the HERALD Page Arts and Ideas Wednesday February Love between noble people can move mountains By JOHN SOMMER Herald Special We must not descend into bit ter personal attacks We must look higher I will repeat again to day I have said from the first day above all human pas sions above all human error there is the Fatherland and it will be my supreme judge I am strong my dear Alfred so have no fear when you feel most discouraged most sad tell me all your thoughts and describe all the bitterness in your heart My thoughts never leave for an instant and if I listened only to my heart I would write you every moment of every hour Sometimes I have such a need to conftde in you to tell vou hopes to lean on you that I em brace vour photograph I hold it with all rm speak to and I want to bring it to life his loving dialogue between two people becomes once you know that the man who wrote these sentences to his wife was innocently prisoned m a cruel dungeon in the tropics and that the woman who answers him had to keep out of the public eye with her children for years because was rounded by hatred The Dreyfus Affair that divided the French people for the best part of 12 years was a rehearsal for what happened years later in Germany Anti Semitism has been Chris ever present shadow and when Captain Alfred Dreyfus of the French Army s Genera Staff was accused of high treasonand arrested on October 15 18 the headline in the newspaper La Libre Parole Arrest of a Jewish Officer opened the floodgates to a virulent Semitic campaign that shook ranee to her very foundations With the army refus ing to divulge information the newspapers condemned the Judas Dreyful before anv trial had taken place he outcome of the court martial on December was predictable the military court condemned Alfred Drefus to the punishment of deportation and to mihtarv degradation Jews out of France bellowed the journalist Drumonl on the of Drevfuss conviction in La Libre Parole and the newspaper Soleil wrote Drefus is a man without a country a man of a special race this is not a Frenchman Other w Ideas and The Arts by John Summer crime of high treason for a se time His enemies were jubilant but Dreyfus knowing that his sick brother would not survive any more years in prison obtain ed a letter of pardon from dent Loubet It took almost another seven years before Cap tain Alfred Dreyfus was finally fully rehabilitated by the judges of the High Court of Appeal on July 11 1906 This is the skeleton only of a brutal and absorbing story If you are interested all the details of the convoluted tale I suggest that you read Dreyfus by Michael Bums published by Harper Col tins in 1991 might think this a too story for Valentines Day but to me it is proof that the love bet ween noble people can move mountains and will prevail against all the evil of man Artisans workshop The Credit Valley Artisans are a one day moccasin workshop on Saturday February from am to pm Georgetown resident Cathie Mar will be the instructor Eleven years ago Cathie learnt the methods of Indian moccasin construction and decorative beading while living in northern Saskatchewan Cathie is a member of the Stained Glass Grafters and Potters and Sculptors both guilds of the Credit alley Artisans During the workshop the stu dent will hand sew a pair of The student will be given the choice of making the tradi moccasin or the modern moccasin which is similar to a dance slipper Some basic beading techniques for embellishing the moccasins will also be demonstrated This workshop will be held at Cottage in Park Georgetown For further information contact Frank An thony Registrar at 877 5856 bet ween 6 pm and pm Deadline for registration in this course is hursda ebruary 6th OSBORNE DECOR Custom Mode Verticals Drapes And Bedspreads FREE SHOP AT HOME SERVICE Passive Reducing Salon February Sweetheart Specials Toning Sessions Plus 5 Toning 8734907 1 6 Guelph St Georgetown newspapers and the public followed these examples Alfred Dreyfus was deported to Devils Island in French Guyana where he remained for four years part of that time confined to his cell and locked into double shackles at night During the long years of im he staunchly pro claimed his innocence and at the same time never wavered and love for F ranee His wife Lucie and the Dreyfus family rose to the ordeal ad mirably The family con siderable wealth was employed by his devoted brother to unearth the plot behind his brother s misfortune and to press for a retnal But before this day could arrive the country went through turmoil The real traitor Count was found but whitewashed by the deeply em broiled army Outraged by the armys machinations the great wnter Zola accused the highest army brass of having certain proof of in nocence and of having suppress ed it The country divided into two camps the Dreyfusards and the Dreyfusards and the war of words gave birth to a devilish vocabulary from Jewish ver mm to the needed theJews On July 1 1889 Alfred Dreyfus returned to France for his second court martial Again the army closed ranks and the military judges found him guilty of the If you qualify you can get a cheque for 85 of the first 300 of your tax refund and 95 of the rest Plus your tax return will be prepared at no extra charge So why wait for the refund cheque to arrive by mail Ask about Cash Back at HR Block and get your refund fast James St Georgetown 416 DENTURES FULL DENTURE SERVICES DIRECTLY TO THE PUBLIC New Demy Relmes Repairs Cleaning i Dental Insurance Honoured J Wheelchair Accessibility lAW TRENTON The Denture Clinic 18 Church St Georgetown Ont 8772359 PLUG WERE HERE TO HELP YOU BETTER Help Us To Serve Better When you see a streetlight burnt out please call us at extension 211 Hour Automated Meter Reading System If you currently receive a meter reading card because Halton Hills Hydro cant get acces to your meter take note You can now phone in your meter reading anytime of the day or night seven 7 days a week 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