Jamestown weekly alert. [volume] (Jamestown, Stutsman County, D.T. [N.D.]) 1882-1925, 1916-11-23
EMPEROR Fk'NClS ": JOSEPH
DIED T0igAY NIGHT
LONDON, Nov. 22.-Emperor Francis Joseph died
tonight, according to Reuter- dispatch from Vienna.
(BY THE ASSOCIATED PRESS)

of the reports asserted that his
mind had become affected thru worry
over the great war, but the truth of
these rumors was not admitted.
In November, 1915, on the occa-
sion of a visit of Emperor William
of Germany to Vienna, it was rumor-
ed that Francis Joseph was about to
make a possible move for a separate
peace, but owing to the strict censor
ship in Austria there was no confir-
nation of such report.
His Ultinatum Precipitates War;,
The ultimatum OF July 20, 1914,
which. Francis Joseph sent to King
Peter of Serbia, denouncing the an
ti-Austrian propaganda in that coun-
try and demanding prompt punish
ment of the assassins of Archduke
Ferdinand, was supposedly dictated
by Francis Joseph himself and it was
this document that directly precipi-
tated the war now ravaging Europe.
Five days later, after Serbia had
complied with all the demands with
the exception of agreeing to allow
Austrian authorities to enter Serbia
to stamp out the alleged anti-Austri-
an conspiracies, Francis Joseph de-
clared war.
In his manifesto of that date, July
%, he said:
"The intrigues of a malevolent op-
ponent compel me in defense of the
honor of my monarchy and for the
protection of it's dignity and the Sc
curity of it's possessions to grasp the
sword after long years of peace.
''The hope that Serbia would keep
it's word has not been fulfilled; the
fame of it's hatred for myself and
my house has always blazed higher.
I'm this solemn hour I am fully
conscious Of the whole significance
of my resolve and my responsibility
hefore, the Almighty. l have exam
ined and weighed everything. ind
with serene conscience set out y on
the path that duty points"
Other Important Events of Reign.
Aside from the great war Francis
Joseph's reign was one of the most
eventful in history. From his in,-
perial vantage point he saw the
French monarchy go down, the Sec
ond Empire rise and crumble, the
Commune flare briefly, and the Re
public of today rise on it's ashes: he
saw the black pinions of the Prussi-
an eagle stamped on the flag of the
new German Empire to tower
threateningly over Austria itself; he
saw the papacy shorn of it's territor-
ial demesne, while about blicker-
ing family of petty principalities was
welded into united Italy; he saw
Spain, once the greatest of colonial
powers, lose the last of her depen-
dencies in two oceans; he saw Japan
opened to Western civilization, and
ater defeat the sprawling Colossus
of two continents; he saw the most
absolute despotisms- Tur-
key and Persia-concede representa-
ton to the people; he saw at dis
tance the United States cement it's
federation with the blood of a great
internecine war, and he saw his own
brother prove that monarchy could
not take new root on American soil.
In his own country he faced inter-
nal dissensions and external aggres-
sions from the moment he came to
the throne By the war of 1859 with
France and Sardinia, he was forced
to cede Lombardy to Italy; by force
of arms and treaty he lost the Duchy
of Holstein to Prussia and Venice to
Italy; and by the revolt of Kossuth,
the Hungarian patriot, he barely es-
capped having his dual empire cut in
two.
Idol of Empire.
AS soldier, the Emperor was be-
loved of his army. In crushing re-
verse by the French at Solferino, he
suffered much humiliation that he is
said to have wished to die with his
men that he stood motionless in the
fire of a battery hoping to be struck
down. But none of his reverses
made him any the less popular. at
home.
In recent years he interrupted his
winter rides, but each spring found
him on horseback again and he at
tended the army maneuvers to the
last. In the field he was the embodi-
ment of indefatigable energy. Three
or four horses day he would wear
out riding in gallop to the foremost
front of q reserve and from wing to
wing to acquaint himself with the
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