Major Lauth.—“I did not say that I had placed strips in such a way as to remove traces of writing. Whenever I have had to make a photograph, Colonel Picquart has asked me to cover up certain lines, or certain words with a line in the middle. On each occasion I have made plates concealing a part. He did not explain to me his purpose.”
M. Labori.—“I am much pleased with the answer, for it brings out a point that had escaped me,—that M. Lauth did not intend to say that there was anything singular in this photographic treatment of the dispatch.”
Major Lauth.—“Pardon me, I say that I did not conceal the text. I had to remove traces of tear, in order to give the dispatch the appearance of a document absolutely new and intact.”
M. Labori.—“Was Major Lauth ever asked to remove the appearance of tear from the original?”
Major Lauth.—“Oh! that would not have been possible.”
M. Labori.—“The reply satisfies me. Was not the bordereau also in bits?”
Major Lauth.—“Yes.”
M. Clemenceau.—“Into how many pieces was the dispatch torn?”
Major Lauth.—“Perhaps sixty.”
M. Clemenceau.—“How large was the largest piece?”