On Friday week (January 12th) M. Zola, on being pre.
sented with a gold medal by his admirers at the office of the Siècle, made a long and striking speech. If it was only a question of saving an innocent man, they might be content with their victory in the Dreyfus case and the rescue of the victim. But in their attempt to rescue the other victim France, they had been vanquished. "Dreyfus is free, but our France still remains sick, inasmuch as she does not think herself strong enough to bear the splendour of truth and justice." M. Yves Guyot, in making the presentation to M. Zola, affirmed that complete justice would be persistently demanded, "by the punishment of Mercier and the other criminals," and the juridical rehabilitation of Dreyfus. That
is, of course, logically true, but we cannot help thinking that the more patriotic course for the Frenchmen who feel with M Zola and M. Yves Guyot is to be content with the freedom of Dreyfus, and with keeping men like General Mercier and his supporters out of public life. That this is the most that can be hoped for is shown by the fact that Major Carriere has been promoted to be an officer of the Legion of Honour.
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