Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1895-10-24
MRS. WALTERS STORY.

MRS. WAllERS STORY.
Es-Consul Arrive Safely se New York
Cfsy-An Account Of Her Husbend's
Wrougs and the Indtgnities Heaped Upon
Her By French Omciais ANA soldisrs-
VIII Seek Government Aid
New YORK. Oct 1S.-Mrs- John l.
Waller, wife of the former Omitted
States consul to Madagascar, arrived
in this city yesterday morning ON the
Dutch steamship Amsterdam She
was accompanied by her three
daughters and her young SON She
was met at the pier in Hoboken by
her adviser, e. G. Woodford. and
crossed the river on tug, after which
she went at once to the Clarendon
hotel.
When seen by a reporter she said
that she could add but little to the re-
ports already made public of her hus-
bands confinement in the prison at
Marseilles:
There is one thing would like to
say. however" Mrs. Waller said. "Am-
bassador Eustis has been harshly crit
icized for not aiding us as much as he
might have done. There is no truth
in that report. Mr.. Eustis did every
thing in his power for us He is even
now treating my husband with the ut
most consideration. The whole trouble
lay with Robert Campbell, my hus-
bands predecessor. He promised me
to cable the authorities at Washing
ton asking for their assistance. but in
stead of doing SO he wrote, thus caus-
ing an unnecessary delay of nearly
three months.
Mrs. Waller made detailed state
ment to the reporters of the events
leading to the arrest of her husband
and of his trial and conviction. She
said: "Mr. Waller was arrested at
Tamatave, Madagascar. March 5. 1895.
by the French authorities on a charge
of having conducted a clandestine COR
respondence with the enemy (the Ho-
vas).
1t appears, according to Mrs. Wal
ler's story. that on September 5. while
at the house of a Hova acquaintance,
Mr.. Waller had ,1-omised to procure
four or five revolters for the son Of his
host, who, as Mr.. Waller was
preparing to take a trip to this
country, had requested him to
purchase the weapons for him. At
the trial of Waller these revolvers
played an unfortunate part for him.
as the French authorities insisted that
they were simply samples of an in
tended shipment of arms to the Hovas.
After his arrest Mr.. Waller was con-
fined in a Chinaman's shop at Tama-
tave aud on the 18th of March he was
tried hy court-martial. There were
two counts in the indictment-vio-
lating '.order 81 in sending letters
from Tamatave, which was in a state
of siege, without their having been
scrutipized by the authorities. and, at
tempting to convey information to the
enemy.
Capt Levisoit and six lieutenants
composed the court. Waller had re-
peatedly asked for counsel, but was
allowed none until twenty-four hours
before the trial, when Djeriaud took
his case, but as soon as he had read
the letters Waller had written to Mrs.
Waller, the lawyer threw up the case.
The reason for this, Mrs. Waller says,
was that in one of them Waller
had written in condemnatory terms
of certain acts of Consul Weller. his
successor. In his letters to his wife
Waller had also told of outrages and
had referred to two persons by the let
tiers ID" and ''P' whom he declared to
be French spies Waller had also sent
letters. inclosed. to George Tester and
a young Hova named Ratsimandresy,
but these contained nothing but refer
ences to business matters
Previous to the trial Waller was ex-
amined through French interpreter
and made to sign a paper written in
French, language he did not under
stand. The court-martial appointed a
clerk named Carrie as counsel for Wal
Ter, but he was allowed to make prac-
tically NO defense. The trial and
drawing up of the sentence occupied
exactly. three hours and twenty-five
minutes.
Mrs. Waller says that if Mr.. Waller
had not been detained at Tamatave by
Consul Weller, who unwarrantably
questioned some of her husbands Off
cial acts. Waller would not have been
arrested. In fact, she said. public
opinion in Tamatave was to the effect
that Consul Weller was in collision
with the French officials
After Walters conviction an order
expelling his stepson, Paul H. Bray
60 Zanzibar, was carried out, he being
forcibly taken to that place on the
same steamer which conveyed Waller
TO prison.
An American named Woodford tool
Mrs. Waller and her children as far a
Mauritius, where she asked assistance
of Consul Campbell to enable her te
reach the United States. The con
sui told her, she says, that tine
United States made no provi
sion for such purposes Their
abe went to the governor. WHIT
said he would help her if Consul Camp
bell would write to him regarding the
matter. This the consul refused tt
do. saying that it would humiliatt
him Finally she was sent home
4hird-class passage. and while on the
steamer she and her children were
grossly insultsd by the French sol
diers. From Marseilles. where she ant
her children were treated with the
greatest kindness by Consul Claud
Thomas, Of whom she speaks In the
HIGHEST terms, Mrs Waller came t.
che United States in the second elias
cabin.
ON THE GRlDlRoN.
eropeets, Of . Game sBetween Yale an
Psnnsylvania.
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