The age-herald., 1898-11-17
LIS DOWNFALL
 IS COMPLETE

London, November 16-A dispatch from Pelsin says that Ii Hung Chang has been humiliated once more. This time the indie cations are that his downfall is irrevoo- able-that England has got rid of her stanchest enemy in the east, and Russia lost her warmest friend.
 In his seventy-sixth year the Bismarck of China has been ordered by his inscrutable monarch to proceed to Tsi-Nan, capital of the province of Slan-Tung, and confer with the viceroy of the province about the Hoang-Ho.
 It seems that the ancient and interesting Yellow river Is in the habit of overfiowing now and again and drowning a few hun dreds of the emperor's subjects. It has been doing this since long before the great wall was built, but his majesty has only just discovered it. Or, rather, he has just discovered that u Hung Chang is the very person to think up some method of reform ing the Hoang-Ho in its old age-and in his.
 And so the statesman for whose favor the two strongest nations of Europe have ex- erted to the highest pressure their rival diplomatic resources is to depart from the scene of his power and take journey. And when he reaches his destination, he and an inferior official are to put their heads together to see whether they cannot "pre- vent future inundations of the Yellow river"
 To conceive an adequate notion of what this means, one should imagine the Iron Chancellor at the height of his career, be- ing sent to the Rhine provinces to confer with some princeling about the best means to tame phylloxera and teach them that it is not right to spoil the grape crop
 This is interpreted as the most important advance England has made in her struggle for handsome foothold in China and her trade policy of "the open door," And since "the open door" means welcome to Ameri- can manufacturers Prince Lis downfall is likely to awaken keen interest in the United States.
 Nobody in Pekin doubts that the famous wearer of the yellow jacket has been shelved for good and al There is even a sinister suggestiveness in the manner of his disposal. He has been assigned to perform an impossible task. Europeans here are asking themselves whether this is merely polite way of sending him into obscurity for the rest of his days or whether it is not rather preliminary to a more drastic means of getting rid of him.
 The operations of nature will not be af- fected by his appointment. The Hoang-Ho will continue to overflow and drown many Chinamen. The veteran statesman will have failed to obey his sovereigns command.
 This event, which indicates that Great Britain has broken the power of the dow ager empress, Ii Hung Chang's staunch friend, is the direct result of the veteran statesman's services to Russia throughout the contest for Chinese territory between that nation and England.
 It is only month or two since he was accused to his own face by Sir Claude Mac donald, the British minister at Pekin, with being in Russia's pay-in effect, with hav- ing sold China to the Bear. His power be- gan to wane early in September, when he was dismissed from the Tsung-li- -Yamen, or Board of Foreign Affairs, but still re- tained his post of Senior Grand Secretary.