The Great Round World and What Is Going On In It, Vol. 2, No. 10, March 10, 1898 | Page 8

hands of a British
subject "so long as the British trade with China exceeds that of any
other powers." As the British trade is now reported to be nearly ten
times as great as that of any other power, there is no immediate
prospect of a change.
* * * * *
The sentence of Zola to a year's imprisonment and to the payment of a
fine of $600 has been only the beginning of extraordinary proceedings
in France, resulting from his trial.
Colonel Picquart, who has been a strong champion of ex-Captain
Dreyfus, has been expelled from the French army without a pension,
and he is also for three years to be constantly watched by the police.
Furthermore, the papers and the public men who have been
conspicuous in their defence of Zola and of Dreyfus have been warned

to cease their agitation. Even some of the foreign correspondents have
received hints from the governmental authorities that if they are not
more careful in their statements with regard to the Dreyfus case, they
will be obliged to leave the country.
* * * * *
It is hard to believe that such a state of affairs can exist in a civilized
country. The position of the French Government has been so clearly
defined, however, by the French Premier, Monsieur Méline, that it is
plain the French republic has for a time become almost a despotism,
ruled by a tyrant known as the French army, which is, of course, the
cause of all the trouble. In the Chamber of Deputies the other day
Monsieur Méline remarked:
"After military justice civil justice has declared itself. It has proclaimed
that the members of the court-martial were honest men, who obeyed
their consciences. The Zola trial has ended the confusion made by those
who presumed to put themselves above the laws of the country. Those
who appeared in court were not there as subordinates of the Minister of
War, but as individual witnesses under nobody's orders.
"Certain generals may have been led on too far, but they were led on by
the defence. One general no doubt spoke a word too much, but
remember the accusations that were flung in his face. They ascribed to
officers hidden intentions to undermine our institutions, but the French
army cannot be an army of one man. There is not a single officer
capable of an attempt against the country, for our officers have other
dreams."
From this speech it is plain that the French Government is exerting its
power to crush the present movement in favor of Dreyfus. But those
who have followed the Zola trial carefully and impartially are
convinced that the Government will fail. What the result will be, no one
can tell. But there are many who believe that one result will be a
revolution ending in the overthrow of the republic.
This, however, is an extreme view.

No one really believes that Zola will be kept in prison for a year, even
if he does go there. He himself has borne his sentence like a hero, and
is willing to accept it without an appeal. His lawyer, however, and his
friends will do their utmost to save him from suffering so gross an
injustice.
Even if Zola were guilty of libelling the army, his intentions were so
honorable and unselfish that any fair court of justice could not have
failed to have acquitted him, or at most to have given him merely a
nominal punishment.
* * * * *
It is plain that behind the Zola case there lurks a very deep feeling
against the Jews. It is thought by students of French life at the present
time, that this is the real cause of the terrible bitterness of the French
people against ex-Captain Dreyfus and his defenders. They believe that
the Dreyfus party represents the Jews of France, for whom they have an
intense hatred.
It should be explained here that the Jews have acquired an immense
power in France, as they have, indeed, all over Europe. They are the
great financiers of the world, and their power is so extensive that it has
created the alarm and jealousy and malice now finding expression in
Paris.
* * * * *
The Government of France is now in so dangerous a situation that there
is a good deal of discussion as to what will happen in case the republic
is overthrown.
The President of the republic, Félix Faure, is popular throughout France,
but he has hardly strength enough with the people to become a great
leader. A few months ago he won enthusiastic approval by the skill
with which he arranged his visit to the Emperor of Russia, and by the
dignity and simplicity which he displayed during that visit.

President Faure is