Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1900-07-16
| THE NEWS N washington
FROM CHINA, YESTERDAY, WAS
DISTINCTLY BAD AND VERY
DISCOURAGING.
TELEGRAM TO MINISTER WI
WHICH CARBOHYDRATES THE NEWS
FROM CONSUL GENERAL
GOODNOW.


GOODNOW.
Sheng, the Imperial Director of Posts
and Telegraphs, Certainly Knows
What is Going on, But 1T is Sus-
piciOned That He is Holding Back
Information, That it May DribbIe
Through in Sections, and Thus
Lose it's Full Effect Upon the
Nations.
WASHINGTON, D. c., July 15.-Such
news as came to Washington to-day
from China was distinctly bad. 1t con-
sisted of a cablegram to Minister WI
from Sheng, the imperial director of
posts and telegraphs at Shanghai, and,
according to the minister, was in reply
to the urgent message he himself had
sent yesterday ito that official, asking
him to try to secure some news from
the Chinese capitol. This cahlegram
Mr.. WI regarded as of sufficient i'm
portance to carry in person directly
to Secretary Hay, who was waiting at
his home for news. The message, as
resolved from the cipher, was as fol-
lows:
"Pekin news of July 18th says
that General Tuan Fuh Slang, in
disObedience of Imperial orders,
was about to use guns. Lega-
lions and the government will
be in peril"
The News COrrOborative.
This news is corrobrative of that
contained in a recent cablegram from
Consul General Goodnow, at Shanghai,
although the consul generals dispatch
gave his Pekin news the date of the
sixth, saying that the final attack upon
the legations with guns was about to
begin on the seventh of July. 1t is
surmised here that Mr.. Goodnow got
his news from Sheng, who is certainly
in position to secure the first news
from Pekin. Aside from the gloomy
forecast given at the end of the terri
bic struggle of the legationers against
the inevitable, the significant feature
of the message is the couplings of the
fate of the imperial government with
that of the foreign ministers. Off
cials here derive some satisfaction from
this portion of the despatch. as it sus-
tains them in the position they have
held from the first that the Chinese
government is not at war with Chris
tendon, but is confronting a formid-
able instruction.
Sheng Breaking 1t Gently.
There still remains a suspicion that
while Mr.. WI is undoubtedly acting
with perfect sincerity, that 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 to reveal at once.
1T is feared that he is trying
to prepare the way for the dis
closure of terrible news, hoping
that by letting it come out grad
uaIIy the blow will not fall
with such severity and perhaps
with such disastrous results to
his own people as might be the
case if the whole story were
impaired to the world at once.
This news, it may be noted, comes en-
tirely from Chinese sources. 1t is
now twenty-one days since word has
come directly from any of the unfortu-
mates beseiged in the legations at Pc
kin.
The last message from there was
from Sir Robert Hart, the Englishman
in charge of the Chinese customs SER
vice, and was of undoubted authentiei-
ty. 1t represented the situation of the
legationers as desperate and implored
help. The last word from Minister
Conger came to the State Depart-
ment from Pekin under date of .Iune
18th. At that time he asked that Sew
mour's international relief column.
which was even then
Doomed to Fall.
should signal its approach when near
Pekin. That was just one month and
three days ago. and it would be an I'M
precedented defense for such an mad
equate and ill-ftted and provisioned
force as was at the command OF for
eign ministers to hold out for that
length of time.
Minister Wu's cablegram from
Sheng, above given, should not be TAX
en- as an answer to the cipher message
he forwarded at Secretary Hays re-
quest to China in the effort to get it
through to Minister Conger. That
message went TO Yonan Shin Kai, the
governor of the province of Shan Tung.
!, That official has replied informally
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