The Birmingham age-herald., 1902-09-07

From the New York World.
 The truth of the old proverb, 'uneasy Hes the head that wears crown" was never more apparent than 1t Is today In Europe. The tasks and troubles that con- front the rulers of Norway, Spain. Rus sia, Austria, Portugal, Bulgaria. Turkey, Servia, Roumania, Belgium and Italy are certainly enough to warrant the conclu- sion that there Is very little happiness or satisfaction in what Bill Nye called the "king business"
 No more difficult task, for instance. could have been allotted to any monarch than that of preserving peace between Norway and Sweden. King Oscar is. however, a king among tacticians, and by his careful judgment and moderation has kept his fractious people from openly quarreling. Peace was necessary, and peace and quiet have been maintained, but the day will come when the veteran monarch must join his fathers, and his son Gustav Adolph will reign in his stead.
 And herein will lie the difficulty. Prince Gustav Adolph has none of the tact of his father, none of the foresight and moder-
 
 ation He Is young, fiery and. possibly, reckless. So much so, that when ne comes to reign a rapid dlsintegration of the two countries will almost inevitably follow, and perhaps an international war.
 Religious strife will be one of the prin- cipal means of upsetting the Italian sov- ereignty. Before his assassination, King Umberto discovered that a juncture was imminent between the vatican and the republican party
 Such a union would be almost disas- trous as far as the monarchy Is con cerned and could, if carried out, bring about the fall of the house of Savoy. Therefore King Victor Emmanuel must keep on the best possible terms with the vatican.
 Spain also Is threatened on religious grounds. Don Carlos, a legitimate claim ant to the throne, has the support of the clergy. The queen-mother has always up- held the clergy, against the sentiment of the country, and hence the dislike for the reigning house.
 For many years the young king was failing in health. In the event of his death the throne would go to his sister, the Princess of the Asturias, whose mar riage to the count of Caserta has bound her hand and foot to the vatican. Thus the death of King Alphonso and the ac- cession of his sister would be of the greatest harm to Spain.
 Clerical strife Is evident again in Por- tugal. King Charles has opposed the clergy so strongly that he has lost the af- lection of his wife queen Amelia, who is a strong advocate of the cloth. Thus the nation. following their sovereigns. is nat urally divided.
 In Russia, where the country is ground down and oppressed more than any other, where Nihilists and rebels abound, any attempt on the part of a private individual to help the people is regarded as an application for free board and lodging in Siberia. The Czar Nicholas II. has great ideas of liberal rule, but unfortunately Is unable to carry them out.
 King Charles of Roumania Is another who, like the ministers of Servia, has an inadvisable love union to prevent for the good of the state.
 Prince Ferdinand, young and suscepti- ble became infatuated with a woman we'll known in English society, the favor ite maid of honor of Carmen Sylva," the queen of Roumania. The two be- came engaged and might have been mar reid had not the king and the ministry stepped in and banished the beautiful girl.
 The Prince they threatened to deprive of his right of succession to the Rouman-