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CHAPTER XXXVI.
AUSTRIA-HUNGARY

Reference has already been made to the attitude of Hungary, in the article on Hungary and Her Neighbors, toward Austria, and what is true of Hungary is to a less extent true of Bohemia and the Polish section of the empire. In fact, Austria-Hungary is held together by a rope of sand, and there is no telling when that rope may break. It required the aid of Russia to hold Hungary within the empire a half century ago, and now that Russia is no longer in position to bolster up the Hapsburg house, the outlook is not bright for the family of Francis Joseph, unless the friendship of Emperor William takes the form of armed assistance. I mention this because the anti-Austrian feeling in Hungary, the anti-Hungarian feeling in Austria, the aversion to the German language in Bohemia, and the demands of the Polish subjects, not to speak of disaffection elsewhere, all point to trouble ahead for the ruler of Austria-Hungary. I visited Bohemia with a view to gathering information on the situation and was surprised to find the hostility between the German and Bohemian elements. A half century ago the German language was spoken everywhere in Bohemia, but to-day the Germans and Bohemians have separate schools and, except where business interest compels it neither learns the language of the other. So strong is the feeling that a Bohemian, desiring to master the German language, would, if financially able, study it outside of Bohemia in preference to attending a German school in his own country.

It is a great misfortune to the people of Hungary and Bohemia, as well as to the imperial government, that this hostility to the German language has become so bitter, for the German is one of the great languages of the earth, being the spoken tongue of more than fifty millions and containing in printed form most of the literary treasures of the world. The German libraries are rich in treatises on science and art, history and philosophy, government and religion, and these should be within reach of the people of Hungary and Bohemia. Whatever may be the merits of the Magyar and the Czech languages, they are spoken by so few, comparatively, that they can not possibly furnish so large a store of learning as the German language contains.

The Austrian government, however, has itself to blame for the estrangement; for, instead of attempting to win the affections of the alien people made subject to it, it attempted to coerce them, with the usual result. Resentment toward the rulers soon turned into resentment toward the language, and it became patriotic to abhor a tongue which it would have been advantageous to cultivate. Human nature is the same everywhere, but kings seem to be as ignorant of it as they are of the lessons of history.

The Austria-Hungary empire can not exist long under its present regime; if it is to continue, the bond of union must be a substantial one and no bond of union is substantial that does not knit itself about the hearts of both parties to the union. There are certain advantages to be derived from the association of several small states together, but these advantages can not be weighed against fundamental rights or against a strong national sentiment. Cold, calculating statesmen sometimes underestimate the influence of sentiment, but they usually discover their error, sometimes too late, if they attempt to trample upon it. Austria-Hungary as a federation of states, each absolutely independent in its internal affairs, would be strong, but Austria-Hungary, composed of dissatisfied groups, all yielding unwillingly to an arrogant Austrian influence, is pitiably weak.

The tie which holds Canada, Australia and New Zealand to England is infinitely stronger than that which binds Hungary and Bohemia to the Austria-Hungarian throne. And why? Not because they use the same language, for the American colonies wrote the Declaration of Independence in the same tongue that George III. employed. Canada, Australia and New Zealand are loyal to England because England allows them to do as they please. If a British parliament acted toward these colonies as the imperial government acts toward Hungary and Bohemia, even a common language and a common history could not prevent a separation. "There is a scattering that increaseth," says Solomon, "and a withholding of more than is meet, but it tendeth to penury." The proverb can be applied to governments, and Francis Joseph might consider it with profit.

It must be remembered that Bohemia is no insignificant part of the empire. It has an area of twenty thousand square miles and a population of more than six millions, and is rich in minerals and in manufactures. It is noted for glass works, Bohemian glass having a world-wide reputation. It has important textile industries also, and its agriculture has been carried to a high state of perfection. It has played a conspicuous part in the history of central Europe, is rich in heroes and possesses a strong national spirit.

Prague, its capital city, has long been an educational center and is still the seat of its intellectual as well as its political life. There is a very complete industrial school at the capital, which contributes in no small degree to the country's prominence in manufacturing. Just now Bohemia is the Mecca for violinists, America contributing her quota of students.

John Huss's church is still one of Prague's landmarks, although the Catholic Church has regained its supremacy. The Hradschin and the public buildings surrounding the Hradschiner Platz are of historic interest, as is also the old Jewish burying ground.

Our American consul at Prague, Mr. Ledoux, has inaugurated a very praiseworthy index system for the collection and preservation of information of value to importers and exporters. He has converted one room of the consular office into a reading room where American trade papers are kept for the business public and where a list of American exporters with a description of their wares may be examined by those desiring to purchase. It is an application of the public library system to trade and struck me as likely to be of value in increasing our sales.

Carlsbad is only a few hours ride from Prague, and I took advantage of that fact to visit it. It is built along the narrow and winding valley of the Tepl and is nearly twelve hundred feet above the sea. It has been a health resort for some six or seven centuries and is now visited yearly by more than fifty thousand invalids. The water is hot, and the numerous springs seem to come from a common reservoir. The principal spring, called the Sprudel, has a temperature of one hundred and sixty-four degrees and contains sulphate of soda, carbonate of soda and common salt. The solid substances deposited by the water soon form into a very hard rock which takes a polish like marble. These deposits gather so rapidly that all pipes leading from the springs, and the springs themselves, must be frequently cleaned or they would soon be choked up.

Liver complaint is the disease which brings most visitors to Carlsbad, and I was surprised to find that, instead of being a fashionable resort, a majority of the patrons are of the middle classes. It is a city of boarding houses and small hotels with a few larger establishments. By eleven o'clock P. M., the streets are deserted and the town asleep, probably because the early morning is the time for drinking the water. I rose at five and with our vice consul at Prague, Mr. Weissburger, as my guide, hurried to the springs; the invalids were even then beginning to come forth, each with his mug, and soon there was a swarm of them. The city has erected large pavilions at several of the springs, and at two of these bands play between six and eight. By 6:30 the streets were crowded and the pavilions jammed. The numerous attendants were kept busy filling the mugs (which are put into long handled holders) from the gushing fountains. At the time of the Lisbon earthquake the largest spring is said to have ceased its flow for three days.

Riding through Bohemia at this time of the year, one sees a great deal of fine farming land, the only unpleasant feature being the number of women at work in the fields and along the roads. The more one sees of the world, the more he can appreciate the remark of the witty Frenchman, Max O'Rell, who, in his lecture on "Her Royal Highness, Woman," declares that if he were going to be born one of that sex, he would pray to be born in America. Woman's position in our country is not only vastly superior to her position in Asia, but very much better than the position of the average woman in continental Europe.

Vienna is not only the capital of the Austria-Hungarian empire, but is one of the greatest cities of Europe. It is worth visiting for its architecture alone, its public buildings combining massiveness and grace. It is also rich in monuments and statuary and well supplied with drives, parks and places of amusement. The boulevards are lined with restaurants, each with a large yard filled with tables and chairs, the refreshments being served in the open air during the summer months. These places are thronged in the evening and on Sunday afternoon, families often bringing their lunch baskets and buying their coffee or beer at the restaurant.

The coffee houses, as they are found in Vienna, deserve mention. These are scattered all over the city and are very popular. Newspapers are usually kept on file and the customers read the events of the day while they sip their coffee or beer.

Vienna is a musical center, and its theaters are not surpassed anywhere. We attended a production of Faust there, a French opera built upon Goethe's great drama, and found the theater constructed with a special view to the accommodation of a large orchestra. Nor is it strange that music should be so distinguishing a feature of Viennese life when it is remembered that it was the home of Strauss, of Haydn, of Mozart, of Shubert and of Beethoven, not to speak of a number of lesser lights.

Vienna is also famous for its educational institutions. Its university has an honorable record of more than five centuries, and its medical college is attended by students from every land.

Vienna is also an example in the matter of municipal ownership, it having gone beyond all the other cities on the continent in the taking over of what are known as the natural monopolies. It finds it not only possible to own and operate its water works, lighting plants and tramways, but it finds it profitable to do so; the profits which, under private ownership, go to the stockholders, accruing in Vienna to the whole people. So successful is municipal ownership in practice that opposition to the principle has been silenced. Those who, in the United States, are struggling in spite of the influence of organized wealth, exerted through subsidized newspapers, corrupted councils and sometimes even through a biased judiciary, to restore the streets of our cities to the public, can find encouragement in Vienna's experience. The conflict can have but one end, namely, triumph for municipal ownership. "Sorrow may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning."

Austria-Hungary has a well developed system of forestry; I noticed this on a former visit and made inquiries about it this time. There is a law compelling the planting of a tree whenever one is cut down, and not content with maintaining the present number, the denuded hills are being replanted. It seems difficult to turn public attention to any subject until some abuse has made action imperative, but the sooner our country awakes to the danger involved in the destruction of our timber, the less we shall be compelled to suffer for the enormous waste committed in our forests.

I have been intending for some time to speak of the matter of permanent buildings for our embassies, and Vienna is a case in point. Our ambassador at Vienna, Mr. Francis, has had difficulty in finding a suitable place for the embassy. I discussed the subject during my former visit abroad, and my observations on this trip have still further strengthened the opinion that our country owes it to itself, as well as its representatives, to purchase or erect at each of the foreign capitals a permanent embassy building. At present each new ambassador or minister must begin his official career with a house-hunting expedition, and the local landlords, knowing this, are quick to take advantage of the situation. At one place an American ambassador was recently asked to pay double what his predecessor had paid, and as he was not willing to do this, he is still living at a hotel. There are not many suitable buildings from which to select, and our representative is at the mercy of those who control the limited supply. Diplomatic requirements are such that the embassy must be centrally located and sufficiently commodious to enable the ambassador or minister to return the courtesies which he receives. Small apartments are numerous, and there are a few palaces which can be rented, but the former are not large enough and the latter much larger than necessary. Our government ought to own a building conveniently located and suitable for the offices and home of the ambassador. It must either do this or choose between two systems, both of which are bad, viz., compel the representative to spend more than his salary for house rent, or continually increase the salary of diplomatic representatives to keep pace with the growing rent in the capitals of the world. To throw the burden upon the government's representative is undemocratic; to risk constantly increasing rent is false economy. It is not in harmony with our theory of government to have an important branch of the public service open to rich men only, and that is the case under the present system. No poor man can afford to accept an appointment as an American minister or ambassador to any of the principal countries of Europe, and as the years go by, the expense of a diplomatic residence will become greater as the value of urban property increases. While the telegraph and the cable have considerably decreased the responsibility of the foreign representative, by bringing him into closer contact with the home government, still much depends upon the ability, the sagacity and the discretion of those whom we send abroad. Our government ought to be in a position to select from the whole citizen body those most competent for the work to be entrusted to them, and it goes without saying that efficiency in the public service is not measured by the amount of money which an official has either inherited or accumulated.

There is another argument in favor of the building of permanent embassy buildings which ought to have weight with our people. If diplomatic representatives are chosen only from those who are able to spend more than their official incomes, it naturally follows that some will be richer than others and that the establishments maintained will differ in expensiveness. In fact, experience has shown that a new representative is sometimes embarrassed by the lavish expenditures of a preceding one. The standing of our nation abroad demands that our ambassadors and ministers shall live in a style in keeping with our ideas, and extravagance is as offensive as parsimony. By owning its own embassy buildings our government can regulate the standard of living and entertainment of those who represent it at foreign courts. There is no doubt that our nation must ultimately come to this plan, and the sooner it adopts it, the better.⁹

CHAPTER XXXVII.
THE DUMA

There is at least one man in Russia who has reason to feel that his political judgment has been vindicated and his predictions verified by the assembling of the duma. It is Count Ignatieff, who, at the age of twenty-eight, framed the Pekin treaty and who, as minister of the interior (the highest cabinet position at that time), in 1881 formulated a plan for a national assembly. His scheme was to have three thousand representatives elected by the people, these representatives, gathered from all parts of the empire, to meet at Moscow and confer with the emperor in person in regard to legislative measures. In order to avoid the objections raised to so large an assembly, he proposed to divide the body into groups of one hundred each, these groups to meet separately. He secured the approval of the emperor, but the other members of the cabinet were so strenuous in their opposition that the emperor decided not to attempt the reform and Count Ignatieff resigned from the ministry. He warned his associates that a failure to recognize the demands of the people for representation in the government would simply delay the change and that it was better to yield before the demands became more radical, but the members of the bureaucracy, deaf to the appeals of the people and blind to their own interests, resisted, and as a result a duma is now in session at St. Petersburg, the bureaucracy finds itself an object of contempt and loathing, and the present emperor, like his predecessor, has to bear the sins of his advisers.

I called upon Count Ignatieff and found him still vigorous in spite of his grey hairs and advancing years. I was interested in him not only because he is friendly toward our country and speaks our language fluently, but more especially because he was a pioneer in a great movement and foresaw what many of the nobility even now fail to recognize, viz., that there is no place where arbitrary power can justify its existence. The tide of progress has swept past the Count, and he is now classed among the conservatives, but he deserves to be remembered because he had the courage to speak out when it required bravery to propose the taking of a step in the direction of popular government.

The duma is the result of the labors of hundreds, yes, thousands of Russian reformers, a few conspicuous, but the most of them unknown to fame, who for more than seventy-five years have been insisting upon constitutional government. It is one of the most remarkable bodies of men ever convened in a national capital, and I have been abundantly repaid for coming here. The duma must be seen to be appreciated; even more, to understand it one must not only see the members, but must know something of the struggle through which they have passed. I am satisfied that the czar himself is more liberal than his advisers and that, left to himself, he would long ago have made concessions which would have brought the throne and the subjects nearer together, but he has yielded so slowly and given so grudgingly that the people have become very much estranged. To illustrate this I need only cite the facts, first as to the election. St. Petersburg and Moscow are the political centers where the officials and the nobility have the strongest representation, and yet in the elections the constitutional democrats won an overwhelming victory in both these cities. In St. Petersburg the ticket which represented the emperor received only two thousand votes out of a total vote of sixty thousand, and in his home precinct, where three hundred voters were sent to the polls in court carriages, his ticket received only eighty votes! Could anything more clearly prove the frail hold of the government upon the people? And it must be remembered that they do not have universal suffrage in the cities, but a property qualification which excludes the poorest of the people, the very ones who have most reason to desire popular government.

The second proof of the feeling against the government is to be found in the unanimity with which the duma opposes the position taken by the government's minister. While the members of the duma are divided among themselves on many questions, they act as one man in their opposition to the government's policy, insofar as that policy has been outlined. In fact, the tension has been so great that I was afraid the body might be dissolved by imperial order before we could reach St. Petersburg.

The sessions of the duma are held in a palace built by Catherine the Great for one of her favorites, General Potemkin. It is a commodious building and has been remodeled to meet present needs. The largest room, extending the entire width of the building, was once the ballroom and some notable entertainments have been given in it – entertainments calling for a lavish expenditure and attended only by the nobility; now the room serves as a lobby, and peasant representatives, wearing the usual blouse and top boots, stride through it as they go to and from the sessions. In another part of the building there are ample dining rooms where the members of the duma and the press may secure meals at very moderate rates. The assembly hall is large enough to accommodate the four hundred and fifty members, but is badly lighted. The windows are all back of the speaker's platform, so that the members sit with their faces towards the light. It would be much better if the light came from above, but it is really surprising that the accommodations are as satisfactory as they are, considering the short time the workmen had to make the necessary changes.

Back of the president is a life-sized painting of the czar in uniform; on the left is a box occupied by the ministers when present, and beyond the ministers is a still larger enclosure occupied by the representatives of the foreign press. To the right of the president are seats for members of the council of empire who may be in attendance, and beyond them the enclosure occupied by representatives of the Russian press. Just in front and a little below the president's desk is the rostrum from which the members of the duma address the assembly, and just below this rostrum is the reporters' table where the stenographers take down the proceedings. Besides the rooms already mentioned there are committee rooms, cloak rooms, rooms for the home press and for the foreign press, etc., etc. In a word, the duma building looks very much like an American legislative hall or a European parliament building – a likeness still further emphasized by the presence of men and women clerks, doorkeepers, pages and spectators. One thing only was out of harmony with a legislative body, and that was a company of soldiers stationed in a wing of the building as if in anticipation of possible trouble. We were present at two sessions of the duma and found them intensely interesting. The morning session is at present given up to speeches on the land question, more than a third of the members having expressed a desire to be heard on this subject. The speeches are usually short and often read from manuscript. Hand-clapping is allowed, and there was always applause at the close of the speeches. Occasionally the president announced that some speaker on the list surrendered his time and this statement also brought forth applause, the discussion of the subject having by this time become tiresome.

By the courtesy of our ambassador, Mr. Meyer, we were admitted to the diplomatic gallery, from which we could survey the entire body. There is probably no assembly like it on either hemisphere. It is made up of all classes and represents every shade of opinion. There are members of the nobility who have cast in their lot with the people, lawyers who have temporarily left their practice to devote themselves to the larger interests of the public, professors fresh from the universities, business men from the cities, laboring men from the factories, and there are, most numerous still, peasants from the farms. Some of the members are near the end of life and command attention by their years as well as by their words, and there is a sprinkling of young men who have become the spokesmen of their communities, but the majority are middle-aged men who have years of experience behind them, and are yet strong for the battle. In garb there is also great variety, the black frock coat, the business suit, the belted blouse, and the clerical robe are all to be seen. The smooth face seems to be at a discount in Russia; one would suppose, so plentiful are whiskers, that the barbers were on a strike. There are many heavy heads of hair, too, sometimes the locks falling to the shoulders, sometimes cut square about the ears.

The lobby is a better place than the gallery to study features; sitting on one of the visitors' seats in this commodious hall we watched the members passing to and fro and were introduced to a number of them by the American newspaper men who are reporting the proceedings for the press of our country. There are also a number of Americans here studying the Russian situation as a preparation for university work at home, a son of the late Dr. Harper of Chicago being one of these. I shall send with this article a number of photographs of the more prominent members, but I regret that I cannot bring before my readers some of the faces that we observed in the lobby, faces which seemed to present an epitome of Russian history – strong, firm, unyielding faces which plainly tell of the stern resolve that lies behind the peasant movement. They may protest, like Mark Antony, that they have neither "wit nor words nor worth, action, nor utterance nor the power of speech to stir men's blood," but they can "put a tongue in every wound" of their countrymen that will almost "move the stones to rise and mutiny."

This is the first duma, and it has not proceeded far enough to fully develop the permanent leaders, but, if I may use the simile, as the basket of pebbles is shaken by debate, the large ones are gradually rising to the top. The president of the duma is Prof. Serge Murmetseff, of Moscow, whose learning and judicial temperament combined to make him the choice of the several parties, no one of which can claim a majority. The constitutional democrats have the largest membership and are the best organized. They also have the advantage of occupying the middle ground between the radicals and the conservatives. Having about one hundred and fifty members on their rolls and some thirty more acting with them, they can count upon enough votes from the more conservative elements to defeat the extreme radicals, and they can rely upon enough radical votes to carry out their program. The floor leader of this party is Vladimir D. Nabokoff, of St. Petersburg, a member of a prominent family and himself until recently an instructor in the national law school. He is about thirty-eight years of age, intelligent and alert, and has the confidence of his party. The orator of the constitutional democrats is Theodore I. Rodicheff, a scholarly looking man of fifty. He is polished in manner and persuasive in speech. One of the most influential of the constitutional democrats is Mr. Maxim Winawer, a Jewish lawyer of the capital. He is sometimes described as the "brains" of the party and is credited with drafting the duma's reply to the address from the throne. He is one of the ablest civil lawyers in the empire and his election from St. Petersburg, where there are but three thousand Jewish voters, out of a total vote of sixty thousand, and his elevation to the vice-presidency of the national organization of his party, would seem to answer the charge that there is widespread hostility to the Jews among the people.

Nabokoff, Rodicheff and Winawer are members of the duma and are, therefore, prominently before the public at this time, but in popularity they have a rival in the person of Paul I. Miliukoff, editor of the "Retch." (The government would probably put a "W" before the "R" and give the word its English meaning, but in Russian the word Retch means speech.) Mr. Miliukoff, it will be remembered, was one of the candidates of his party in St. Petersburg, but the government compelled the substitution of another name because he was awaiting trial for an alleged violation of the press laws. He was acquitted soon afterward and is one of the moving spirits in the present parliamentary struggle. He speaks excellent English and has lectured in the United States. No one need despair of reform in Russia while such a man as Miliukoff devotes his great ability to journalism.

Next to the constitutional democrats, the members of the "group of toil" form the largest party. There are about a hundred of these, and Alexis G. Aladin is their leader. He is even younger than Nabokoff, but has already shown himself to be a man of force and originality.

Count Heyden is the leader of the conservative element, if there is a conservative element in the duma. Perhaps it would be more accurate to describe him as the spokesman for the least radical group, for all the members of the duma are reformers, differing only as to the extent of the changes and the speed with which they shall be made. He was once considered radical, but he has not moved as rapidly as public sentiment. Count Heyden bears quite a resemblance to Uncle Sam as he is pictured in the newspapers. I have spoken somewhat at length of the leaders in order to show that while the grievances of the peasants and laborers are at the bottom of the movement, all classes are enlisted in the effort to establish constitutional government.

The afternoon sessions are generally lively, for it is at this time that the ministers make their reports, offer their measures and answer the questions propounded by the members. The session which we attended was no exception to the rule. The house was full, the galleries crowded and the newspapers fully represented. There were more than forty Russian writers in their corner and not less than fifty of the foreign press in theirs. When the representative of the war department, replying to a question concerning some recent military executions, declared that the minister of war was powerless to overrule the generals, there were shouts of "Murderer!" "Assassin!" "Dog!" and other equally uncomplimentary epithets.

One of the demands made by the duma is for the abolition of the death penalty. This might seem a very radical measure to us, but the conditions are quite different in Russia. Here there is no assurance of an impartial trial, and torture is resorted to to force an admission of guilt. Only recently three persons were found to be innocent after they had been tortured and put to death. The members of the duma feel that the only security to the people is in the entire abolition of the death penalty, for while those who are falsely accused still live, there is a chance to rescue them. In this respect exile, hateful as it is, has its advantages; I met a member of the duma who was returned from exile by the government upon the demand of the duma. In the torturing of prisoners for the purpose of extorting a confession Russia is even behind China, bad as China is, for in the latter nation it has been abolished, except where one is charged with murder, and is only permitted then after the guilt of the accused has been established by other evidence.