Evening star., 1923-04-18
Bl THE MARaUIsE DE FoNTENoY.

" 4,
What Downing street Is to the
British empire. and what the Quai
d'orsay rs TO the diplomacy OF France
what, indeed, the palace OF the Will
helInstrasse has been to the Ger
,, man empire, and now to the republic,
! that portion of the imperial Hofburg
at Vienna, known as the Ballplatz,
has been 10 Austria-namely, the head
! quarters of its department OF foreign
! affairs.
1t was from the Ballplatz that the
great Prince Metternich, chancellor of
the Hapsburg monarchies, directed
with Machiavclian statecraft, those
finally brought the downfall of the
first Napoleon. his exile, first to Elba
and then to st. Helena, emancipating
all continental Europe from his mill
tary and political domination. 1t was
from the Ballplatz also that the cele-
brated Prince Kaunitz, chancellor Of
the reign of Empress Maria Theresa
, and of her son, Emperor Joseph, con-
Quoted the foreign relations of the
Hapsburg monarchists in such a
, fashion as to cause the memory of
the empress to be preserved as one
Of the greatest-perhaps. indeed. the
very greatest-of all the long list OF
; rulers of the Hapsburg dynasty. 1t
as there, too, in those stately apart
ments Of the Ballplatz. that Count
Berchthold. as chancellor OF the dual
!,empire, allowed himself to be hood
| @inked by the ex-kaiser and by his
mlitarist camarilla at Berlin, into
declaring that war with Serbia which
eliminated in that worldwide con-
fagration resulting in the overthrow
of all the sovereign dynasties OF GEN.
trail Europe and of Russia, and the
rending asunder of that patchwork
confederation of sixteen separate
nationaiities, embraced in what was
then known as the Austro Hungarian
empire.
II the ministry of foreign affairs of
the Hapsburgs was located in their
ancient metropolitan palace OF the
Hofburg, on the BallplatZ courtyard
thereof, it was because, until 1914. or
rather. i should say. until old Emperor
Francis Joseph reached his dotage,
about a year before the great war.
all the foreign relations of Austria
Hungary were under the immediate
control of the monarch, in this sense,
that the chancellor and foreign min
lister for the, time being. was the
minister. not of the nation. but of its
sovereign. and in nowise dependent
upon the pariiaments at Vienna and
at Budapest. Indeed, the Statesmen
who presided at the Ballplatz COM
bined among their offices not only
those of foreign minister and OF
chancellor, but also Of minister of the
imperial household and its chfeftain-
ship.
At the Ballplatz. which was also
the official residence of all the chan
celIors and foreign ministers, includ-
ing Kaunitz and Metternich and An
drassy and Count Berchtold. the
monarch had his principal adviser and
his chief minister under the same roof
by day and by night, and, indeed,
many was the time when the chan
cellor was obliged to consult with
his sovereign during the small hours
Of the night or the early hours of the
IF I recall thus briefly the eventful
history Of the Ballplatz, it Is because
it has now gone out Of existence as
the headquarters of Austrian diplo-
macy. and it's stately apartments are
about to be converted into use for
museums and exhibitions. may even
be leased out for patriotic organiza-
tions and philanthropic entertain
ments The apartments have not been
used either by the chancellor. nor yet
by his foreign minister, DR.. Grun-