A Communist's Trial

The retrial of onetime Captain Jacques Sadoul, who was sentenced to death in absentio in 1919 for deserting to the Bolsheviki while a member of the French Military Mission, began at Orleans.

Sadoul, a debonair, middle-aged man, stirred the court and all France by declaring that "it is fantastic to realize that it is yet unknown that, after they came into power, Lenin and Trotzy never ceased to appeal to France for military support that would enable them to resume the war against Germany."

He went on to charge ex-Premier Georges Clemenceau with responsibility for the Brest-Litovsk Treaty (treaty of peace signed between Russia and Germany in 1918) and for "the death of several hundred thousands of soldiers." It was thought extremely unlikely that he could prove that Clemenceau actually did refuse military aid to the Bolsheviki, although Sadoul averred that documentary evidence existed.

In the course of the proceedings, the prisoner referred to his exile (1919 to 1924) :

"Exile has been very bitter. I believe I am a good Communist, an excellent internationalist, but I am first of all a Frenchman, a product of France according to the theory of Taine. I have seen apple trees in the Crimea, but they are not to be compared to the apple trees of Normandy."

Then, with an airy flourish of his right hand: "I have this to say in conclusion: Only revolution can save France."

The court voted adjournment of the trial. Sadoul was given temporary liberty pending continuance of the hearing. He scurried off to Paris, visited Communist friends in the Chamber of Deputies, received a great ovation.