Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1903-09-09
FREEDOM FOR HUNGARY
a DEMAND WHICH rs GROWING
MORE INsIsTENT.
Recent Developments in the Struggle
for the Division Of the Dual
Monarchy.
From the Boston Transcript.

From the Boston Transcript.
The spectacular expose of attempted brfb-
cry on the floor of the Hungarian house of
commons; the overthrow of two cabinets
within scant four weeks; the threat or
the king. twice made. to abdicate in favor
of the heir presumptive and the revolution
airy counter-threat to refuse allegiance to
that heir in the event Of such abdication-
all these developments in the Hungarian
struggle for independence have followed
one another with such amazing rapidity
that the news from Vienna and Budapest
has almost ceased to be readily Ineligible
to American readers, for lack Of an inter-
linking commentary. A brief sketch Of the
situation may be of interest to an American
public in traditional sympathy with the
most advanced wing of the Hungarian par
lamentary opposition.
On the 18th Of August Emperor Francis
Joseph entered upon the seventy-fOurth
year of his militant and eventful life-a life
In which is bound up the very existence OF
the dual monarchy. The developments OF
the last few weeks have been conclusive
proof to the world at large that the end OF
his earthly career means the dissolution OF
the polyglot monarchy into its component
parts. This prediction has been made, in
language approaching the border line OF
high treason, during the recent political
disturbances by the leaders Of the Magyar
opposition. and the amazing part Of 1t all
is that government used to arbitrary re-
preston of all demonstrations Of disaffec-
ton has not the moral courage to prosecute
the bluntly spoken Patrick Henrys Of an
1ncipient Hungarian revolution. Said DR..
Feltmann, one Of the spokesman of Magyar
opposition in depreciation of unconstitu-
uonal Interference by the crown with the
rights Of the nation:
When Joseph Dies.
In case Of the demise Of his present royal
q he
liberty to shape the course of its own desti-
MES, regardless Of the laws governing the
succession to the throne of Austria. In
such an event the nation. which heretofore
has refrained from redressing its wrongs
by united action Of all true patriots, post
ponng active resentment Of It's grievances
out OF respect for its aged ruler will I'M
doubleday claim its birthright OF independ-
ence against any pretensions. dynastic or
otherwise, to the infringement of our rights
and ancient privileges"
Ihis pronuncfamento, which treats of the
succession Of Archduke Francis Ferdinand
to the crown of st. Stephen as of a matter
within the option of the Hungarian people,
remained unrebuked and was shortly fol-
lowed by brief but emphatic statement
by Francis Kossuth made for the purpose
of eliciting American sympathies.
Another Kossuth in the Field.
''The people of Hungary know" says the
son OF the great governor, that 1t is i'm
possible for their country to exist as a
free state unless the independence of Hun
gary is complete. The imperial crown of
Austria is an empty title. Austria is fast
progressing on the way of total disintegra-
ton. The finger Of God in the history of
the dual monarchy points to the separa-
ton OF Hungary and Austria. It Is abso-
to happen during the lifetime of the pres
ent emperor. but it would be a rash as
sert1on to say that 1t is also excluded dur
ing the reign Of his successor who does
not sympathtze with the Hungarians and
stands in the repute of being under mill
tary and clerical influence"
Temper Of the People.
The astonishing outspokenness of the
above-quoted sentences is sufficiently indi-
catfve of the present temper Of the ma
ton. Let US revert now to the dramatis
personae in this incipient renaissance of
the events of 1S4S and to the events them
selves which made utterances like the
above possible The centrifugal tendency
of the component parts of the Austro- Hun
Austrian governmental wisdom to this one
undigpified maxim: Postponement of all
decisive measures whenever postponement
is feasible. The renewal Of the commercial
and economic arrangements between Aus
trfa and Hungary under the "AusgIeich,"
or dualistic compact, made in 1867, which
had been postponed in 1901 was renego-
tiated, with a negative result, in 1902 A
provisional agreement on the customs tariff
and the other mutual economic arrange
ments of the empire had been effected
between the Austrian and Hungarian cabi-
nets SO long ago as 1896, with the stipula-
ton that, If 1t should prove impossible to
come to a definite agreement by the end
of the year 1902. both halves of the monar-
chy were to be free to dissolve the customs
union from 1904. provided the treaty were
formally denounced before January 1, 1902
This stipulation afforded a chance for an
open breach between the two halves Of the
realm severance of relations upon dis
tinctly lawful and constitutional basis, but
one. which, once accomplished, could only
undermine the dynastic union. The Aus
TRAN government, before the expiration of
the term, denounced the treaty, thus Sc
curing liberty of action in 1904 The re-
spective positions of the crown, the Aus
TRAN government and the Hungarian peo-
pie in the Ausgleich question stood then as
follows:
The Customs Union.
The Austrian premier Won Koerber, de-
clared In the reichsrath that he was firmly
resolved either to obtain better terms for
Austria or to put an end to the customs
union and the other economic arrange
ments with Hungary. He was well aware
of the impossibility of obtaining the sane
ton of the reichsrath to any arrangement
which should not place Austria on a better
footing in her commercial relations with
Hungary than had hitherto been the case,
1t having been subject of universal COM
plant in Austria that Hungary was get
ting much more than her fair share of the
economic advantages Of the monarchy.
This resolution on the part of the Aus
TRAN government to put matters on a more
equitable footing was vigorously combated
by the leaders Of Hungarian industry, who
proposed to remain in full enjoyment of
their governmental subsidies remissions of
taxation, discriminating railway rates and
other privileges, in contradiction to the
spirit Of the customs union.