from me a document of this sort. Then a very curious thing happened. I received almost the same day, first, a letter from Major Esterhazy, second, a telegram signed ‘Speranza,’ and, third, a telegram signed ‘Blanche.’ Major Esterhazy’s letter said in substance: ‘I have received lately a letter in which you are formally accused of having bribed sub-officers to procure for you my handwriting. I have verified the statement and found it to be true.’ I do not know how he verified it. Nothing was said about it at the investigations. He said also: ‘You have withdrawn documents from your service to constitute evidence against me. The fact of the collection of such evidence is established. I have a piece of it in my possession at the present moment.’ At the same time I received a telegram signed ‘Speranza,’ saying: ‘Stop, demigod, all is discovered; matter very serious.’ What seemed to me very serious was not the investigation, but the fact that Major Esterhazy wrote my name without ac, and that the letter was addressed to Tunis. I made a connection between these two things in my mind. Now, the telegram signed ‘Blanche’ was not at all of the same sort. In the first place, the spelling of my name was correct, then my garrison, Sousse, was clearly indicated, and, finally, the writer was certainly familiar with my inquiries concerning Esterhazy, for the telegram read: ‘We have proofs that the dispatch was manufactured by Georges.’ It immediately occurred to me that the dispatch referred to was the Esterhazy dispatch. The whole was signed ‘Blanche.’ With these three documents in my hands, I did not hesitate a moment. I telegraphed to Tunis for authorization to go and see the general. I carried him a copy of the three documents, with a letter from the minister of war, saying to him: ‘I have just receivedthese three documents. They come from Major Esterhazy, or from some one connected with him. I ask an investigation.’ A fact that struck me later—for the light has come to me only gradually—was the reference of ‘La Libre Parole’ to this matter in very clear terms on November 15, 16, and 17, though these two telegrams and this letter did not reach me until November 10 or 11. Now to telegraph to the general, to go to Tunis, and to write to the minister of war took me until Monday, so that the letters could not have reached Paris before Friday. They were able, then, to publish in Paris on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday what did not take place at Tunis until Friday. On reaching Paris, I had been obliged to give my word of honor that I would see nobody before seeing General de Pellieux. I had no right to see M. Leblois until after General de Pellieux’s investigation. On coming before General de Pellieux, I was informed by him that he was going to hear me concerning the Esterhazy case. And he did hear me concerning it for an entire afternoon. I said to him what I have just said here. The session was a stormy one. There were two others, but at those there was scarcely any mention of Major Esterhazy. At the last two sessions I was obliged to defend myself almost all the time, although simply a witness. The first session was devoted to the examination of documents that had been seized upon my premises at the time of the search. This search astonished me somewhat at the time. Later I understood it. It had been made in consequence of another anonymous letter addressed to General de Pellieux, in which he was told that, by searching a servant’s room at No. 3, Rue Yvon-Villarceau, he would find some interesting things relating to the matter in hand. I suppose that it was difficult for them to conceive that an officer could have charge, for seven years in succession, of very confidential things, and have secrets at his disposal, and yet not have on his premises a single note relating to his service. There was nothing there. I never took to my home a single note relating either to the service of information as I conducted it in the war department at the time when I took my departure, or to the service that I have performed since. They found nothing to seize, except some letters from relatives and friends. And they kept only a letter from Mlle. de Comminges, which was signed ‘Blanche,’ like the famous telegram. I believe that this letter is still in General de Pellieux’s collection of documents. I do not know where General de Pellieux got his information concerning whatthey call the moral elements of my case, but I must say that this information surprised me. General de Pellieux told me to my great astonishment that I concerned myself with hypnotism, with occultism, with turning-tables, and that I was nervously diseased. I do not know what all that means; I never saw a table turn in my life.
“I come now to Major Ravary’s investigation. To Major Ravary I repeated what I had said to General de Pellieux. With him, too, I had three sessions. But he seemed like a man who was trying to find out what I had done, and was very little concerned about what Major Esterhazy had done. I told him that there were moral proofs in abundance, and I gave him some pointers. At the time when I left Tunis, where, in spite of the reports that had already been spread, there were people thoroughly in sympathy with me, several persons came to see me, notably Colonel Dubuche, who was about to retire from the service, and who sent me this message: ‘I know Major Esterhazy; in 1892, at Sfax, there was an affair of malversation which was to take him before a council of inquiry, if not before a council of war.’ Major Sainte-Chapelle, who brought me this communication, added that another important witness was M. Giquel, a retired commander of squadrons, then resident at Sfax. Well, these gentlemen told me that, thanks to the great forbearance of the military authorities and his supplications, Major Esterhazy, or, rather, Captain Esterhazy, as he was then, had escaped the council of inquiry and the council of war. Again, General Laroche’s son, who is at Tunis, holding a government office, told me that Major Esterhazy had been under the surveillance of his father, when the latter was in command of the sub-division of Constantine. Finally, Major Esterhazy was well known in the province of Constantine, and not favorably. I told Major Ravary that these things were said to me of Major Esterhazy. The first time, he answered me. That was very well. When, later, I repeated it, he made the same answer; but this piece of moral evidence did not appear in this report. They always said to me: ‘Oh! Esterhazy! why, we know him better than you do,’ and still nothing was said in the report. As I had seen in a previous investigation that much stress was laid upon moral proofs, I concluded that such proofs must have a certain importance.
“Major Ravary seemed to me very little inclined to summon witnesses whom I designated to him as persons who could give valuable information. I had designated M. Weil.M. Ravary took note of my suggestion the first time, and then a second; and finally I said to him: ‘I absolutely desire that this witness be summoned.’ He was summoned. I had also pointed out to Major Ravary the things on which it was necessary to lay stress. I told him that he should see the persons who had copied documents for Major Esterhazy, that he should ascertain from what officers Esterhazy had procured information, that he should find out what Esterhazy’s financial situation was in 1893 and 1894,—in short, that he should do all that there was to do and all that has not been done. On the other hand, Major Ravary strongly insisted on the various matters with which I was reproached,—the matter of causing the disappearance of tears from the photographs of the card-telegram, and of having endeavored to make one of my officers say that such a document was in such a handwriting, etc. They placed enormous weight upon these things, and also upon the episode of the lady who had lived in my house. I looked upon this as a sort ofhors d’œuvrefrom the standpoint of the Esterhazy investigation.
“I was reproached with having kept the fragments of the Esterhazy dispatch in my closet for a long time. When Colonel Sandherr was at the head of the service, he had gradually let this branch of the work fall into the hands of Major Henry and Captain Lauth. It was the rule then that Major Henry, who received the documents, should sort them out and hand them to Captain Lauth, and it was only when this task was finished that they were given to the chief of the service. When I assumed charge of the service, desiring to know things for myself, I ordered that all documents be given to me first, and later I handed them to Captain Lauth. That seems a small matter, but unquestionably it changed the habits of these gentlemen, and caused them some annoyance. When the accusations against me began, they recalled this matter, and found it singular that I did not do as my predecessor did, but, instead, put documents into my closet, that I might afterwards hand them myself to the officer designated to look into them. Another reproach against me was that of having carefully effaced all evidence of tear from the photographs that had been made of this card-telegram. There were two reasons for that, the first of which is the less important. A document of this sort, when it is cut into little bits, becomes much clearer when the tears no longer show. It can be read more easily. The second reason is this. If the document had circulated in the office of theminister of war with the tears as they originally were, it would have been said: ‘It is a torn paper.’ Well, there had been very serious indiscretions concerning the Dreyfusbordereau, and their origin was known a little too well. I was determined, having a very great responsibility in the matter, that those who had no need to know the origin of this document, and under whose eyes the photograph might pass, should have no indication of the manner in which this document reached me. The principal thing in the courts is the original, the card itself; the photograph goes with a collection of papers, first to the minister of war, then to the chief of staff, etc., but the document itself, especially a document as fragile as a telegram torn into I know not how many pieces, remains at a given spot. It is shown to two or three persons at most, and, if there is a trial, it is produced. Those are the reasons that led me to so carefully efface the tears from the card-telegram. They ask me why; they make it a cause of reproach; but for what reason I do not see, since the famousbordereauwas subjected to the same operation. It has been said to me: ‘But after?’ After, it was too late. I had a little foresight, and that excited mistrust,—I don’t know why. Then they reproached me with having tried to make an officer say that this was the handwriting of a certain person. That occurrence was simply this: I was examining this document with Captain Lauth. The captain said to me: ‘But this document has no sign of authenticity. It ought to have a date, a post-office stamp.’ Thereupon I said to him: ‘But you can testify whence it comes; you know the handwriting very well.’ He answered: ‘Oh! no, never; I do not know this handwriting.’ Note that it happened exactly like that. There was not one word more or less. And I believe that Captain Lauth’s testimony could not be different from mine from that point of view. He attached no suspicious character to my question, as is proved by the fact that we have remained on the best of terms. He has received me at his table, which is not a usual thing between an inferior and a superior. Now, if I had tried to suborn him, and to impose upon him an opinion that was not his own, the action would not have permitted us to remain in friendly relations. Later, when things were coming to a head, they gathered up all these little matters, and made use of them.