New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1900-07-21
No DOUBT IN WASHINGTON.
Continued from pnge one0

/ about 1t than he had TO the cipher message
! he had forwarded for Secretary Hay just nine
| days before. He had never doubted that MIN
| lister ConGer had not been massacred. nor that
! the Tsung- -Yamen was doing it's best to avert
| that catastrophe His own conscience was clear
! and it was his conviction that rescue was still
| probable as we'll possible
| TRANSMITTING THE MESSAGE.
Secretary Hay at once called for Second As
| sistant Secretary Adee. and the two officials
| themselves set 10 transating the cipher into
! English This work occupied them for nearly
| half an hour, and because Of the peculiar ar
! rangenent of the message and the fact that Mr.
! Congers own words toward the end, not
until the lapse of that time did either Know the
! state of affairs at Picking.
| The first movement of Secretary Hay de-
| ciphering the message was to make a copy and
dispatch 1t by messenger in haste to the White
! House. with request to the photographers there
to forward it at the earliest moment to Presi-
! dent Mckinley for his information 1t was esti-
mated that the Presidents train was nearing
! Canton at the time that he would be likely
to receive the message promptly on his arrival
| Then Secretary Hay, remembering the intense
! public anxiety to have tidings from the Amer
! leans In Picking. caused his private secretary
hurriedly to prepare bulletin with copies of the
| messages he had received thoughtfully accom-
! panying them with an explanatory statement
! These copies were given to the newspaper men,
who by this time, scenting the fact that news Of
the greatest Importance had come were crowd
ing the broad corridor before the Secretary's Of
! flee.
! STATE DEPARTMENTS ANNOUNCEMENT
! The bulletin was as follows:
| On the 18th Of this month the Secretary OF
! state communicated brief message, asking I'd
ment code. Mr. WI undertook to get this into
/ Minister Congers hands If he were alive He
! Secretary of State received a telegram from
/ the Consul General at Shanghai saying that
! the Governor of Shan-Tung informs me that
! he has sent you to-day cipher message from
/ ConEer of the 18th"
few minutes later Mr.. WI appeared at the
| State Department with a telegram from the
! Taotai OF Shanghai. dated July 20 which had
! been received by Minister WI at $50 this morn
! ing: The dispatch reads as follows:
your telegram forwarded as requested.
send you the reply Of the Tsung-li Yamen, as
DULY III received, and the Secretary Of States
/ telegram has been handed to Minister Conger
Herewith Minister Congers reply TO the Secre-
/ tary of State which please forward
CHere follows Mr.. Conger's message, already
! given)
This reply in the State Department CT
pher and its contents were. of course, unknown
! to Minister WI. 1t is regarded by the State
/ Department as genuine. as forgery seems i'm
| possible.
HAYS MESSAGE TO CONGER
! The original cipher message of Secretary Hay
/ to Minister Conger was;
Conger: Send tidings cipher. HAY.
1t was sent a week ago last Wednesday with
! in few hours after Minister WI had presented
the long Imperial decree reciting occurrences in
Picking before and after the capture of the Taku
/ forts. That decree showed that it had taken
/ ten days in transmission from Picking to Wash
! ington. 1t occurred to Secretary Hay and to
/ Minister WI that by reversing the route it fol-
/ lowed word might be sent to Minister Conger
At Mr. Wus request the Secretary of State put
his message in cipher, making it as brief as pos
! sible to insure expeditions transmission.
/ Although the message from Minister Conger
! which came te-dsy is referred to by Consul-Gen-
eraI Goodnow as OF. the 18th. State Department
officials beIieYe sfbat it left Picking on the 17th
reaching the Governor Of Shan-Tung perhaps
the 18th. Secretary Hays message is believed
! to have taken at least five days to reach Min
| lister Conger who probably made no delay in
/ handing his message to the Tsung-li- Yanen
/ messenger.
| AS soon as Secretary Hay had given his news
/ to the public and had it fairly the wires to
every part of tho globe. he walked over to the
/ War Department to convey the news r person
! to Secretary Root and Secretary Long. who
, were together at the time having heard that the
news had come. After a short consultation in
/ Secretary Roots office Secretary Long, on
emerging into the corridor, was showered with
I congratulations by large throng of Department
employees and newspaper men. who had congre
: gated there. AS the member of the Cabinet
! who has maintained hope during the dark days
! in which others had given up all belief in the
/ safety Of the foreigners in Picking, the news
/ much in the nature of personal triumph
! for him His face beamad with the pleasure
| he experienced, and he expressed his gratihca-
| ton and rejoicing at the confirmation of his
! theory.
ROUTE OF THE DISPATCH.
Minister WI did not learn the tenor OF Minis
/ ter Conger's message until he saw newspaper
! extra at II o'clock. After reading it he said
! To show Secretary Hay my message as it
originally and translated here
/ at the Legation. I took with my CODE that
/ the Secretary of State could have doubt
/ TO what my message was OF course. could
! not know until the State Department had trans
/ lated the message from Minister Conger by it's
! wanted to assure Secretary Hay of the source
! of my message asking me to forward the Conger
message to him
! My message came by way of the Shanghai
/ Taotai, and the telegraph company has been
asked to repeat it, so that one two obscure
or omitted words may be verified. These words
/ not important, The fact that the message
from Minister ConEer came in the State De
! partment cipher is the main thing. Now we
| know that he was alive on July Is We know
! that he was not safe by any means but alive
! yes.
| am much gratifed to have been able to get
! this reply to Secretary Hays cipher
| message sent week ago to Minister Conger
When the edict was received a week ago