The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1896-02-23
THE WALLER CASE.

The release Of John L. Waller from
a French prison. the account of which
was reported in our dispatches yester-
day. is a happy termination Of what
at one time threatened to be a serious
unpleasantness between the United
States and the Republic Of France.
Walters was the case mentioned in
President Cleveland's regular message
to congress, as constituting the one ex-
ception to the customary cordial rela-
tons existing between the United
States and France; and it is said in the
dispatches of yesterday that at times
it has come dangerously near disrupt
ing the diplomatic relations between
the two republics.
Tt seems that after Waller ceased to
be United States consul at Tamatave,
Madagascar, he continued to live in
that country and secured advantageou
business concessions from the natives.
Meantime difficulty occurred between
the native government and France,
which exercises a protectorate over the
island. Waller was involved in those
troubles, and was captured at Tama-
tave when the French took possession
Of that town and proclaimed martial
law. He was accused of number Of
crimes, among them that of commune
eating military information to the
enemies of France. He was tried and
convicted by a military tribunal and
sentenced to thirty years imprison-
ment
The United States government re-
quested from France the record Of the
proceedings of the French tribunal
which had condemned Waller. This
request was so far complied with as to
give description of the court and es-
tabiish the fact that the American was
tried in open court and defended by
counsel; but the evidence adduced in
the court in support of the charges
was withheld, the French government
taking the ground that it was under
no obligation to do more than it had
done, and that to furnish the evidence
adduced IN court at the demand of the
United States would establish a bad
precedent
It is this that has occasioned the
trouble. Our government has been
satisfied that Waller was guilty of the
charges, but it held that it had the
right to satisfy itself by seeing the
evidence on which he was convicted
that the American citizen had received
only just treatment. The French gov
eminent must have modified very
greatly the position It first assumed.
for It appears that all the evidence
upon which Walling was convicted was
exhibited to Ambassador Eustis, with
which our government is entirely sat
isf1ed. and in addition to that Waller
is released from prison, after serving
even less than one year of the thirty
to which he was sentenced. He is now
en- route to the United States at the
expense of our government.
The authorities at Washington have
just ground for elf-congratulations at
the outcome of the controversy; and
the citizens of the United States may
well feel a pride In that government
that can demand that its humblest
citizen shall have justice accorded to
him even by the proudest and most
powerful nation of Europe; and not
only justice accorded him by report
OF that government. but our own gov
eminent by its agent inspecting the
evidence ON which he was convicted.
thus becoming absolutely sure that no
wrong has been perpetrated. That is
the kind Of government to live under,
the kind to support. the kind to which
the citizen can afford to give his
hearts best affections.