The Cape Girardeau Democrat., 1895-10-26
MKs. WALLER.s STORY.

City-An Account of Her Husbands
Wrongs and the Indignities Heaped Upon
Her by French Officials and Soldiers
Win Seek Government Aid
New YORK, Oct. 1s.-Mrs. John L.
Waller, wife of the former United
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
WIS met at the pier in Hoboken by
her adviser, E. &. 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 his
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 Inc
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 clandestine cor
respondence with the enemy (the Ho-
VaS).
1t appears, according to Mrs. Wal
lrr's story. that on September >. while
at the house of Hova acquaintance,
Mr.. Waller had promised to procure
fCur or five reyolvers 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 IIovas.
After his arrest Mr.. Waller was con-
fnel in Il Chinaman's shop at Tama-
tave, and on the 18th of March he was
tried by court-martia1. There were
two counts in the indictment-vio-
lating order 3" in sending letters
from Tamatave, which was in a state
o; siege, without their having been
scrutinized 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
thefts committed by the French, and
had referred to two persons by the let
ters ID" and ''P" whom he declared to
be French spies. Waller had also sent
letters. inclOsed, to George Tessier and
4 young IIova 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, Il language he did not under
stand. The court-martiai appointed
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 iii Tamatave was to the effect
that Consul Weller was in collusion
Evi;h the French officials.
After Walters conviction an order
eXpelling his stepson, Paul H. Bray,
to Zanzibar. was carried out, he being
Gorcibiy taken to that place on the
saaie steamer which conveyed Waller
to prison.
An American named WoodfOrd took !
Mrs. Waller and her children as far as
Mauritius, where she asked assistance
of Consul Campbell to enable her to !
reach the United States. The con-
sui told her, she says, that tine
United States made no provi-
sion for such purposes. Then
she went to the governor, who
said lie would help her if Consul Camp !
bell would write to him regarding the |
matter. This the consul refused to |
do, saying that it would humiliate |
him. Finally she was sent home,
third-class passage, and while on the |
steamer she and her children were |
grossly insulted by the French SOL !
diers. From Marseilles, where she and |
her children were treated with the !
greatest Kindness by Consul Claud |
L lOmaS of whom She CnaalfS IL, ha {