Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1916-04-10

! HIEL Week. The weel; Of the glory of
u the new Germany on the Sea, and the
| Kaiser is there. \ message is brought to him.
! He read it and exclaimed:
Now l must begin all over again"
The message told of the assassination,
| June 2S 1914, of the Archduke Francis
! Ferdinand, heir -presumptive to the throne of
! Austria Hungary, and of his Consort, the
Duchess of Hohenberg. Now | must begin
| all over again. cried the Kaiser What had
he begun in the first place?
The world does not know, and If the House
of Hapsburg retains, after the war, the stern
rigidity of its facade. the world will never
know. But there are speculations. What
the relations of the Kaiser and the
hapless Francis Ferdinand? What said
when the Kaiser Grand Admiral Tir-
pitt and the Archdukc met in the rose gardens
Of KonOpisht, ostensiby to show the Kaiser
what lovely blooms his host, enthusiastic
gardener, could display? Was Austria really
at the bottom of the crime of Sarajevo?
The Famous Spark
For more than 20 months writer's have
been referring to this crime as "the spark
that fired the magazine OF Europe!" Yet little
has been written of the spark, how ii was
struck, in whose hands were flint and steel.
In recent issue Of that emnently sane
English magazine, the Nineteenth Century,
there appears an article written by Henry
WiCkham Stced, who was for II years
Vienna correspondent for the London Times
He poses some of the questions mentioned
above and for answer he reprints letter
from correspondent whose position and
antecedents enttle his statements to careful
examination" (Note the conservative cX-
presslon) lie eaborates this letter with
criticism This iS ba aNt CT
1t was in 1896 that the death of the Arch
duke Charles Louis, eldest surviving brother
of the Emperor of Austria, made Francis
Ferdinand the heir-apparent Four years
later he married the Countess Sophie Chotcl.
There are many Americans to whom
countess in the family would be blessing
enough, but the Pragmatc Sanction, in force
since 1722-23, regulating the succession TO
the throne of Hungary, recognizes egiti-
mate only the children of ArChdukes and
ArchduChesses. Violent opposition was there
fore made TO the marriage Of Francis Ferd-
nand. The fact that he was supposed to be
cOurting an archduchess and actually fell
in love with her mothers lady waiting did
not help much. Headstrong and tempera-
mental, and apparently much in love, the
Archduke refused to give up the throne,
and finally persuaded the Emperor to recognize
her-apparent by official act gave up eter-
nalIy the rights of his children to the throne
which he himself was to accept. His mar
riage was not eligible" Sophie was to be a
consort but never the mother of emperors
1t was right enough when there were no
children, only possibilities. But children did
come and the parents grew less and less
pleased at the prospect of their disnheritance.
Meanwhile the court of the Hapsburgs, a
family of some so archdulles and arch
duchesses, treated the interlopng Sophie with
contempt and no official honors, no Serene
Highness" attached to her person, could
legitimatize her marriage, nor could IT
restore her to the graces of the family which
she had disgraced Unpleasant scenes more
suited TO the society Of a small town than
10 the imperial salons of Vienna, took place
and finally the heir-presumptive withdrew
from the court entirely.
Kaiser and Archduke
He did not go right into the arms of the
Kaiser, but after time a friendship be-
tween the two sprang up. The consort was
received with much honor and courtesy at
Potsdam. She went to England 10 establish
cordial relations there. Then a new vision
was opened before her and before the dis
tracted father of two sons. They We're to be
rulers. after all The succession was 10 be
maintained for Francis Ferdinand. The Kaiser
had arranged it.
The method was really childshly simple
in spite of all its audacity. The ancient
kingdom Of Poland (Russian and Germany
was TO be reconstructed with Lithuania and
the Ukraine TO the limits of the Poland OF
the Jagellons from the Baltic TO the Black
Sea At the same time a new kingdom,
formed from Hungary Bohemia, Serbia and |
lands on tho coast of the AdFiatic with
Salonica, was TO come into existence The /
Archduke was to take the throne Of the first
and be succeeded By his elder som the /
second was 10 fail 10 the younger. Mean 1
while. price Of an this the German part
Of AUSTRIA under the Archduke Charles I