Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1900-10-20
How We Lost n Rife Order.

The Chinese think well of our guns, and
the viceroy of Canton not long ago asked
Consul General GOodnow for the name of
the best American gun and of the most re-
sponsible of the American firms 1t hap
pened that one of our gun factory agents
was in Shanghai at the time and at the
suggestion Of the consul general he went to
see the vfcerCy and offered to fill his order
at 10 taels per gun. or 100000 taels for all.
The viceroy replied that he would give him
the order, but that he must have the stuff
at once. The agent then cabed to the
United States and IN reply was told that
the guns could not be furnished within less
than a year.
Upon this the viceroy said that this
would not do, he must have the guns at
once. He then applied to the Germans,
who told him that they could give him
what he wanted in sixty days and that at
II taels each. They got the order. but the
guns sent were q lot of old weapons hardly
worth their freight.
At the arsenal at Shanghai the Chinese
are making guns almost large as any
made in the Washington navy yard. Some
of them are thirtyfve feet long. with pro-
jectiles weighing thousand pounds. Arm
strong rapd-firing guns are made and also
modern rifles. Projectiles of all kinds, from
revolver cartridges up to great shells of
steel as high as your waist. are turned out
In great quantities. and the different kinds
of shot and shrapnel number about 300.
The work is all done by Chinese under one
or two foreign superintendent.
Gun Making at HanI1ow.
Many of the weapons with which the
Chinese are armed come from Hankow.
The great Viceroy Chang Chi Tung has an
arsenal there upon which he is spending
half a million taels year. The guns turn
ed out a sort of Mauser, and the steel
comes FROM the steel works at Han Yang,
just above Hankow. There are large iron
mines in the vicinity and coal mines, to
which a railroad has been built.
l was at the city of Hang Chow not long
ago and had chance to see the troops
there undergoing their drill. They did well,
since the with Japan. Chang Chi
Tuna's troops have been drilled by Ger
mans, and this Is so, l am told. with most
of the armies of the viceroys. In the mill
tary and naval schools Germans, Belgians
and Russians are employed
Modern guns have been introduced as
rapidly as possible, 10000 Mausers having
been recently bought. The arsenals have
also been turning out q number Of quick
firing mountain guns. and some native
made rifles of one-inch caiiber each to be
manipulated by two men. This weapon is
nine feet long and is fitted with home
made breech mechanism Of the Mauser
der.
The Empress and the Boxers.
From what i learn Of this alleged
empress dowager that the action against
the powers should begin before the year
1903 She had idea that the Boxer
movement would develop as 1t did, and
when she first began to encourage the Box
ers II was with the idea that they would
stir up the anti-foreign sentiment among
the masses and help along the conspiracy
In the meantime the brutality of the Ger
mans toward the Chinese at kfachau and
the starvation there, which was attributed
by the people to the wrath of heaven
against the Chinese allowing the foreign
devils in their country, 80 accelerated the
growth of the Boxers that they got beyond
her and the rebellion broke out. AT first
she had hoped that she might bring them
into the army, and at last she did So unit
ing with Prince Tuan in directing their
movements. Like all Chinese she is super
stitiOus to an extreme. and ii may be that
she actually believes In the edicts which
the Boxers put forth stating that eight
million spirit soldiers will come down from
the empire free of all foreigners.
l have this edict before me. Two hun
dred thousand copies of it were distributed
in Tten Tsin just before the troops came
there 1t states that the Catholic and Prot
estant religions are insults to the gods and
engaging both heaven and earth. 1t prom
ises the support of the eight million spirits
and bids all to spread the doctrine of for
eign expulsion far and wide, stating that
the man who converts one be absolved fron,
all future misfortune, that he who converts
five will save his whole family, and II ten
his village. 1t states that those who make
no converts shall be decapitated and pre-
diets that there will be no rain in China
until all the foreigners have been extermi-
mated.
1t seems impossible that the sharp old
empress iowager could hold such superstf-