Omaha daily bee., 1906-04-29
PROGRAM is FORMIDABLE
Hungarian Cabinet oS Transition VIII
Have Grave DidBcuIty in
Solving Problems.

VIENNA April 2S-(Special Cablegram
to The Bee THE program for the new
cabinet Of transition" sounds somewhat
formidable, but IL it commands the sup
port of the crown and the real support Of
the various political leaders the difficulty
ought not to be so great. The feature in
the compact which excites most attention
now is its whols-hearted endorsement of
the principle Of universal suffrage. This
great constitutional change, which in the
irony Of things was first put forward last
autumn by a cabinet that had no real
parliamentary basis, is now accepted as
the common policy of all the more ad-
vanced Hungarian policies There are, Of
course, logically unanswerable reasons for
such a change. There are 100000 people
in Hungary, but the number of voters is
less than 100000. The percentage is thus
noticeably low, and in practice the sys-
TEN has worked to a virtual monopoly Of
political power by the Magyars. The
MaEyars, numbering barely half the total
population, have been represented in the
chamber by 400 deputies, while the other
900 of non Magyar race have been rep
resented by only ten. How far universal
suffrage will lead to a displacement of
political power it Is difficult to say. An
educational test may tend to reserve the
eleClOTdl privilege LOT llle haENaIS IN
greater degree than for other natonali-
ties, owing to their present higher stan
dard in this respect. But a displacement
Of some kind there must obviously be, and
the extent TO which the Magyars can sue
| coed in attracting to themselves the other
/ newly enfranchised nationalities will GER
| tainly prove a substantial test OF their
| political genius. It is undoubtedly great
| experiment, but the friends of Austria
| Hungary will agree that most experiments
would be justified by the hope of putting
! an end to the crisis that has for so long
! pafalyzed the political half of the dual
monarchy. New interests and new ques-
tions, social as well as political must be
brought into the foreground by the change.
In the presence of them this protracte
dispute over the constitutional prerogative
| of the king in military matters will. It is
believed, assume rather more just proper
lions.
i The history OF this dispute has been
unusually interesting There Is no provis-
Ion in the Hungarian constitution for the
maintenance in office by the mere fat of
the sovereign OF a ministry in defiance OF
the will of an overwhelming majority of
the Diet, any more than there is for the
levying of taxes and the raising Of the
annual contingent OF military recruits with
out parliamentary sanction On the other
hand, It has been pausibly argued that
the choice of ministers has been a distinct
prerogative OF the crown; that Parliament
has no right to impose on the sovereign
advisers to whom he personally object,
or TO whose policy he cannot assent, and
that on the principle that "the kings gov
eminent must he carried on" the only
choice was between an absolute deadlock
and the exercise by the ministry of thei
functions under the royal mandate
1t is alleged that under the old franchise
and in the present temper Of the Magyar
the certain result Of a new election woul,
be to increase the opposition majority, am
thus to leave the situation as hopeless a
ever II not 10 aggravate IT, Hithert
the attempts OF the emperor king to retail
t the military authority undoubtedly con
, ceded to him by the compact of 1867 hav
obtained a good deal Of sympathy an,
; support even among the Magyars them
r selves. Hence 1t will be seen that ope
Z war was only aVerted as It were by tn
most careful kind Of compromising and on
! might almost say by chance