Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1900-07-21
Not Willing to Credit the Dispatch
From Conger.
CRITICISE IT FOR LACK OF DETAILS
But Cannot Understand Why Such
Message Was Sent, if Bogus.
VIEWS IN THE LEGATIONS

Although the State Department maintains
of the dispatch received from Mr.. Conger
through Minister WI, there are still a
great many people. extremely well informed
in diplomatic matters. who doubt that this
message was a reply to Secretary Hays
cabegram. Many of the cipher codes of
European governments contain a sign which
indicates This is In reply to your cable
gram No. - Cablegrams sent out by
governments using this system num-
bered, SO that there is absolute certainty
that when the reply is received it is in
answer to the message that was sent. The
State Department does not follow this sys-
TEN. so that there is nothing in a reply ex-
cept the sense Of the message to indicate
that it refers specifically to a cablegram
that has been sent. Had the State Depart
ment adopted this method there would have
been positive assurance that the mes
sage signed ''Conger' was at least written
in response to SIR. Hays message.
The lack Of this identification has caused
some members of legations in this city TO
reserve judgment and the fact that Mr..
Ccnger's message did no contain more de-
tails adds to their doubts in regard to It.
Alleged Underground Passage.
Among the legations the story in regard
to the existence of an underground pas
sageway between the British legation and
the imperial palace is ridiculed. Such an
underground passage. II is stated could not
have existed without its being known be-
fore the present emergency arose. and on
its face the story is pronounced absurd
The State Department, however, has
absolute faith in the authenticity OF the
Conger cablegram, and as the public has
not been given the text OF Secretary Hays
message, and has probably not been given
the complete text of the Conger message. II
is impossible to Judge what element OF
identification it contains, in addition to what
has been made public. or course. the lit
eral translation of the cipher cablegram is
never made public by the State Department
for the reason that were that done 1t would
give key to the cipher to any one who
has handled the message. In order 10
avoid betraying this key il is always de-
sirable that the Information contained IN
such cipher messages should be so worded
that comparison with the cipher itself
will be of no benefit to any one in giving
him a clue to the cipher.
+ members OF legations here cannot under
stand why Mr.. Conger did not at least con-
vey the information that Won Ketteler,
the German ambassador. had been mas
sacred. Unless Mr.. Conger had sent this
information in a former telegram to the
State Department and supposed that II had
been delivered, ii is argued that he surely
would have taken the opportunity afforded
him to state the fact of the massacre an
additional reason why haste should be
made to save the ministers.
Things Hard to Reconcile.
Those who are inclined TO doubt the Con-
ger message are at loss to understand
why such a message should have been sent
were 1t not authentic. This view is also
taken by the State Department. If there
could have been any possible purpose on the
part of any one in sending a bogus reply
to Mr.. Hays dispatch it is said that that
bot nf Adj
delay had been desired then the Conger
message was not such one as to produce
the result desired. for the reason that IL
would necessarily hurry the dispatch Of
troops to Pekin.
If the dispatch had been Of a bogus ma
tIre to serve any purpose of delay il would
naturally have been more successful had il
stated that the ministers were safe and
under the protection of the government.
The fact that the cablegram was of ma
ture to hurry troops of the powers to
Pekin is regarded at the State Department
as strongly confirmatory OF its genuine
character