Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1918-12-04
HOUSE OF HAPsBURG !.
REIGNED
SIX HUNDRED YEARS.

In 1878 Rudolph of Hapsburg, a
Swiss captain and adventurer, was
elected Holy Roman emperor. He was
man of small beginnings. His faith
er died on one of the crusades, and
Rudolph set out from his ancestral
nest to make way in the world. This
lest, known as Hapsburg, or Hawk S
CASTLE" was on the summit of a crag
III the Aargau region of Switzerland.
Nine years after he became emper-
or, Rudolph made war on Ottocar of
Bohemia, proud man, who had an
nexed Austria, with Corinthia and
Carnola, to the Bohemian realm. 1t
was in 1882 that Rudolph eliminated
Ottocar and became master of Aus
tria. For 636 years Austria has been
under Hapsburg rule, and now
Charles, the final successor of Ru-
dolph, writes fms.
During all these 636 years the Haps-
burgs were people of Importance Ru-
dolph's son, Albert, was a man of
mOnstrous appearance, loose limbed,
dubious nosed, cne-eyed, a giant in
stature, veritable ogre. He also
managed to get himself elected Holy
Roman Emperor, but when Albert was
killed in battle the imperial dignity
passed from the Hapsburgs, not to
be regained for 129 years.
After the death of Albert the Gross
came the Luxembourg dynasty, the
last of which was the Emperor Sigs-
mund, who married his daughter Eliz-
abeth to Albert ", duke of Austria,
direct descendant of one-eyed Albert.
AS emperor this new Albert was
known as Albert IL.
Albert II died childless, but the i'm
perial dignity stayed in the Haps-
burg family till Napoleon, a little
more than century ago, abolished
the empire altogether and reduced the
Hapsburgs to the dignity of rulers of
Austria Hungary Albert's successor
was Frederick III, distant cousin.
This Frederick was the progenitor of
all the Hapsburgs that have come af-
ter.
The greatgrandson of Frederick III
was the Emperor Charles v, the Nigh
test monarch of all history. He was
Holy Roman emperor, reigning duke
of Austria, king of Spain, despot of
the Netherlands, tyrant of small frag-
ments here and there throughout
Europe, gloomy glutton of a man, of
no more than meriOcre ability. The
most notable thing this mightieste of
monarchs did was to abdicate He be-
came tired of the job, for he had much
govt. Advocating has not been a
Hapsburg habit.
Ferdinand /, brother and successor
OF Charles V, finally established the
union of Austria and Hungary. He
had married the daughter of Ladislas.
king OF Bohemia and Hungary, and
when his brother-in-law, King Lewis
IL, successor of / adislas, was killed
at the battle of Hohacz in 1926, Ferdi-
nand was chosen as his legitimate
successor. Thereafter the Hapsburgs
never relinquished their hold on these
lands, though their sovereignty was
frequently questioned, till near the
end Of the seventeenth century
When Napoleon | smashed the Holy
roman empire and put it out of ex-
istence, he permitted the Hapsburgs
TO assume the title of emperor of Aus
trla. Hungary, like the Slavic nations
was subject state, despotically rul-
eel from Vienna Magyar struggles
Tor liberty were ruthlessly punished.
Old Francis Joseph, who died during
the present war, was a bad man, cru
Ell, slippery and highly immoral. Yet
when the Hungarians finally won their
freedom and were given equal rating
with the Austrians, they unquestion-
ably accepted Francis Joseph as their
King and Immediately went to work
prosecuting the Croats and Rumani-
ans, just as they themselves had been
Dersecuted by the Austrians The
Hungarian patriots loved liberty on
y when it meant Hungarian liberty
Slavic liberty was quite another mat
ter and distinctly reprehensible.
OF late years the Magyars have been
more powerful than the German Aus
trians in shaping the policies of the
dual monarchy. 1t was, however. an
Austrian, a foppish horse Jockey,
Berchtold, who precipitated the world
war Francis Joseph, the octogenar-
IAN sinner, had little to do with the
crime. Berchtold was premier and
foreign minister and schemed for the
destruction of Serbia. Even then, it
is believed, Count Tisza, the strong
man of the Hungarian oligarchies
whose assassination is now reported
really inspired the plot and guided it.
The killing of Archduke Ferdinand
and his spouse was a godsend to
Berchtold and Tisza They at once
began the war, hoping that non-Ger-
man, non-Austrian Europe, under the
timid guidance of Sir Edward Grey
would permit the martydom of Ser
b1a with no more than perfunctory
protest.
Old Francis Joseph is dead; Berch-
told has long been invisible; Tisza
merits the murderer's death which he
is said to have received at the hands
OF an outraged Magyar. Charles, the
last of the Hapsburgs. is a. good-na-
tured boy. He is. guiltless of the
crimes save that of mediocrity. Had
he been strong man, had he possess
ed clear vision, had he repudiated the
outrageous policies of Hapsburgism
and broken the unholy alliance with
Prussia, the Hapsburg dynasty might
have continued to hold its sway over
Austrian and Magyar peoples.
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