The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, July 26, 1900, Page 1

t; ;| \ " This Paper not to be taken from the Library~ e e The 56. VOLUME LXXXVIII-NO, SAN FRANCISCO, mUBSDAY, JULY 26, 1900. LETTER WRITTEN BY CONGER on July 4 Tells of Attacks on the Legations at Pe- king and Great Danger of a General Massacre. VICEROYS ORDERED T0 WAR ON ALLIES PRICE FIVE CENTS. Majority of "COURIER FROM PEKING SAYS Foreigners | Were Dead When He Left { and the Condition of the (p— Survivors Was Hopeless. o! R B S S S N e s @.ooomww o, iE b Rl PR e U e e 2 S0 L B ’7'0 07 . —0“4 & 7‘ ¢ o :Mf D B 4~4¢._+-—0«ov+\ >~ - rwfl«. b4 [ P : THE CALL’S 51.)1 TMARY OF . NEWSE s R@fl THE FAR EAST T last the veil over Peking seems to be thg. A native empioye of the British legation who b escaped from the capital to Niuchwang states that when he left—on what date in july is not P! specified—a maijority of the foreigners in the legation were dead, and the condition of the * living was hopeless. According to a letter from a minor official in Peking, of the date of July 9, + received in Shanghai, only three hundred of the besieged remained alive and attacks upon the + legation were bzing continued. < That a general massacre would follow the fall of the legation was the fear expressed by < Minister Conger in 2 dispatch of July 4 received in Washington yesterday. The siege had then ¢ lasted two weeks. and the Chinese scldiery who constituted the sole government of the city were + determined to massaere 2!l foreigners. 3 The Imperial Government is unable to longer conceal the fact that it is preparing for a < war against the civilized world. D +5 05 0i et ei 90t eieioeieodedededededodroedroeodedeieidededededede O+ & “ - . S i : [ 3 & i P P 2 it A Rl ;[ ¢ THE TROLLEY CAR LINE FROM THE RAILROAD STATION TO THE SOUTH GATE OF PEKING. ; 1 - -¢;3‘T”.m”x;m4 of the “foreign a.‘-|‘1<w;o"av;n::rlj :‘ 3 i e v 1 | ;6< A S e e S S SRS SCE SRCE SRCRS SONY SO e SaCa SRORE S S SRS SO SRS SRR SEOSS W S ,; LETTER FROM CONGER TELLS OF HIS PERIL Bears Date of July 4 and Is Believed to Have Been Written at th Recent Message Was Filed. 60500050 000600000000000606060 partment from Captain Charles M. Thomas. commander of the Brooklyn: . “CHEFU, July 24.—Navigation Bureau, Washington—Written message, signed Conger, + dated july 4, received at Tientsin, July 21, says: ‘Been besieged two weeks, British legation. ¢ | <« Grave dange eral massacre by Chinese soldiers who are shelling legation daily. Relief soon ¢ if at all. City without government except by Chinese army. Determined to massacre all for- . eigners in Peking. Entry of relief forces into city probably will be hotly contested.” ” ?..4:,‘4060<GQGQ~;-0 .. Gt ed eh eh et elet AS S t in the "" ort to secure W that st <imilar Britain be said that ges. The lan- e animating Y mediation as to s to resort to a settle- tution of negotiations his appears more comparison of the various in e single note ad- y resident. ar Depnrtment Energetic outcome | Govern- HARAEAR AAAA® YW if at all, there suspicion that the crisis n that this reason- s t further conclu- | ¢ cipher message, If | pre of course, if | On the cor by Chinese | Departme moving at present with | greater e v than at any time since the 41|r1l!.)m1 orders for troops to get its con- | tingent in po n for the task before it. General Chaffee reported to the depart- ment formally ¥ from Nagasaki and ‘lhsre received orders which have | been sent by cable since his departure from San Francisco. An idea of thelir | general character can be gathered from the general’s report that he was about to push forward at once with his big| | transport for Taku. He will not even | stop at Chefu and it is even doubtful | whether he will detain the Grant at Nagasaki long enough to take on coal. He is energetically taking steps in ad- . | vance to meet the evil of which the for- riher toward altimate Tes- | gy naval commanders have complaived, preceding message. The |y pone have remedied—the lack of ws only three days t0]1,nqing facilities at Taku. To this end the great dis- | 10" pae fnstructed Lieutenant Colonel nton has at- | oogliGge of the Ninth Infantry at Tient- the intimation that | d to refrain from movement toward Peking. ¥, the United States War als More Chinese Assurances. d in support of | position, came to- | her of the great at Canton, who departure. | the safety of coming trom so many | nd from such an im- « official, these dispatches pessimistic view of ributes them all to a one high It is noted some Chinese Escort Not Wanted. In spite of the alarm with which the oflicials, including 14 Hung il the publication of the fact in | wspapers that the French Govern- | mvl also had been addressed by the Chi- | Chinese e WASHINGTON, July 25.—The following cqb'egram has been received at the Navy De- State Department officials | ly speaking, this idea is | ies between them and | : ‘ Appears 10| gy, to secure at once all of the tugs and | ! explanation. if the message 18 0 | i piors necessary to a speedy landing of epted as genuine and of Peking | up, reinforcements and stores that are | carried by the Grant. s not known to the State Depart- | P08 4 e Time His S s e -,»—»’--»o.wl - b et e edobebeoeseD j Chang, prefer to view the adyance of the allied forces on Peking, so far as it affects the safety of the foreign Ministers, it may none of the powers have evinced any tendency to abate their prep- | arations or accept an escort-of imperial | troops for the Ministers from Peking to | Tientsin. This Government has acted all | the while on the theory that the Ministers | were alive and has accepted i good faith the assurances of the Chinese Govern- ment to this effect, but it has not recog- nized In any way the suggestion contained in Cheng’s cable of yesterday that the | Chinese Government should furnish the forelgners an escort out of Peking. It | was said at the State Department to-day that the American Minister s not to be | delivered up by a force of Chinese troops | to the allied forces or to any one else. | This Government deems it much more ap- | propriate, if he needs an escort out of Peking, that it should be composed of ’Amcrlcnn soldiers. e T |OLD MOHICAN ORDERED TO CHINESE STATION Special Dispatch to The Call. VALLEJO, July 2.—Orders were re- cetved at Mare Island late this afternoon to fit up the U. S. 8. Mbhican for duty on the Chinese station and to have her in condition to sail in seven days at the most. It will take seventy-two days for ,the Mohican to make the trip, and as she | 1s one of the very old ships of the navy some surprise Is expressed at her being ordered to take such a long cruise. The Justin and Nero have been ordered into commission, but will carry but one naval officer each, the crews to be made up of civilians. | REASSURED BY LI BRUSSELS, July 25.—The Foreign Office to-day received the following dispatch: SHANGHAL July %.—Li Hung Chang told me the Chinese Government was arranging to | Shanghai or Hongkong. Refugees are be- lmperlal Edict Instructs Chinese Officials to Prepare for a Struggle Against the World and Warns That They Must Suffer the Consequences if They Fail to Act. [Special Cable to the New York Herald. Copyright, 1900, by New York Herald Company. Rezpublication of this dispatch is prohibitsd. All 4 war. derer. Europeans here understand thoroughly the last part of this edict, which states ed by the Dowager Empress to prepare for a Chinese war against the allied forces. increasing his armaments, facts concerning the ma Chinese gunboats infest the channelat the back of Shameen. ment wharf awaiting orders. military and marine. cre in Peking, which are being sedulously concealed. rights reserved in the United States and Great Britain.] “We have lost Tientsin. Great precautions have been taken in Peking. No peace can be cbtained without going through “In the time of Chungoow the agreement is made that no murder can be committed on Ministers from abroad. month since the Minister from Germany was assassinated by the Boxers. Strict orders have been given to arrest the mur- “We are trying our utmost to preserve the lives of the other Ministers. They are still in safety. For fear that the Viceroys and Governors may misunderstand the intention of this decree and rely on the safety of these Ministers as a ground for making peace, let them—taking no heed whatever—prepare for attack and defense. Neglect in fortifying the districts under their jurisdiction will bring endless calamity. The Viceroys and Governors are to pay all their attention to and urge on preparations for coast attack and defense. They are.to take the consequences in case of any territory being entirely lost through their delay er mismanagement.” Viceroy Taksu His plans will be unmasked soon after the allied powers ONDPON, July 26.—The Daily Telegraph publishes this dispatch from its special correspondent: C,\\‘TO\' Tuesday, via Hongkong, July 25.—Viceroy Taksu to-day published the following mandat.. “An important imperial decree was issued on. the 23d day of the sixth moon saying: Itisa that Viceroys and Governors are comman- is bitterly anti-foreign and is ascertain definitely the Eighteen Chinese gunboats lie below the Imperial Govern- NO HOPE FOR FOREIGNERS IN THE LEGATIONS. LONDON, July 26.—The Daily Mail publishes this dispatch from its special correspondent: “Shanghai, Wednesday (urgent)—I have received furtner information from a nafive employe who escaped from Peking to Niuchwang. He states that when he left Peking a majority of persons in the British legation were dead and the condition of the living was hopeless. on July 2 “No other dates are given in the message from Miu Chwang. a dispatch declaring that it was all over with the members of the legations. ! g a relative in Shanghai under date of July 9, saying: ““The foreign legations are still uncaptured, but owing to the daily left alive in the legations, and if there is any delay in the arrival of the relief This witness, who was an interpreter and writer at the British legation, states that Sir Robert Hart died The leading Chinese newspaper here published yesterday The president of a minor board at Peking wrote to fighting it is rumored that only about 300 persons are force I fear that none will be left to receive it.’ “This letter is regarded in Shanghai as authentic. Strange enough it says nothing of any assistance to the legations by Prince Ching or General Lung Lu.” [ e e e s e e e o e e e e mwe-»@—ofio+o—o+~efl+o+o—o*vw RUSSIAN FORCE MAY HAVE BEEN ANNIHILATED. ST. PETERSBURG, July 25.—In the opinion of the Russian General Staff, the protective force on the railway between Charbin and Tilien must be in a critical position, since no definite news of the situation there has been received. is that the wives and children of the workmen have fled to Charbin. The detachment, which numbers 200, was at the end of June threatened by 15,000 Chinese, All that is known with artillery. As late as July 17 it had not been heard of either at Charbin or Sungari, and it is feared that the force has been annihilated. Colonel Artamonoff, of the Russian General Staff, a well known traveler, has been ordered to proceed to Kwangtung and then to place himself at the disposal of the Governor of Port Arthur. General Sacharoff, Chief of the Russian General Staff, wires under date of July 24, from Mikhailo, in the Semenovskaya dis- trict: “I am advancing. To-day we bombarded the fortified post at Lauschi. The garrison fled, and the post was burned, and its walls destroyed.” Li Hung Chang Announces That the Chinese Government Is Ready to Give Safe Convoy to For- eigners From Pekingto Tientsin. ONDON, July 26—The Shanghai correspondent of the Daily Express telegraphing vesterday says: “A general rising throughout China is now regarded as so abso- lutely certain that all the misslonaries throughout the empire have been ordered | to take refuge without delay either at: ginning to arrive from all points in the most pitiable conditton.” As the result of a constant correspond- ence with the Governor of Shantung, Li Hung Chang this afternoon announced that the Imperial Government was pre- pared at any moment to give a safe con- voy to the members of the foreign lega- tions from Peking to Tientsin, provided guarantee were given that no advance would be made upon the capital and that all matters in dispute between China and the powers would be made the subject of fflendly negotiations. “In the same communication to the Con- suls, Earl Li said that the Imperial Gov- ernment had submitted to the powers a statement of its position, declaring that it had suffered greatly by recent events, but desired not only to suppress the rebelllon but to remove the causes of the hostility of foreign powers. Therefore, he hoped that the offer to escort the foreigners to Tientsin would be regarded as an earnest of the desire of the’ Chinese Government for the renewal of friendly relations. The Consuls replied that no basts for friendly negotiations was possible until proof was at hand that the Ministers guarantee the retirement of forelgners in Peking toward Tientsin. DE CARTIER. De Cartier is secretary of the Belglan legation at Peking. were still living. Consul Warren declined to discuss the matter at all, but in his reply to the French Consul Li Hung Chang undertook to obtain a satisfactory message from the French Minister (M. Pichon) within flva dus LETTER FROM KWANG SU TO PRESIDENT LOUBET PARIS, July 25.—The Emperor of China has sent to President Loubet the follow- ing letter, transmitted by telegraph by the Governor of Shantung, July 19: China has for several years been linked in friendship with your honorable country. All affairs concerning our relations on the fron- tiers of Kwangsi and Funan have been dis- cussed and settled by the way of conciliation. There exists no grievance between us. Recently the population and Christlans found themselves in hostility and rebellious persons have profited by the opportunity to indulge in depredations with the result that forelgn nations have sus- pected the court of showing partiality toward the “people and of jealousy toward the Christians. Subsequently the attack upon and the taking of the forts at Taku took place, after which military action and mis- fortunes ensued, rendering the situation stiil more complicated and dangerous. As we think that In the international rela- tlons of China with other governments your honorable natfon has most cordial relazicns with China, and as China is to-day by circumsiances up to the point of drawing upon herself universal wrath, in order to ar- range these difficulties and 'to resolve these complications we think it is possible that it is slcly upon your homorable country that we may count. Therefore, opening our heart to you in all sincerity we demonstrate to you our intimate sentiments and we address you this letta in the sols Nope shat you will dnd. Mr. President of the republic, means of arrangi: matters and will :ka‘:he Tnitiative To trane: form the present situation. ‘We beg you at the same time to have the iness to addrss us @ kind response. which Signed the 23d day of the -mn twenty-sixth year (July 19, 1900). ONDON, July 2%5.—The Express has the following from St. Petersburg: “Admiral Skreydloff, command- ing the Russian squadron in Chi- instructions to bombard the Chinese coast towns immediately upon receipt of com- firmation of the report of the massacre at Peking.” There is a movement northward of vanee on Peking. The strength of this men. It is believed that about three weeks must elapse before the Chinese war that 3000 Chinese troops and more are be- ing sent to reinforce the garrison of the Kian Yin forts, commanding the entrance to the Yangtsekiang, ninety miles east of Nanking. Chuan Chi Tung, Viceroy of Wu Chang, on the Yangtsekiang, telegraphs that he is apprehensive that he will not be able to restrain his troops for more than an- other ten days. He says that he has thrown the breech blocks of the guns cdmmanding Hankow into the river. These signs of unrest in the southern provinces are coincident with Li Hung Chang's presence in Shanghal. They are supposed to be the beginning of a general declaration against foreigners. According to the Shanghai correspond- "the ent of the Times Li Hung Chang is restd- ing at the residence of Liu, who was the nese waters, has received precise | Southern Chinese troops to join the main | army gathered to oppose the forelgn ad- | principal force is now estimated at 309,000 | preparations are completed. It is rumored t Russian Squadron in Chinese Wa- ters Ordered to Bombard Coast Towns Should the Story of the Peking Massacre Be Confirmed. envoy of the Empress Dowager in the se- cret mission to Japan. He has received secret instructions to remain at Shanghat and to endeavor to open negotiations with a view of preventing the European advance. — STATE DEPARTMENT CIPHER WAS STOLEN WASHINGTON, July %5.—A question on authentlcity of the dispatch from Minis- | ter Conger, dated at Peking on the 1Sth inst., developed the fact to-day that sev- eral years ago a copy of the State De- | partment cipher code disappeared and | never has been recovered. These code books are numbered and re- ceipted for when placed in the hands of those entitled to them. An inkling was given that the missing code book fell into the hands of the Chinese Government. This information was calculated to inspire a doubt of the authenticity of the Conger dispatch. The State Department officials decline to discuss the story of the theft of the codesbook, but do enter a denial that they ever entertained a suspicion that it had fallen Into the hands of the Chinese Gov- ernment. It is known that several years ago a copy of the old State. Department cipher, which has since been changed, was made. A copy of this, the authori- tives have strong reason to believe, found fts way into the possession of another Government—not the Chinese. This old code has been out of general use for many years, but Minister Conger is one of the few officials who has been using it. He does not employ the new code.