Evening journal., 1896-12-30
FRANCIS.
An Attempt to Extort Money
From Austria's Emperor.
ASKED PAY FOR RUDoLPHs NOTES.

Threatened Revival of the Crown Prince
scandal-His Letters to Confidant to
30 Published Unless the Emperor Pays
100000.
BUDAPEST, Dec. 30.-The Austro Hun
.Rarian imperial court has been shaken to
AS core by threatened blackmail scandal
#fhich reaches to the very throne.
81 Everybody remembers the tragic circum-
81 ances which surrounded the death OF the
#Irown Prince Rudolph. That unfortu-
n ate parsonage, involved in an affair
"a hich promised ruin to himself, selected
u hat to him seemed the easiest way out Of
E le difficulty and shot himself and the
s oman who had blasted his life.
81 The fact itself was CHASTITY one for his
81 nperial relatives to live down, but they
a ravely faced the dread consequences, and
all their power did their utmost to
Ehake the exposure-for really such it was
as short lived as possible.
81 The facts surrounding the death Of the
s. rown prince were s'95ressed SO far as
a hey could be, and the German public was
III Induced by systematic silence on the part
4 I the press to outwardly forget that his
y imperial highness had not died natural
81 cath.
# Now, however, all the circumstances are
81 be revived, and by circumstance"
II which impel the members of the imperial
house to cry 'Blackmailr and the cry Is
s ,choed by the press
One of the whilom friends Of the Crown
S orince Rudolph was journalist, Julius
"a TuttalSy, who, by reason Of his utter lack
,f sensitiveness, managed to make himself
IA person absolutely useful to his highness.
= To this person Prince Rudolph contded
4 iis amatory difficulties and apparently
a R,ften wrote to him with reference to the
Il complications in &hich his unfortunate
: Affection had involved him.
In 1894 FuttalSy, himself involved IN
matrimonial difficulties, deposited Will
Hhls attorneys a sealed package marked
Only to be opened when l am dead " dc
81 was then suing for a divorce, and, obtain
Il ,ng a decree, shortly after remarked. With
q In few weeks Of his second marriage,
1lhoweyer. he died, and the package he had
S aeft with his attorneys was then opened.
Many Letters From the Prince.
1t proved to be simply a package Of 81
ltletters which had been written TO him by
the crown prince.
q The lawyer, DR.. Alexander Fraenkel
recognized the Importance to the court o
the suppression Of these communications
and with commendable loyalty he prompt
ly laid them before the A ustrian emperor
That parsonage seemed touched by thi
example Of devotion, and he not onl,
\ thanked the attorney for his action, but re
Il warded him by gifts of costly jewels.
But now the letters, or Photographic du
plicates Of them, have turned up again
and the emperor, Trancis Joseph, is aske'
to pay a trile Of 500, 600 TO secure thei
" suppression
A few weeks ago the cabinet Office re
/ ceiyed proofs Of a book about to be pub
N lished which contained all these 30 letters
n with the announcement that the aboy
mentioned sum would secure its suppres
sion.
The strange thing about this attempt O
imperial blackmail is that no clew wa
given as TO its rerpetrator. The book is j
print, but even when the proofs were sen
To the cabinet office no clew was given b
which the author could be known or
whom the sum demanded for its suppre
sion could DO paid.
The whole force Of the Budapest an
Vienna detsctive corps is engaged in tf
effort TO discover the culprits, but so fl
have been absolutely unsuccessful
Inc Wilttf Ol ln6 pdlnptlicV coheaihih
these letters declared that unless the SUI
demanded was at once forthcoming Il
publication would be made in Januar.
1897.
As the amount has not been paid, and 1
thore seems to be no way of reaching q
I blackmailer, all Austrian society is loo
ing forward with impatient curiosity
the coming of the new year, which mi
bring this intimated scandal to publis
ed issue