MARTYR OF FRANCE

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Issue 165, 30 July 1937, Page 6

MARTYR OF FRANCE

Moving Story of Colonel Dreyfus LONG FIGHT FOR TRUTH I have seldom read a more moving story than that of Dreyfus by his son, Pierre Dreyfus, says a writer In "John o' London's Weekly." Its o-bject is not to vlndlcate Dreyfus. That has longr since been achleved. No responslble man to-day who examInes the evldenoe has a shadow of a doubt that Dreyfus, who as a ohild watchlng tho oonquerlng German soldiery tramping through his natlve town of Mulhouse vowed that he would become a Frenoh sgldier, the better to aerve his eountry, was innocent of the abominable orlme of selllng that oountry's seorets to the enemy. The alm of the. hook is, in the wordS of the author, "to reply to those who would assign mysterious origlns t'o the Dreyfus affalr (and furnlsh slngularly complloated explanations ) , to brlng out the very staple and very human psychology of lt, emphaslse the most etrlklng faots, and desorlbe the prlnolpal aotors as I thlnk they shohld be understood.," In this he admlrably suoceeds. In eimple, straightforward language he unfolds the dreadful story from the day in October, 1894, when Alfred Dreyfus, a Captaln attaohed to the Army General Staff on the threshold of a brllllant army oareer, rlcht profoundly happy in his home Ufe, was aocused of high freason, and sentenoed to flve years' lmprlsonment on Devll'a Island to the day when, twelve years later, after glgantlo efforts, the oon-' vlotlon was ouashed and he was lnvested with the Leglon of Honour on ' the very spot where his deoorations had been torn off his tunlo and his eword had been broken in front oi hta. Never Lo»t Hope. What stands out In this strange nar-, rative, so orammed with plots and oounter-plots that it makes the most exoitlng of spy plays on the stage appear tame., Is the flne and lovable character of Dreyfus himself. Through all this martyrdom In his dark, airless hut on the penal settlement, where the temperaturo never fell below elghty dgrees, he never abandoned hlmsell to black despair. "My oonfldence and faith," he, wrote to his wlfe In 1896, "are absolute and Incontestable." ■Hla inexhaustible patlence and oourage breathes through all lils letters to - his wlfe, and an exqulsite tenderness too, so that the letters might well rank 'with'the great love letters of the world. It was the same when on his return home he had to suffar the cruel disappointment ln 1899 of the second court-maijtlal at Rennes. His frlends by unremitting effort had secured a retrial of his case, and all that resulted was that ln splte of new and lrrefutable evldence of his Innocence the cpurt declared hta guilty by a majority of flve votes to two, adding the humiliating rlder that there -had been "extenuating circumstanoes." A free pardon followed. But what was the use of that to a inan as deeply and as rightly sensltlve of his honour as Dreyfus As he himself said, "It was an act of humanlty. But I needed an aot of justlce." Flghtlno for Frtnea. Perhaps the most interesting part is that which deals with his struggles following the failure of the Rennes court-martial to secure that the shame of his monstrous convlction should be wiped out and that the good name of the French Army should be re-estab-lished. It Is ln these years that Ihe splendour of his character is so particularly evident, for it Is clear from these papers that he was flghting prlmarily not for himself but for France. He felt profoundly that in condemning him France had condemned herself. The anti-Semitism which had played such a sorry part ln securlng his convlction cut across all the grand Liberal and generous traditions of the Republlc. He conceived the struggle as having risen far above his own selfinterest. The whole foundations of Justice were involved and he passionnfp'v wMb Kant that "when Justloe dlsappears lt ls no longer worth while for men to llve on earth." Men ln every walk of life felt that ln the vindioation of Dreyfus was a cause that transcended all else in lmportance. "Particularly," records the writer, "was this true of the intellectuals who up to that time had been indifferent to public affairs. The Study suddenly became too narrow for the writer, the laboratory Insufllclent for the scientist. The philosopher and the historian found their leoture rooin too limited. In large numbers they took the path to the Forum." And with the uprising came a splritual regeneration of France. The Dreyfus affalr awakened the* sense of revolt against lniquity that has led so many Frenchmen to protest with all their heart and soul against injustice vlsited upon human beinga, to whatever nation they may belong. When all is said and done, France emerged from the Dreyfus affair purifled, enobled, stronger, and more robust. Von Bulow's Oplnlon. Even ln his flnal trlumph Dreyfus showed himself truly worthy of the devotion that his name had Inspired. When, following on his investiture as a Chevaliersef thef Legion of Honour,® the crowd surrounding him shouted, "Vive Dreyfus 1" "No," he replied, "Vive la Republiquel Vive la veritei" ln- fact, not merely the' honour of his counlry but its very safety was Involved in his vindioation. How deiighted Germany was at the deep rift that had been created In the solldarity of France by ti\e' Dreyfus affair is cmphasised by the following dispatch of von Bulow, Minister of Foreign Aifalrs in Germany. "It is to be hoped." he wrote, "that France will not gain the sympathy of the Liberal s and Jews afresh, as a resuit of Ihe swift and resounding vindication of Dreyfus lt would be better for the affair to go on like a running sore, holding up the Frencli Army to ridicule and provoking a European scandal." It was pressure from the highest quarte'rs ln Germany that prevented General Schwartzkoppen, to whom Dreyfus was accussd of sellint his secre'ta. givlne

his1 shattering evldenoe' ttiat ne had ln fact had no dealings with Dreyfus. That he wanted to do so is clearly proved by the letter that his wldow wrote to Dreyfus in 1930. An interesting book could be written indeed. tracing the role that the Dreyfus affair played in the origin of the Great War; ' Happily, Dreyfus was soared to play a dlstinguished part in that war and lived to see the re'storation of Alsace to fight for which he had flrst decided to enter the army forty years befoi:e.