Montour American. (Danville, Pa.) 1866-1920, 1900-12-20
emperor pleases

himself first, which is when he wants
to, and his people last, which is when
he has to. Not a very easy job to keep
on the right side of a potentate who
has two right sides, so to speak.
The world has been for weeks find
ing out just how certain great China
men stand in the Boxer, reactionary
and proforeign reform muddle. Plain
ly, Ii Hung Chang and the rest of the
viceroys waited to see chow the cat
would jump" OF the three peace COM
missioners first appointed by the
throne Ii Hung Chang is the best
known to the world, and he is very ex-
tensively known as crafty individual
who takes good care of himself. Prince
Ching is known to foreigners in Peking
as notorious trimmer and Just as
likely to be butchering foreigners as
protecting them if he had anything to
make by it. AS for Jung Lu, the first
thing the representatives of the powers
must do Is to find out whether or not
his hands are now red with innocent
blood
The two new commissioners, Chang
Chih Tung and Liu Kun VI, have
shown themselves able and progressive
leaders, but they are Chinese to the
core, old and conservative. Ii Hung
Chang is also Chinese, and Prince
Ching and Jung Lu are Mantchoos.
Against this board of doubtful compo-
sitlon anyway is Prince Tuan, the
clever Mantchoo, whom the throne
must hope to make the scapegoat for
the performances Of June and July.
Prince Tuan is, of course, one of the
imperial family. He is first cousin to
the Emperor Kwangsu, about ten years
his senior, and bears the same relation
to the empress dowager that the en-
peror does-that Is she is the aunt of
both by marriage, having been the
wife of their common uncle, Hsien-
flung, who died in 1861. There is a rea-
son purely personal to the empress
dowager why Kwangsu and not Tuan
was selected in 1875 to succeed to the
vacant throne. Kwangsu's mother was
the sister Of the empress dowager, who
was scheming to retain her position as
regent. Kwangsu was an infant of 2
years, with n weak man for father,
while Tuan was then II, with a very
able father living. Tuan's power in
the capital intrlgues may be inferred
from the fact that a year ago his son
was chosen heir apparent by the impe-
rial clan.
Should Tuan be loaded with igno-
miny 1t will be very easy after the Chi
nese fashion to dispose OF the heir ap-
parent and thus save the throne from
disgrace, but all of this will be but "the
blood of martyrs" in the eyes of the re-
dictionary element, which must be large
and powerful, since the best men of the
| Middle Kingdom hesitated to come out
squarely and dcnounce the doings of
the Boxers.
Tuan's rise to favor at court has been
rapid. In 1893 he was presented to the
emperor and was several times chosen
to represent the Son of Heaven in the
annual sacrifices at the tombs Of the
imperial ancestors. Next he was ap-
| pointed commander of the Bordered
White Banner corps, advanced one
rank In the order of princes, with the
special title of Prince Tuan. During
the war with Japan he was chief of the
Peking field force, a position formerly
held by the emperor's father. Both the
emperor and the empress dowager
showered favors upon Tuan. He held
military commands and was president
of the society out of which grew the
Boxers. He is not the reigning spirit
of the Boxers, but by reason Of his
power at court has manipulated them
/ through cooperation with their real
chieftain, one Nui, man of the people
and the head of one of the greatest po
litical uprisings China has seen for q
generation, the end of which is not yet.
Tuan has cleverly turned the growing
hatred of the people for the Mantchoo
rulers into hatred of European foreign
ers, and now if the Mantchoo rulers
sacrifice Tuan the Boxer will have an
other congenial job on hand.
The Mantchoo element is represented
In the board Of peace commissioners by
Jung Lu, who is called by well posted
foreigners "as violent and reaetionary
as Tuan." He has been vicerOy of Pc
chilli and therefore subservient to the
court and IN four years has risen from
an obscure military command In the
| provinces to the most important vice
royship and the highest military CON-
mand in the empire His chief service
| TO the throne which has thus favored
| him has been the crushing out of the
order to keep "face" the empress dowa-
| ger once ordered Jung Lu banished
from the kingdom for ten years, but he
kept right on holding big offices and
| drawing big revenues. Jung Lu held
| seat in the tsung-li-yamen, and 1t was
| reported in one Of the characteristic
Shanghai dispatches that he expressed
| a wish" to protect the legations and
| restrain Tuan's violence. Perhaps that
| wish will be saving clause in the rec
| ord to be looked into by the powers
| when they come to sit upon the Chi
| nese case.
| There are many other MantchOO lead
| ers who have been cOnfederateS OF
| Tuan and whose antipathy TO foreign
ers and reform has led them to vote
the death penalty to reformers. They
! nre in the background now, but the
| fact remains that power, honors and
| money are still their portion. Prince
| Ching stands out at least according to
Shanghai dispatches, as a Mantchoo In
| whom there Is no guile. But those
same dispatches said that he had killed
| Prince Tuan in battle and also that he
| had been slain himself. Somebody had
to pose as friendly TO the foreigners in
order to save face for the throne, and
II could better be Ching than any one
| else for he was known in Peking as an
| pmiable sort of fellow of whom any
| little thing and no big thing might be
expected. As president of the tsung-ll-
yamen he had no influence whatever,
although it is said he tried to restrain