Freeland tribune. (Freeland, Pa.) 1888-1921, 1900-08-15
new FEARS FOR CONGER
He Reports Efforts to Force
Him to Leave Peking.
HIs LATEST GABLE KEPT SECRET.
Anxiety Mt Washington Is Again
Aroused by Message From the
American Minister Which the State
Departments Refuses to Publish.

American Minister which the state
Depnrtments Refuses IN pubIisb.
Washington, Aug. l5.-News of seri-
ous character regarding the situation of
he foreigners i'll Peking came to the
state department yesterday in cipher
iispatch from MIR. Conger, the United
States minister to China. The govern
nent officials declined to make the dis
9atch pubic, and the reason may possi-
oily be found in Mr.. Conger's statement
hat the Chinese government was trying
% force him to leave Peking. This re-
lection on the good faith OF the imperial
authorities brought to the officials the
grave fear that after all the efforts of
he powers, when relief was so near at
land, the allies might arrive at the Chi
lese capital too late to save the diplo-
matte representatives and those in their
care from massacre at the hands of their
'anatical enemies.
While hopeful that the allies are by this
lime at the gates of Peklng, the govern
nent deemed 1t wise to take no chances
N regard to the carrying out of the ar
engagements to rescue the foreigners, and
The secretary of war, after conference
with President Mckinley over the long
distance telephone line between the
White House and the presidents Canton
residence, telegraphed instructions to Ma
lor General Chatfee at lung Chow to
hurry up the advance and relieve the
members OF the legation without delay.
Inc substance OF Mr. Cohgers message
was given IN his telegram to General
Chahee.
Mr. Conger says, after stating that the
Chlnese government Is trying to force
hlm to leave the capital, that he has re-
FUSED TO go. lie says also that the situa-
tion Is most critical Whether MIR. Con
ger INTENDED MS reference TO the coerelve
efforts of the Chinese authorities to APP
ply to hilnself personally or to the entire
diplomatic body is not known, but he
used the words force me-" 1t is pre-
sumed here that the Chinese government
Is enueaVOrlng TO compel all the minis
tiers to leave the capital under Chinese
escort, as there would be no object in
slngling out Mr.. Conger.
The Peking date of the message is not
known even to the officials who have
read It, They say that it is of uncertain
uate. Ihey issued the following bulletin
concerning 1t:
Inc department of state announces
that message from Minister Conger
has been received, but of uncertain date
and not in reply to the telegram sent to
him on Aug. .. 1t will not be made pub
lic."
Message Came Through WI.
The message came to the government
in the usual way, through Chinese chan
nels. 1t was not prefaced by the Gus
tomary amount of introduction from the
tsung-li-yamen. 1t was forwarded, as
all Chinese official messages from Peking
are now sent, to Yuan Shih Kal, gov
ernor of Shangtung, at Tsinan and was
sent by him to the taotai of Shanghai,
who cabled it to Minister WI Ting Fang
in Washington. 1t bore the Shanghai
date of Aug. IA. Minister NVu received
it about noon and sent it to the state
department by Mr.. Chung Nun Yew.
the secretary interpreter of the Chinese
legation. Mr.. Chung delivered it to Act
ing Secretary of State Adee, who, as
soon as the dispatch had been translat-
ed from the cipher hurried to the Office
of the secretary of war and showed il
to Mr.. Root. During the afternoon there
were several conferences between Mr..
Root and Mr.. Adee, and later Mr.. Root
read the message to the president over
the long distance telephone. As a re-
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