The age-herald., 1900-08-16
Important News from the Front
 Hourly Expected.
MESSAGES FROM MIR. CONGER
Reach the Department Which Are Not Transmitted Through Chinese Off cials Nor Our Officials in
 China-Not Made Public

Washington, Aug. 15.-The tension on the Chinese situation has been intense through out the day, for it Is appreciated by of- ficials that the crisis has reached an acute stage, which cannot be continued many hours without bringing word of momentous import determining, either for good or evil, the entire course of events.
 It has been day of extremest anxiety, of watching and waiting with only meagre and fragmentary information as to the mil itary and diplomatic phases One of the new developments today was the statement that messages are being received from Minister Ccnger, which are not transmitted through any of our officials in China, or through the Chinese minister here, but directly at the state department. These messages come by way of Tsi Nan. Some of them cannot be fully deciphered, and for this reason the statement cannot be definitely made that the dispatches sent by the government to Minister Conger, are received by him. So far as the messages have been deciphered, there is no indication that Minister Conger received any information or dispatches from our state department Nothing could be learned of the contents of the dispatches received.
 Information Concerning Route
 During the course of a conversation be- tween Secretary Root and Baron Speck von Sternberg, the German charge daffairs, Mr. Root gained considerable information con- cerning the route which had yet to be trav- ersed by the allied armies. Baron Stern- berg told him that Tung Chow was a very strong place, and if the Chinese army should make stand at this point the in- ternational forces would find it quite diff ficult to overcome the forts and walls While it Is not known what resistance may have been or will be made to the advance at Tung Chow, Secretary Root and other officials would not be surprised to learn of @ very serious battle at that place.
 It is expected that the German force now on its way to China will land in the vi- cinity of Lin Yu, which is directly east of Pekin. The advantages of this point are found in the fact that ice will not inter- fere with the going and coming of ships with supplies. It is also said that the road lTOIH Iln u to 9ekln IS much better than that between Tien Tsin and Pekin, as the ground is higher and the country more suitable for military operations.
 Chafree Reached Matow
 Word came early in the day to the Navy Department that General Chaffee had reached Matow, about twenty miles from Pekin. This occurred Friday or Saturday. though the dispatch from General Chaf- RAo sufficiently definite to locate the exact time of reaching Matow But in any event, three or four days have elapsed since then, and there has been time for a still further advance toward the Imperial City. The feeling among officials was shown in the extreme circumspection thrown about all messages relating to China, and it was an- nounced, both at the State and War De- partments, that any communications from Minister Conger or the United States con- suls concerning affairs in China would not be made public. It was explained that this was in way due to any desire to keep from the public information of impor- tant character, but was based solely on the fact that the crisis involved many possibilities of extreme hazard to the 800 legationers in Pekin that the greatest eau ton must be observed against disclosures which would further imperil those in dan ger.
 The State Department declined to make known the contents of the Goodnow dis patch. This opened wide field for con- jecture the most generally accepted view being that MT. Goodnow had advised against the plan of delivering the Lega- tions? outside the city of Pekn.
 Cipher Experts Busy
 The cipher experts were busy with a dis patch from Consul Fowler at Che Foo, which was. so unintelligible that it had to be returned to the telegraph company to be repeated So far as it could be de- ciphereds. it appeared to repeat message sent by Minister Conger to Fowler, telling the latter. that the situation was becoming more critical at Pekin and that the Chi nese authorities were seeking to compel the Legationers to leave the city under Chinese escort It is possible that the message, which is quite long, will convey lions are uhfavelled.
 fine Chinese officials concurred in the belief expressed by the Chinese Minister at London that tbere would be speedy and sudden change and peace within the next fewseweeks. On the other hand Baron Speck Von Sternberg regards Tung Chow, midway between Matow and Pekin, as the real battle ground, and Secretary Root is inclined to accept this view. Some of the Japanese officials believe that when the