New-York tribune., 1919-06-04
The Hapsburg Departure

land, between Often and Zurich, is the
old castle of the Hapsburgs. "Within
the ancient walls of Vindonissa," says
Gibbon, "the ancient castle of Hapsburg,
the abbey Of Konigsfelden and the town
of Brugg have successively arisen. The
philosophic traveller may compare the
monuments of Roman conquest, Of
feudal or Austrian tyranny of monkish
superstition and of industrious freedom.
If he truly is a philosopher he will ap-
plaud the merit and happiness of his
own time"
Sometimes by conquest, sometimes by
bribes, sometimes by marriages, the
Swabian forebears of Rudolph added bit
by bit to their territories and came to
be very rich, and rich prince was
necessary to support out of his own
purse mercenary army to uphold an
unstable throne. So in 1878, after an
interregnum in Germany, Rudolph was
chosen Emperor and began a dynasty
which has lasted six hundred years into
our day. What the Hapsburgs gained,
they kept. Soon the imperial dignity
became hereditary and only elective in
nominal way.
The new line was weak, producing no
able man, only one able woman, and
pursued a policy contrary to the forced
unifcation which characterized the push
ing Hohenzollerns. A hundred or
more princes did largely as they pleased.
Hapsburg Germany was particularist,
and the bond was one Of loose fedora
tion. Seldom was successful war waged,
the story containing few victorious
entries.
But the advancing Turk was on the
SOUTH and Magyar and Slavic Chris
tians needed a protector. So the Danubi-
an country became Austrian. There is a
prophecy that when the Sultan left
Europe an end would arrive to the
Hapsburgs, and it has been fulfilled. A
deep instinct of selfshness led the Haps-
burgs to resist the administration of
the sick mans estate The freeing of
the Balkan peninsula deprived Vienna
of the reason for being a seat Of en-
pire, and by one of the reactions of
history the Sultan and the Emperor 20
at the same time.
In it's ritual, as the nominal successor
of Rome and Charlemagne, the Aus
tro-Hungarian Empire became a piece
of antiquarianism, more ridiculous than
venerable--was, as Voltare said, neither
holy, nor Roman, nor an empire. It
lost it's primacy in the Napoleonic wars,
but in an improvised and patched up
form hung on. 1t was bog into which
to toss peoples only partly awake to
nationalism-as Gladstone remarked,
was device of craftsmanship which, if
it had not existed, would need to be
invented.
Trimmed down to its Germanic ele-
ments, and yet separated from the re-
mainder of Germany by differences of
polity and temperament, it is to be one
Of the petty states of Europe. "Touch
Serbia" to use the paraphrase of Lloyd
George, said the Gar, "and Russia will
oCdA yOui Slidhy CIlpiIc lllIlD 1IOIIl llIIlU.
Russia did not do it, A German party
getting control of her, she faltered and
did not complete her great historic task
of lifting the heel Of the Teuton from
the Slav, but others carried out the
great undertaking.
The future Of Austria no one can
foresee. The Allies will not permit her
union with Germany in the near future,
and it is doubtful whether the Aus
trians wish such union. On the other
hand it will not be easy for her people
to conquer their pride and sink into a
little folk The new Slavic nations are
inexperienced and will not be easy
neighbors
Except pressure comes from elsewhere
there may be a continuation of mutual
hostility such as has made tragedy
of Balkan freedom. Some sort of peace
maintaining force is necessary if grav-
est anarchy is not to disorganze the
former Austro-Hungarian domains.
This peace making power, in fact if
not in the language of documents, will
be unprovided if rot provided by the
democratic nations Ct the west, with the
possible addition Of Russia should Rus
sa succeed in effecting a sane reorgani-
zation.