El Paso daily herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1881-1901, 1897-11-23
AUSTRIAN STRUGGLES.
ONE OF THE GREATE.T OF THE
AGE GOING ON.
The German, Slav, Czech and Pole
Fighting Desperately for the Con-
troll of Great Empire.

The struggle now in progress in the
Aus rian paril sment Is attracting the
attention of h civil I'D vOr d, for its
emu may be the overthrow of Coz stitu
s.Onal government in that great nation,
or possibly the very opposite, says a
Vienna correspondent The aged mon
srcb, who sc fftie h anniversary as an
e nperor is to be cele bra ted in Decem-
Der, 1898, looke on, somew at sullerly,
listening to the leaders from both
sides, those who would end the fg t
between ca sch d I'D German b. 4bsOlG-
tism, and those who wOuid extend the
C stitutit n lights of the people
For the past month the An-trian
parliament has been holding riO,Ous
SESSIONS daily. It's violent So SsiOnS
have become an intern stional spec
tacle. 1t has done no buSine TO speak
of. and one duel-that between Premi er
Badeni and Herr Woiff-has been the
outcome OF its violent sittings The
German minority has been fighting
fer the mainte iaDce of the Germau
language aga nst the Czech in Bob amia
and MUravia.
The German DEPUTIES contend that
but 6 900, GOO persons In Europe spe TX
the Czech. while theirs is the language
of 10 ,O0O,0 600. The Germans have also
been complaining that, while they are
the most numerous Ratio nality in Aus
tria, and pay the great st share of tbs
axes, they nave not prOportioDa'e
share OF the repres entatlor. To right
hese and other alleged grievances tue
deputies since the opening of pariia-
ment have been obstructing all leg sla-
tion. Any effort on the part OF he
governments supporters il both houses
to force any measure to action has been
a signal for the German deputies to
aise a storm of howis; for the lead afs
of the opposing parties to indulge 10
violent abuse of ach other, and even
blows, and frequeetly fsticuffs and
riot.
The new Austrian house of represen-
tatives contains 425 mem bers, diviaed
into no less than eighteen distinct fac
tons. The Germans control seventeen
provinces, and have been strong
enough 10 obssruc, legislation OF all
kin1s, even to the reu ewal of the con
stliutional union between Hungary and
Austria proper. For years the anti
German sentiment has been growing.
The attack of the Slav has come from
nor b, south and west, and in the great
struggle Pole, Bohemian and Czech
cave stood side by side. The peculiar
feature Of the contest hiss been the
friendly attitude of the German
Ca'h"lic peoples party towsrj the
Slav ma contents. Premier Ba Ieni
stands opposed to the Germans, and
official orders given out by him have
made the German language subsidiary
to the alive tongues of the var
ious arts CT the empire. 1t is the
revoca ton of this order which the Ger
man Ge egates demand. and which
Badeni would rather die than grant
t., 10, 1,.l 80
Germans IN the Austrian cap tai, the
very center OF the German sentirnel t.
Three Pol IS are members of his cabi-
net, and official stations are now being
filled with Slavs.
A scene in the Austrian parliament
is typical of the cosmopolitan character
of tie empire The benches are ar
ranged in semi-circles between the
marble caryatides, and with the Slavs
to the right, the Catholic &c mans in
lie center, AMI the Germans to the
left. Near them at the extreme lie
are the radical socialists and the So
cal ed Christian socialists. But the
bizarre effect is to the right, where the
young Czech sits in his national C s
tume-tte striking feature of who is
a tight-tttiDg chimere, adopted as a
national emblem in 1913 The Poles
from Galic'a are attired in their long
rural aspect. All the languages of
this great country, Infinite in the ir
dialect variations, are heard IN the
great hall, and to the Ame rican on
locker it seems VERT BILE Babel. The
Czech will rise in his seat and begin
his speech ia his native tongue. The
Germans are in uprosr. The presiding
Officer a TVcOleon German. refuses to
allow the official steuographer to take
the speech and the typical Austrian
parliamentary struggle is in progre $.
TT at it has not ended In al open fight
and bloodshed on the floor of the house
borders on the miraculous. Still, duels
have been numberless, and the courts
are busy continually adjusting the
struggles between young Gee h and
the Germans throughout the land
he leader of the anti-Germans is
DR.. Joseph Herold, an orator of the
Kossurh type, ard man of sterling
integrity. One of his most recent
sentiments was this: "We are not
well-fed lackeys cio, he'd in the shining
livery of Germapism, ard sitting in
state on the rear of is coach, to show
its pomp and power"
DR.. Ebsnhoch il the leader of the
German Catholics, Hod at present is
firm supp, rter of the government, as is