Show DEEPENS MYSTERY j Congers Message Tlirows Littlo Light Upon the Situation Washington July 25The receipt at Tien Tsin of apparently a genuine message mes-sage In autograph from Minister Conger Con-ger has done nothing to dissipate the doubt as to the situatIon at Peking Tho message which was first forwarded by the naval officers at Tien Tsin Taku and Chic Foe baa served only to deepen deep-en the darkest and saddest mystery of lie century Tho conclusion remains unchanged of course but it Is admitted admit-ted that a careful scrutiny of the autograph auto-graph message In comparison with the famous cipher message from Minister Conger admits of the belief that the two messages were Indited by Mr Conger Con-ger at about the same lime BOTH MESSAGES ALIKE The situation at the British legation is represented to bo the same In each case and as Mr Conger declares that relief must come quickly If at all there is ground for the suspicion that the crisis is over The assumption that thIs reasoning is correct Involves the fur them conclusion that Mr Congers cipher ci-pher message if genuine was redatod and of course If redatwl at all that was done by Chinese officials AFFIRM LEGATIONS ARE SAFE On the other hand and in support of the State dcparlments position came today a message from another of the great Chinese Viceroys Tak at Canton Can-ton who took charge after LI Hung Changs departure It was a cablegram from Consul McWndc at Canton saying say-ing that Viceroy Tak gives assurance Uiat all lie forefgn envoys at Peking were alive and well on July 21sL This it will be seen also affirmed solemnly the safety of lie legalloners and conning from so many different sources and from such an important Chincso official these dispatches claim attention ATTRIBUTED TO COMMON ORIGIN A pessimistic view of them however attributes them all to a common origin namely sqmo one high Chinese personage person-age at Peking It Is noted that TakK assurance brings the Ministers one day further toward ultimate rescue than has any preceding message The fact that it allows only three days to cover lie transmission over tho great distance between be-tween Peking and Canton has attracted attention bore and appears lo demand explanationif the message is lo bo accepted ac-cepted as genuine and of Peking origin APPEALS FOR MEDIATION II was not known to the Stale department de-partment until the publication of the fact in lie newspapers that tho French Government also had been addressed by the Chinese Government In the effort ef-fort to secure mediation It now appears ap-pears that still other powers were addressed ad-dressed In a similar strain It is known hint Great Britain and Germany and probably Russia have received such messages The language Is not the same but tho animating idea is WHAT CHINA 1LVS IN VIEW The State department officials say that generally speaking this idea is not so much to secure mediation as lo induce the powers lo resort to a set Uemont of lie dinicullles between them and China by the substitution of nego llallous for armed forces This appears more clearly from a comparison of the various notes than It did In the single note addressed to the President Being so the chances of a successful outcome of this attemol of Lhe Chinese Chi-nese Government lo secure an ameliora tion of the consequences of the Boxer uprising are much diminished by the Intimation that LImo powers are expected expect-ed to refrain from pressing the movement move-ment toward Peking WAR DEPARTMENT ENERGETIC On the contrary the United Stales War department is moving at present with grealer energy than at any time since the original orders for troops lo gel Its contingent In poslllon for lie task before JL Gen Chaffee reported to the department formally today from Nagasaki and there received orders which have been sent by cable since his departure from San Francisco CHAFFEE GOES TO TAKU An Idea of their general character can be gathered from the Generals report re-port that he was about lo push forward at once with his big transport for Taku He will nol even stop at Clio Foo and it is even doubtful whether he will detain the Gram at Nagasaki long enough to take on coal He Is also energetically en-ergetically taking stqpp In advance to meet the evil of which ihe foreign naval commanders have complained but none have remedied the luck of landing facilities fa-cilities at Taku To this end he has instructed LleutCol Codlldge of the Ninth Infantry at Tien Tsin to secure at once all of the lugs and lighters necessary lo a speedy landing of rein forcements and stores that are being carried by lie United Stales transport Grant NO ABATEMENT OF PREPARATIONS PREPARA-TIONS In spite of the alarm with which Ihc Chinese ofllclals Including LI Ilunjr Chang prefer lo view the advance ot lie allied forces on Peking so far as it affects the safely of the foreign Mln Jslers ll may be said lint none of the powers have evinced any tendency to abate their preparations or accept an escort of imperial troops for the Min isters from Poking to rica Tsin Tills Government has acted all the while on the theory that lie Ministers wcro alive and has accepted m good faith the assurances of lie Chinese Government Govern-ment lo this effect but It hna not recognized rec-ognized In any way the suggostjon contained con-tained in Changs cable of Yesterday thai the Chinese Government should furnish the foreigners an escort out of Peking I ESCORT WILL BE AMERICANS It was said nl lie State department lodnv that the American Minister Is not lo be delivered uu by a force of Chinese trtfop Q the allied forces or to any oho elSe This Government deems It I much more approprlale If he needs an eeort ofPeking that It should be composed of American soldiers LI AT SHANGHAI The Slato department baa rucelvod a caJjlQ flisimtch from Oonaulaonpral Goodnow but It It 1 clawed that it contains con-tains nothing lo clear up lhe sltuilon at Peking Mr Qoo < now says hat LI Hung Chant will remain In Shanghai for the present opd will conduct his nqgoUallontf from that clly There him hi-m fnilm < Ulon I lint lii ri TI I IH hot q I ioU at lie request of the foreign officials although this was not so staled by Acting Secretary Hill NO REPLY TO DISPATCHES No Information has been received from lie Chinese legallon or Chinese Government In response to Provident McKlnleys reply to the Emperor No answer has yet been received from the second dispatch sent to Minister Conger Con-ger through Minister Wu but It Is staled that when a reply Is received It will probably set at rest all doubts as lo 1U authenticity |