January 1898
I complain...!
Your Excellency:
In order to appreciate your kind and cordial attitude when you met me, would you allow me to express concern about the reputation you deserve? Would you allow me to tell you that although the number of military stars on your military emblem is rising, it is most shameful and difficult Destroyed by obliterated stains, it is in danger of fading.
Notorious defamation has not hurt you, you have won the hearts of the people. You are the center of our adoration, because for France, the alliance with Russia is a patriotic celebration. Now, you are about to take charge of global affairs. What a solemn victory, crowning our great century of hard work, truth and freedom. However, the annoying Dreyfus incident has tarnished your name (I was about to say that it tarnished your political achievements). The military court was actually ordered to acquit people like Esterhazy, and truth and justice were slapped with a big slap in the face. It is too late now, France has lost its face, and history will record that such a crime harmful to society occurred during your presidency.
Since they dare to do this, which is very good, then I should also be fearless and should tell the truth. Because I have promised that if our judicial system-this incident came to it through normal channels-did not tell the truth, I will tell the whole truth. It’s my responsibility to speak out loud, I don’t want to be an accomplice; if I become an accomplice, the ghost of the innocent tortured in the distance — the most horrible torment for a crime he has never committed — will be there Haunted me at night.
Your Excellency, I will tell you aloud the truth that strongly resents honest people. Based on your credibility, I am convinced that you have not yet discovered the truth of the facts. You are the supreme chief of France. Apart from you, who should I denounce those who really commit crimes?
The first is the truth about Dreyfus’s trial and the verdict against him.
An evil person dominated all this and did it all: Colonel Patty. At that time he was just a major, he was the whole Dreyfus incident. We will not understand the Dreyfus incident until a fair investigation clearly establishes his actions and responsibilities. He looks uncomfortable and complicated, a mysterious woman full of tricks and obsessed with the use of low-level novel methods-stealing documents, anonymous letters, meeting in deserted places, and peddling evidence of harm at night. It was his idea to say that the memo was written by Dreyfus; it was also his idea to check the document in a room full of mirrors. Major Folzinetti told us that Patty entered the cell where the prisoner was sleeping with a lantern that was not yet lit, and suddenly shot the light on the prisoner’s face, with the intention of making the frightened prisoner confess without being mentally prepared. There are many things that can be revealed, but this is not my responsibility; let them investigate, let them find it. I can only simply say that Patty is responsible for investigating the Dreyfus case with the authority of a criminal police officer. In terms of the order of the incident and the rank of the incident, he must bear the greatest responsibility in this misjudged case.
The intelligence chief, Colonel Sandhell, who died of general paralysis, held the memo for a period of time. There have been "message leaks" and missing files before, as if they are still missing today. When someone gradually suspected that only officers from the Artillery Corps of the General Staff could write the memorandum, the authorities tried to find this person. This is an obvious double error, showing that the inspection of the memo is superficial, because a careful and reasonable inspection can confirm that only infantry officers can write this memo.
Therefore, they searched the aforementioned range thoroughly; they examined the handwriting samples as if it were a family dispute. They think they will find the traitor in their own office and then drive him away. Now that we are all familiar with this part of the plot, I don’t want to repeat it, but when Major Patty began to participate in the matter, Dreyfus was immediately suspected; from then on, Patty framed Dreyfus and the incident became " His" incident. He was sure that he could make the traitor very embarrassed, and squeezed a complete confession out of him. Of course, there is also General Messier, the secretary of the army, who seems to be mediocre; there is also General Bois de Vre, the secretary of the staff, who seems to be influenced by strong clericalism; and the deputy secretary of the staff, General Gunce, who is conscientious. Driven, the handling of incidents is more enlightened. However, the development of the incident was started by Patty alone, who led the people by the nose and hypnotized them. Yes, he also played with spiritism and mysticism, and talked with ghosts. The experiments and all the crazy methods of torture he imposed on the unfortunate Dreyfus—the trap of confession, the stupid investigation, the absurd forgery of documents—are incredible.
Ah, it was a nightmare for anyone familiar with the previous plot! Major Patty arrested Dreyfus and put Dreyfus in a single cell. He immediately went to Dreyfus's house and threatened Mrs. Dreyfus. If she said anything to the outside world, she would lose her husband. At the same time, the unfortunate man was pulling his hair, yelling wrongdoing, and the torture proceeded like a 15th century record, covered in mysterious smoke and accompanied by a lot of rough techniques. The accusation is based entirely on a silly memo, and the naive accusation is not only a fairly common crime of treason, but also the most despicable fraud, because almost all the so-called secrets passed on to the enemy are worthless. I emphasize this point, because it was the gateway to incitement to the real crime that was later-a terrifying judicial error that discredited France's reputation. I want to be completely clear about how the judicial error occurred, how Major Patty created this error himself, and how General Messier, Bois de Ville, and General Gunce were fooled by him, so that he had to take up the error later. The responsibility of the people, and further felt the responsibility to protect them, and regard it as a sacred truth that cannot be discussed. At first, the mistakes they made were negligence and ignorance. In the worst aspect, they succumbed to the prejudice brought by the religious fanaticism and military spirit of the people in their circle, and condoned the ignorance.
Now, Dreyfus has been summoned to a military court for trial, and everything is required to be kept secret. If the traitors really opened our national defense border for the enemy and let the German emperor go straight to Notre Dame de Paris, the military court would not be able to force a stricter silence, and it would be tougher and more mysterious. Now the whole country is in a state of shock. When terrorist acts, betrayals, and historical scandals are involved, rumors naturally arise. Of course, the country bows to these rumors. The penalties were too heavy to increase, the traitors were publicly humiliated, and the public applauded. The state’s attitude is very firm: since the shameful act places the sinner on a remote rocky mountain, he should stay there and suffer remorse and swallow; however, those indescribable, dangerous, and possibly irritating accusations across Europe need to be forbidden to listen to. The secret meeting was carefully hidden. Are these accusations true? No, of course not! There is nothing behind Major Patty's excessive, crazy fantasies. Everything is just a smokescreen, the purpose of which is to conceal a vulgar and quirky novel; as long as you read the formal indictment read out in the military court, anyone will believe that the above is true.
How superficial is that indictment! Is it possible for a person to be found guilty because of it? It is shocking to be so bad, and I ask the honest to read it: When they think that Dreyfus did not pay on Devil’s Island because of it. When the price is commensurate, their hearts will throb with anger and disgust. Dreyfus can speak many languages, right? This is a crime. There is no document in his house that damages his reputation, right? This is a crime. He occasionally visits his hometown, right? This is also a crime. He works hard and is curious, right? This is a crime. He is not easy to panic, right? This is a crime. He was really panicked, right? It was a crime. How naive its wording! How unfounded its claims! They told us that he was charged with 14 different counts, but in the end there was only one real crime: the famous memorandum. And we even found that the experts were not in agreement. One of the experts named Gobert was pressured by the military because he dared to draw conclusions that were different from the military's expectations. They also told us that 23 officers’ testimony was not good for Dreyfus. We still don’t know what questions they were asked, but we are sure that their testimony is not all negative. Moreover, you will find that they are all from the Department of War, this interrogation is a secret family meeting, and they are all "insiders". We must not forget this: it was the staff who wanted this trial, they tried Dreyfus, and they had just issued a second verdict on him.
In this way, all that is left is the memo, and the opinions of experts on it are not consistent. They said that the judge in the conference room naturally tended to acquit. If this situation is true, you can understand that, in order to prove the verdict is justified, the staff today desperately insisted that it has a document that can confirm the guilt but cannot be revealed. This document legalizes everything, and we must bow to it and obey it. It seems to obey a hidden and unknowable god. I refuse to accept any such documents, I refuse with all my strength! It may be some ridiculous piece of paper, maybe the document that mentions casual women or asks for more and more people named "D"; undoubtedly, it is A husband or someone feels that he has not paid the full amount after taking advantage of his wife. However, isn't that piece of paper related to national defense and will immediately lead to war after being published? No! No! That is a lie. What is even more abominable and ironic is that their lies will not cause them any harm, and there is no way to convict them. They turned France upside down, hid in the legal noise they created, and blocked people's mouths by shuddering and distorting their minds. As far as I know, there is no more crime against society than this.
Your Excellency, these facts explain how the mistrial was caused, and about Dreyfus’ character, his financial situation, lack of criminal motives, and never stopped yelling innocence-all this proves that he is an excessive The victim of imagination is also the victim of the military's prevalent clericalism; and the fanatical pursuit of "filthy Jews" has brought shame to our time.
Now, let me talk about the Esterhazy incident. Three years later, many people's consciences were still deeply disturbed, worried, and troubled, which caused them to look further, and finally they believed that Dreyfus was innocent.
I will not go back to the initial doubts about Scherer-Kestner and the later affirmative story of the incident; however, when he conducted his investigation, something very serious happened within the staff. Colonel Sandhell passed away, and it was Colonel Picard who succeeded him as the director of intelligence. While performing his duties, Picard received a letter from a foreign agent to Colonel Esterhazy one day. He was driven by a strong sense of responsibility to conduct an investigation, but without the consent of his superiors, he would not take any action. action. Therefore, he outlined his suspicions to his immediate superiors—General Gunce, then Bois de Vre, and then General Bjor, who was the Minister of the Army after General Messier. The famous Picard file that people often talk about is actually the out-of-pocket Pjord file. This file was prepared by the subordinates for the minister, and the staff must still keep this file. The investigation was conducted from May to September 1896. Two things were certain: General Gunce was convinced that Esterhazy was guilty, and General Bois de Vre and General Bjorn did not suspect that the memorandum came from Este. Hazi’s handwriting, these conclusions are based on the investigation of Colonel Picard. But the mood suddenly rose, because if Esterhazy was guilty, Dreyfus's sentence was bound to be overturned, and this was what the General Staff decided to avoid at any cost.
At that time, those involved in the incident must have felt extremely anxious. It is worth noting that General Bjorn did not make any compromises. He has just taken office and is capable of exposing the truth. But he dared not do this-undoubtedly, he was afraid of public opinion, and also afraid of injuring the entire staff, including General Bois de Vre, General Gunce and his subordinates. His conscience is fighting against what he thinks are the most important interests of the Army, but it only lasts for a minute. After a minute, it was too late, and he had made a choice: he had compromised.
Since then, his responsibilities have become heavier and heavier. He has taken on the crimes of others and is as guilty as others. His crime is more serious than others, because he has the right to correct judicial injustice, but he has not taken action. If you can, please understand this! For a year, General Pjord, Bois de Vre, and Gonce have all known that Dreyfus is innocent, but they don’t say a word! Such people can be safe at night. Sleep! They have wives, children, and love their wives and children.
Colonel Picard did his part as a man of integrity and expressed a firm attitude to his superiors in the name of justice. He even begged them, telling them how unwise their hesitation is, what a terrifying storm is taking shape, and how the storm will erupt once the truth is revealed. Later, Mr. Scherer-Kstner repeated this remark to General Bjorn; out of patriotic enthusiasm, he urged Bjorn to deal with this incident seriously and not to let it intensify and eventually turn into a public disaster. However, the guilt had already been committed, and the staff could no longer confess confessedly; and Colonel Picard was transferred, and they transferred him further and further, even to Tunisia. They even wanted to assign him to a task that would inevitably lead to death, and the Marquis of Mohes was killed in the same area. Despite this, Picard did not fall out of favor, and General Gonce maintained friendly correspondence with him, but it was not wise to just expose some secrets.
In Paris, the conquering truth is moving forward, and we know how this anticipated storm will erupt. When Mr. Scherer-Kestner was about to ask the Minister of Justice to review the Dreyfus case, Mathieu Dreyfus publicly criticized Esterhazi as the true author of the memorandum, Esterhazi Just then surfaced. Witnesses said that at first he was panicked and was on the verge of suicide or preparing to escape; then, suddenly he became very bold and intense, and Paris was shocked. Because the specific support appeared in the form of an anonymous letter warning him of the actions the enemy was taking, one night a mysterious woman even handed him a document stolen by the staff that could save his life. I can't help but suspect that Colonel Patty is the mastermind behind the scenes, because I recognize that this kind of planning is in line with his imaginative style. His accomplishment—determining Dreyfus’ guilt—has been in danger, and undoubtedly, he wants to protect his accomplishment. Amend the verdict? Why do you want to do this? It would be a waste of his far-fetched and tragic efforts for that fictional low-level story-the hateful last chapter of this story is on Devil's Island, and Patty does not allow this to happen. Therefore, a duel between him and Picard will eventually take place; in the duel, one of them will show his face openly and the other will wear a mask, and soon we will see them in a civil court. The backing of all this is the General Staff, which still defends itself and refuses to admit the crimes committed. These crimes are becoming more and more abominable.
In the confusion, people are eager to know who might be the protector of Esterhazy. The chief leader behind the scenes is Colonel Patty, who arranges everything and dominates the whole situation; the method he uses is so absurd that it is so ridiculous.
Followed by Generals Bois-de-Four, General Gunce, and General Björg. They felt that they were responsible for acquitting Esterhazy, because if Dreyfus was admitted that Dreyfus was not guilty, the War Department would be ridiculed by the public. Sweeping prestige. This is a strange phenomenon, and the results are impressive, because the only upright person in the incident, Colonel Picard, became the victim and suffered rough treatment and punishment. Ah! Justice! The terrible disappointment filled my heart! They even said that Picard was the forger and forged the telegram intended to destroy Esterhazy. But my God, for what? What is the purpose? Please give me a motive. Was he also bought by the Jews? The funny thing about the whole thing is that Picard is an anti-Semitist at all. Yes, we are witnessing an ugly scene: a person who is heavily indebted and who has done evil is found not guilty, while a person full of honor and no bad record is notorious! When society degenerates to this point, it begins corrupt.
Your Excellency, this is the Esterhazy incident: a guilty person has been proven innocent. For two months, we have been watching every episode of this tragic incident. I can only briefly describe it. This is only a summary of the whole incident, but one day, every part of this turbulent incident will be written out in detail. We witnessed General Pellieu and Major Hafayi commanding a nasty investigation. The result of the investigation was that bad guys turned into good people and honest people were discredited. Then, the authorities convened a military court.
Does anyone really hope that a military tribunal will overturn a sentence made by another military tribunal?
What I'm talking about doesn't even involve the judges of military courts. The way they are selected can be different. Since the blood of these soldiers contains disciplinary factors, isn't this enough to disqualify them for a fair trial? Discipline means obedience. The Secretary of the Army is the highest commander of the army. Once he declares the prestige of the original sentence, how can you expect another military court to overturn the original sentence? From the perspective of class relations, this is impossible. General Bjorn had paved the way for the judges in his statement. They obeyed his opinions when hearing the case, just like obeying the command of the commander on the battlefield, obeying without hesitation. The opinion that influenced their verdict was: "Dreyfus has been ruled treason by a military court, so he is guilty. Our military court cannot declare him innocent. Now, we know that if we admit Esterhazy is guilty, It is equivalent to saying that Dreyfus is not guilty." Nothing can get them out of this line of thought.
Their judgment was so unfair that it seriously affected the future military courts and made their decisions forever doubted. We may doubt the wisdom of the first military court’s verdict, but there is no doubt that the second military court was guilty. Their excuse-I repeat it again and again-is that the Supreme Chief has declared that the first verdict is immutable, sacred and transcendent. How can his subordinates dare to oppose? They preach to us the reputation of the army and want us to love it. The army, respect the army. Oh, yes, indeed, if you mean that when the country is in danger, the army will respond immediately and defend the French territory. Such an army is the French people, and we can do nothing but love and respect for it. However, the army involved in this incident has no dignity. It will not fight for the justice we need. What we are facing here are soldiers who hold swords and may force us to submit tomorrow. Should we sincerely kiss their god-assisted hilt? No, of course not!
As I just stated to you, the Dreyfus incident is an army incident: an officer of the staff was reported by his colleagues and sentenced under pressure from his supervisor. I have repeatedly said that if he is unjustly wronged, all officers of the staff must plead guilty. Therefore, the Army used any method imaginable—operations in the news, statements and hints, and various useful methods—to shield Esterhazy in order to convict Dreyfus again. The Republican government should bring a broom to the Jesuit lair (General Pjor himself called them so) and clean it up! Where can I find a cabinet that is strong, wise, patriotic, and courageous enough to completely reform the entire system and start from scratch? I know Many people shudder as long as they think of war, because they know what kind of people control the national defense! A sacred church has now become a hideous, insidious, rumors, and slander behind it, and this is what determines us The place of the country's destiny! People saw the terrible scene from the sacrifice of that person in the Dreyfus incident. Yes, an unfortunate, "despicable Jew" died. Yes, several military officers used a series of crazy, stupid, indulgent imagination, nasty police methods, inquisitor-like and tyrant-like tactics, but they were not punished! They trampled on the country with their boots, using national interests as an excuse, The country’s calls for truth and justice squeeze into its throat.
They also committed other crimes. Their actions are based on the following newspapers, and let the gangsters in Paris defend them-these gangsters are now arrogant and defiant. At the same time, the law and honesty are frustrated by the defeat of the war. When most people ask for a generous motherland as the head of a free and just country, they accuse some people of making France in chaos. This is a crime at all-even though the people who committed this crime are plotting to mislead The whole world believes that their fictitious events are true. It is a crime to mislead, manipulate, and drive public opinion into fanaticism; it is also a crime to poison the hearts of humble, ordinary civilians, to promote reactionary and narrow fanaticism, and to hide behind the abominable fortress of anti-Semitism. . France is the great cradle of human rights and freedom. If anti-Semitism is not eliminated, it will die. It is a crime to use patriotism as an excuse to increase hatred; while human science is working for truth and justice, it is also a crime to worship swords as modern gods.
Truth and justice-how eagerly we have fought for them! Now it is frustrating to see them rejected, ignored, and forced to retreat! I can easily imagine the soul of Sherer-Kstner Full of depression and pain, undoubtedly, one day in the future, he would wish that when he was questioned in the House, he would take revolutionary actions to reveal everything he knew and tear off all the false masks. He is your loyal and reliable person, a gentleman who can look back on his honest life. He thinks that the truth is sufficient in itself—it has no practical use but is sufficient—to him, this is very clear. He asked himself why he wanted to destroy the calm situation, anyway the rising sun was going to rise. He is serene and confident, but he is about to be punished for it now, how cruel! The situation with Colonel Picard is the same: out of noble dignity, he did not disclose the letter of General Gons. His concerns brought him a reputation, but when he respected discipline, his superiors were busy slandering him; before his interrogation, they used brutal and unbelievable methods to investigate. There were two victims, two upright and broad-minded people. They stepped back and let God do his work, but at the same time, the devil was also doing his work. Speaking of Picard, we have witnessed an extremely disreputable situation: a French court allowed the prosecutor to publicly accuse a witness, and all legal complaints were added to the witness, but when the witness was summoned back When the court explained and defended itself, the court announced that the trial would be secret. I think this is still a crime, and I estimate that this approach will arouse the conscience of all human beings. Our military court does have a very strange view of justice.
Your Excellency, this is a very clear truth. It is shocking. It will leave a stain that cannot be removed during your presidency. Ah, I know you have no right to intervene. You are a prisoner of the constitution and a prisoner of the person closest to you. However, as a person, your responsibilities are very clear, you will never ignore it, and you will definitely take your responsibilities. I did not feel desperate for a moment, I knew the truth would prevail. I am convinced-I repeat-I am more convinced than before that the truth is moving forward and that nothing can stop it. This incident has just begun, because the current situation is crystal clear: on the one hand, the perpetrators do not want to reveal the truth, and on the other hand, the defenders of justice will use their lives to witness justice. I have said it elsewhere, and now I repeat it here: if truth is buried in the ground, it will sprout and grow; once it erupts one day, everything will be blown up. Time will prove everything, and we will know whether we are prepared for the catastrophe in the future.
Your Excellency, this letter is too long, so I will conclude here.
I sued Colonel Patty because he was the violent protagonist in a judicial mistrial (unknowingly, I want to believe), and he even used extremely absurd and reprehensible tricks to cover up his evil deeds in the past three years.
I sued General Messier because he was an accomplice in one of the most unfair actions of the century, but at least he did it out of his fragile mind.
I sued General Bjor, who held undeniable evidence of Dreyfus' innocence, but he concealed it. For political purposes, he committed this crime against justice and humanity. He did this to save the face of the staff that had been affected.
I accuse Bois-de-Four and General Guons. They are complicit in the same crime. One of them is undoubtedly out of a strong clergy conviction, and the other is probably because of making the War Department the most holy place that cannot be attacked. Team spirit.
I sued General Pellieu and Major Hafayi for conducting a poor investigation. What I mean is that the investigation is absolutely one-sided, and the report written by Khafayi is innocent, shameless and immortal.
I sued three handwriting experts, namely Messrs Belhomme, Varinard and Couard, who submitted false reports unless the medical report showed that they had problems with their eyesight and judgment.
I accuse the War Department of leading an abominable campaign in the press (especially in The Flash and Echo de Paris [L Echode Paris]) to conceal my mistakes and mislead the public opinion.
Finally, I sued the first military court, which violated the law and convicted the defendant based only on a document that is still secret. I sued the second military court. It was ordered to cover up the wrongdoing of the first military court, but later it committed the crime knowingly and found a guilty person not guilty.
When making these complaints, I fully understood that my actions must be supervised by Articles 31 and 31 of the Regulations on News Dissemination promulgated on July 29, 1881. According to these regulations, defamation is an illegal act, and I deliberately put myself under these laws.
As for the people I accused, I didn't know them, I had never met them, and had no grudges or hatreds with them. To me, they are just a kind of entity, just the embodiment of social misconduct. The action I take here is nothing but a revolutionary method to urge the revealing of truth and justice.
I have only one purpose: to let the sun shine on the tortured people in the name of mankind, and people have the right to enjoy happiness. My fierce protest is just a shout from my soul. If you dare to summon me to court, let them do so, and let the trial be held in broad daylight!
I'm waiting.
Your Excellency, I would like to pay you my deepest respect.
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