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Show FRANCE AND DREYFUS. Suppose Dreyfus is reinstated iu the French army and it is thus announced to the world that he is innocent, will that be all that France should do? What about his mental and physical tortures; tor-tures; his imprisonment in a cage like a dangerous danger-ous wild beast on a malarious island, the shame of his trials, the insults of the French populace and press? Is there to be no compensation for all that suffering? The meanest feature of all is that he was assumed to be guilty from the start and his persecutions were magnified from the beginning be-ginning simply through race hatred. Dreyfus is a Jew, and not only the ignorant rabble of France -pursued him on that score, but the high military and civil officers of France joined with their ex-eciations ex-eciations The disgrace is upon them, and all the glory is for Dreyfus and the few friends who stood by him. In that regard our own country Is vastly superior to any land on earth, and in generous sentiments toward all mankind no land can compare with our own. Even Tillman of South Carolina, in a case like that of Dreyfus would insist that the accused should have a fair trial. When it comes to partisan narrowness, there is a great deal in the United States. In-tenso In-tenso partisans can see very little of good in an opponent, but when a man's life and honor are placed on trial, the sentiment of the whole land, except in Kentucky and Missouri, is that his case should be judged on its merits regardless of race or station. The progress of our country has done more to break down race prejudices in tho past fifty years than had been done in five previous centuries. The exegencies of converting convert-ing a wilderness into a place of homes has taught our people that the differences among men are as a rule the differences of environment and that men should be judged by their brains, their hearts and their souls. The masses of France wanted Dreyfus convicted because he was a Jew, and now that he is about to be acquitted they seem to hate him still, and that trait lowers them in the estimation of a candid world. |
