The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1902-12-19
MINISTER wU'S SUCCESSOR.


Baltimore American.
No matter how great may be the achieve
ments of Sir Lang Chen Tung. the success
sor of WI Ting Fang in the field OF
diplomacy at Washington. he win always
be remembered at Phillips Academy Gan
dover. Mass.) as the pitcher OF its most
famous baseball nine-the undergraduate
who introduced the curved ball. That was
twenty years ago.
Before coming here ri Yuk Liam. as he
was then called. was student at the
Chinese College in Hartford, Conn.,, under
the supervision of DIR. Yung Wing. At
that time Hartford had National League
baseball nine that was crowding the Bos-
ton Red Stockings, under Harry and
George Wright, very close. for the pen
nant. Tommy Bond, with his curves,
was the hero of the hour. The young
Chinaman used to go to the ground to
watch the morning practice. and Pi Yuk
became a favorite of Bonds. He taught
him his famous curve. AS result the
Chinese students formed a baseball nine
with Pi Yuk as pitcher. They defeated
easily the Hartford High School nine. the
Trinity Collegians and other baseball or
CARNATIONS OF local reputation.
The idea was to furnish the boys an edu-
cation at Hartford and Yale, but before
the plan could be fully carried out an
smissary from the Emperor of China ar
rived, found that the boys were becoming
Americanized TO an alarming extent, and
effected their recall by the government
or fourth instailmenis OF young Chinese
sent to this country He arrived here
about 1875. He was then a boy OF fourteen.
q large robust, HANDSOME young fellow.
manned with family in Amherst and fitted
for Phillips Academy at Andover, and with
the entry into that famous preparatory
Lang Chen Tung 10 all intends and pur-
poses became an American boy.
1t was in 1879 that Pi Yuk became
member of the class OF 81 In Phillips
Academy, and in that hearty, robust.
romping class of 81 there was no more
vigorous, keen or athletic youngster than
LANG. He became a member OF the base
ball club. and one day when the pitcher
played with Exeter, LANG stepped into the
breach and pitched a game that sent his
school wild with enthusiasm and scored
deep defeat for the visitors. Lang had
been practicIng twirling the curved ball on
the campus at odd moments, and hoped for
just such an opportunity, and when IL
came Lang was waiting and proved him.
self equal to the demands of the occasion.
After that the little Chinese boy was
school hero and the permanent pitcher for
the team.
In the language OF the campus LANG
was ''corker." but no matter how much
attention he received or how he might
excel OH the Utlu OF III tie cSilooilo ohas
LANG never got what we boys and lots
of men call a swelled head. He was al
ways ready to listen TO suggestions and
carry them out. and to the mind OF many
of the fellows was an ideal school chum,
ever ready to defend the honor OF the
school.
LANG wanted Phillips to become boat
ing school. He advocated the choosing
of an eight TO row all corners on the Merri-
mac river, for the proficiency in rowing, he
explained, showed that there were stout
hearts and strong muscles i'm a school. and
that was Just what Andover wanted TO
show. Langs rowing movement -four
ished, aud he gathered a strong backing.
and the innovation was freely discussed in
the school paper over high sounding Latin
nom de plumes and In the old files OF the
paper are TO be found to-day glowing APP
peals for an eight signed "Pi Yuk."
Since leaving Massachusetts, Lang Chen
Tung has received his baptism In diplo-
macy While la Hung Chang was ambas-
sador to Washington. Liang Chen Tung
was his private secretary well as in
terpreter of the legation He was knighted
by Queen Victoria because of the part he
took as a member OF the special commits
sion which represented the Chinese gov
eminent at the Queens jubilee. During a
large part of the official career Sir Lang
was intimately associated with Ii Hung
Chang. He accompanied him as his secre-
tary on the peace mission in japan after
the great war, and he was also one or
Earl LIS secretaries at the diamond jubilee
of Queen Victoria.