The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1900-08-07
SAVANNAH, GA, TUESDAY, AUGUST z 1900
were received, that tie announcement of
the battle WAS not Il ...--..--.-,

were received. that tie announcement of
the battle was not u nexpected.
opinion among the various officials now
IN washington is 50 mewhat divided as to
just what is presaf Jed by to-day's events.
Inc more optimtsI ic are inclined to think
tnst such sevs re blow as the Chinese
must nave receiE ed at Pei Tsang will re-
SUIT IN the spe edy disinteeration of the
iorces now opp osing the march Of the in
ternational column. In line with this pre-
oictlon 1t we 81 prophesied that the Chi
nese government would find means to send
the ministers from Pelxin under escort
ana mus ytave off the advance upon the
capital
Strenuous Resistance.
On To- other hand there were
nuI nber of officers in a
position 20 judge equally we'll who held
the night at Pei Tsang, was only the
beginning of a strenuous resistance that
"ouiu be continued to the gates of Pc
KIN or beyond. 1t was urged in sup
port of this view thar the Chinese had
a hundred men to lose against one of the
AN es; that they were well armed with
Modern guns and had apparently an
abundance of ammunition.
1t is stated that considerable apprehen-
sion exists among those conversant with
oriental affairs at che reappearance In
feKln politics of that rabid anti-foregn
fanatic, Ii Ping Hung. 1t is understood
that his appearance in Pekin affairs may
nave had something to do with the Shang-
hai rumor of Lii Hung Chang's suicide
1t is certain that with Ii Ping Hung and
Prince Tuan in contasol of the defacto gov
ernment in China. a religious war of
Dervish-dike fanat5CIsm probably will be
waged against alb foreigners, and friends
o. the more liberal Chinese statesmen are
exceedingly anxiou as to their fate un-
der the Tuan-Li regime.
Our Position Unchanged.
The position of The United States, dipio-
matically, remains unchanged. This gov
ernment will not consent to the removal
OF the ministers. and foreigners from Pc
Kin until there sn free communicate by
the Powers With their ministers. Nor
will this COVE inment consent to comrnu-
nication in plf SIN language alone but in
slsts that ci pher messages must pass
freely betwee n Minister Conger and our
department e state. 1t is emphaticaIly
stated that utlless such messages are ex-
changed, the United States cannot know
beyond quesu on that the messages were
not garbled 'and both the United States
government and the ministers misled.
There sesms to be no doubt about the
safety of the ministers at Pekin for the
present. and that they will remain where
they will bs- able to protect themselves,
and will mot be induced to accept any
offers Of the Chinese government 20 escort
them to Een Tsin until they have had
commune alton with their governments.
Ccn1denc q is expressed, however, that the
Chinese Government will soon see the ne
cessity OF accepting the terms laid down
in Secrets ry Hays note to Consul General
Goodnow.
q ood Use for Artillery.
The Var Department is in receipt of a
dispatc from Gen. Macarthur announc-
ing theE he has shipped additional artil-
iSiy % APplieS 10 Idhu lot use In t0S chi
nese IA Empaign. These supplies include
severaE Gattling guns, and the remainder
of the rifle and howitzer siege train now
in Mar lila. which up to date has remained
useless in that country on account of the
bad ro ads. How much better Gen. ChaffeA
may De able to handle these monster guns
throu gh the almost impossible rice
swan rps of China no one at the War De-
parti nent was willing to guess, but his
reoen t dispatch contained an urgent ap-
peal for more artillery. and he is getting
it. The ordnance experts at the War
Dep artment say that if IL comes 10 bonn
ban lment of Pekin these five-inch rifles
and seven-inch howitsers. with their
enc rmous bursting charges of high explo-
sfv es will be the most effective battering
W. ,apons in the international column.
Minister WI left Washington on Sat
ur day for Cape May, and remained away
fl ON Washington to-day, although he had
Wight. The Chinese legation wore an air
,of desolation and assertion throughout
he day, and all interrogations of the Chi
nese charge were met with the response
that there was no news, nor expectation
of any.
THEY NAV MAKE WAN ON CHINA