Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1900-07-20
WORD FROM CONGER


CONTINUED from First Page)
Heving force reaches them. If they have
been able to stand the siege for almost
month after the outside world had given up
hope there seems no reason to fear that
they Will not be able to hold out a little
longer"
Little POssibility of Forgery.
DO you regard the fact that the message
is in the State Department code as conclu-
sive evidence that 1t emanated from Min
lister Conger?" was asked Might it not be
possible that. having massacred the people
in the American legation. the code fell into
the hands of the leaders of the Boxer move
ment. and if such were the fact. could they
not have framed the reply in the State De-
partment's code and attached Minister Con-
gers signature to it?"
II regard such a suggestion as dealing
with a possibility too remote to be seriously
considered replied the Secretary. Il am
of the opinion that outsiders could not have
made use of our code. and besides, the ma
ture of the reply with its strong appeal for
immediate relief, is such as would not have
been sent by any one seeking to conceal a
catastrophe to the foreigners in Pekin."
Does this message in any way change
the situation or the policy Of our govern
ment?"
Il do not see that 1t does, or that 1t will
result in a change of policy. The allies are
organizing a column for the relief Of the
foreigners at Pekin, and now that 1t Is
known that the ministers are alive, the
news can only result in pressing forward
the column at the earliest possible mo-
ment.
The Message Sent to Conger.
Inasmuch as Secretary Hays message Of
inquiry to Minister Conger, to which a re-
ply was received this morning, was in the
secret cipher code Of the State Department.
1t is not deemed wise or expedient to make
its text public. There is the best of au-
thority, however. for the statement that it
a simple request for definite informa-
ton as to the minister's condition, coupled
with statement that he might repose COM
plete confidence in the person who handed
him the message.
This latter statement Is an additional as
surance of the departments entire conf
dence in the good faith of the Chinese min
lister here and the official channels through
which he forwarded the message to Mr..
Conger in Pekin. AS has been already
stated, Secretary Hay and the other Off
Gals of the administration cognizant Of all
the inside facts connected with the trans
action are entirely satisfied and confident Of
the authenticity of the message from Min
lister Conger. In fact. the officials of the
State Department having direct charge of
the cipher correspondence say that it bears
inherent and unmistakable evidence of
being genuine response to Secretary Hays
cipher inquiry.
Nullihes Reports of Massacre.
1t was at Minister Wu's own request that
the American cipher was used in the mes
sage sent to Minister Conger. The State
Department dispatched the message conf
dent in the belief that answer, if answer
were received at all, could come only from
Minister Congar himself.
That message being sent July IL, 1t was
not expected at the time that answer could
be received at the earliest until week or
ten days. The answer being received today,
in nine days, Is, therefore. within the orig
inal range of expectation.
Until the receipt of the answer from Min
lister ConRer the most circumstantial details
as to conditions IN Pekn represented the
Legations to have been massacred July or
Z, probably the latter date.
Immediately following the publication Of
these details however, came a dispatch,
through Minister WI. from Chinese off,
Gals asserting that the legations were safe
July 8.
The dispatch to Mr.. Conger was sent 1T
will thus be seen, two days later than the
latest date on which word of any kind was
received concerning the legations.
Authenticity of the Message.
Naturally. in view of the Importance of
the communication from Mr. Conger, the
first impulse was to make sure of Its au-
thenticity. Secretary Hay was himself per
fectly satisfied on that score The statement
dictated by him in explanation of the mes
sage fully established his attitude in that
matter Just as Secretary Long had sug-
gested, he felt no doubt that the message
conveyed internal evidence Of authenticity.
Surprising that the Chinese government
had obtained possession of the State De-
partment's secret code, 1t could not be con-
ceived what purpose 1t would serve to rep
resent the urgency of pushing relief forces
toward Pektn. If the imperial government
is making war on the internationals 1t
would surely not forward an effort to get
foreign troops into Its own capital. At least
that was the line Of reasoning at the State
Department.
most significant feature of the Conger
message was the statement that the Brit
ish legation was under constant fire from
the Chinese troops" Without quaiifica-
ton or explanation that expression would
seem to identify the imperial government
with the attack upon the foreign minis
tiers. Mr.. Conger made no mention of Box
ers but simply referred to troops AS the
State Department was obliged to para
phrase the message to protect its code from
disclosure it is not possible at this moment
to exactly estimate the full significance OF
the minister's language on this point. But
in his last message preceding this he specl-
fled Boxers as attacking. and it may be
that he has now purposely made a dis
tinction.
The State Department officials. however,
feel that Mr. Conger in using the term
Chinese troops meant troops in rebellion
against the imperial government-those I'M
der Prince Tuan's direction. They find this
contention entirely logical In the first
place, the Chinese government itself has
admitted that its troops had participated
in many cases during the Boxer movement.
The appeals of Minister WI and of other