Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1900-07-26
WI TING FANG.


WI Ting Fang, the Chinese minister
70 the United States, is one of the most
notable men in America His great
ability as diplomat and public
speaker is generally acknowledged. He
was to have made a public address in
Philadelphia on the glorious Fourth, :"
but in view of the troubles in China he
thought that his so doing might create
great dissatisfaction among some of his
audience so he determined 10 with
draw from his engagement That is
the ostensible reason for his with
drawal, but in view OF what am about
to relate, says writer in the New
York Telegraph, it is barely possible
that there may be another cause for
his action.
a gentleman who has spent several
years In China informs me that,
though WI Ting Fang was born in
China, he is a British subject. he hay
ing been reared and educated on the
island of Hong Kong, which is a Brit
ish possession, his family, which is
good one, having removed to it with
its property when he was a child. The
removal was caused by the desire to
prevent the mandarins from "squeez-
ing or robbing it of its property,
which is frequently done in China.
Young Wa Ting Fang was thorough
ly educated in English in Hong Kong
and became lawyer. He also became
a member of the Hong Kong municipal
council, which is position similar to
that Of city councilman in America.
While quite young he married a sister
of the Hon. Ho-Ki, a self expatriated
Chinaman like himself. The lady is
very rich in her own right.
In Hong Kong they tell a story Of
WI Ting Fang which is more credit
able to his cunning than anything
else, Cinnamon begin their new year
by paying all their debts, it being con-
sdered very reprehensible, as we'll as
dishonorable, TO start in owing any
money.
Just previous to one new year WI
Ting Fang, who at that time was much
given to gambling, found himself very
seriously in debt and without the
means Of liquldating his obligations.
He appealed to his wife for pecunlary
aid, but she, not approving of his con-
duct in gambling, refused to assist
him. Then he took a large dose of a
connection, supposed to be largely
composed of opium, ostensibly for the
purpose of ending his dishonored life.
This frightened his wife very much.
She implored him to live and promised
If he would she would pay all his
debts and would furnish him with an
abundance Of means to begin life
anew. English doctors were sent for
and stomach pumped him, and he
soon convaasced from his supposed
serious condition A portion of the
supposed suicidal mixture was secretly
taken by one of the physicians and
after awhile analysed 1t is said that
the analysis showed that it was not
composed of any deleterious drug, but
that it's component part was mainly
burned sugar made into a brownish
syrup, which was barely impregnated
with enough Of opium to make it smell
of that drug,
The doctor who made this discovery
it is reputed made mis- patient pay well
for keeping it from publicity for quite
a while, but it eventually leaked out
and is now a subject of common talk
in and about Hong Kong.
WI Ting Fang is very smart, very
shrewd and very able as lawyer, and
eventually he attracted the attention
of the tsung-li-yamen foreign office
OF China. which engaged him to come
to America to represent the Chinese
government as its minister to the
United States His career here in that
capacity has been a successful one
Wa Ting Fang, it is said. is not in
high favor with the leading Chinese
merchants of his mother country. He
has mainly labored to procure from
our government a modification of the
Chinese exclusion act, and the mer-
chants accuse him of being more in
teresJed in the coolie trade than he
is in advancing their interests.
1t is said too that some of our
leading missionaries In China, aware
of this fact, have notified their min
sterial brethren in this country of it,
and that it is because of this informa-
ton that leading ministers of Phla-
delphia have been opposed to Wa
Ting Fang's Grating in their city on in
dependence day
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