Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1900-08-15
HOPE A washington.
Administration Officials Believe
China Will Yield Before Troops
Reach Iekin.
Will Be Loath to Have Allied
Army Attack the Sacred
City.
Message Received From Conger
tuesday Will Not Be Made
Public

SG6lcIOdy qllS elOllOMIllS FOlllCldl
nouncement was bulletined:
The department of state announces
that a message from Minister Conger
has been received, but of uncertain date
and not in reply to the telegram sent
him on Aug. s.. 1t Will not be made pub
lic.''
This came at the conclusion of a PEE
Rod of intense eXpectanrs and vet one
devoid of any actual developments save
in the foregoing nsager announcement.
Minister Congers message Was re-
ceived in Washington shortly before
noon, coming first to tbs Chinese Legal
ton by the usual route thru Chinese Of
hcials. 1t was in the American cipher,
without date and signed With the min
listers name. 1t Wasi at once transmit
ted to the state department. and confer
ences began between Acting Secretary
sAdee and Secretary Root. Turnout the
afternoon, however. the state Depart
ment maintained an unaccountable re-
ticence concerning the subject. declining
to admit thai the MESA ge Was at hand.
The suspense Was cleared up at 4 o'clock
by the above announcement. Il Was
stated authoritatiNely that while the
message was of a confidential character
and for that reason could not and
would not be given out,ayet as a means
y of allaying possible nisinterpretation Il
could be said that the. dispatch showed
neither a better condition nor worse
condition on the part Of the Legations.
ers al Pekin. 1t did not indicate
received any mes sagea& from this gov
eminent. Nothing was contained in the
message which Mil cause any ehange
in the instructions to Gen. Chaffee. IN
fact, it Was stated in this same authori-s
tative quarter thar the oGly additional
Instructions sent IL Cen. Ghatf-e since
he left Washington We're Chose of a
more specific and explicit nature which
the developments in China and the i'm
formation received by the War depart
ment necessitated.
Turnout the day word was anxiausly
awaited from Gen. Chatfee az IL the
development of the military situation
near Pekin, hut not 4 word came. nor
1 did Admiral RerneS send anything on
the situation. The last heard from. Zen.
Chaffee he Mas at sHo-Si-Wu. and ae-5
cordins to &calculattons he must now be
Very near Pekin, sunlesas events have oc-
8curred to delay the advance. The 1f-
fcials are taking into account that an.
advances even up TO Petin,4 leaves much
to be accomplished in military way. 1T
Vas stated by an official who has lived
at Pekin that nothing short#of the
heaviest artillery could make any inl-
preston upon the walls of the Imperial
city. He said light artillery would be@of
7.,.~ -.
vance of IA flying column even #upS1o this.
walls of the city could effect little if a
stubborn defense were determined upon
The walls are some fifty feet high and
wide enough on top for TWO coaches 10
pass abreast. From an off ensive stand
point the walls afford opportunity for
planting guns. While from a defensive
standpoint they could not be preached
except by. the use of very heavy projee-
tiles
Altho the situation admits of the pros
pect of an assault upon Peilin. Vet the
Z government officials We're decidedly
more hopeful that a solution of the Chi
nese problem would be found Without
recourse to such heroic nlea ,urea The
improved feeling is based largely upon
the belief that China, realizing that the
sacred capital is about to be besieged by
y H.
the armies of the World. will yield To
everything. and that the atielleFs
viii be delivered on ne terms OF the al
lies
Tbs attitude OF the United States con-
corning the landing OF British troops, at
Shanghai has been made known to The
foreign governments thru their repre-
& sentatiyes mere. This has had the effect
of practically eliminating the United
y States from the question. Neither the
French nor the German government is
disposed to accept calmly the landing
of British troops and il is understood
that strong representa- tons, both from,
France and Germany, are neW oeing
made at London. Az summed up by a
Well-informed diplomat. these repres,ail-
atoms in effect. are that for every Britt
ish marine landed al Shanghai France
and Germany would also land marine.
It is felt moreover, that the Issue IN
Nolyed relates not only 10 Shanghai but
virtually the entire faas Sc .::ats:ss
i valley, known az the paradise of china.
Foreign governments ila1e manifested
desire also to learn the vieWssu the
United States concerning the iHatrue-
tons of Russia TO her minister at Pee
kin, NJ. de Giers. In response 10 in
quiries here 1t has been mace known
II THE ~.