The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1908-08-16
! CONSTANT PERIL
OVER BUTKOV|CH
Assassination May Be His Por-
ton at Any Moment as
Result of FeudS.
STRUGGLE TO THE DEATH
4 MERcilESS WARFARE WAGES
WITHOUT CEASiNG.

~ is far cry from Croatia. a state
OF the Austrian empire. to Bingham
canyon and Garfield. and further still
from 1900 &c 1908. yet the political and
religious feuds which originated with
the invasion of Servia by the Turks
In l54S. the constant striving for power
among the Balkan states which stopped
AT neither treachery nor assassination
and the constant political intrigues ~
the Austrian empire have caused the
death of at least three men in Salt Lake
county. the wounding of half a dozen
more and the threatening of the lives
of number of American citizens.
The Austrians are extremely reticent
with regard to their feuds and not un-
I'll his own life was attempted did Nick
Butkovich. leader of the Croatian and
Roman Catholic faction. and a natural
lied American citizen. relate the COM
plete story of the feud. His story of
the feud follows:
OF Many Years Standing.
Three hundred and sixty years ago
Croatia and Servia were independent
kingdoms situated side by side along
the Adriatic sea. In 154S Servia was
invaded by the Turks, who completely
-'subdued the Servians under King La
%-eA ct AiAt DdlNlt Va NdSSOMd. Inc
'Servians, who We're Greek Catholics
suffered the severest oppression under
Turkish rule and a Greek Catholic
priest, Chernaiv by name petitioned
the king OF Croatia TO be allowed to
bring his parish, consisting of seventy
families, into Croatia. Permission was
granted and land given the Servian
fugitives in the provinces of Srem and
Bachka, where they increased both i'm
Croatia. under the rule of King Nikola
Zrinshy. and his prime minister. Fran
kopan. was the refuge of all the op-
pressed of southeastern Europe and
was rapidly becoming a menace TO Aus ]
tria.'
Are Secretly Assassinated.
Realizing this, the Austrian emperor.
Ludwig III. called both Zrinshy and
Frankopan to Vienna and there had !
them secretly assassinated. In the con- |
fusion following their death Ludwig |
succeeded i'm securing control of the !
Croatian government and in putting in |
one of his own courtiers as governor
of Croatia. In this he was aided by
the Greek priest Chernaiv, who had |
grown in political power.
Since that time the Austrian. rulers |
have maintained the policy of playing /
off the Greek Catholic Servians against /
the Roman Catholic Croatians in order 1
10 prevent either party from growing /
too strong. Never have the Croatians |
lost the hope of once again becoming |
an independent nation. but they claim |
that every plan to that end has been |
frustrated by the Servians, who, given /
protection from oppression. had turned |
against their adopted country and |
sided with the Austrians.
The Koesutb PaheIIiop
In 1s4S when Kossuth led the rebel |
lion which he hoped would free Hun !
gary. the Austrian emperor. Franz
Joseph l, father of the present en-
peror. promised freedom to Croatia, |
provided the Croatians would aid i'm |
subduins the Hungarian rebellion. The |
Croatians responded with a large force |
spf men. and assert that il was their |
Troops which finally conquered the |
Great Hungarian leader. After the re-
volt was put down. the promise of the |
emperor was not fulfilled and the Serv- |
ians were again played off against the |
Croatians.
These are the events which have pro- |
duced the feud which has lasted cen |
turtles. The Servian inha bitants of |
Croatia have never acknowledged Croa- |
tia as their country. but still maintain |
that they are Servian subjects. The |
flags of the two countries are as red |
rags to bull when raised by either of /
the opposing factions. and the Roman
Catholics maintain that the feud is kept |
up and fostered by the teaching of the |
Greek Catholic priests. The people of |
the two countries speak the same Ian
guage. Czech. with some slight differ
Fence in accent. but in their manners,
customs and affiliations they are wide
apart.
Career of Adventure.
Nick Butkovich. the leader of the
Croatians in Salt Lake. has had a most
adventurous career. Born of poor par
ents in the little town of Gospic. Croa-
tia, forty-two years ago, nc left home
when years old. He made his first
stop on his world tour in Bohemia, ar
irving in the little town without a cent |
of money and unable to speak the Ian
euage.- He secured employment in the
home of an army officer and went to
school there for some years.
The wander lust again siezed him.
however. and he roamed over all OF