Fulton County tribune. (Wauseon, Ohio) 1883-1925, 1922-02-23


ciety, Washington, D: c.
1t is contented people indeed, who,
when their monarch would abdicate
and make them free, insist that he
still remain their ruler. Such an at,
tempted abdication and the refusal to
accept 1t occurred recently in Liecht-
enstein, one of Europe's tiniest inde-
pendent states. - ~
Liechtenstein Is tucked away in
the eastern Alps south of Lake Con-
stance along the upper Rhine where
that stream runs in a deep valley be-
tween Switzerland and Austria. Be-
fore the World war, Austria was
something more than a neighbor. The
little domain had a customs and pos
tai agreement with the larger state
and in a very limited sense therefore
functiOned as a part Of it. But it had
Its own hereditary ruler, Prince
Johan II, its own little duly elected
parliament Of Is members, and its
own high courts and lesser govern
mental machinery.
There was another tie with Austria,
though in a way it was only acci-
dental. Prince Johan owned extensive
estates in Austria and by virtue Of
their ownership sat in the Austrian
upper house. But Johan also owned
large estates in Germany. In fact
the aggregate acreage of his estates
In various countries amounted to fifty
times the area Of land of which he
| was monarch with its AZ square miles,
its greatest length of Is miles and its
greatest width Of 6.
Cynics or even mere economists
may find in Johan's extensive land
holdings a reason for his high place
In the affections of his people. With
out seriously feeling the drain on his
large income he has virtually run"
Liechtenstein from his private purse
SO that only the most nominal taxa
| tion is known in the little land.
Three-quarters of a century ago the
inhabitants petitioned for an enter
tainment fund and the prince granted
subsidy, perhaps with a smile. It
was used thereafter to decorate and
illuminate Vaduz, the Paris Of Liecht-
enstein, when he visited there.
Overlooked by Bismarck.
In the Austro-Prussian war back in
the eighteen-sixties Liechtenstein cast
her lot with her ally, Austria. Her
entire population bravely said good-by
to her soldier boys, and the entire
standing army of four score men
marched off to battle. But they ar
rived after the war was over.
When 1t came to making peace
terms Bismarck nodded, for once, and
little Liechtenstein was completely
| forgotten. 1t was just as well, or she
might not have retained her freedom.
But, apparently, she is determined not
to be ignored again.
Her army marched home again,
stacked their muskets and hung their
| leather helmets, the bugler's trumpet
and the captains sword in the ancient
castle of Vaduz, where they remain
today. The ciHzenry informed the
prince they wanted no more Of war.
| He abolished military service, and
since then disarmament" has been
complete in Liechtenstein, though,
technically the country has been at
war with Prussia since 1886.
| Not only are there virtually no
| taxes In Liechtenstein, but the coun-
try has no public debt A small levy
Is made for keeping up the dikes lest
the Rhine overfiows her fields in
| springtime. Customs and the ready
generosity of her monarch keep her
treasury filed.
This quaint, but electrIc-hghted ma
tion, with its roadside shrines and
modern typewriters, is somewhat
smaller than the District Of Columbia
It is elongated, as if by pressure of
its neighbor nations, Austria and
Switzerland, suggesting Mark Twain's
complaint about another land where,
he said, people had to sleep with
their knees pulled up because they
couldn't stretch out without a pass
port"
Travellers Pass II BY.
Two fiefs of the Roman empire,
Schellenberg and Vaduz, make up the
latter day Liechtenstein. Both came
into possession of the Liechtenstein
family while their previous over
lords were financially embarrassed.
Many travellers passed through the
little state, within a sight of the
Vaduz castle mounted on its white
cliff pedestal, for the route to Davos
lies that way But hardly any Of the
travellers stopped. When Robert
Shackleton visited there not many