Freeland tribune. (Freeland, Pa.) 1888-1921, 1900-07-27
WASHINGTON IS SILENT
Officials Say They Have Moth
ire, From China.
MAY BE HOLDING SOMETHING BACK

Ii Is Alleged Tint Remey's Dispatch
Was Not All Made PubIic-state De-
pnrtment Says COnger's Message
Was Surely Authentic.
Washington, July .27.-The state de-
partment did not receive yesterday a dis
patch from any consular officer in China,
the officials say, and the naval authori-
ties say that their only information from
Admiral Remey was contained in the dis
patch made public yesterday.
There was great deal more In the dis
patch from Rear Admiral Remey. than
the navy department chose to give to the
press. Under the rule that opinions and
information concerning strategical move
ments of other governments shall be
withheld. the greater part of the message
was suppressed. The naval authorities
have succeeded in guarding the withheld
portions very carefully. and nothing more
about them is known outside of the inner
government circle than that they relate
to an important point that has not hereto.
fore been br0ached. 1t is suspected that
1t concerns the advance of the allies on
Pekmg, which was to begin, according tD
the decision of the foreign commanders,
about July 80.
Minister Wu Ting Fang called on DR..
Hill, the acting secretary of state. and
spent some time with him in the diplo-
matte room of the state department. The
minister had no news and had come, he
said, in the hope that the state depart
ment had advices from China. His CON
versation with DIR. Hill was devoted to n
discussion of the situation. with particu-
lar reference TO the contradictory report
concerning the safety of the foreigners in
Peking. Minister Wu's faith that the
ministers are safe and are being protect
ed apparently remains mistaken 1t is
noteworthy that. with all the prevailing
suspicion as to the honesty of the Chi
nese officials in the present crisis, the
government authorities here have the
greatest confidence in the sincerity of Mr..
Wu and are satisfied that his word is to
be trusted in every way.
Wu Looks Anxious.
Mr.. WI is showing the effects Of the
strain under which he has been for more
than "a month. He looks tired and anX-
ious. When he left the diplomatic room,
he asked for news and showed keen in
terest in the cable dispatches about the
Chinese situation which the reporter read
to him. He declined, however, to com
ment on any of the information contained
in the dispatches, but laughed incredu-
lousy at the statement that Ii Hung
Chang had told the Russian and Italian
consuls at Shanghai, after referring to
the foreign ministers, that ''the other
Europeans were of no Importance"
The statement was made yesterday by
an official of the state department ia
miliar with the departments cipher code
and who has seen the cipher copy of
the dispatch to which Mr. Conger's name
was attached that there was something
i'll the Conger message which convinced
him and other officials that the message
was written by Mr. Conger or Mr.
Squires, the first secretary of the Ameri-
can legation. He would not say what
was in the dispatch to justify his as
sertion, but he maintained that every ele-
ment of doubt in connection with the
authenticity of the message, except that
it was an old one that had been with
held by the Chinese authorities, had been
eliminated. The message was unques-
tionably, he said, written by either Mr..
Conger or Mr.. Squires.
The navy department, 50 a high official
said, had not received any response to
its telegram to Admiral Remey directing
him to send statement of the number
of allied troops on Chinese soil. He said
also that the deparement had not heard
from Admiral Remey whether the ques-
ton of the selection of a commander in
chief of the allied forces had been set
tied Instructions were sent to Admiral
Remey to consult with the other COM
manders on that subject, and it was sup
posed that his visit to Tien-tsin this
week was in obedience to them. He was
told that while the United States gov
ernment did not insist that its senior
officer should be selected it held that the
claims of all the governments in this re-
gard should be canyassed and that the
selection should not be confined to the
officer of highest rank or the officer COM
manding the force of the country send
| ing the largest representation. 1t is
maintained by some officials here that il
the selection is to be made by seniority
of rank the determination of relative
rank should be made on the basis of CON
sidering that the highest officer in each
military establishment occupied equal
rank.
shnfter May Command.
The highest grade in any military serv-
ice is field marshal. Therefore. accord
ing to those who make this argument,
| Lieutenant General Miles, being the
highest officer of the United States serv-
ice, would have the relative rank of
field marshal If engaged in cooperation
| with the foreign commanders. The next
lowest grade in the United States army
is major general, corresponding to that
of general if the comparison is carried
out in the armies that have field mar
shals. Therefore, it is contended that
Major General Chaffee ranks relatively
with a general and as such would be en-
titled, if the seniority rule be adopted,
to command the allied forces unless
field marshal is sent to China by Japan.
| Vanderbilts FirebOx Tested.
Philadelphia, July 27.-Cornelus Van