Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1900-10-20

! posed to the foreigners The members of the
| mission present were Mr.. and Mrs. E. At
| water and two children. Mr.. and Mrs. c.
Price and SON, There were also in the city
| members of the Swedish mission. Mr.. and
| Mrs Langren. naturalized American citi-
| zens, and Miss Eldred, an English lady.
| Up to August Ii none of these had been
| molested. The old project had died and the
| governor sent new man fully In sympathy
| with his worst designs. Two days after his
| arrival he demanded of the local official
| to know why the foreigners had not been
| driven out In all other places they had
| been forced away. The magistrate replied
| that the Americans had been very peaceable
| and kindly disposed people, and he had no
occasion for sending them away. The pre-
| feet then insisted that they must be sent
| away within two days! Under this compul-
sion the magistrate arrested the chief hos
pital dispensiye who was beaten 800 blows
! The demand was made that he should Sc
| cure all the arms in the possession of the
| mission. There were accordingly given up
| two pistols and two rifles. The demand to
| hasten their departure was then repea ted
| A request was made on behalf of Mrs. At
| water, who was about to be confined, that
| they be allowed few days respite but the
! project insisted that they be sent away to
| the coast. and that they must be ready the
| next day. Four country carts were pre-
pared for them and their goods were packed
| They were to start August 10. guard of
twenty soldiers was made ready. AS soon
| as the arrangements were made the for
| eign houses were sealed up.
Houses Were COnfscated.
The missionaries requested that they be
permitted to sell their houses to provide
| silver for the journey. The official replied
| that all property had been confiscated by
| imperial decree and could not be sold, but
that small property in country village
could be sold. This was accordingly done
and a small sum OF silver was made ready.
At,,.
report of the general massacre, rode Il
horse given him by Mr.. Atwater. On the
journey he heard suspicious remarks by the
soldiers. From these he understood that
mischief was meant AMI on the advice of
one of the soldiers escaped from the party.
When not far away he heard the firing of a
gun and afterward learned that this was
The signal for an attack on the party. Al
this signal the soldiers rushed upon the
helpless victims and cut them down sever
ally with their swords. Their bodies were
then stripped and buried together in a ditch
by the roadside. The escaped messenger re-
| turned the second day to learn the fate of
his foreign friends. In addition to the
above he heard that three Swedish mission
aries at Yungnirgchou had been sent away
by the official to the Yellow river, their
escape being uncertain. He also learned
that five women at Cheh Hsin HE had
| made an effort to escape and that a Miss
French and Miss Palmer had fled to Hung
Tung Hen. This messenger then started
for Ten Tsin August %. Arriving at Taiku
the terrible end of the mission there was
| told him. He passed through the moun-
tains, and at Hwai Lu found Gov. Yu Hen
with troops assembled. The governor had
gone far at Hsin Lo for the relief of
Pekin. but having heard of the capture of
the city, had returned to Hwai Lu. The
| messenger arrived at Cheng Teng August
% and found twenty foreigners were safe
| in the cathedral there. Among these were
Mr.. Griffith. wife and child: Mr. and Mrs
Brown. Roman Catholic bishop, three
priests and five nuns. together with five rail-
way men Zone French. three Italians and one
Belgian) The brigades general there had
protected them all and was quite friendly
Going further north he found fifty miles
Of railway still intact between Tingchou and
Paoting-fu. At the latter place he sue
ceeded in getting boat and came safely
| through to Tien Tsin, with his terrible mes
sage of horror and anguish. He brought
of Mr.. c. w. Price, with the words: This
mans story will be reliable
Notorious Enemy of Foreigners.
A word or two in reference to this fiend-
ish governor. Yuhien. Only a year ago he
was governor of Shantung, sent there by
the empress doWager to displace a governor
who had been friendly to foreigners The
Boxer organization. If not actually found
ed. was fostered by him until it gained
power and began to spread through the
western part of Shantung and passed over
murdered by them. and their homes de-
vastated. and the lives of foreign mission
aries placed In the greatest peril An in
dictment was brought against him by the
missionaries Of the American board of
Presbyterian missions. giving simple proof
that Yuhien was responsible for these out
breaks The ministers at Pekin demanded
his removal. The day he turned over his
/ office Rev. s. Brooke was murdered by the
Boxers. The ministers demanded that he
never be allowed to hold office again. The
empress dowager replied by sending for
him and bestowing a special mark of honor
upon him, and made him governor of
Shansi When Yuhien took the governor
ship of Shansi it was one of the most
peaceful provinces in the empire, and dis
| turbances We're practically unknown. Yu-
hien sent teachers into every district to
organize Boxer organizations Well has he
been termed the Father of BoXerism." He
organized them in Shantung and organized
them in Shansi.
Fixing of Responsibilities.
But the question arises, who is response
BILE for his being governor of Shansi, and
as a consequence for the dreadful massacre
of foreigners in that province. The eff
Gent American consul at Chefoo John
Fowler, and the American minister at Pc
kin. Mr.. Conger. did all they could to pre-
vent his appointment. The relatives and
friends of the murdered have a right to
demand to know why they were not sus
tanned by the home government.
Are the American people going to let this
pass without demanding investigation
to learn where the responsibility lies? Are
they going to allow the heads of their cti-
Zens, of innocent men, women and chill
dren. to be exposed from the walls of Tai
yuen as witnesses of the fiendish cruelty
of the governor of Shansi and not rest
until he meet with adequate punishment?
How long are the American people going
to be hoodwinked by such men as WI
Ting Fang, the Chinese minister at Wash
ngton who has beer trying to make our
people believe that the Boxer movement
had no official sanction. but was mere local
uprisings. like rotings which sometimes
take place in the United States? What
about the revelations made in the viceroys
yamen in Tien Tsin, the discoveries made
in Pekin and the massacres in Shansi, all
affording abundant proof of the completely
of his imperial government?
THE PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA.
rector Santelmann.
All lovers of good music are interested In