October, four years ago, he was arrested on a charge of having sold military secrets to a foreign Power, the French Government having been put on the track of his offense, it was said, by the discovery of a letter, in his handwriting, found at the German Embassy. A violent anti-Semitic agitation was in progress at the time, and public opinion at once set strongly against Dreyfus. He was tried before a military court, and, in spite of earnest protestations of innocence, was convicted, mainly on the strength of an unsigned memorandum which indicated that its author had sold military secrets. On the trial this memorandum was submitted to five experts, two of whom were unable to find any trace of resemblance between the writing of the memorandum and that of Dreyfus, and one of whom (generally regarded as the most competent) maintained that Dreyfus, in writing the memorandum, had disguised his handwriting. The trial was conducted by court martial, with closed doors. Dreyfus was found guilty, condemned to be degraded from military rank, and to be imprisoned for life on Devil's Island, a penal settlement off the coast of French Guiana. His brother, Matthieu Dreyfus, made the charge that the real author of the famous memorandum was Major Esterhazy, who was arrested, tried by court martial behind closed doors, and acquitted. At this point Zola addressed his famous open letter to the President of the Republic, charging, among other offenses, that Esterhazy had been acquitted by the officers of the court martial under orders from their military chiefs. Zola was indicted, and his trial was, from an American point of view, a startling perversion of the methods of justice. Zola was found guilty, and, with the editor of the paper in which his letter appeared, was sentenced to imprisonment, and fined. The defendants subsequently appealed on the ground that the court which convicted them was incompetent. Their appeal was rejected, they were again tried before the court of Versailles, which had originally convicted them, and the same penalty was imposed upon them.

This

on various grounds, among others because it had discovered further proof of Dreyfus's guilt in the form of a letter, written apparently by a German military attaché to an Italian military attaché, which assumed knowledge of treasonable conduct on the part of Dreyfus. The Minister of War declared that the authenticity of this letter was indisputable. This letter, by his own confession, confirmed by suicide, Lieutenant-Colonel Henry forged, for the purpose of reinforcing the disputed proofs of Dreyfus's guilt. confession and suicide, following so close upon the Zola trial, have set in motion a strong movement for the reopening of the whole case, and have caused the most intense popular excitement throughout France. Cavaignac, the Minister of War, who had laid such stress upon the forged letter, has resigned, still asserting his belief in Dreyfus's guilt, and General Zurlinden, the Military Governor of Paris, has succeeded him. Pub lic feeling, which not many months ago made any advocacy of the cause of Dreyfus personally perilous, and which rarely, even in the history of France, has reached such a height of madness, is undergoing a rapid revolution. From all sides the Government is urged to reopen the Dreyfus case. Even the Paris press, which was furiously against Dreyfus, is now declaring that no other course is open to France, and the army joins in the demand. It would seem impossible that the Government should persist in the policy of refusing to reveal the evidence on which Dreyfus was convicted, and of refusing a full rehearing of the case. The military leaders have evidently been duped, or have been guilty of the gravest offenses against the State. Forces, moral, social, and political, are at work which must sooner or later compel the French Government to make a full, disclosure of the Dreyfus matter, even at the risk of international complications.

On Wednesday of last week Queen Wilhelmina the young Queen of Holland became eighteen years of age, and, in accordance with the Constitution of Holland, her reign began immediately. No ceremonies took place, however, upon that day, all public rejoicing and ceremony being deferred until this week, when the new Queen and her mother, the Queen Regent, proceeded from the Hague to Amsterdam, and were wel comed with the most genuine enthusiasm by

the people of that city, and, indeed, to a large extent of Holland generally. gathered together for that purpose. The ceremony of Tuesday was not, strictly speaking a coronation, for in Holland the kings and queens wear no crowns. It was really an enthroning. In all ways the exercises were simple, and for that reason were all the more impressive. The Queen, in the presence of representatives of the two legislative chambers, took an oath to maintain and observe the Constitution of Holland, to guard the national independence, and to protect the individual rights of all her subjects. This oath was taken on the Constitution itself—a custom peculiar to Holland. We will not undertake here to describe the festivities of the occasion, which was really a great national fête, but our readers will in due time have the pleasure of reading a special article on this subject to be sent to The Outlook by the well-known historian and student of Dutch life and literature, Dr. William Eliot Griffis. The personal affection of the people of Holland for their young Queen, and the girlish charm of her character, cannot fail to recall that occasion of sixty-one years ago when Queen Victoria was welcomed to the throne of Great Britain. May the new Dutch Queen's reign be as happy and prosperous as Victoria's !

Samoa and the Powers

There is no real reason why the death of King Malietoa, which took place last week, should compelan .mmediate settlement of the Samoan question or a division of the islands. Under the treaty between the United States, Great Britain, and Germany, made in Berlin in 1889, there was provision for the succession to the Samoan throne by an election under the usual native customs, but with the supervision of the Chief Justice, who is by the treaty a foreigner. The present Chief Justice is an American, and there can be little doubt that if an election of a new king is carried out, the Chief Justice would practically have the casting vote, so to speak. It will be remembered that the disposition of the Samoan question by the Berlin treaty was practically for a tripartite occupation by the United States, Germany, and Great Britain. late there have been signs that Germany desired a division of the territory; and it may be added that the tripartite government is cumbrous and in many ways unsatisfactory. The Samoan Islands, in point of fact, are not

Of

of very great commercial importance; their total commerce amounts to only about $600,000 a year, while the population is less than 40,000. The is.ands are now, however, of special value to this country, because they form a station on the route from San Fran cisco through the Hawaiian Islands to Australia and New Zealand. The division of the islands which has been proposed would give to the United States the smallest of the three principal islands-that containing the harbor and coaling-station of Pago Pago, already ours-while Germany would take the island which has the most trade, and England that which has the greatest area. The late King Malietoa was a man of interesting and picturesque personality. Although descended from many generations of cruel and savage ancestors, he was of the mildest disposition, had Christian forbearance, and more than once showed himself willing to sacrifice his own interests and even his throne for the possible future benefit of his country. His deposition between 1887 and 1889 was accompanied by some touching evidences of his devotion to his people. It is said that the phrase he used most constantly to express his deepest wish was, "Some good thing for Samoa." A newspaper writer on his reign well expresses the truth in saying that Malietoa "had to see his feeble realm of distant islands caught up in the whirl of confused diplomacy of European Powers seeking its dismemberment."

The attention of the Army Mismanagement country is concentrated on the question whether the soldiers in the recent campaign were properly cared for and are now properly taken care of in the various camps and hospitals. Secretary Alger continues to maintain an attitude toward his critics which indicates, apparently, entire inability on his part to recognize the gravity of the charges against army management, and the depth and extent of public feeling. While the President was inspecting Camp Wikoff last week, one of the nurses called his attention to the fact that soldiers were dying in the grass outside the hospital, and that it was impossible to get them under its roof. It was explained to the President that the nurse was "hysterical." Unfortunately, reports which come in from many quarters regarding the condition of the troops in camps, especially of the sick, in

dicate that this kind of hysteria is very general. The Merchants' Association of this city has issued an appeal for aid, with the initial statement that "within one hundred miles of New York several thousand soldiers of the United States army are slowly starving to death. Thousands of our soldiers, especially those of the regular army, are still unsupplied with the food required to preserve their lives. This statement of facts is made, after careful personal investigation upon the ground, by thoroughly competent men." In all parts of the country private organizations are springing up and private persons are being solicited for means to care for the sick and wounded troops of a Government which prides itself on being the richest in the world. The reported determination of the Government to abandon Camp Wikoff is interpreted as a confession that the ground was improperly selected, and is to be abandoned on account of its unsanitary condition. This ground was se

lected by the War Department at its leisure. Camp Alger has already been abandoned on" account of its unsanitary condition, although within half an hour of the capital of the Nation. The reports of the unsanitary condition of the camp at Chickamauga show, apparently, a similar state of affairs there. At one army post the surgeon in charge has been trying for weeks to secure permission to take the men in his care, who are in a critical condition on account of the fever they have passed through, from their thin shelter tents to the protection of an unoccupied building in the immediate neighborhood, belonging to the Government, but has been unable to obtain any reply to his request. It is said, apparently on good authority, that in some cases army surgeons have been without medicine since the first of July. The parade of the Seventy-first New York in this city last week was probably as pitiful a spectacle as was ever presented by troops returning victorious from a gallant campaign. The men were emaciated, many of them were compelled to ride in carriages, and of these a number were so exhausted that they slept through the tumult of the crowds which filled the streets. Making all due allowance for matters to which the public attention has already been called-the Cuban climate, and the haste with which the army was improvised and sent to the frontthere remains ample ground, apparently, for the profound feeling of indignation which exists throughout the country, and which will

not be satisfied until there has been a thorough examination of the whole matter.

It is a matter of public The New War-Ships congratulation that the pressure of opinion exerted through the press led to the revision of the specifications for our new battle-ships, the bidding for which has just been closed. Originally the plans called for ships of no greater speed than fifteen knots an hour, which is less than some of our present ships possess, and much less than the speed of the best foreign ships. The award last week of the contracts for the building of the Maine, the Missouri, and the Ohio was made to three separate firms, the Cramps Company, the Union Iron Works, and the Newport News Company. All the ships are to have a speed of eighteen knots, for although the bids were for either a seventeen-knot or an eighteen-knot ship, there is practically no doubt that the Government will insist upon the latter. It is fortunate that the bids were of such a nature that the work could be divided among different shipbuilders, as in this way the ships may be finished sooner. Even on this plan the time allowed is from thirty-one to thirty-three months-quite a little longer than has been required in building several of the foreign war-ships. It is understood that the Cramps will practically duplicate the fine ship they are now under contract to build for Russia. The average cost of the three ships will be about $2,875,000. Bids have also been accepted recently for the building of twentyeight torpedo-boats and torpedo-destroyers. This number of boats of these classes will strengthen our navy in this direction as much as is needed at present. While we have been greatly deficient in boats of these classes heretofore, it is also true that the results of the war just finished show that the need of these boats is not as great as had been previously supposed. On the other hand, the necessity of having a strong line of battleships has been emphasized over and over again. With the three battle-ships now contracted, for, the five now in course of construction, and the five now in service, the United States will not be inferior in this direction to other navies, all things considered. We behieve that there is little or no difference of opinion as to the necessity of maintaining our navy at a high point of efficiency. This does not necessarily mean that our navy should be large

as compared with those of England and Russia, but that it should be capable of defending our coast in the event of sudden war, and that it should be in the future, as it has been in the recent past, a model to other nations in respect to efficiency, accuracy, and fighting power.

The South Carolina Primaries

The direct primaries in South Carolina, which have been the occasion of a more active and interesting campaign than is likely to precede the State election in November, were held last week, and revealed a strong Prohibition sentiment. There were seven candidates for the nomination for Governor. Governor Ellerbe, who stood for renomination as the champion of the dispensary system-restricting the sale of liquor to about one hundred State agencies, and forbidding all sale of liquor to be drunk on the premises-received the largest vote-30,000. Next to him came Mr. Featherstone, whose candidacy was belittled by the daily papers, but whose advocacy of complete prohibition brought him 18,000 votes. The other five candidates, whose attitude toward the dispensary was of less importance, received, all told, barely the vote of Governor Ellerbe. Mr. Schumbert, who won so much applause on the stump by telling how his son had been disciplined in the army for refusing to hold the horse of a negro officer, carried the primaries at Charleston and Columbia, but polled a relatively small vote in the rural districts. As no candidate received a majority of all the votes, a second primary will be held next week, at which only the Governor and Mr. Featherstone will be candidates. It is probable that Governor Ellerbe will be renominated, as the votes hostile both to him and to the dispensary system cannot be concentrated upon his opponent. The campaign has resulted in a good deal of criticism of all the candidates, and there has been some discourtesy exhibited, but the Charleston "News and Courier" reports that the "general shaking up" is believed to have been beneficial. One result that has been gratifying to the Conservatives has been the practical disappearance of the old factional feud between themselves and the triumphant Reformers. For Congressional and minor offices many Conservatives were voted for by Reformers, and Reformers by Conservatives—a result that could not easily have been reached

had nominations continued to be made by the aggressive workers for the two factions. A direct primary, at which all voters in general sympathy with a party are allowed to take part, seems to be the surest preventive of permanent factions. This feature of direct primaries may partially reconcile to it the party managers who are for other reasons its most strenuous opponents.

Political Events

...

From a National standpoint the most important action of any political convention last week was the explicit declaration of the Iowa Republicans in favor of the gold standard. Until 1896 the Iowa Republicans always demanded the enlarged use of silver as currency, and in 1896 the Iowa representatives at St. Louis nearly all opposed the use of the word "gold" in the financial plank. This year, however, their declaration is as follows: "The experience of the last two years has fully approved the gold standard of the Republican party, as declared by the National Convention of 1896. . . . The monetary standard of this country and of the commercial world is gold. The permanence of this standard must be assured by Congressional legislation giving to it the validity and vitality of public law." In Wisconsin the agitation in favor of direct primaries bore fruit in the Democratic Convention as it had in the Republican. In fact, the Democratic plank on this subject was even more explicit than the Republican in favor of a primary election law by which "nominations shall be made by the direct vote of the people." In the main, the Democratic platform is devoted chiefly to State issues, but on National questions the Convention unequivocally reaffirmed the Chicago platform. Notwithstanding this, however, a disposition manifested to conciliate the Gold Democrats led to the failure of the expected fusion with the Populists. In New Hampshire the Democratic platform declared against the annexation of the Philippines, and against the maintenance of a large standing army. It was understood that this platform was designed to restore harmony between the gold and silver wings of the party, but it reaffirmed the principles of the party as enunciated in its National Conventions, and proclaimed its devotion to Mr. Bryan as a leader. In New York State the popularity of Colonel Roosevelt as a hero of the Cuban war has led to a spontaneous movement all

over the State in favor of his nomination for Governor. So strong is this movement that the machine leaders seem to contemplate yielding to it. The election in Arkansas resulted, of course, in a Democratic victory. All that was important in this election or in that in Vermont, which is taking place as we go to press, is the relative decrease in the votes of the two parties.

The Quay Machine and the Banks

Mr. Wanamaker has called attention to new and convincing evidence that the system of keeping millions of dollars of Pennsylvania funds on deposit with favored banks without interest was maintained directly by and for the political machine. The evidence in question is that of ex-Congressman Darlington, of West Chester, who, it appears, has recently been forced to tell how the system worked in the case of the bankrupt Chester County Trust Company, of which he was President.

According to his testimony, "the current expenses "charged on the books of his company were actually political contributions to Republican State and county committees. These contributions were made, he said, pursuant to "a sort of implied understanding" with "the parties who were influential in controlling State deposits." His crossquestioning on this point ran as follows:

"Was this understanding with the State Treasurer?"

"I did not say that," said Mr. Darlington; "it was an implied understanding."

"Who was that understanding with ?" "With those who controlled State deposits." "Who were they?"

"

Myself, for one."

"Who else ?"

headway. The chief danger seems to be the presence of National issues in the campaign. As a rule, the Republican papers prefer the re-election of Mr. Quay to the triumph of a Democratic candidate who believes in the free coinage of silver, and insist that Dr. Swallow, the nominee of the Independents and the Prohibitionists, cannot possibly be elected. City and State,” however, to which we are mainly indebted for this paragraph, believes that victory for Dr. Swallow is possible.

Since our last week's The Quebec Conference summary of matters to be discussed at the Quebec Conference some important work has been done, though its bearing on the result cannot yet be ascertained. The Commissioners will not give full news to the press, but the presence of several deputations has indicated pretty accurately certain questions which are being considered. The lumber interest, the Canadian sealers, the New England fishing interest, and the Boston Chamber of Commerce have sent representatives, each urging its own views of what should and should not be done. It is time to make a protest against the too frequent demands of special interests. Although the Commissioners on both sides are men exceptionally well informed, it is necessary, of course, to supplement their knowledge by reports of the latest phases of the matters dealt with; yet they were appointed, not to be dictated to by these interests, but to subordinate them to the general interest by the mutual exchange of national advantages. It has been asserted in dispatches, and has not been as yet contradicted, that the alien labor laws, the mining regulations, the inshore Atlantic fisheries, the bonding privilege. and the Behring Sea fisheries have all been discussed preparatory to the most important subject, changes in the tariff of both countries. Not only so, but it is said that special efforts were made not to complicate other matters with the tariff for fear of causing a vital disagreement. Undoubtedly our side of the question has not been so insistent upon a simultaneous and connected settlement of all matters as that of the Canadians has been; we could afford to settle some and leave others to the future. But it has been the claim of the Canadian Liberals that they could clear away these outstanding difficulties in which their Conservative oppo