Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-10-15
BOND EASILY BROKEN
Hungary and Austria Held To.
gether by a Slender Tie.
ONLY A LIFE SAVES IT
Crisis Expected on the Death of En-
peror Francis Joseph.
HIS HEIR NOT WELL ESTEEMED
Without Learning, Taste or States
manship-Not Liked by the
Sovereign.
HIS HEIR NOT WELL ESTEEMED
BY WILLIAM e. CURTIS.

FFdnClS Joseph OF AuSlfia-hungary ana
Oscar of Sweden are the last Of a remark
able generation of sovereigns, which in
cluded King Christian OF Denmark. Queen
Victoria Of England. Victor Emmanuel of
Italy, Louis Napoleon of France and
Kaiser Wilhelm I Of Germany. Next year
will be the sixtieth anniversary of his
coronation and the seventy-eighth ami
versary Of his birth. Next to Queen Vic
toria he has ruled longer than any other
sovereign Of modern times. and few men
| have had so many tragedies in their ex-
perience: few have suffered so many
great sorrows. His queen, Elizabeth. as
you remember, was assassinated at Ge-
| neva by an anarchist in 1889; the Arch
duke Rudolph, his favorite son and heir.
committed suicide in a most tragic man
| ner: Macmillan. his brother. was shot
by the Mexicans at Queretero; Ferdinand.
| his cousin. better known as John Ortiz.
disappeared from the face of the earth
and no one knows what became of him.
His only surviving brother. Ludwig
full scandal several years ago. and was
dragged into a police court like COM
mon loafer
Francis Ferdinand. his nephew and
the heir to the throne. is thoroughly
dfsliked by his uncle They have never
| no learning. no taste. no interest in
science, and. as sarcastic Austrian
editor remarked to me in Vienna
couple Of years ago, He knows all about
horses and cattle. however. and would
make better veterinary surgeon than
king" The emperor has never brought
him forward. never goes to see him. and
never takes MIN as companion. Their
relations have been purely formal. The
AuStrians do not care for Francis Ferdf-
nd he hat n
has shown his Indifference to their opA-
ion as well as their welfare, and has
refused to learn their language. Fran
els Joseph speaks Magyar like native,
and is also able to converse In German,
Italian. Polish and Croatian. the princi-
pal languages of his subjects, as well as
French, and English.
A Loyal Husband.
Several years age. much to the indis-
nation of his venerable uncle and the rest
of the imperial family and court, Francis
Ferdinand married Sophie Chotek, a wom-
an of excellent family. 5ut no rank. and
when, by the death Of his cousin Rudolph,
he became heir-apparent rather than d.
vDree her, he made a solemn and formal
Remuneration of her rights as queen and
fthes claims Of children to the succession.
Therefore, when ne becomes emperor she
catihot appear on the throne beside him:
taet. :participate fn5ceremonial or social
fifnctfons, nor can herr ehildren, she Is
1.-THE same as a morganatic wife. To give
tlser ans honeTable rank for herself and her
eh.kBairen, the emperor bestowed upon her
the title of Princess Hohenberg. and her
children will bear-that name instead of
the name OF their father.
You cannot help adIhiring the archduke
for the loyal manner in which he stick to
his wife, and she Is said to be entirely
Nv of 10 m hpr
She carries herself under these embar-
| RAISING relations with great dignity, and
Is respected by everybody for her char
acter and her gTaceS. She Is said to
have much be..nr Intellect than her
husband, and Is criticised only for her
narrow religious views.
The heir presumptive is Carl Francis
eighteen years of age, son of the A-ch-
duke Otto. and nephew of the nephew
of the emperor. While his character is
not yet fully developed. he Is said to be
very promising young prince. full of
energy and ambition, fond Of books and
Of athletic sports at the same time, a
good horseman and an all-round good
fellow.
Hungarian Succession Complicated.
There is quite a complication in the
Hungarian succession. however. The COM
pact between the two nations provides
that the successor of the emperor shall
be the King Of Hungary. but nothing
is said about the queen. The Hunga ian
law does not know anything about NOR
ganatic marriages. which are prohibited
by the law Of Austria. The heir to
throne Of Austria cannot marry a woman
who is not of royal blood. but the King
of Hungary can marry whomsoever he
pleases-even a peasant girl. If he likes
and the question that is perplexing q
good many people is whether the Hun
garians will follow Austria and deny
whether they will acknowledge her and
her children and admit them to the sue
cession
1t is intimated that the Hungarians
propose to trade on the situation with
Franz Ferdinand If he ever comes to the
throne. and secure important concessions
from him in exchange for giving a place
on the Hungarian throne to his wife.
But the archduke Is so unpopular In
Hungary that it is doubtful whether the
parliament or the people will ever accept
him as their king. He does not know
them, and they do know him. He has
never visited Hungary He has never
shown any desire for Hungarian pepu-
necessity. either as heir presumptive. or
as an ordinary prince. to visit the king
dom of which he will some day be the
ruler. or to do anything that will bring
him into closer touch with the people.
This Indifference Is, of course, very bad
policy on his part. and is difficult to ex-
plain except on the theory of the general
|antpathy which the Austrians and Hun
garians feel toward each other. and hts
natural characteristics. He Is cold. hard.
unloyable and intense In his prejudices.
He spends most of his time on his stock
farms hunting In lonely sections OF the
country. and in performing the routine
military duties which are required of an
Austrian archduke. He has no friends,
no chums or cronies and finds greater
pleasure in the society of his wife than
with other companions. He Is unsympa-
thetic, and exacts the greatest degree OF
Difference and Formally from those
around him.
An Easily Broken Bond.
The relations between Austria and Hun
gary are very much strained. The bond
which unites them may be easily severed
at any time. A conflict has been going
on for sixty years, but has never threat
ened the existence of the dual monarchy
so seriously as 1t does today. Hungary Is
or self-government, and Is demanding
popular rights and legislative prerogatives
which Francis Joseph will not grant
Their respect for him Is so great that the
Hungarians bow respectfully to his judg-
ment, but they do not cease to strive, and
when a less popular and a less powerful
and less tactful man comes upon the
throne things are likely to be different
The bond between Austria and Hungary
is $50 years old. On February 20 1o2j,
the Hungarian reichstag elected the Arch
duke Ferdinand of Austria to he King of
Hungary. 1t was a voluntary act hut