The Greatness of Small Things
An evident miscarriage of justice in the case of only one man has balanced the fate of a great world power for months and set all the rest of the world a-talking. Now that his case is to be revised and he to have a new trial, after four years of suffering, the scale beam is again rocking. Despatches from Rennes, France, under date of July 28, say: "The acquittal of Dreyfus means the opening of a terrible campaign against the army, including the disgrace of some of the greatest of its chiefs. It is believed that the sentence of Dreyfus, whether favorable or to the contrary, is the beginning of a crisis more serious than any yet reached since the opening of the unfortunate affair." France is not alone. There are many as gross miscarriages of justice as in the Dreyfus case, but they do not come to light. Occasions will, however, bring to the surface the iniquity which is hidden beneath. A small thing is great when it is an index of great things. The case of Dreyfus reveals the French army.