OCR Text |
Show j AMERICA SENDS GUNS OAT. I Action Taken in Kesponse to Conger's Message. j Washington, June 6. Minister Conger j cabled today that the situation at Pekin ! was worse, and this statement, taken in connection with Admiral Kempff's alarming cablegram of yesterday, announcing an-nouncing that an engagement had begun, be-gun, decided the state department to strengthen the naval forces nearest the scene of the trouble. Accordingly, a cablegram was sent to Admiral Homey at Manila, directing him to dispatch at once to Admiral Kemprf's command the gunboat Helena, or a correspondingly light-draft ship. Admiral Kempff's flag ship, the Newark, drawing twenty-throe twenty-throe feet of water, cannot ascend the I'ei Ho river safely beyond the Taku forts near the entrance, but the little Helena, drawing only eleven feet, can safely ascend to Tien Tsin, forty miles I above. She was specially designed for I service in these Chinese livers, and so i.i likely to nrove much more effective than any other of the foreign warships which can pass the Taku forts to reach Tien Tsin. She carries batteries particularly par-ticularly for dealing with organized mobs. Secretary Hay cabled Minster Conger Con-ger rn authorization to call for reinforcements rein-forcements from Admiral Kempff and to make such disposition of his naval force as he deems proper to protect American interests generally. The administration is determined that the United States government shall continue on its independent course respecting the Chinese situation, situa-tion, though willing to go as far as possible to aid in the rosteration of peace and order in China. Therefore Admiral Kempff has not been instructed instruct-ed to join the other naval commanders in the Pei Ho river in concerted action. The friends of the American missionaries mission-aries in the disturbed zone in China are becoming alarmed, and the state department is beginning to feel the pressure to their efforts to adopt the aggressive policy. Today inquiries were made as to the ! reason for the passive altitude of the United States naval forces in .Chinese waters while the Russians are reported to have promptly, sent out military expeditions ex-peditions from Pekin for the rescue of Russian, French and Belgian subjects whose? safetly was jeopardized, it was argued that the United States marines should have been likewise dispatched to the assistance of the American missionaries mis-sionaries at Pao Ting Fu. The department's answer was that Minister Conger being on the scene was better prepared than any one here to adopt relief measures for which he had already received ' the sanction of the department in the shape of a general gen-eral authorization to protect American interests, which, of course, meant American lives among other things. It also was questioned whether the very small force of marines at the minister's minis-ter's comand could be used to make a march through the hostile country and away from its base. In that case the United States legation, lega-tion, the only refuge in Pekin. would be unsafe for American refugees as well as for the United States minister himself for the lack of a suitable guard. Meanwhile the developments are being closely watched, and if the next phase should be still worse, it is probable that in addition to the Helena, He-lena, at .least one more warship, possibly possi-bly th Princeton, with a full battalion of marines, will be ordered up the Pei Ho liver to Tien Tsin. So far the proposition to call upon General Mae-Arthur Mae-Arthur for troops to make up a land- m ii ii. p . wmii nullum i .' . '" " . ". 111 ing party has not been broached to the war department, and it is not expected that such a step will be taken, save as a last resort, for it is felt that it would mark an entanglement of the United States in the European designs respecting re-specting China from which it would be difficult or imposible to secure release. |