The evening times. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1895-1902, 1900-08-06
The Battle of Pietsang.


The press dispatches from China for the
past two days have been so contrad .ctory
that they have served hardly any purpose
except that of confusing the situation al
most hopelessly. Not until the Navy De-
partment this morning received the cable
messages from Admiral Remey and Com
mander Taussig, printed in cur news col
umns, have We been able to learn anything
definite and reliable as to the movement
of the relief column from Tientsin. From
these, however we are able TO establish
the fact that the advance had begun,
that the column consists of sixteen thou
saEd men. and that it had severe en-
gagement with the Chinese yesterday at
Pietsang. In this battle it appears the
allied forces sustained loss aggregating
twelve hundred in killed and wounded.
most of which fell upon the Russian and
Japanese contngents.
Considering the source of this informa-
tion there can be no doubt of its substan-
tial accuracy although it is possible that
more detailed reports may reduce the
number Of casualties. In any event Adj
miTal Remey must have been satisfied that
the slaughter had been great or he would
not have forwa sed the report in the shape
he did. The news settles two points of i'm
portance. One is that stories to the effect
that the Russians were holding back are
dispToved, and the other is that if the al
lies have encountered such determined
and costly resistance at the outset of the
Campaign, it is open to doubt that so small
an expedition would be able to force its way
ThrrII6h he Jaroa TbiDaCa arr,1r ra,C-+o7
as concentrated about Pekin. and into that
city to rescue the ministers and foreign
ers.
One aspect of this late intelligence is
encouraging. For days We have been told
that the International commanders IN
Tientsin were out of harmony with each
other, and were working more or less at
cross purposes. In the light of our official
messages today there is room for hope that
if there have been dissensions in the al
lied camp they have been grossly exag-
gerated. II is even possible that it may
have suited the purposes of the comman-
ders to let the Chinese believe that they
were disunited, with d view of conceaIing
an understanding in relation to the time
and conditions Of the impending movement.
There is anoth er suggestion of encouT-
agement in the story, not yet verified we
are sorry to say, that the Russians and pos
sibly also the japanese have landed expedi-
tionary forces at -hat-kuan on the
upper waters of the Gulf of Pe-chi-li, and
are moving upon Pek.n along the old mill
tary road which follows the line of the
Great Wall of China. Should this prove to
be true, the international chances for
speedy success would be vastly enhanced
Although the distance from Shan ai-kuan
to the capital is rIuch greater than from
Tientsin, the road t?averses high rolling
country, which is probably not altogether
deficient in forage. The prospect of a con-
vergence Of two reasonably strong relief
columns at Pekin would not only put a
better face upon the situation from the mill
itary point of view, but would tend perhaps
TO convince the Imperial Government that
the allies are terribly in earnest, and that
no time is to be lost in making submission,
if Pek.n and the Manchu dynasty are to be
saved from utter destruction
As conditions are reported TODAY while
the Empress Dowager ana the Prince of
Tuan apparently are ordering officials,
who are in touch with the outside
weird, to speak fair words to the foreign
DEVILS they are steadily prosecuting their
design to wage war fer the exclusion of all
foreigners from the Empire An imperial
edict of July q, orders the southern Vice
roys to send troops TO retake the Taku
forts and Tieutsin. The fiend Li-Ping-
Heng, who massacred the foreigners and
native Christians at Paoting Flu, and com
passed the murder of the two pro-foreign
members of the Tsung- Ii-Yamen, has been
made commander-in-chief of the armies
in Pekin and northern China, and at latest
accounts he was Strengthening The Chinese
works opposed 10 the British Legation
compound. At noon today message
reached this Office stating that the Japan
csc Consul at Shanghai had been notified
presumably by means of a runner, that
Gen. Tung Fun Slang. who has been con-
Quoting operations against the legations
had cut of the food supplies which they
had been permitted to receive since the
truce of July 16. This information would
seem to indicate that it was the intention
of the Imperial Government to starve the
ministers and foreigners into compliance
with its demand that they withdraw from
Pekin under such an escort as Li-pingz
the hopeless chance of reaching the relief
column or Tientsin without being massa-
cred
1t Is sinister commentary upon the real
attitude of the Chinese Government that
according to probably reliable information.
Ii Hung Chang, and the Vieeroys Tiang
Sih Tsung and Liu Kun VI have been
impeached for maintaining relations with |
foreigners. Ordinarily We might accept this
story, like all others of Chinese origin. |
with reserve But it is made credible by |
the collateral fact that sheng, at Shanghai |
has begged for an asylum ON board of a |
British warship. as he claims that he |
would be beheaded should he fall into the |
hands OF the Pekin Government It will |
be seen that the crisis in China has not |
passed. On The contrary, it is more acute
than ever, and is pregnant with prophecy /
that the Chinese mask will be dropped be- |
fore many days and that before the week /
is out the United States and other nations |