The daily morning journal and courier., 1906-02-19
CONDITIONS IN CHINA
 DO NOT SEEM SERIOUS
MEASURING REPORTS FROM METHODIST MISSIONARIES
 IN FIFE FIELD.

Bishop Bashford Says: "AII Are safe
 In China, No Danger Apparent,'---
 Awful Tragedy of 1900 Not Expected
 by the Best Informed--Situatio
 However, is Delicate and Calls for
 Prudence on Part of Missionaries.
 New York, Feb. 18.-In view of the many disturbing reports appearing in the public press concerning the condi- tions in China and the possibility of further outbreaks such as those at Lienchow and Shanghai, and the con sequent anxiety of relatives and friends of missionaries in China, the secretaries of the Missionary Society of the Meth odist Episcopal Church sent cablegrams of inquiry to Bishop Bashford, at Shanghai, and also to representatives of the several missions of the church at Tientsin, North China; Ranking, Central China; Chungking, West China, and Foochow, for the Foochow and Hinghua missions, as follows;
 Wire us present situation in respect to danger to persons and property in your mission according to your best in- formation
 These cablegrams were sent Thurs day and Friday, February 15 and 16. That to Bishop Bashford covered all the Methodist missions in China. He recently returned from an official visit to the West China mission, coming down the Yangste through the Central China mission, whose chief stations are on the river. In the late fall he spent some weeks in the Foochow and Hing hua missions, in the south, where there has been the most agitation among the Chinese people. The bishops cable- gram, dated February Is, is reassur- ing. Code word translated, 1t is as fol- lows:
 "All are safe in China. No danger apparent Bashford'
 The response from the mission treas- urers in North, Central West and South China, dated February r. are of like tenor to that from the bishop:
 Tientsin-No disturbance safe.
 "Nanking-No trouble anywhere
 'Foochow- Foochow and Hinghua quiet"
 tChungking-All quiet" ~.
 Not letter received recently at the missionary office from any MetL Lodist missionary in China speaks of any trouble or excitement among the Chi- nese or expresses any apprehension of an outbreak.
 The secretaries of the missionary so- ciety add to the foregoing statement the following:
 As China is in transition state and the leaven of western ideas is working in the mass, some ferment is to be ex- pected; but any general uprising such as the Boxer movement is, in the opin- ion of the best informed, not probable. The veteran missionary, Dr. Arthur Smith, author of China in Convulsion, expects some trouble and sporadic out breaks, but does not believe that the awful tragedy of 1900 can be repeated. The government of China knows that the vengeance of foreign nations would fall with terrific force, not only upon the dynasty but upon the empire it. self, If the terrible scenes of 1900 were e-enacted.
 "The situation is delicate and calls for prudence on the part of the mis- sionaries and precautionary measures by the societies. The missionaries are on the ground; many of them are men and women of large experience and know how to discern signs of soming danger. It is safe to rely on their judgment Bishop Bashford is in Shanghai keeping careful watch over the safety of our missionaries. He will be quick to see signs of danger and give warning. Above all, let us remember that it is Gods cause that is involved, and that He knows what is best and can be trusted to care for His own"