Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1900-09-04

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person one meets contributes stories
from personal observation. A CORE
spondent of the Associated Press, re-
turning from Pekin found Turg Chow
stripped like corn field after a trail
of grasshoppers. Everything portable
of the smallest value had been taken,
goods from shops, clothing, food and
furniture. Parties of soldiers of every
nationality were roaming about unre-
stricted and presumably. were doing
much wantOn destruction in the spirit
OF deviltry, smashing furniture and
glassware, and trampling books and
pictures under foot Most of the Chi
nese were submitting to all this In abb
ject fear The few who dared to pro-
test were kicked about.
Several bodies lay in the streets, APP
parently those of non combatants. The
inhabitants, without food or clothing
were thuddling in back yards in a pit
iabla condition.
"The villages to the southwark are
even worse despoiled. One week after
Pekin was taken the traveller to Tlen
Tsin was seldom out Of sight OF burn
ing houses. Fires are started daily,
though the shelter will be much needed
if the troops are to hold the country
during the winter. The soldiers are
having fine sport in using natives VINO,
creep back to their houses or attempt
to work III the fields, as targets. The
sight of farmer lying whereihenwas
shot, with a basket of grain or arm
full of other product nearby, is quite
common. The Russians are the chief
atxr1n Of
the French are remarkably conspicuous
considering their small numbers. The
Indian troops and the Japanese are
participants only when beyond the Ken
of their officers. From the beginning
the conduct of the Russians mas been
a blot on the campaign. The recital
of notorious facts speaks more 1orcl-
bly, than could any adjectives. When
entering Pekin correspondents or the
Associated Press saw Cossacks smash
ing down Chinese women with the
butts of their guns and pound their
heads until they were dead. The COS
sacks would pick up children barely
old enough to walk, hold them by the
ankles and beat out their brains on the
pavement. Russian officers looked on
without protesting.
"While General Chaffee was water
ing his horse at a stream under the
wall of Tung Chow the Russians found
a feeble old man hidden in the mud, ex-
cept his nose, and dragged him out by
the queue, shouting gleefully Iney
impaled him on their bayonets. Gen.
C,haffee remarked THAT is not war. 1t
is brutal murder
american officers at Taku days al
ter the fighting was finished saw Rus
SLAMS bayonet children and throw OLD
men into the river, clubbing them 10
death when they attempted to SWIM.
The Russians killed women who knelt
before them and begged for mercy.
Everybody was disposed to be
friendly toward the Russians in the
early DAYS of lJhe fighting at Tien Tsln
because of their bravery, but such In
cidents as the foregoing have been SO
prominent a feature OF the campaign
that no one who is supposed to report
important facts can ignore them. 1Aey
are so numerous as to compel Che con-
clusion that they are not isolated cpl
sodes but the ordinary practices OF hus-
sian methods Of warfare.
s"Tbe Russians on she walls OF Pekln
would apparently shoot every ohllIa
man within range outside. The cor
respondent of the Associated Press
found many newly killed in the helds
outside of the Russian section OF the
wall. Some bodies were those on Wo-
men and none seemed to be the bodles
of combatants. Coolies were Killed
while trotting along the roads with their
loads. and farmers when trying 10
gather in their grain"
This is shocking picture, but, no
doubt, it was duplicated in many places
along the valley of Pei-ho river. 1t IS
is true the Chinese brought this thing
mon themselves, but Europeans, claim
ing to be civilized, ought to be above
numbering women, bayoneting children
and clubbing old men to death.
And we probably have not heard the
worst Of it. When the full story of the
war in China is told, calmly, dispassion-
ately and accurately, it will be found
that at least some of the invading arm
les were quite equal to the Chinese when
il came to committing atrocities.