Omaha daily bee., 1899-05-06

There appears to be ground for a belief
that Delagoa Bay may yet furnish the basis
Of serious international dispute in Europe.
England's long-cherished hope for securing
control OF this Portuguese port in southeast
Africa was in a fair way toward realization
several years ago when Germany, at odds
with Great Britain in South Africa and
in sympathy with the Beers in the matter
of the jameson raid, entered a protest
against British acquisition Of a port which
controlled the only direct road from the
Transvaal Republic to the sea- through a
narrow strip Of Portuguese territory. Then
came a better understanding between Great
Britain and Germany and an agreement that
! the former might proceed unmolested in its
negotiations with Portugal. Now comes the
Samoa affair, stirring up the anti British
public sentiment in Germany and threaten
: ing to embarrass the negotiations. II is by
no means impossible that little Delagoa Bay
will yet claim a large place on the map Of
| Africa.
Pan -Germanism has for its main object
the preservation of the German element in
Austria. II this can be effected by putting
a final stop to Slav concessions the move
ment may die away without further results
If 1t cannot-and the time for such a pos
sibilty seems to have passed-it is not un-
/ likely that the assistance of their brethren
| aCrCss the border will be steadily appealed
| for. What is certain is that the loyalty of
| the Germans to the House of Hapsburg is
strained almost to the breaking point, and
| that some conspicuous act of favor is nee
essary to keep it intact. Nor is this the only
difficulty the ministry will have to face on
| the meeting of the Reichsrath. In all parts
of Austria in Galicia, especially, there is
the severest agricultural distress, with its
usual accompaniment Of political discon
tent. The country is still being governed
illegally, as the Germans contend, under an
emergency paragraph of the constitution.
The fiscal relations between Austria and
Hungary are not yet on a satisfactory basis
and beyond the borders of the realm are
Germany and Russia awaiting the outcome
with more interest and anxiety than 1t is
polite to show.
The announcement from Constantinople
that the government at St. Petersburg is
endeavoring to extend the influence of the
Russian Orthodox church over Palestine is
especially interesting just now in view of
the recent declaration by the Turkish min
| lister at Washington that the sultan would
not entertain any proposition to sell Pales-
Semitic element among the ruling classes
in Russia still dominates the government
it cannot be believed that the extension
of Russian influence in the Holy Land is
intended to facilitate the acquisition by the
Jews of their ancient territory. 1t is, in
deed, more probable that the purpose is to
check the enthusiastic efforts of the Jews to
consummate the plan of buying Palestine
as formulated by the late Baron ROths
child. With the church hierarchy in control
in Palestine and rejecting the wishes of the
state bureaucracy in the selection of pa
triarChs and lesser dignitaries, Russia would
have foothold in the Holy Land which
would not only be instrumental in keeping
| the sultan to his determination not to grant
the prayer of the Jews, but might certainly
be considered as an important move in the
| great game which the czars have been
| quietly playing for centuries in an effort
| to secure the conquest of Constantinople.
-
The latest mail advces from Vienna show
| that very serious complications are expected
| to be the outcome of the peculiar religious
movement that Is going on in certain of the
Austrian states. The number of German
| radical Catholics going over to Protestant
| ism is daily on the increase, according to
| the Vienna press. Great concern is mani
tested in high ecclesiastical circles as well
| as by the government. DIR. Gruscha, the
| cardinal archbishop of Vienna, has called
| together committee of ecclesiastical func-
| tionSries and clerical politicians to consider
what steps it may be necessary to take in
| order to prevent further separations from
| Rome on the part of the Catholic radicals
| The archbishop has also sent out an address
| which has been publicly proclaimed. Not
| withstanding these protests, fresh accounts
| are pouring into the capital of wholesale
| conversions in the German, Bohemian and
Syrian provinces. Deputy Wolff with his
| entire family have gone over to the Protes-
tant church and his example has been fol-
| lowed by several of his political colleagues.
| Deputy Schonerer, who in reality set this
movement on foot, has made public the fact
that he, together with the members of his
family will shortly profess Protestant doc
trines
Montenegro will send a large delegation
F, to the peace conference at The Hague which
! intends to present the question of the Balkan
| states and their relations with Turkey, with
| the possibility of securing way for a new
| arrangement Of ties 1t seems that the com
mittee of the Macedonian propaganda had
| resolved to lay before the conference a
memorandum giving a full explanation OF
the situation in Macedonia. 1t is now said
in Vienna that the conference will not pledge
itself to examine the question and that
| Russia, unoffcally, has communicated with
the committee to this effect In consequence
of this refusal, the central Macedonian body
at Sofia has drawn up plan of action, which
will be laid before the congress shortly to
meet in the Bulgarian capital. The admit
tance OF Bulgaria to the conference, which
has just been announced, is interpreted by
the Macedonian committee as a step on the
part OF the powers toward checking any
movement in that disturbed province. The
necessary consent of the sultan to the pres
ence of Bulgarian delegates was obtained
the Vienna press believes, through the ef-
forts of Russia.
A few years ago some OF the best writer's
on the Russian empire, including Prince
Krapotkin, believed that the wheat produc-
ing capabilities of Siberia had been much
overrated, and that the country would never
be able to produce much more of the cereal
than II needs for its own consumptiOn. But