The age-herald., 1901-05-06
MINISTER CONGER
 WRITES 0F CHINESE
Says Powers Will Soon Reach
 Some Conclusion
RUSSIA AND JAPAN SETTLE
There Is No Longer Danger of Their Fiohting-Denies the Stories of Lootine and Blood.
 thirstlness.

New York, May 5.-Minister F. H Con ger, who has lately returned to this coun- try, furnishes an article on the Chinese situation which will appear in the com ing number of Leslie's Weekly. MT. Con ger says In part:
 Unless matters have changed very ma terially since left China six weeks ago, the powers will reach some conclusion In regard to China very soon. Of course 1t Is difficult for eleven men to agree on anything, especially when they have eleven governments with different views behind them. China is perfectly willing to do anything that the powers agree upon-that Is, anything within her abi ity to accomplish. She is only too anx- ious to expedite these matters and settle down to peaceful pursuits again. Of course the powers must not demand an indemnity which China will be physically unable to raise, It is not certain, that finally. some nation may not demand ter ritory of China in lieu of money indemni- ty. It is perfectly certain that if any nation does make this demand. the par tition of China will follow, and this will inevitably cause much dissention between the powers These difficulties and dis putes would be long In settling and would lead to terrible confusion in China.
 Russia has so far mitigated her de- mands that there is not now much dan ger of serious difficulty between her and Japan. Personally, I am very much in favor of the continued existence of Chi- ma as an empire, governed by her own emperor. It will save us and all the rest of the world lots of trouble if the in- tegrity of the empire is maintained,
 Punishment Severe.
 "As far as the punishment of Chinese officials goes, China has already done all that she could. Something out of the or dinary had to be demanded by the pow CTS. for it takes a good deal of punish ment to impress-this people and this was no ordinary offense. In some cases the officials whose punishment was demand ed, were more powerful than the govern ment and then, of course, the punish ment could not be enforced. Except in these cases, everything was done as the powers demanded.
 "At home I understand that I was was the most lenient of all the ministers except one. We knew the conditions bet ter than those who were not there coulc possibly know them. Drastic measures were demanded, but I do not think that we were cruel. What would seem severe punishment to us at home would not inn press the Chinese at all for the reason that they indulge in so many cruel and unusual punishments. The reports of cruelty on the part of soldiers have been grossly exaggerated, though I am sure that there was plenty of brutality on the part of individual soldiers As an army, the allies were exceedingly we'll behaved. Nor were the stories of unrestricted loot ing true. In Pekin the soldiers took what they needed, of course, just as we would while we were caged up in the compound had we been able to fasten upon any thing that would help us to withstand the siege As for the stories of missionary footing, they are undisguisedly false. The missionaries did not loot"