The McCook tribune. (McCook, Neb.) 1886-1936, 1900-08-24
AFFAIRS ARE CRITICAL.
officials Realize Seriousness Of the Sit
uation in China.
SEVERAL MESSAGES FROM CONGfR
General Hope that Early News May
Quickly Relieve Present Awful Tension
Ncars Pekin-Bclief tn
strong Opposition Will lie Met Wit

WASHINGTON, Aug. 16.-The ten
sion on the Chinese situation through
out the day has been intense, for it
is appreciated by officials that the cri-
sis has reached an acute stage which
cannot be continued many hours with
out bringing word of momentous i'm
port, determining, either for good or
evil, the entire course of events. 1t
has been a day Of extreme anxiety,
Of watching and waiting, with only
meager and fragmentary information
as to the military and diplomatic
phases.
One Of the new developments today
was the statement that messages are
being received from Minister Conger
which are not transmitted through any
of our officials in China or through
the Chinese minister here, but direct
ly to the State department. These
messages come by the way of Isl Nan.
Some of them cannot be fully deciph-
cred, and for this reason the slate-
ment 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 de-
ciphered there is no indication that
Minister Conger had received any of
those sent by the State department.
Nothing could be learned of the con-
tents of the dispatches received, al
though it was stated there were quite
a number from Minister Conger, some
coming from the consular officers and
General Chaffee, besides those which
came direct. The message transmitted
through Minister WI was entirely de-
ciphered in the department.
During the course Of a conversation
between Secretary Root and Baron
Speck Won Sternberg, the German
d affaires, Mr.. Root gained consider
able information concerning the route
which had to be traversed by the al
lied armies. Baron Sternberg told
him that Tung Chow was a very strong
place and if the Chinese army should
make a stand at this point the inter-
forces would find it quite diff
cult 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 sur
prised to learn of a very serious bat
SiC at tldI pidCc.
Word came early in the day to the
Navy department that General Chaffee
had reached Matow, about twenty
miles from Pekin. This occurred Fri
day or Saturday, though the dispatch
from General Chaffee, sent through
Remey, was not sufficiently
definite to locate the exact time of
reaching that place. But in any event,
three or four days have elapsed since
then and there has been time for .
still further advance toward the i'm
perial city.
The feeling among officials was
shown in the extreme circumspection
about the messages relating to
China, and it was announced both
the State and Wal departments that
any communications from Minister
.onger or the United States consuls
concerning affairs in China would not
made public. 1t was explained
this "a in no way due to a de-
sire to keep from the public informa-
ton of an important character. but
based solely on the fact that the
crisis involved SO many possibilities
Of extreme hazard to the legationers
In Pekin that the greatest caution
must be observed against disclosures
which would further imperil those in
danger. The actual developments of
day consisted of the Remey dis
patch heretofore alluded to and one
from Consul General Goodnow at
Shanghai.