The Billings gazette. [volume] (Billings, Mont.) 1896-1919, 1901-05-14
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MINISTER coNGER's VIEW.
Matters in China Reaching an Al
justment.

Justrnent.
Minister E. H. Conger, who has
lately returned to this country, furn.
ishes an article on the Chinese situa-
ton which will appear in the coming
number Of Leslie's Weekly. Mr.. Con
ger says:
"Unles matters have changed ma
terially since l left China six weeks
ago the powers will reach some con
clusion in regard to China very soon.
OF course it is difficult for II men to
agree on anything, especially when
they have IL governments with diff
ferent views behind them. China is
perfectly willing to do anything that
the powers agree upon-that is, any
thing within her ability to accomplish.
She is only too anxious to expedite
these matters and settle down to
peaceful pursuits again. OF course,
the powers must not demand an in
demnity which China will be physi-
cally unable to raise. It is not GER
tain that, finally, some nation may
not demand territory Of China in lieu
of a money inaemnity. It is perfect
ly certain that if any nation does
make this demand the partition of
China will Follow, and this will in
evltably cause much dissension be-
ween the powers. These difficulties
and disputes would be long in the
settling and would lead to terrible
confusion in China.
Russia has so far mitigated her
demands that there is now not much
danger of serious difficulty between
her and Japan. Personally l am very
much in favor of the continued exist
ence of China as an empire, governed
by her own emperor. 1t will save us
and all the rest of the world lots of
trouble if the integrity of the empire
is maintained.
"As far as the punishment of Chi
nese officials goes, China has already
done all that she could. Something
out of the ordinary had to be demand
ed by the powers, for it takes a good
deal of punishment to impress this
people, and this was no ordinary Of
Tense. In some cases the officials
whose punishment was demanded
were more powerful than the gover
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
thought bloodthirsty, but in China l
Vas the most lenient of the ministers
except one. We knew the conditions
better than those who were not there
could possibly know them. Drastic
measures were demanded, but l do
not think we were cruel. What would
seem a severe punishment to us at
home would not impress the Chinese
at all, for the reason that they indulge
in SO many cruel and unusual punish
ments. The reports of cruelty on the
part of the soldiers have been grossly
exaggerated, though I am sure that
there was plenty of brutality On the
part of the individual soldiers. AS an
army the allies were exceedingly we'll
behaved. Nor were the stories of un-
restricted looting true. In Pekin the
soldiers took what they needed. of
course, just as we would have seized
anything that we needed while we
were Gagged up in the compound had
we been able to find anything that
would help us to stand the seige. Re
garding the stories of the missionary
looting. they are undisguisedly false.
The missionaries did not loot"