Mr. Campbell to Mr. Uhl.
Port Louis, Mauritius, August 21, 1895. (Received Oct. 4.)
Sir: I have the honor to inform you that the Waller family will leave this port at 2.30 p.m. of this date, by the French mail steamer, for Marseilles, thence to Paris.
In pursuance of instructions by cable, dated Washington, the 6th instant, I have drawn on the United States ambassador at Paris for the amount incurred for the transportation and incidental expenses of those people from this port to Paris.
I have decided to send them third class to Marseilles. Very respectable people who can afford to pay for different accommodations travel [Page 335] by this class; besides, it would have cost the Government double the amount to send them to Paris second class.
They go second class from Marseilles to Paris. The Messageries Maritimes Company only issues through tickets to London; I was therefore necessitated to send a separate draft to the consul at Marseilles to purchase their tickets from that city to Paris. The reason I sent them second class from Marseilles to Paris is that upon inquiry I found that the third class was a sort of mixed train which took two or three days to make the journey, whereas the first and second class trains go through in one day.
The total expenses from this port to Paris for the five people, including everything, and $30 cash given Mrs. Waller for incidental expenses during the voyage, will be under $600, for which vouchers have been sent the United States ambassador.
Should I have sent them second class from this port to Paris it would have cost the Government more than double the above amount.
I have, etc.,
United States Consul