Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1899-07-01
THE WAGES OF ROYALTY
Europe Has Found That Monarchs Are Very
Expensive Luxuries,
Gear of Russia Makes the Most Ont
of His Job Other Rulers
Are Well Paid.


in Europe has one of the cheapest mon
archs, and one of the poorest one OF the
dearest-the latter financially, not senti-
mentally; Turkey pays to the sultan more
than twice what Great Britain allows her
majesty the queen. Despite this fact, and
also that the sultan is possessed of an
enormous private income, 1.-The sick man is
chemically hard up"
The most expensive monarch to his coun-
try is certainly the Gar of Russia, who re-
ceives over million every year from the
none too fat purse of his vast empire Next
after him follows the Sultan of Turkey,
with a grant of over 600; then the EN-
peror of Germany, f1o,0o0 per annum less
than the sultan. Even poor Italy, which
has not the inducements to disburse huge
sums of money that Turkey has in its abso-
lutte monarchy, and Germany IN IT'S great
wealth, manages to allow its king E6o0o0o
odd; and Spain, bankrupt for years though
it has been, has to grant for the household
of King AlphonSo more than Great Britain
beStowS upon its queen.
But the national grant of a country to Its
monarch must not be taken as a criterion
of the monarch's income, for there is the
private fortune which every crowned head
possesses to be reckoned with and in nearly
every case this is a much bigger item than
the other.
In this matter also the Car of Russia
is Tar dnedQ OF MS IellOW HlOHdTCHS, anu
there can be no question of doubling he is
richer by half than any other crowned
head in the world To say with any degree
of eXactitude the amount of his wealth is
obviously impossible, because he, being an
absolute monarch, autocrat of autocrats, is
free to double or treble his income, at the
cost of the nation he rules, whenever he
wishes to do so; position nearly equal to
possessing all that he cares to spend.
He owns enormous properties, which can
not, at the lowest estimate, brlT G him in
less than f3,0G0,000 a year. and may very
easily return twice that amount. Even the
lowest estimated value of his property,
with his grant from the revenues, viii give
him the eno1 nous income of more than
"a. 900, 900, to which sum the income of no
other monarch can compare; and even with
the heavy expenses to which he is put in
maintaining his court, this must be ample
provision for him.
1t goes without saying that an absolute
monarch has greater facilities for filling
his pocket than a ruler who is properly
looked after by parliament, and it Will
always be found that the former are, COM
paratveiy speaking, infinitely richer than
the latter. Hence it is that the second
richest monarch in Europe is less than
the sick man" of bankrupt Turkey. His
income from the countrys revenues is APP
proXlmately fSO0,Go a year. to which sum
must be added the income from his private
property, and this is estimated at between
three-quarters of a million and million.
Yet, as We have already said, Abdul Hamid
is nearly always at loss to know where to
turn for money, not only for the national
expenditure, but for his own private re-
quirements.
The King of Italy can surely congratulate
himself upon being very wealthy consider
ing the deplorable state OF his country.
His national grant of over $500 600 is really
wonderful, coming it does from the
purse of Kingdom Overrun by debt; and
his private fortune has been estimated at
nearly five millions, which should at fair
interest, increase his total income to three
quarters of million.
The German emperor has been stated to
be worth t2,5oU,UoO year, but this is very
lar VIDE OF the marx; we should be greatly
surprised II this were not more than a mil
hon beyond his actual worth. His cost to
the nation Is not tsoO0eo. and though he is
possessed of vast estates which are all
highly prof table to himself they cannot
Well return him more than 1900 600 or 1000 :
wv we should be much more inclined to
put his total income at fl 500 QUO than
t. 800 900, and probably it does not touch
the former sum. b
Emperor Franz Josef receives from his
dual monarchy t94o,O0 per annum. half of
"hlch is PAID by Austria and half by
hungary. Ills income from private prop
erty Is said to be very considerable. but
there are so many versions as to its exact
amount that We must be excused from at
tempting TO decide which appears most
feasible. The total income, however can
not Well be less than IL 2UG 600
Holland is a small country with a Donu-
iation about the same as that of Grea er
Lohooh, ana cannot, consequently be ex
pected TO pay its monarch any fabIJous
sum The young queen receives the COM
paratVely small grant of f54 600. HappiIy
however, the queen is possessed of verv
considerable private means and she could
Propaply get along without any difficulty
were the grant entirely withdrawn