Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-11-02
Various Burning Questions.

/ Of course, this does not mean that Aus
tria is going to fall to pieces within a
week of Franz Josef's death. fabric
which has lasted as long as the dual mon
! archy does not collapse in twenty-four
| hours. But without the dexterous han
ding of the old emperor the various burn
/ ing questions will at once come to the
| front The use Of the Hungarian Ian
guage in the Hungarian army will be at
once insisted on and the erection of Gus
toms barrier between Austria and Hun
gary will follow. The indepe ndence party
gained too much strength even during the
| life of Franz Josef for it not to become
the dominating party under Franz Ferdi-
nand.
In fact. the position of Austria is so
menaced that il will inevitably gravitate
toward the Germanic confederation. For
! this the Pan-German party In Germany
| have been working for years. They have
| published maps of the future constella-
ton of Europe in which Austria is repre-
scented having come back to the fold,
not as leader. as formerly, but as one of
! the rank and file.
! This would practically mean that the
German emperor would rule over $4,000
600 subjects and have II army on a peace
! footing of over 100000 men, and a navy
that would at once be come the second in
| the world. The possession of Trieste
! Pola and other Adriatic ports would at
once render it a Mediterranean power of
| the flTSt OrQer- lnlS would, or course,
| imme dia tely lead to compile atlons with
! Italy. The first claim of the Italian ire
dentists is the Trientino, and from the
point of view of race and nationality the
claim cannot be gainsaid The unrolling
of all these problems Is only held back by
the presence of Emperor Franz Josef
They will become acute six months after
! his death. That is why the eyes of all
Europe are turned anxiously to Schoen-
brunn, and why every one prays that the
aged emperor may long be spared for his
| country.
Queen Victoria's Letters.
Mr. Arthur Christopher Benson, whose
state edition of Queen Victorias letters
was published yesterday, is the son of the
late Archbishop Benson. He was edu-
Gated at Eton and Kings College Cam
bridge and afterward returned to his old
school as a master There he was ex-
ceedingly popular, and it may be said
| that one of his best known and deserv-
eddy esteemed works will be his practical
treatise entitled The Schoolmaster."
Quite lately he returned again to Cam
bridge to take up the duties of fellow and
| tutor of Magdalen and to finish the edi-
ton which now has seen the light.
All the Bensons are. of course, literary.
| The elder brother is the author of 'Dodo,"
a novel so popular that the old arch
! bishop used sometimes to be pointed out
| as the father of the man who wrote
"Dodo" Another brother. Hugh, has be-
come a Roman Catholic priest and is the
author of several stories written from
that point of view.
! These three volumes of the letters as
published are an instance of the king S
punctlious care that nothing offensive to
anybody outside royal circles should ap-
pear in his mothers published CORE
spondence and of the lnindedness
with which he allowed a good deal to ap-
pear that is not of particular credit to
some of his own relatives. The volumes
were, indeed, scrupulously read and re-
read by the king, and the two actual ed
! itors and the publishers had a most anx-
! ious time before the correspondence was
! finally passed for publication.
No one has yet told hoy they came to
see the light During the later years of
! ner majestys life she confided to her
! friend and adviser. the late Lord Rowton,
/ the whole of her private correspondence.
! His lordship in his will left the papers to
! his nephew. who in due time begged an
! audience of the king, ana obtained his
! consent to the publication of selected let
| ters The king took the greatest pains
/ In the work of selection. and before they
were finally put into the hands of the
publishers he took care that they passed
through the safe and judicious hands of
Mr.. John Morley.
In reading the reviews of the books one
must notice the important part played in