Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1911-10-19
Believes That Effect Of First
Battle viii Be Decisive.
Doubtful Provinces viii Hest
tate 10 Join The Rebels,
American Admiral Murdock Look.
Ing After Our Interests.

The Imperial Chinese troops and the
reVetaaOHIsts have coH!e 10 sup al
HankoW. Ire latte as yet Is lnaecIss
i've. Inc government at Penln elaliaz
great VIetoIy AID the goSeIa4Ie
troops hold the trenches at HankoN,
Wen as the station, where relnIoIce
ments are hourly arriving. ~ re bu4s
have fallen back on Wu Chaas.
y hicn. 1t IS SAID, they have Succeeds
in strongly foItilylng in the past lev
days The casualties on both sizes IL
the eng agement are reported to IL
large, for the hghting at times vas a
the hayonet point.
During the battle between the lane
forces, the Chinese warshlps sneil-4
tie rsbel position, but dispatches from
IIankow indicate that the return mr.
from the forts was much more effec-
tive and that at least two OF the IN
parial gunboats were badly damaged.
American warships have heen or
dered to Making, Shanghai and Tien
Ysin. The Abarenda, which is pro-
ceeding to Tien Tsin, is carrying a de-
taohment to reinforce the American
legation guard at Pekin. The capital is
strongly guarded and there seems to
be little danger of disorders there.
The prince regent has yle. ded 10 the
demands of Yuan Shi Kai, it is said.
and the latter will raise his own divis-
ion of troops numbering 10000. 10 con-
troll the situation in the provinces of
Hu Peh and HUI Nan.
Pekin. oct. 1S.-The Chinese govern
nent claims to have won great vic
tory at Hankow and it announces that
the government troops hold the sta
ton wfere troop trains are arriving
rapidly. Although this appears to be
an observation-disclosures the lighting
continues-the feeling prevails here
that the government has really
achieved an important moral victory.
The belief has been held In Pekin
that if the first encounter between the
reVolntiouaries and the local troops
proved decisive, the supremacy would
be settled then and there. Only few
unimportant towns outside of Han
kow, WI Chang and Han Yang. have
taken part in the rising Hawking,
Chang Sha, Canton and other cities
Iof known revolutionary tendencies
have rot responded to the call of the
Insurgents so far as can be learned
They are seemingly awaiting the re-
suit of the first encounter. Had the
ebels overwhelmingly Won the battle
today, it was expected that the prov
inces below the Yang Use kiang
would be theirs. With other important
cities in rebellion, the government
would have been unable to concen-
trate its strength against the three
in Hu Peh province. The rebel lead
ers have shown the characteristic ma
tioral weakness in not following up
their early victories. During the past
four days, many miles OF railway
could have been taken under control
by any really modern army.
No news was received here, today
from Sze-Chuen province, even con-
sular reports are lacking. The Amer
lean lega ton failed to receive any re-
n~"+s e~centine that Consul General
Greene at Hanl1ow, announcing that
/ the battle had begun.
Acceptance of the office of viceroy
of Huh-Peh makes Yuan Shi Kals ap-
| pointment a military one. his duty be-
ing to fight for possession of the pro-
f4l4Cldi throne ana 10 make II secure
| by restoring order in the two large
provinces OF Huh Peh and HUI Nan.
! It is reliably stated that he demanded
permission to raise his own division
of 10000 troops and TO cash a personal
grant of 100000 taels ($2,000.001). To
this humiliation the regent agreed.
Yuan Shi Kai is expected to start
from Pekin within three davs. Many
officials previously dissatisfied with
the progress of reform are raliving to
the support Of the government. be-
cause they now believe that the
chances for obtaining reforms are
greater by aiding The dynasty than by
supporting the present rebellion.
Acceptance in the presence of the
real emergency which confronts the
government is a vindication of Yuan
Shi Kars loyalty. he occupies a strik-
| ing position in respect to his old
| friends and supporters. Gen. Chao
Ehr- Feng who is combating the re-
bellion in SEE Shuen supports his right
| flank and is the man who by a military
| expedition to Lhasea in 1910. amazed
| foreign militarists. AT his back he
has Hzi-Liang in control of railways
and at his left ana rear Yang Shi-
Slang, viceroy of Chilli Owing to the
censorship, even the officials are un-
abla m obtain rplia hle The