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| Lord Salisbury. |
Cortland Evening Standard, Tuesday, July 17, 1900.
SHANGHAI IN DANGER.
Consuls Cable For More Warships to Protect Them.
CHINESE BENT ON LOOTING CITY.
Entire Population of Three Provinces Are Massing to Protect Pekin and a General Anti-Foreign Uprising May Be Precipitated Any Time.
LONDON. July 17.—Up to this morning there has been no further news received regarding the reported massacre at Pekin from any source. In the house of commons last evening beyond an admission that there was no ground for hoping that the report was not true, William St. John Brodrick, parliamentary secretary to the foreign office, had nothing to communicate. An unusual hush fell upon the chamber when the subject came up. A few members doffed their hats, but otherwise there was no demonstration.
No question was put to Lord Salisbury in the house of lords, probably by a preconcerted arrangement, it being considered that at the present stage of affairs it would be only embarrassing to force the premier to make a statement.
Telegrams from Shanghai and Che Foo indicate an increasingly serious state of affairs. It is alleged that the foreign consuls, at Shanghai have cabled their governments that there is urgent need of more warships to protect that port, owing to the menacing attitude of the Chinese and the temptation to loot the vast stores of merchandise recently accumulated there. It seems that the Chinese have already threatened to fire the great oil tanks on the Pao Tung side of the city.
From Che Foo comes the report that the entire adult male population of the three provinces of Chi Li, Shan Si and Shan Tung are massing to defend Pekin, in the conviction that the powers mean war. There is little doubt that a further check of the allies at Tien Tsin would be the signal for a general anti-foreign rising throughout China.
The Japanese officers are still confident of their ability to reach Pekin before the roads become impassible, but the European commanders believe an advance will be impossible before September. Fighting is said to be imminent at New Chwang, where the Boxers are threatening the foreign settlement. The Russians have barricaded the streets and loopholed the houses of the foreigners. The bank officials have removed their valuables to Port Arthur.
Perhaps the most serious among the many reports from Shanghai is the rumor, that, since the massacre at Pekin, five Chinese regiments have been ordered south with instructions to make Ching Hang Po, at the head of the Grand canal, the objective point for the southward extension of the Boxer movement.
The Times says it is taken for granted in diplomatic circles that when the Chinese crisis is settled Great Britain will retain the right to nominate the inspector of Chinese customs.
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| Joe Cannon. |
PEACE STILL EXISTS.
Washington Officials Decide That United States is Not at War With China.
WASHINGTON, July 17.—The decision of the administration at the end of a most eventful day is that the United States government is still not at war with the government of China. The big happenings at Tien Tsin coming on top of the stories of the last struggles at Pekin have not affected the attitude of the administration on this point; the United States and China are technically at peace. But this statement should not be accepted as indicating a purpose on the part of the United States government to hold its hand in the administration of swift and adequate punishment upon the Chinese without regard to station, who may be responsible for the outrages of the past few weeks.
It means simply that the government of the United States feels that it can best achieve that purpose by regarding the status officially as one of peace. To hold otherwise would seriously cripple the government in its efforts to obtain satisfaction for the outrage's the Americans in China have suffered.
Chairman Cannon of the house appropriations committee is authority for the statement that money in plenty is at the disposal of the president to meet the present emergency, and that there is no necessity for a called session of congress on that score.
The day was the most exciting Washington has known since the battle of Santiago. At the very beginning came Admiral Remey's cablegram announcing the death of the allied forces at Tien Tsin and then came the vivid account of the fight.
Special Cabinet Meeting.
A special cabinet meeting was held on receipt of this news with such members present as are in town. Secretary Hay went to the White House immediately after the meeting and had a long talk with President McKinley over the long-distance phone. It soon became known that the president had decided that it would be best for him to come back from Canton to the national Capitol.
The cabinet officers talked over the possibilities of reinforcing the troops in China. There was no disposition shown to withhold these troops; the only question was as to the amount of additional forces available. That was a technical question, so it was left to the war department officials to decide. The only point laid down was that the government would send forward all the troops that could be spared at this time. It was suggested that an international conference be called hastily at one of the capitals—London, Berlin, Paris or Washington—to define the part to be taken by each power and the quota of troops to be furnished it and to arrange for the selection of a commander-in-chief of the allied forces.
This suggestion did not meet with a favorable reception. It was felt by the cabinet that the United States should send what force it could dispose of to China as far as seemed necessary, and should not make any agreement with other powers as to the number. This decision involves the increase of the force of troops destined for China, and it was gathered that the reinforcements would be limited only by the ability of the government to spare troops from those commands now in the United States and Cuba.
8,000 Men Could Be Spared.
The estimates varied as to how many could be spared, but the general opinion was that somewhere between 4,000 and 8,000 men could be shipped to the east from Cuba and the United States in addition to the troops already under orders.
A statement prepared by Adjutant General Corbin shows that there are now a grand total of 10,665 officers and men in China, en route to Nagasaki or under orders for Nagasaki. This table of course includes the ill-fated Ninth infantry, which may not be in condition for further service. General Wood's last reports indicate that owing to the tranquility prevailing in Cuba it will be entirely safe to decrease the military force there quite largely.
CAPTURED THE FORTS.
Chinese Completely Routed and Allies in Possession.
LONDON, July 17.—The Shanghai correspondent of the Evening News telegraphing under date of July 17 says: "The allied troops resumed the attack upon the Chinese walled city of Tien Tsin on the morning of July 14 and succeeded in breaching the walls and capturing all the forts. The Chinese were completely routed and the allies took possession of the native city and its defenses. The total losses of the allies in the engagements of Thursday, Friday and Saturday were about 800 killed or wounded. The casualties were greatest among the Russians and Japanese.
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| Henry Cabot Lodge, Sr. |
PAGE TWO—EDITORIALS.
Manila as a Base.
The unexpected complications which have arisen in China find the United States in a position for quick action. With its soldiers and ships at Manila it is in far better shape to send relief without delay to our officials and missionaries and merchants and American residents in China who yet remain alive than if we had no port nearer than San Francisco. Aid must be sent and will be, and under present conditions it seems almost like an interposition of providence that the Philippine Islands were thrown upon this country that they might thus speedily assist in restoring order in China. Already ships and troops are at the seat of the disturbance ready to act in concert with the other powers interested. Should Mr. Bryan and his Populistic adherents desire to make this Chinese situation one of the issues of the campaign the Republicans would be delighted to meet it before the people.
In his speech at Canton last week notifying Mr. McKinley of his renomination for president of the United States Senator Lodge said: "It is to Manila that we owe the ability to send troops and ships in this time of stress to the defense of our ministers, our missionaries, our consuls, and our merchants in China, instead of being compelled to leave our citizens to the casual protection of other powers, as would have been unavoidable had we flung the Philippines away and withdrawn from the Orient." What was the president's reply to this sentiment?
"The sudden and terrible crisis in China," he said, "calls for the gravest consideration, and you will not expect from me now any further expression than to say that my best efforts shall be given to the immediate purpose of protecting the lives of our citizens who are in peril, with the ultimate object of the peace and welfare of China, the safeguarding of all our treaty rights, and the maintenance of those principles of impartial intercourse to which the civilized world is pledged."
It is perfectly safe to permit William J. Bryan and the Tillmans, the Lentzs, the Altgelds, the Sultzers, and their new convert Webster Davis, and the whole outfit of cheap money and Populistic and anarchistic orators of the conglomerate party to sing of imperialism, 16 to 1, and government by injunction, in a grotesque endeavor to prove that our liberties are in peril and that the prosperity enjoyed by the country is a delusion. President McKinley will be employing the army and navy under constitutional sanction, to save the lives of American men and women in the interior of China, to teach a savage people that protection follows the flag, and to restore peace and commercial opportunities in the East. If this be imperialism, let the Democratic party make the most of it!
Fortunately order is so far restored in the Philippine islands that the president is able to detach for service in China both warships and soldiers.
CAPITAL COLORED FOLK.
They Form a Goodly Proportion of Washington's Inhabitants.
RICHES, POSITION, CULTIVATION.
Some Are Shiftless and Idle Beyond Degree—The Great Middle Class, Which Knows Its Own Rights and Stands by Them.
WASHINGTON, July 17.—[Special.]—The dull season of summer may now be said to have fairly set in here at the capital. Owing to the strained situation in the far east the dullness is not so pronounced as usual, however, the season partaking in a limited degree of the qualities that marked the summer of 1898. Then there was not only plenty of current and vital interest for summer sojourners in the capital to talk about, but its streets were filled with uniformed men, and the whole aspect of things mildly suggested civil war days. Should the yellow terror of the orient continue to defy the world a similar state of military activity may come into being again. It is now at least conceivable that volunteers may have to be called out and sent to China by Uncle Sam's government before quiet can be restored.
In the meantime the summer dwellers here can find no more picturesque features of the town on which to center attention than those which are made conspicuous by the local negro population. These features are ever present and as characteristic in the winter as in the summer, but they are overshadowed by the imposing pageant of political life in the winter and therefore then lost sight of.
High Grade Afro-Americans.
Though through location and climate Washington is apparently, at least, more closely allied with the south than the north, it is a fact that the Afro-American makes a better showing here than in any other city. This is often matter for surprise to newcomers, especially northerners, but to the old timer and to many southerners it seems the most natural thing in the world.
Here more than anywhere else, for one thing, is official life open to men with dark skins. This is true no matter which party is in power. The Republicans began to give places to Afro-Americans first as a matter of course, but long ago the Democrats followed suit. On the same level as the Afro-American official classes are the professional folk and the more enterprising business men of the race. Many of these are in receipt of excellent incomes, living in handsome houses, keeping their servants, their horses and their coachmen, "just like white folks," and in many instances conducting themselves without the slightest trace of self consciousness or bad taste. Among these classes are to be found numbers of men and women who are well mannered without affectation, well dressed without ostentation and of excellent mental cultivation.
The Other Extreme.
But it should not be understood that all the Afro-Americans of Washington are on the high levels indicated. As a matter of fact the larger proportion of the 70,000 or 80,000 of them are not, and the thousands belonging to the lowest strata are on about as low levels as can be found anywhere.
They are indolent, shiftless, poverty stricken and often impudent. This characteristic seems to be more pronounced in the low grade Washington negro than in his fellow of the same grade in almost any other city. Why it would be hard to tell. Possibly it is because, though Washington is more of a southern than a northern city, there are still none of the southern restrictions here regarding street cars or railroad cars, negroes riding alongside whites in all public conveyances. This is true of all northern cities, but in no strictly northern city is the colored population so large as here.
It is not true, though, that the negro toughs of Washington are worse than white toughs elsewhere. They are a novelty in such numbers to the stranger, but otherwise they are of the normal tough type, save that they have dark skins.
The Big Middle Class.
The middle class negroes who are neither poor nor rich and who earn their living in perfectly straightforward ways are by far the most numerous and in some respects the most troublesome. This is because, knowing their civil rights perfectly, they are inclined to enforce them at all times and in all circumstances.
You will observe this particularly on the street cars. No matter how crowded they may be or how many white women are obliged to stand negro men rarely or never give up their seats to white women. Nor can you censure this holding on to seats when you look the situation over. No one ever knew a white man to give his seat to a colored woman, and the colored man cannot see why he should vacate in favor of a white woman. Sometimes curious incidents arise from the situation indicated.
This story is told of a negro man, the only seated male occupant of a car in which the aisles were filled with white women standing. He sat stolidly reading, as though he saw nothing but his paper, until a great stout workingwoman of his own race set foot on the car. Instantly his eyes pierced the sheet, and, with a courteous gesture, he arose and beckoned to the massive colored woman. At the same time he said to nobody in particular and as if speaking quite impersonally:
"Will the women in the aisle kindly move aside so that the lady over by the door can get to this seat?—CHARLES GOODWIN.
SLAIN IN CHINA.
Two Missionary Classmates at Amherst College of Edwin Duffey.
Among the missionaries supposed to have been murdered by the Boxers in China are Rev. G. Henry Ewing and Rev. Charles E. Ewing of Danvers, Mass., classmate sat Amherst college in the class of 1890 of Edwin Duffey of Cortland, together with the wives of both and two children of the former. Rev. G. Henry Ewing was located at Tien Tsin, and Rev. Charles E. Ewing at Pekin. The junior editor of The STANDARD remembers these two young men very well at Amherst, they being freshmen while he was a senior. When Mr. Duffey's attention was called to the matter to-day he said that at the recent decennial reunion of his class at Amherst one of the subjects most often on the lips of those who were there was the safety of the two Ewings. A cousin of these two who was also a member of that class was present and gave them the latest information he had concerning the matter, and even when those messages left China by mail affairs began to look serious.
ROAD TAX REBATE.
Users of Wide Tire Wagons May Lessen Their Tax.
In answer to many questions asked concerning the rebate given on road taxes to those who use wide tire wagons for heavy trucking, this explanation is given. To those who use only wagons with a three inch or wider tire drawn by two or more horses, a rebate of one-half the assessed tax, not exceeding in any one year an amount greater than $4 or four days' labor, is given. The right to this rebate shall not be affected by the use upon the public highway of buggies, carriages or platform wagons where not over a thousand pounds are carried in them. Upon making application showing that these provisions have been complied with throughout any year, a credit shall be given by the overseer of the highway of the district. This application is in the form of an affidavit which may be taken before any overseer of the highway who is authorized by the act to administer the oath.
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Political Equality Club.
The regular meeting of the Political Equality club occurred at the home of Dr. Lydia Strowbridge Monday. After the usual business had been disposed of a short but spirited parliamentary drill on "Woman Suffrage" by members present added to the interest and profit of the meeting. It was decided to adjourn until the 17th of September.
BASEBALL SUBSCRIPTIONS.
A Proposition from Schenectady to Trade Teams with Cortland.
About $350 have been subscribed to date for the support of the Cortland baseball team. President Dan Reilly is very much encouraged by the success already met. An effort will be made to swell the amount to $500 by the end of this week. There are other ways perhaps by which the money can be raised with which to support a team in Cortland besides getting subscriptions. For instance, it is reported, and quite generally believed true, that Manager Whistler of the Schenectady team while here last week offered to give the management $500 to trade teams with him. But Cortland needs the best team in the league this season and his proposition was not accepted. Still another way to raise money would be to sell some of the splendid men Cortland has possession of, but this method has its drawbacks, as the team would be materially weakened by the loss of a single member. The only solution seems to be to get by popular subscription the amount necessary to take the team through at the winning gait it has struck.
A public meeting has been called for Thursday night at 8 o'clock in Fireman's hall to discuss the situation.
IN FIRST PLACE.
SIX STRAIGHT GAMES RAISE CORTLAND FROM FOURTH TO FIRST.
Rome Lost and Utica Won--McFall Had Senators Completely at His Mercy—Other Games—Standing.
Cortland took the sixth straight game yesterday and went into first place by so doing. Albany was the unfortunate team that the topnotchers met yesterday. Rome was defeated by Schenectady and tied Utica for second place, Utica having won from Oswego. The race is a hot one yet for first position, but it is the general belief here that Cortland can hold the position she now occupies.
THE FIRST BULLETIN.
Population of the City of Washington and its Growth.
The STANDARD is indebted to Mr. A. E. Seymour of this county who is now connected with the census bureau at Washington for the first bulletin given out by the director of the census in relation to the enumeration just taken. This one pertains solely to the District of Columbia. It is to be hoped that the bulletins will reach the population of Cortland county before long. But it appears that the population of the District is 278,718, an increase over 1890 of 48,326.
The population of the city of Washington is 218,190. The following table shows the growth of the century:
1800, 6,210
1810, 8,209
1820, 13,047
1830, 18,826
1840, 23,361
1850, 40,001
1860, 61,122
1870, 109,199
1880, 147,203
1890, 188,932
1900, 218,196
Cortland Opera House.
A Surprised Audience.
The Klark-Scoville company opened their engagement last evening at the Cortland Opera House to a well filled house presenting a comedy entitled "All a Mistake," which delighted, in fact surprised the large audience. The company is composed of talent comparing favorably with any repertoire company that has visited our city for some time. The specialties were alone worth more than the price of admission. Baby Carrie made an instant hit while the musical team, Klark and Klark, seemed to catch the audience by storm. If the company continues to please, as they did last evening, large houses will no doubt greet them the balance of the week.
This evening the sensational comedy-drama, "Across The Trail" will be produced. The "One price to All," 10 cents, will prevail, and reserved seats can be secured at Rood's Candy Kitchen.
A Week at Fair Haven.
The following party of Cortland young ladies this morning went to the Norton cottage at Fair Haven, across Skaneateles lake from Glen Haven, to spend a week: Misses Anna O. Collins, Anna L. Place, Grace K. Walrad, Anna Walrad, Antoinette Clark, Katherine E. Collins, Olive B. Edgcomb and Maude McKinney.
BREVITIES.
—New display advertisements to-day are—C. F. Brown, Fly paper, page 6; L. R. Lewis, Steam fitting, etc., page 6.
—The Epworth league of the First M. E. church will hold an ice cream social on the church lawn to-morrow evening from 7:30 to 9:30.
—The third or M. M. degree will be conferred upon two candidates at the meeting of the F. & A. M. this evening at 8 o'clock. A large attendance is desired.
—The Universalist Sunday-school, about a hundred in all, picnicked at the park to-day and had a fine time. The tables were spread upon the pavilion piazza.
—Five hundred choice books are being added to the Normal school library, making in all a collection of 7,000 well selected scientific, historical and professional works and one of the best reference libraries n the state.
—About twenty-five children of St. Agnes Guild of Grace Episcopal church picnicked at the park to-day. Some of the older people also joined the children and the result was a very merry time. There was a fine breeze up there on the hillside.
—Yesterday afternoon, at the suggestion of Vesta lodge, No. 255, I. O. O. F., an electric fan was placed in the room at the hospital occupied by Mr. S. N. Gooding, and it is very much enjoyed by the patient. The Traction company contributed the use of the fan and the wiring. Dr. Sornberger reports that Mr. Gooding's condition is excellent.
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