“It has been claimed, but it has not been proven. Instead, in many instances, it has been shown conclusively that such charges against him were utterly false. It has been shown that others by the name of Dreyfus have been confounded with him. I do not suppose he was a man without faults, but those faults and failings make his unjust and cruel condemnation none the less horrible.”
“You feel strongly about this, Frank.”
“I do! I confess it. And I feel more strongly now than ever before. I feel like going into this thing deeply, but it now seems that I have done everything in my power, and that has proved to be—nothing!”
“Have you other reasons to believe Dreyfus innocent?”
“Yes. It has been shown that he was not even aware of some of the secrets given away in the forged papers. He had not been placed in position to acquire the knowledge contained in those papers. The dastards who sought his ruin incorporated in the papers what they thought he knew, but they were wrong.”
“This being the case, how is it possible to hold him longer on Devil’s Island without a fair and open trial?”
“In America or England it would not be possible. In France it is different. He is a Jew, and you see the powerful feeling that has been aroused against the Jews. He was condemned by the army, and it is a firmly entrenched belief in this country that the army can do no wrong. To give him another trial now, at which he might be able to clear himself fully, would be to confess that there was a possible doubt in the matter. That, it is said, would throw discredit on the army. If he were to be shown innocent, it might bring on a revolution.”
“And so they are going to let an innocent man rot on Devil’s Island rather than give him justice and confess that a terrible wrong has been done?”
“You must remember that it is ‘for the honor of France!’”
“It is the dishonor of France!” exclaimed Diamond hotly. “It means the eternal disgrace of France!”