Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1909-10-23


cobbier's son. and even II Hung
Chang was once held up outside the
gates for three days because he would
not submit to his extravagant de-
mands ! am told that II cost to pay
the palace expenses during the life Of
the dowager something like thirty
million dollars n year. and great deal
OF this came from such squeezes
When the treasury grew low the
dOwager sent out collectors. who
Travelled from official to official over
the empire and demanded gifts. one
of these collectors was named Kang-
VI He was sent on a squeezing tour
south having been ordered TO bring
back al least two hundred thousand
ounces Of silver. when Kank-Yi visit
ed Shanghai he demanded that the
Chinese Merchant steamship company.
then under the control of Sheng Kung-
Pao. should pay the government two
hundred thousand dollars per year.
Sheng complained that the business
would not stand il, and compromised
at half the sum.
The viceroys OF Marking and Wu-
chang were heavily bled by Kaug VI,
as were also those of Tientsin and
Canton The squeezing In the latter
place was probably aided by brother
OF ii Hung Chang. who was an Of
fetal here He was "a friend of the
dOwager. and he squeezed 80 much
that the people nicknamed him The
Bottomless Bag"
WAS SHE A DEMON?
one hears all sorts Of stories about
che empress dOwager. All acknowledge
her ability and say she will rank among
the great queens Of all time. There Is
no question as to her strength OF char
acter Some exalt her to the skies
as an angel of mercy and light, while
others say she WAS a demon incarnate,
and they compare her private life TO
that Of the Russian empress, Catherine
the Great As 10 her demoniac char
acter, her detractors say she poisoned
her husband. the Emperor Hsien Feng.
and thereby became ruler in connec-
ton with another empress whom he
married before her. They suspect that
the death Of that empress was caused
By the dowagers Vaccinations and
plots. who then reigned supreme dur
ing the minority of her son, the EN-
peror Tung Chieh, who was baby
when chosen.
When Tung Chieh had reached the
age Of Is. at which time he might aspire
20 rule independently. he died of small
box and there are some malicious
enough 10 say that his mother the
empress dowager. assisted him on the
fairy ride TO a far country. They al
lege that he had begun to resist her
domination, and that the smallpox was
really an overdose Of opium pills. They
say also that after his death the sui
eide OF mis- wife, the empress, who
threw herself into a wei, was assisted
by this same great woman, and that
other crimes OF similar nature may
be laid 10 her charge.
HOW KwANG-sU WAS PUNISHED.
Take. for instance. a story which is
whispered among the officials here at
Pehn. IL relates TO kwang-Su, the
last emperor and to a faVorite COM
Cubine of his whom the great dowager
thought was melting him 10 rebel
against her. She ordered the emperor
90 come before her and then had his
| sweetheart brought in. When the two
were kneeling she charged them with
treason. and said TO the emperor:
Il shall now show you how l treat
traitors"
She thereupon gave a signal. and her
| cxecutioners seized the concubine and
with a silken cord strangled her To
death before the eyes OF her imperial
| lover.
The power OF the great dowager was
supreme. A word from her could slice
off a head. and her followers knew H.
=
dared not resist her. When her maj
estv lay on her deathbed some OF the
| grand councillors proposed 20 raise to
tho throne another prince than the one
| she had selected and 10 make Prince
| ching regent Thcreupon the great
| dowager gathered her strength and
rose up, saying.
you officials think you can humbug
me because ! am old. Verify. / think
the time for your death has arrived"
POSSIBLY AN ANGEL
Such rs one view OF this great rulers
| character on the other hand, Miss
! Carl who wrote n book giving her OK
| roTienco- DOB painting the empress dow
/ ayers portrait. says that she was kind
ana sweet and good Mrs. Conger. the
sci of our former minister speaks Of
/ Doe. nos "a scholar and an artist, and
/ thor. Hrc many who win toll you that
/ tho charges of hor being an assassin
aro false and malicious know the
/ stony about hcr being a slave girl Is
| untrue. She came from ono 81 the
! best of the Manchu families. Her
! father was Duke Chao. "a military man,
! who was hehcadcd after she had mar
| ried the Emperor llsicu- Feng
| There De- no doubt hut that she was
| true 90 her friends and that Pa VI Is
| nov ON the throne is "a living evidence
/ of that trait OF her character The
| inside story ~ how this baby became
! emperor D. yet 90 be- told. ono Of the
| highest officials gave me the bones of
| the matter ass we chattod together last
| night Said De.
IN had It's birth IN the coup d'etat