Evening star., 1919-03-27
AUSTRIAN KNEW
POWER OF PEOPLE
Czernin's Diary Says Equality
of Voice Would Destroy
Conservatism.

Continuing his discussion of the harmful
effect equal suffrage would have Austria.
| the diary of Count Czernin is the expression
Of one afraid.)
BY A. n. DECKER.
Special Cable to the Evening Star and
| the Chicago Daily News. Copyright, ,
1919, in the United States and Eu-
peau countries by the Chicago Daily
News Company; all rights reserved.
! including translation into foreign
| languages.
! PRAGUE, Bohemia, via Paris, March
z5.-The influence of the conservatives
upon the life of the state will be
| killed at the moment the universal
suffrage measure is adopted. This
should not be, but it will be. If the
greatest danger could but unite all
that is conservative and state-pre-
serving in Austria, landlords, aristoc-
racy, agrarians of all shades united
/ with the church under the dynasty
and state-preserving banner-if this
/ coalition firmly united would throw
| itself into the franchise fight; if it
would take up this fight with all it's
brains and all it's money, it would not
| be so bad
But he who understands conditions
knows that this is but a pious wish.
These elements are split into national
camps. They are not united. Against
the election onslaught of millions they
Will stand unadvised and helpless.
These millions are organized, trained
and led. Great landlords led by the
aristocrats, with the exception of the
| Poles. who have an easier game, will
disappear as body. The agrarians
n A1tS fri i,,rf l. lan dc
split into national camps, and there
fore weakened. But they will be able
to survive as body with a suffrage
law on broader basis. The conserv-
; ative minority will be composed of
part of the Poles and church social
lists from the Alpine countries, in
/ company with a few landlords. All
| others will more or less be enemies
of the state.
Fear of Pan-Germans.
Then another case for considera-
tion-the pan-Germans will multiply
! like mushrooms. The universal suf-
figures, so to speak, ignoring almost
entirely the cultural, spiritual and
financial influence of the different ma
tions. The Germans, therefore, would
have to lose large part of their man.
dates. The great evaporation which
into the pan-German camp. Today
the representatives of the pan-Ger-
man tendencies are but few down
and-out individuals of northern Bo-
hemia. If they become embittered
one will find them in all Austria. in
all lands and in all classes.
Just like a physician. the northern
neighbor Germany is feeling Aus
tria's pulse. We for our part do not
feel that Germany has the intention
of destroying Austria, but if it is
written in the stars that it has to fall
to pieces, then the Hohenzollerns
would like to be near by. For does
any one believe that Prince Eitel Fritz
is learning Magyar in order to speak
it on Inter den Linden? lin describ-
ing this audience Count Czernin writes
that at this point Archduke Ferdinand
exclaimed, Not only ne, but the
crown prince also" 1t should be re-
called that Eitel is the German name
for Attila, who led the Huns against
the western world. Czernin's sugges-
tion that the kaiser had his eye on
! Hungary is nrmly believed in by men
/ of the old Austro-Hungarian empire,
many of whom are with the various
small states into which that empire
| has been broken.l