Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1900-07-19
DISCUSSING THE TRUTH.

DISCUSSING THE TRUTH.
Washington, July 16.-Such news os
,amc to Washington yesterday from
China was distinctly bad. 1t consist
ed CT a cablegram to Minister WI, from
Sheng, the imperial dictator OF posts
and telegraphs at Shanghai, and. ac-
cnrding T. the minister, was in reply
to the urgent message he himself bad
sent Saturday to that official asking
him 10 try to secure some news from
the Chinese capital. This cablegram
Minister WI regarded as of sufficient
Importance to carry in person directly
to Secretary Hay, who was waiting at
his home for news. The message, as
evolved from their cipher, was as fol-
lows:
Legations and Government.
"Pekin news of July 18th says that
Gen. Tuan Fuh Slang. in disobedience
Of imperial orders was about to use
guns. Legations and the government
will be in peril"
Corr0borntive of GoOdnOn.
This news is corroborative OF that
contained in a recent cablegram from
Mr.. Goodnow, although the consul
generals dispatch gave his I'ekin news
the date of the 9Th. saying that the
final attack upon the legations with
guns was about to begin mn the sew
cnth of July.
IL 900 4L@A NJ Good
now got bis news from Sheng, who is
certainly in position to secure the first
news from I'ekin.
Thc Significant Feature.
Aside from the gloomy forecast Civ
en- Of the situation and of the terrible
struggle of the legationers against the
inevitable, the significant feature OF
the message is the coupling of the fate
of the imperial government with hat
of the foreign ministers. Officials here
get some satisfaction from this por-
ton of the dispatch, as IL sus:ains
them in the position they have held
from the first, that the Chinese govern
ment is not at war with Christenuom
but is confronting a formidable insur-
rection.
Breaking the News G~raduaIis
There still remains a suspicion hat
while Mr.. WI is undoubtedly acting
with perfect sincerity, hat Sheng, who
is represented to be a clever and adroit
man, may know more of the actual
happenings at Pekin than he is will
ing 10 reveal at once. 1t is feared that
lee is trying to prepare h way for
the disclosure of terrible news. hop
ing that by letting it come out gradu-
aily the blow will not fall with such
severity, and perhaps with such dis
astrcus results to his own people IS
might be the case if the whole story
were impaired TO the world st once.
This news, it may be noted. comes
entirely from Chinese sources.
The Last Authentic News.
It is now 21 days since n word has
come directly from any of the rnfor-
tunates besieged ir the legations at
Pekin. The last message from there
was from Sir Robert Hart, the English
Insn in charge of the Chine.e customs
service, and was of undoubted authen-
ITCHY. 1t represented the situation Of
the legationers as desperate, ami i'm.
plored help.
Unprecedented and ImprObahsc.
The last word from Minister Conger
c:tne to the state department from
Pekin under date of June II. Al that
time he asked hat Seymour's intcrna.
tional relief column, which was ever
then doomed to fail, should signal its
sJuroach when near Pekiu
Cbine.e in America Friendly.
Minister Wu feels a natural ir-ita-
ton at the statement printed in some
quarters that the Chinese in the init
ed States. are making ready to return
to China and that they sympathize
with the Boxers and are lending them
financial aid. He declares in the most
earnest manner that there is not a
WORD of truth in these statements. He
says that all of the Chinese i'm ,he
United States come from, southern
China, and are altogether out of sym
pathy with the northern Chinese
Should be- Suppressed with a strana
Hand.
The government here has taken note
OF the efforts made in some quarters 10
stir up an agitation against the peace
able Chinese in the United States. II
feels it is i~mperatively necessary to use
the entire of the g,oysrn-
ment to suppress any movement that
would jeopardize their safety. ANY
taing IKE a massacre of Chinese in the
United States would wreck the whole
case OF the United States
in the settlement which must come of
this Chinese trouble.