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AUSTRIA-HUNGARY 


and 


THE  WAR 


ERNEST  LUDWIC 


1 


i 


Digitized  by  tlie  Internet  Arcliive 

in  2008  witli  funding  from 

IVIicrosoft  Corporation 


http://www.arcliive.org/details/austrialiungarywaOOIudwricli 


This  photograph  of  the  Emperor  and  King  and  the  son  of  the 

present  Crown  Prince  was  made  on  September  15,  1914,  when 

rumors  of  the  death  of  His  Majesty  made  the  round  of  the 

press  abroad. 


Austria  -  Hungary 
and  the  War 


BY 

ERNEST  LUDWIG 

/.  and  R.  Consul  for  Austria-Hungary 

XX 

CLEVELAND,   OHIO 


WITH   A  PREFACE   BY 

Dr,  Konstantin  Theodor  Dumba 

Ambassador  of  Austria-Hungary 


NEW  YORK 

J.    S.    OGILVIE   PUBLISHING   COMPANY 

57  Rose  Street 


^v^ 


Copyright  1915,  by 

J.  S.  OQIIiVIB  PUBIilSHING  COMPAKT. 


•  '• 


CONTENTS. 

chaptee  page 

Introduction 5 

Foreword 14 

I.    Points  of  Human  Interest — Austria- 
Hungary  AND  the  War      -        -        -    17 

II.    Was  the  Note  to  Servia  Brutal?        -    55 

III.  The  Sarajevo  Trial     -       -        -       -    78 

IV.  Has   Servia   Any   Historical   Claims 

Over  Bosnia  and  Herzegovina?        -  130 

V.  The  Great  Russian  Propaganda  in 
Galicia,  Bukovina  and  the  North- 
eastern Districts  of  Hungary  be- 
fore the  War 141 

VI.  Economic  War  Conditions  in  Austria- 
Hungary — The  United  States  and 
THE  Dual  Monarchy         -       -       -  160 

Appendix  A — The  Note  of  Austria-Hungary 

TO  Servia       ....  197 

The  Servian  Answer      -        -  204 
Appendix  B — Peter  the  Great's  Last  Will  218 


INTRODUCTION 

I  recommend  to  the  kind  attention  of  the  Ameri- 
can public  this  book,  written  by  the  Austro-Hun- 
garian  consul  in  Cleveland,  on  certain  vital  phases 
of  the  struggle  which  is  convulsing  Europe.  The 
reader  will  find  in  these  chapters  a  comprehensive 
presentation  of  the  political  forces  and  historical 
developments  which  led  to  the  initial  clash  of  arms. 
This  volume  contains  authentic  information  about 
the  Near  East,  a  region  so  little  known  in  the  United 
States;  it  offers  a  graphic  description  of  conditions 
in  Bosnia  and  Herzegovina,  the  two  Austrian  prov- 
inces coveted  by  Servia,  and  throws  an  illuminating 
light  upon  the  real,  the  underlying,  causes  of  the 
world-conflict.  These  causes  I  may  be  permitted 
to  summarize  in  concise  form. 

It  should  be  borne  clearly  in  mind  at  the  outset 
that  for  more  than  a  century  Austria-Hungary  and 
Russia  have  been  keen  rivals  in  the  Balkan  Penin- 
sula. Owing  to  its  geographical  position  the  Dual 
Monarchy  is  the  predominant  economic  factor  in 
Southeastern  Europe,  and  in  the  course  of  her 
commercial  expansion  has  sought,  quite  naturally, 
to  secure  a  market  for  the  output  of  her  industries 
in  Servia,  Bulgaria  and  European  Turkey.  On  the 
other  hand  Russia,  swayed  by  sentimental  and  ter- 
ritorial considerations,  has  sought  to  exercise  ex- 
clusive control  over  the  newly  constituted  Slav 

5 


6  IKTRODUCTION 

countries  of  the  Balkans.  This  claim  to  political 
mastery  the  Russian  government  has  based  upon 
the  racial  affinity  of  all  Slavic  nations,  upon  the 
bond  of  kinship  offered  by  the  Greek  church,  com- 
mon to  all  the  Balkan  states,  and  upon  the  fact  that 
these  states  owe  their  existence  to  the  many  wars 
waged  by  the  great  Northern  power  upon  the  Turk- 
ish empire. 

Back  of  the  activities  of  Russian  diplomacy  in 
the  Balkan  Peninsula  is  her  legitimate  desire  to  se- 
cure the  opening  of  the  straits  of  Constantinople, 
closed  to  her  by  treaties,  and  thus  to  obtain  a  free 
outlet  from  the  Black  Sea  for  her  commerce  and 
her  crops,  and  the  unhampered  passage  of  her  fleet 
to  the  Mediterranean.  In  the  pursuit  of  these  ob- 
jects the  statecraft  of  St.  Petersburg  has  sought  to 
control  the  Balkan  states  and  to  prevent  any  of 
them,  especially  a  vigorous  and  progressive  Bul- 
garia, from  occupying  Constantinople,  the  key  to 
the  Dardanelles.  In  her  endeavors  to  establish  and 
maintain  such  a  hegemony  in  Balkan  affairs,  Russia 
inevitably  has  menaced  the  vital  commercial  inter- 
ests of  Austria-Hungary. 

The  antagonism  between  Russia  and  Austria- 
Hungary  found  expression  in  perpetual  diplomatic 
strife,  aggravated  by  the  underground  activities  of 
Russian  consuls,  reinforced  by  unofficial  agents 
and  priests.  Austria-Hungary,  in  support  of  her 
interests  in  the  disputed  region,  could  employ  no 
such  extraneous  forces  as  were  placed  within  the 
grasp  of  Russia  by  the  accident  of  her  kinship  to 


INTRODUCTION  7 

the  Balkan  states,  but  relied  upon  her  commercial 
travellers  and  upon  the  importance  of  tlie  economic 
interests  common  to  the  Dual  Monarchy  and  the 
small  states  south  of  the  Danube. 

After  the  cojigress  of  Berlin  in  1878,  which  was 
called  to  adjust  the  boundaries  of  Southeastern 
Europe  following  the  Russo-Turkish  war,  the  newly 
created  kingdom-  of  Servia  maintained,  through 
King  Milan,  close  relations  with  Austria-Hungary. 
Inasmuch  as  the  Dual  Monarchy  had  received  from 
Europe  a  mandate  for  the  occup&.tion  of  Bosnia  and 
Herzegovina  and  the  restoration  of  order  in  those 
two  Turkish  provinces,  King  Milan,  and  subse- 
quently his  son.  King  Alexander,  relinquished  every 
pretension  to  expansion  westward  into  Bosnia  and 
Herzegovina,  and  concentrated  their  efforts  upon 
an  educational  campaign  in  Macedonia,  especially 
in  the  districts  inhabited  by  a  Bulgarian  popula- 
tion. 

This  regime  of  harmony  was  interrupted  violently 
in  1903,  by  the  assassination  of  King  Alexander 
and  the  election  of  King  Peter  Karageorgevitch,  the 
scion  of  a  banished  house,  td  the  Servian  throne. 
No  sooner  had  the  Karageorgevitch  been  restored 
than  it  became  apparent  to- all  the  world  that  a  new 
order  had  been  established  in  Servia.  An  aggres- 
sive pro-Russian  reigned  at  Belgrade.  The  begin- 
ning of  the  new  rule  was  also  the  beginning  of  that 
rapid  process  of  subordination  to  Russian  dictation 
whereby  Servia  became  a  mere  outpost  of  Russia, 
chosen   to  provoke   and   harass   the   neighboring 


8  INTROpUCTION 

Dual  Monarchy  for  the  purposes  of  Russian 
diplomacy. 

The  Servian  nationalist  agitation  on  the  Austrian 
side  of  the  border  was  carried  on  upon  a  large  scale, 
by  such  organizations,  as  the  Narodna  Obrana,  to 
which  some  of  the  highest  officers  of  state,  civil  and 
military,  openly  belonged.  The  Narodna  Obrana 
carried  on  its  operations  in  Belgrade,  under  the  full 
view  of  the  authorities,  promoting  political  discord 
beyond  the  Austrian  frontier  under  the  pretence  of 
educational  work  ostensibly  aimed  at  the  cultural 
uplift  of  the  Austrian  Slavs. 

Then  came  the  annexation  of  Bosnia  and  Herze- 
govina, a  defensive  measure  undertaken  by  the  Aus^ 
tro-Hungarian  government  in  1908,  to  meet  the 
demand  of  the  Young  Turks,  then  in  power  at  Con- 
stantinople, for  the  restoration  to  an  Ottoman  ad- 
ministration of  the  provinces  which  thesOongress  of 
Berlin  had  entrusted  to  Austria  thirty  years  earlier 
as  the  only  practicable  means  of  restoring  order  in 
them.  Russia,  despite  repeated  secret  understand- 
ings by  which  the  foreign  office  at  St.  Petersburg 
had  recognized  the  Austrian  position  in  Bosnia  and 
Herzegovina,  now  took  passionate  umbrage  at  the 
act  which  merely  regularized  the  status  of  terri- 
tories already  within  the  boundaries  of  the  Dual 
Monarchy.  The  press  of  St.  Petersburg  bitterly  pro- 
tested against  the  annexation,  which  it  endeavored 
to  present  in  the  light  of  a  deadly  blow  at  the 
interests  of  the  Slavic  race. 

The  attitude  of  Russia  was  reflected  in  a  redoub- 


INTRODUCTION  9 

ling  of  the  anti-Austrian  agitation  in  Servia.  At 
this  point  the  Servian  propaganda  in  Bosnia  and 
Herzegovina  dropped  the  educational  mask  and  be- 
came openly  political  and  provocative.  Apostles 
from  Belgrade  began  to  traverse  the  Austrian  prov- 
inces, preaching  the  gospel  of  sedition  and  violence. 
So  menacing  a  tone  did  the  Servian  people  adopt 
toward  Austria-Hungary  that  the  Dual  Monarchy 
found  a  partial  mobilization,  at  a  high  cost,  impera- 
tively necessary  in  view  of  the  turmoil  on  the  Ser- 
vian side  of  the  boundary.  At  this  juncture  of  events 
there  was  grave  peril  of  an  actual  outbreak  of  hos- 
tilities, which  calamity  was  happily  averted  for  the 
time  being  by  the  vigorous  stand  taken  by  Germany 
in  championship  of  the  vital  interests  of  her  ally. 

Confronted  by  a  united  Germanic  support  of  the 
accomplished  fact,  Russia  yielded  her  recognition 
of  the  annexation  and  Servia  pledged  herself  to 
discontinue  her  provocative  tactics  against  public 
order  in  Austria-Hungary.  Both  Russia  and 
Servia  were  destined  to  repudiate  their  solemn  un- 
dertakings at  the  first  opportunity  that  offered. 
The  next  blow  aimed  at  the  Dual  Monarchy  by  Rus- 
sia in  her  persistent  attempts  to  exclude  Austrian 
commercial  influence  from  the  Balkans  came  five 
years  after  the  international  crisis  of  1909.  It  took 
the  form  of  a  Balkan  League,  contrived  in  St. 
Petersburg,  and  comprising  Servia,  Bulgaria, 
Greece  and  Montenegro. 

This  confederation  was  designed,  ostensibly,  to 
expel  the  Turk  from  Europe.    The  dominance  of 


10  INTRODUCTION 

Russia  over  the  workings  of  the  new  grouping  of 
Balkan  powers  was  assured  by  a  secret  clause  in  the 
treaty,  whereby  the  minor  signatories  bound  them- 
selves not  to  undertake  a  war  against  Turkey  with- 
out Russia's  consent,  and  which  also  conferred  upon 
Russia  the  right  of  final  decision  in  the  distribu- 
tion of  territory  that  might  be  conquered  by  the 
allies.  Moreover,  the  government  at  St.  Petersburg 
obtained  from  the  allies  a  pledge  that  they  should 
make  common  cause  to  the  limits  of  their  resources 
in  case  of  an  attack  by  another  power.  This  clause 
in  the  agreement  was  aimed  at  Austria-Hungary. 
It  contained  the  complete  explanation  of  the  zeal- 
ous efforts  which  Russia  had  made  to  bring  the 
discordant  Balkan  elements  together.  That  this 
alliance  should  hurl  itself  against  Turkey  in  1912, 
before  the  time  was  ripe  for  Russia's  contemplated 
action  against  Austira-Hungary,  and  that  it  should 
destroy  itself  by  its  own  violence  in  the  second  Bal- 
kan war,  were  events  which  had  not  been  contem- 
plated by  Russian  diplomacy. 

However,  Russia  found  a  way  to  profit  even  from 
the  unexpected  course  which  events  had  taken.  By 
encouraging  Servian  pretensions  at  the  end  of  the 
first  Balkan  war,  the  Russians  succeeded  in 
strengthening  Servia,  their  outpost  against  Austria- 
Hungary,  at  the  expense  of  Bulgaria,  which  thus 
was  deprived  of  the  fruits  of  its  splended  victories 
over  Turkey. 

Austria-Hungary  had  once  more  come  perilously 
near  a  clash  with  Servia  in  the  first  Balkan  war, 


INTRODUCTION  11 

when  the  neighboring  Slav  kingdom,  disregarding 
the  warning  of  the  powers,  advanced  to  the  Adriatic. 
Austria-Hungary  met  the  situation  by  bringing 
about  the  creation  of  an  independent  Albania  as  a 
barrier  to  the  establishment  of  a  hostile  maritime 
neighbor  on  the  Adriatic. 

At  the  congress  of  Bucharest,  however,  Servia, 
with  Russian  backing,  advanced  territorial  claims 
which  threatened  the  equilibrium  of  the  Balkans. 
So  menacing  to  its  legitimate  interests  did  the  gov- 
ernment at  Vienna  r^ard  this  new  Russo-Servian 
aggression,  that  the  ministry  of  foreign  affairs  made 
inquiries  at  Rome  and  in  Berlin  in  an  attempt  to 
obtain  assurances  of  co-operation  in  the  event  that 
the  current  developments  should  force  upon  the 
Dual  Monarchy  the  task  of  restoring  the  balance  of 
power  so  necessary  to  the  complete  tranquilliza- 
tion  of  Southeastern  Europe.  This  inquiry,  which 
was  presented  to  the  attention  of  the  world  recently 
by  Signor  Giolitti,  former  premier  of  Italy,  as  an 
indication  erf  aggressive  designs  against  Servia  by 
Austria-Hungary,  was  in  fact  a  purely  precaution- 
ary measure.  It  was  undertaken  in  an  effort  to 
induce  a  revision  of  the  treaty  of  Bucharest — ^an  in- 
strument regarded  at  Vienna  as  an  oppressive  de- 
vice which,  by  perpetuating  the  resentment  of  the 
Bulgarian  people,  the  strongest  unit  in  the  Balkan 
Peninsula,  introduced  the  constant  danger  of  a 
future  conflict.  Austria-Hungary  realized  so  thor- 
oughly the  significance  of  the  latest  move  by  Russia 
on  the  international  chess-board,  that  it  was  only  by 


12  INTRODUCTION 

the  pacific  influences  exerted  from  the  highest 
quarters  in  the  empire  that  a  clash  was  averted  at 
this  juncture.  The  treaty  of  Buclijirest,  accordingly, 
was  permitted  to  stand  in  its  original  form, 
thanks  to  the  desire  of  Austria-Hungary  to  avert  a 
violation  of  the  peace  of  Europe  even  at  the  cost  of 
a  palpable  menace  to  her  own  security. 

From  this  moment  Servia,  assured  of  the  protec- 
tion of  Russia,  which  had  been  put  to  the  test  dur- 
ing two  wars,  abandoned  every  reserve  and  openly 
plunged  into  a  campaign  of  defiant  provocation 
against  the  neighboring  Austro-Hungarian  empire. 
The  agitation  within  the  boundaries  of  the  Slav 
kingdom  for  the  erection  of  a  greater  Servia  upon 
the  ruins  of  a  disintegrated  Austria,  assumed  a 
violence  which* gave  pause  to  even  the  most  optimis- 
tic minds  at  Vienna.  The  Servian  press,  people  and 
government  united  in  a  demonstration  of  malignant 
hostility  which  fell  but  a  degree  short  of  a  declara- 
tion of  war.  Public  opinion  in  the  Dual  Monarchy 
was  so  profoundly  disturbed  by  the  tumult  beyond 
the  border  that  the  government  was  subjected  to  a 
storm  of  criticism  for  its  continued  attitude  of  for- 
bearance. 

At  the  same  time  there  were  other  disquieting 
manifestations  of  the  activities  of  the  Russian  prop- 
aganda ;  activities  beyond  the  sphere  of  the  Servian 
agitation — in  Eastern  Galicia,  among  the  Poles 
and  the  Ruthenians,  in  addition  to  the  normal  mis- 
sionary work  which  Russia  had  been  carrying  on 
among  all  the  Slavic  peoples  in  the  Dual  Monarchy. 


INTRODUCTION  13 

Secret  Russian  agents,  in  many  instances  in  the 
guise  of  priests  of  the  Orthodox  Russian  church, 
developed  an  ominous  zeal  in  their  mission  of  prop- 
agating disaffection  among  the  subjects  of  the 
Austrian  crown  and  preparing  the  way  for  the  great 
"deliverer"  from  the  North. 

And  the  sinister  climax  to  all  this  subterranean 
contriving  came  with  the  assassination  of  the  Arch- 
duke Franz  Ferdinand  by  a  "patriotic"  Serb  youth 
at  Serajevo,  the  capital  of  Bosnia,  on  June  28th. 
That  crowning  act  in  the  series  of  provocations 
confronted  Austria-Hungary  with  the  choice  of 
accepting  without  protest  the  beginnings  of  disinte- 
gration, or  drawing  the  sword  in  defence  of  its 
imperilled  sovereignty.  War  was  the  only  choice 
possible.  It  is  not  a  war  waged  by  a  government 
for  its  own  aggrandizement.  It  is  a  struggle  for 
life,  undertaken  by  a  people  whose  temper  has  been 
long  and  sorely  tried  by  the  malicious  machinations 
of  neighbors  to  whom  the  continuance  of  peace  was 
only  an  opportunity  for  interminable  conspiracies 
against  the  tranquillity  and  the  dignity  of  the  Dual 
Empire. 

KONSTANTIN  ThEODOR  DUMBA, 

Ambassador  of  Austria-Hungary. 

Washington,  Dec.  20th^  1914. 


FOREWORD 

Perhaps  it  will  not  be  found  necessary  for  me  to 
state  that  I  am  not  a  neutral. 

My  official  position  would  be  a  bar  to  this  quali- 
fication. But  although  I  lack  in  the  technical  re- 
quirements of  a  neutral,  I  trust  that  my  American 
readers  will  say  after  they  have  read  my  book  that 
I  am  not  lacking  in  impartiality. 

I  have  endeavored  to  erase  all  personal  bias  and 
ask  for  my  readers  indulgence  if  my  presentation 
of  our  case  does  not  come  up  fully  to  the  expecta- 
tions which  they  may  entertain  on  this  account. 

I  admit  I  sometimes  felt  discouraged,  when  I 
heard  leading  representatives  of  the  press,  personal 
friends  of  mine,  say :  "There  is  no  use,  the  American 
people  have  made  up  their  mind.  They  believe  this 
is  the  Kaiser's  war.  They  think  that  this  war  will 
not  end  until  militarism  both  in  your  country  and 
Germany  will  be  crushed,"  etc. 

I  have  deemed  it  my  duty  from  the  first  moment 
after  I  had  returned  from  Europe  in  September  to 
present  our  side  to  the  public  in  a  calm,  dignified 
manner.  This  duty,  moreover,  as  will  be  found 
natural,  is  also  a  duty  imposed  by  my  office. 

In  some  instances  I  have  succeeded,  but  in  many 
others  not.  Articles  writen  to  magazines  setting 
forth  our  side  were  returned  with  polite  excuses. 
The  editors  regretted  that  they  were  unable  to  pub- 

14 


FOREWORD  15 

lish  them,  because,  while  appreciating  the  privilege 
of  perusing  them,  the  subject  of  the  article  did  not 
fall  within  the  scope  of  the  magazine,  or  words  to 
that  efifect.  That  is  why  I  was  prcnnpted  to  write 
this  book. 

We  would  like  to  convince  the  American  public 
that  this  war  was  not  of  our  making.  It  was  forced 
upon  us.  Outward  appearances  may  perhaps  seem 
in  contradiction  to  our  view,  but  appearances  are 
seldom  conclusive. 

Formally  we  may  have  made  the  first  step,  when 
our  note  was  sent  to  Servia ;  but  in  its  substance  this 
step  was  merely  the  outcome  of  a  great  many  others 
made  before  by  our  adversary,  until  our  patience 
finally  gave  way.  Any  other  country  with  self- 
respect  would  have  acted  as  we  did.  This  we  know 
to  be  true. 

I  venture  the  prediction  that  this  war  will  be  of 
short  duration.  Both  sides  will  soon  see  the  use- 
lessness  of  continuing  the  struggle  when  the  forces 
are  about  even  and  neither  side  can  totally  destroy 
the  other.  /  believe,  hoivever,  that  the  gain  will  he 
with  our  side.  A  slight  gain,  perhaps,  but  still  a 
gain.  I  base  this  belief  on  the  fact  becoming  more 
evident  as  the  war  is  progressing  that  the  people  of 
Austria-Hungary  and  Germany  are  linked  in  a  much 
firmer  union  than  the  people  of  our  present  allied 
enemies. 

We  believe  that  "Niebelungentreue"  prompted 
Germany  to  gird  on  her  sword  for  us.  Niebelungen- 
treue  is  an  equivalent  to  German  loyalty.     This 


16  FOREWORD 

loyalty  both  our  peoples  will  mutually  keep  unto 
the  end.    We  will  stand  and  fall  together. 

While  we  fight,  since  fight  we  must,  it  is  our 
ambition  to  uphold  all  principles  of  international 
law  and  of  human.  Christian  civilization.  Just  as 
our  State  Minister  of  Home  Affairs  in  Hungary, 
Dr.  John  von  S^ndor,  wrote  to  Count  Albert  Ap- 
ponyi,  president  of  the  committee  for  the  support 
of  wounded  and  prisoners  of  war:  "Our  society 
at  large  has  a  duty  to  accomplish  which  should  go 
even  beyond  international  treaties  and  agreements. 
It  is  necessary  to  protect  those  against  the  rigors 
of  bad  weather  and  other  hardships  who  have  raised 
their  arms  against  us  as  honest  enemies,  following 
the  call  of  their  home  countries.  Society's  sym- 
pathy displayed  in  behalf  of  prisoners  of  war  was 
and  is  never  opposed  to  true  patriotism." 

I  have  no  desire  to  impose  my  or  our  views  con- 
cerning this  war  on  the  American  public.  Ameri- 
cans do  not  yield  to  force.  They  may  yield  to  ar- 
gument, if  argument  is  convincing.  I  used  genuine 
efforts  to  make  it  as  convincing  as  humanly  possible 
and  I  shall  have  genuine  pleasure  to  hear  that  it 
made  at  least  some  Americans  yield. 

EL  L. 
Cleveland,  November  15, 1914. 


I.— POINTS  OF  HUMAN  INTEREST  AND  THE 
WAR  IN  AUSTRIA-HUNGARY. 

To-day,  that  is  on  November  15th  when  I  write 
these  lines,  discussions  orer  questions,  as  for  in- 
stance which  country  started  war  preparations  first, 
which  country  prompted  the  war,  have  much  more 
purely  academic  value  than  they  had  three  months 
ago,  when  the  war  broke  out ;  and  yet  the  necessity 
of  a  satisfactory  solution  of  these  questions,  whether 
of  purely  academic  interest  or  otherwise,  becomes 
daily  more  apparent.  Their  solution  will,  indeed, 
become  a  paramount  issue,  after  the  last  man  able 
to  hold  his  rifle  will  have  paid  his  toll  to  his  country 
on  the  battle-field.  It  will  be  demanded  by  every- 
body when  the  routine  of  peace  negotiations  will 
be  resumed.  People  and  governments  of  the  various 
countries  involved  in  this  war  and  of  other  inter- 
ested and  sympathetic  bystanders  will  demand  that 
clearness  should  be  brought  into  these  questions. 

To  judge  a  case  before  all  evidence  is  in  shows  a 
prejudiced  mind.  To  make  Germany  responsible 
for  this  world  imbroglio,  because  one  or  possibly  a 
few  of  her  theoreticians  have  asserted  that  militar- 
ism is  everything,  demonstrates  a  deplorable  bias. 
It  is  just  as  deplorable  as  would  be,  for  instance, 
demonstrated  by  German  sympathizers,  were  these 
latter  to  assert  that  Great  Britain  is  responsible 
because  of  the  attitude  and  utterances  of  some  of 

17 


18       AUSTRIA-HUNGARY  AND  THE  WAR 

her  war  writers  on  militarism.  And  England  also 
has  had  her  "Bernhardis."  If  Homer  Lea  and  his 
"Day  of  the  Saxon"  dedicated  to  the  late  Field  Mar- 
shal Lord  Roberts  is  less  known  to-day  to  the  Eng- 
lish speaking  world,  it  is  because  the  British  adver- 
tisers on  both  sides  of  the  Atlantic  have  for  obvious 
reasons  drawn  more  attention  to  Bernhardi  than  to 
Homer  Lea.  Dr.  von  Mach,  in  his  excellent  book  on 
"What  Germany  Wants,"  has  commented  on  this 
war-study,  and  excerpts  from  it  are  reprinted  in 
Appendix  B  of  his  book.  These  clearly  indicate 
that  Homer  Lea's  war  spirit  yields  in  nothing  to 
General  von  Bernhardi's. 

Neither  of  the  war-books,  however,  is  an  evidence 
for  or  against  the  country  which  produces  the 
writer.  It  is  hardly  believable  that  they  would  be 
accepted  even  as  circumstantial  evidence  in  any 
court  of  public  opinion  of  the  civilized  world.  They 
are  in  no  way,  either  directly  or  indirectly,  con- 
nected with  the  war,  nor  could  they  have  prompted 
it.  These  books  are  not  even  of  symptomatic  interest 
with  reference  to  the  war,  as  they,  at  the  very  best, 
represent  the  ideas  of  a  small  minority  in  each 
respective  country  only. 

Not  theoretical  evidence  will  be  required  when 
the  final  wind-up  comes,  but  facts;  simple,  plain 
facts,  the  relative  importance  of  which  everybody 
grasps. 

I  believe,  for  instance,  the  pronounced  efforts 
made  by  one  or  the  other  country  shortly  before  the 
general  conflagration  to  increase  the  annual  con- 


AUSTRIA-HUNGARY  AND  THE  WAR       19 

tingent  of  their  recruits,  should  be  a  strong  circum- 
stantial evidence  against  that  country  or  those 
countries  in  such  a  Supreme  Court  of  public 
opinion.  The  appropriation  by  the  Russian  Duma 
for  the  increase  of  the  annual  contingent  of  recruits 
by  125,000  during  three  years,  shortly  before  the  war 
began,  is  such  a  fact.  France's  measure  to  raise 
the  peace-footing  of  her  army  to  nearly  800,000 
men,  which  is  practically  the  peace  establishment 
of  the  German  army,  although  Germany's  popula- 
tion is  more  than  twenty  millions  more  than 
France's,  is  another  such  fact  Germany's  correla- 
tive measures  would  be  another,  but  if  Germany 
had  to  follow  her  neighbor's  example  this  does  not 
detract  from  the  importance  of  these  facts  in  a 
court  called  upon  to  decide  which  country  made 
the  first  move. 

I  have  no  intention  to  argue  here  on  the  question 
who  started  this  war.  Developments  in  this  war- 
drama  have  not  yet  reached  the  stage  where  anybody 
could  have  in  an  unbiased  way  collected  all  evidence 
referring  to  this  point.  All  that  any  one  of  us  can 
do  who  desires  to  perform  his  duty  in  an  honest 
and  conscientious  way  is  to  make  contributions 
from  his  store  of  knowledge  and  information. 
Little  by  little  the  general  store  of  material  will  ac- 
cumulate and  the  world  will  have  a  clearer  grasp  of 
the  situation.  This  desire  should  be  generalized  in 
preference  to  the  manifestations  of  some  people  that 
no  further  information  is  necessary,  because  the 
question  of  responsibility  concerning  this  war  is 


20       AUSTRIA-HUNGARY  AND  THE  WAR 

already  settled.  They  omit  to  add  that  "it  is  settled 
in  their  mind."  A  jury  deciding  a  case  before  evi- 
dence was  submitted  is  not  liable  to  be  upheld  by 
the  Court,  if  this  fact  would  be  proved  against  its 
members. 

In  this  chapter  I  propose  to  comment  on  ques- 
tions of  more  general  human  interest  concerning 
this  war,  which  are  based  on  my  observations  during 
my  recent  vacation  trip  in  Europe.  I  think  it  is 
noteworthy  to  draw  the  attention  of  my  American 
readers  to  the  fact  that  as  a  member  of  the  Austro- 
Hungarian  Foreign  Service  in  the  United  States, 
I  started  on  my  leave  as  late  as  July  the  18th.  It 
is  a  general  rule,  which  is  in  force  probably  in  every 
civilized  country  that  in  warlike  times,  "leaves"  of 
all  members  of  a  country's  army  and  navy,  and  its 
foreign  service  are  instantly  suspended.  Everybody 
has  to  return  to  his  post  of  duty.  Had  my  country 
planned  to  start  a  war  against  various  European 
countries  or  even  one,  had  it  even  thought  that  such 
a  war  was  impending,  it  would  most  decidedly  have 
instructed  all  its  embassies  and  legations  to  counter- 
mand all  leaves  of  the  various  foreign  staff-mem- 
bers. Instead  of  which,  however,  two  of  my  Ameri- 
can colleagues,  our  Consul-General  in  New  York, 
and  our  Consul  in  San  Francisco,  had  left  on  their 
respective  "leaves"  about  the  time  when  I  left.  I  am 
not  conversant  with  other  similar  moves  of  my 
colleagues  in  other  parts  of  the  world,  but  the  fact 
alone  that  the  three  heads  of  some  of  our  most  im- 
portant Consular  offices  in  the  United  States  were 


AUSTRIA  HUNGARY  AND  THE  WAR       21 

allowed  to  leave,  would  indicate  that  our  Govern- 
ment had  no  warlike  intentions.  It  must  be  noted 
in  this  connection  that  Consulates,  in  the  early  be- 
ginnings of  war  especially,  have  to  perform  very  im- 
portant duties,  such  as  calling  in  of  their  country's 
reservists  and  all  persons  liable  to  military  service, 
care  for  transportation  of  these  people  to  the  seat 
of  war  in  their  country,  etc.  As  another  significant 
feature  it  must  also  be  emphasized  that  the  German 
Ambassador  was  likewise  in  Europe  in  July  on  his 
leave,  which  would  hardly  have  been  possible  had 
his  country  planned  to  war  with  France  and  Russia 
and  the  whole  world,  as  some  people  would  like  to 
make  it  out.  I  am  also  in  a  position  to  state  that 
until  the  last  days  of  Jnlj,  when  war  was  actually 
declared,  no  reservists  or  officers  of  our  army  had 
had  been  called  in  to  join  the  ranks. 

On  the  other  hand,  we  have  the  evidence  of  Sam 
Blythe,  of  the  Saturday  Evening  Post,  whom  the 
American  public  knows  as  a  trusted,  reliable  in- 
formant, that  as  early  as  the  31st  of  July  quite  a 
number  of  British  oflBcers  from  the  Pacific  Coast, 
Vancouver,  etc.,  were  leaving  from  New  York  to 
England  after  they  had  been  called  in  by  the  war 
office  hurriedly.  In  order  to  leave  from  New  York 
on  an  Atlantic  steamer  practically  at  the  height  of 
the  season,  they  must  have  made  their  reservations 
some  time  previously.  But  even  if  they  were  all 
able  to  secure  hurried  reservations  in  the  nick  of 
time,  it  is  safe  to  assume  that  they  must  have  left 
the  Pacific  Coast  at  least  a  week  before  they  started 


22       AUSTRIA-HUNGARY  AND  THE  WAR 

from  New  York  on  the  31st  of  July.  On  the  23d 
or  24th  of  July,  however,  nobody  on  the  Continent 
of  Europe  had  any  idea  that  England  would  be  in 
war  with  Germany.  Owing  to  my  absence  I  can- 
not verify  whether  or  not  this  was  known  in  the 
United  States. 

We  have  similar  news  from  other  parts  of  the 
world  confirming  Mr.  Blythe's  above  information. 
Thus  the  "Peking  Gazette"  of  July  28th  conveyed 
the  information  from  Hankow  that  the  crew  of  some 
British  gunboats  stationed  there  had  received  hur- 
ried orders  to  leave  their  station  and  to  proceed  to 
Hongkong  and  Weihaiwei,  where  they  were  to  be 
used  for  the  manning  of  some  armored  cruisers, 
and  as  reserves  for  some  warships,  whose  crews 
were  not  yet  on  war  footing.  The  gunboats  in  Han- 
kow— so  it  was  stated — were  left  in  charge  of  pri- 
vate guards,  after  some  parts  of  same  had  been  dis- 
mounted, disabling  these  boats  for  practical  use. 
We  incidentally  from  the  same  souSree  likewise 
know,  that  on  July  30th  the  Imperial  Chinese 
Telegraph  Office  in  Tientsin  gave  out  notice  that 
the  cables  between  Shanghai  and  Chefoo  had  been 
disabled  and  no  further  Berlin  cables  arrived  from 
that  day  on.  From  far  Eastern  papers  it  would 
api)ear  that  England  and  Japan  in  the  Far  East 
were  ready  for  action  on  ar  around  July  30th.  The 
British  fleet  was  concentrated  in  Weihaiwei  on  July 
28th,  the  French  fleet  in  East  Asia  in  Haiphong  on 
the  Ist  of  August. 

On  the  Ist  of  August  Peking  papers  positively 


AUSTRIA-HUNGARY  AND  THE  WAR       23 

stated  that  Japan  would  go  to  war  against  Germany 
jointly  with  England. 

I  give  those  reports  merely  as  some  additional 
symptomatic  evidence  to  clear  up  some  phases  of 
the  ante-war  situation.  I  am  frank  to  state  that 
they  are  open  to  further  investigation.  When  peace 
will  he  estahlisluHl  all  this  and  much  other  evidence 
will  he  examined  and  verified  or  excluded,  just  as 
the  finding  may  be.  It  is  of  course  impossible  for 
any  human  being  to  know  all  that  has  been  going 
on  in  the  various  parts  of  the  world  within  the  last 
few  months. 

GERMAN  EMPEROR  LOVER  OF  PEACE. 

My  party,  consisting  of  my  wife,  myself  and  Mr. 
Howard  W.  Baker,  a  friend  of  ours  from  Minneap- 
olis, sailed  on  the  "Imperator"  from  New  York 
on  the  18th  of  July.  We  arrived  in  Cuxhaven, 
Hamburg,  on  the  25th  of  July.  By  that  time  Aus- 
tria-Hungary had  sent  her  note  to  Servia  and  the 
enthusiasm  of  the  masses  in  Hamburg  was  high. 
Thousands  of  people  thronged  to  the  Austro-Hun- 
garian  Consulate  General  displaying  the  sympathies 
which  the  German  people  in  general  felt  for  the 
people  of  Austria-Hungary.  War  between  Austria- 
Hungary  and  Servia  was  in  those  first  days  still 
considered  a  vague  possibility  only.  It  was  miles 
away  from  our  own  minds. 

The  same  scenes  of  enthusiasm  were  repeated  in 
Berlin,  where  we  arrivtnl  the  next  day.  Yet  we 
would  not  give  credence  to  the  war  rumors,  although 


24       AUSTRIA-HUNGARY  AND  THE  WAR 

there  was  undoubtedly  much  electricity  in  the  air. 
You  could  feel  its  prick  when  you  rubbed  shoulders 
with  the  crowds  on  Berlin's  great  Avenue  Unter 
den  Linden.  On  the  following  day  we  drove  out 
to  Potsdam.  This  was  the  day  on  which  the  German 
Emperor  was  expected  back  from  his  northern 
cruise.  He  was  expected  to  arrive  at  three  o'clock  in 
the  afternoon  at  the  station  close  to  the  New  Pal- 
ace. Many  American  tourists  had  assembled  there 
on  the  chaussee,  leading  up  to  the  entrance  of  the 
new  palace. 

When  we  saw  the  Emperor  and  Empress  driven 
past,  followed  by  the  Chancellor  of  the  German  Em- 
pire, the  Chiefs  of  the  General  Staff,  the  Chiefs  of 
the  Navy  and  Army,  I  had  the  first  premonition 
of  the  situation's  earnest.  So  must  have  had  the 
Emperor,  as  his  expression  looked  careworn.  I 
belong  to  the  many  who,  with  Professor  Burgess, 
are  convinced  that  the  German  Emperor  always 
has  heen  a  man  of  peace.  Carrying  with  him  the 
doubtless  pleasant  impressions  of  his  annual  sum- 
mer vacation  cruise,  which  had  to  be  abruptly 
broken  off,  he  no  doubt  also  realized  at  that  moment 
the  terrible  burden  and  grief  of  the  impending  great 
catastrophe  which  rests  so  heavily  upon  his  should- 
ers. I  again  ask  my  readers,  would  the  German 
Emperor  have  gone  on  his  leave,  had  he  premedi- 
tated, nay,  even  foreseen  developments?  Considera- 
tions which  hold  good  for  mere  mortals  often  also 
hold  good  for  emperors  and  heads  of  a  country,  and 
this  is  certainly  one  of  them. 


AUSTRIA-HUNGARY  AND  THE  WAR       25 

This  first  chapter  should  bring  out  points  of 
human  interest  rather  than  heavy  war  material, 
and  this  is  why  I  comment  here  on  my  own  first  im- 
pressions of  the  war,  just  as  they  gradually  devel- 
oped. 

The  next  two  days  saw  us  in  Dresden.  By  that 
time  war-fever  had  visibly  risen.  The  first  hostili- 
ties between  our  Monarchy  and  Servia  had  started, 
but  Germany  was  still  miles  away  from  her  personal 
wars.  Everywhere  symptoms  increased  in  number 
that  Russia  would  take  advantage  of  the  local  dif- 
ficulties existing  between  Austria-Hungary  and 
Servia.  Her  secret  agents  must  have  undoubtedly 
received  information  to  that  effect,  as  their  activi- 
ties were  noticeable  on  many  points  of  the  German- 
Russian  frontier.  In  Dresden,  for  instance,  a  plot 
had  been  discovered  three  days  prior  to  our  arrival 
there  to  blow  up  the  railway  bridge.  Because  of 
this  discovery,  the  hangar  with  the  Zeppelin  air- 
ship was  closed  the  day  following  our  arrival. 

WAR  ENTHUSIASM  IN  AUSTRIA. 

After  two  days'  stay  we  continued  our  way  to 
Carlsbad.  The  route  over  Bodenbach  had  been  al- 
ready closed  to  general  passenger  traffic,  but  the 
Teschen  line  stood  open.  This  was  on  the  31st  of 
July.  At  one  station  in  Bohemia  the  door  of  our 
compartment  was  all  of  a  sudden  thrown  open  and 
an  excited  young  man  rushed  in.  "Have  you  heard 
the  latest  news?"  he  shouted  at  us.  "General  mob- 
ilization will  be  ordered  to-day.    That  means  Qer- 


26       AUSTRIA-HUNGARY  AND  THE  WAR 

many,  Italy,  France,  Russia,  in  war.  What  will 
England  do?"  We  were  unprepared  for  the  an- 
swer. As  I  stated  before,  the  idea  of  a  general 
European  complication  was  far  away  from  our 
minds.  We  were  all  confident  that  hostilities  would 
be  limited  to  the  area  between  Austria-Hungary 
and  Servia.  The  terrible  disaster  of  a  general  war 
came  as  an  entirely  unexpected  shock. 

As  late  as  the  day  of  our  departure  from  Dresden 
we  were  continuing  to  plan  motor  trips  across  Hun- 
gary, the  Austrian  Alps,  Italy  and  other  countries. 
Everybody  around  us  in  the  train  coming  from 
abroad  must  have  been  visited  by  a  similar  shock. 
There  was  much  life  visible  in  each  station  which 
our  train  passed  and  it  was  easy  to  observe  that  the 
crowds  waxed  more  and  more  enthusiastic  as  we 
proceeded.  The  people  of  Austria-Hungary  keenly 
felt  the  injury  done  by  Servia  to  our  country  during 
many  years.  The  country  had  been  kept  in  sus- 
pense by  her  little  neighbor  ever  since  the  Balkan 
war  trouble.  Because  of  Servia's  hostile  attitude 
appropriate  military  measures  had  to  be  adopted 
to  guard  against  surprises  on  our  Southern  fron- 
tier. But  most  of  all  general  market  conditions 
labored  under  the  strain  of  the  long  suspense. 
Everybody  felt  that  Russia  stood  behind  Servia, 
driving  her  along.  The  people  did  not  require 
White  Books,  Orange  Books,  to  verify  their  appre- 
hension in  regard  to  Russia's  participation.  If 
the  people  of  a  whole  country  suspect  the  people 
and  government  of  another  country  to  harbor  de- 


AUSTRIA-HUNGARY  AND  THE  WAR       27 

signs  against  their  own  country,  their  suspicions 
are  rarely  wrong.  It  would  be  impossible  to  recount 
all  the  indications  which  led  up  to  these  suspicions. 
Suffice  it  to  say  that  the  people  realized  that  Russia 
and  Servia  were  their  unflinching  enemies  and  war 
with  them  was  inevitable. 

Our  general  mobilization  following  the  mobiliza- 
tion of  the  Russian  army  which  had  to  our  best 
knowledge  been  going  on  for  many  days  or  weeks 
even,  lifted  the  general  suspense  of  uncertainty  all 
at  once.  Our  people  had  been  suffering  under  it 
for  a  long  time.  It  was  like  lifting  a  heavy  mill- 
stone from  them,  and  this  accounts  partially  for 
the  general  great  elation  which  followed ;  but  only 
partially,  for  the  real  grounds  for  the  general  ela- 
tion and  enthusiasm  which  have  prevailed  ever 
since  that  memorable  day  lay  much  deeper,  as  my 
readers  will  see  from  this  chapter.  At  that  moment, 
however,  everybody  spoke  freely  of  the  things  which 
were  uppermost  in  his  mind.  And  this  is  un- 
doubtedly why  the  excited  young  man  had  asked  us 
about  England's  attitude,  thinking  that  we  might 
be  in  a  position  to  enlighten  him. 

Up  to  that  moment  probably  nobody  in  our  coun- 
try had  contemplated  England's  part  in  this  war. 
Never  have  Austria-Hungary  and  England  been  in 
war  before.  In  the  times  of  the  Napoleonic  wars 
we  were  fighting  together  against  France's  great 
"War-Lord. "  Relations  between  our  two  countries 
had  always  been  very  cordial.  King  Edward  VII 
used  to  visit  Marienbad  in  Bohemia  regularly  for 


28       AUSTRIA-HUNGAKY  AND  THE  WAR 

many  years.  His  visit  acted  undoubtedly  as  an  in- 
centive to  frequent  visits  of  English  people  in  our 
summer  health  resorts,  in  Vienna,  Budapest,  etc. 
The  visit  of  the  Eighty  Club  to  Austria-Hungary 
hardly  ten  years  ago  is  still  in  everybody's  mind, 
and  I  personally  have  many  pleasant  recollections 
of  that  visit.  Since  then,  and  in  particular  drawing 
nearer  to  our  days,  representative  British  men  have 
often  expressed  their  sympathies  with  us.  This 
was  especially  the  case  in  connection  with  our  Ser- 
vian troubles.  Sir  Fairfax  Cartwright,  British  Am- 
bassador in  Vienna,  said  to  the  editor  of  the  Vienna 
Allgemeine  Zeitung  in  1909:  "Make  war  and  deal 
quickly  with  Servia  before  anybody  can  stop  you. 
The  end  of  Servia  will  be  a  blessing  for  all  Europe." 
Before  the  beginning  of  the  present  crisis  the  Brit- 
ish Ambassador  in  Vienna,  Sir  E.  de  Bunsen,  re- 
marked to  the  same  editor :  "Be  convinced  that  the 
whole  English  nation  condemns  the  criminals  of 
Sarajevo.  No  Englishman  has  any  sympathy  left 
for  Servia.  We  are  already  tired  of  being  thrown 
again  into  disquietude  by  this  little  country,  and 
there  is  no  Englishman  who  does  not  wish  heartily 
that  Servia  should  receive  a  sound  and  lasting  les- 
son." The  above-named  paper  vouches  for  the  cor- 
rectness of  these  statements,  and  there  is  no  reason 
to  doubt  its  veracity. 

I  selected  these  statements  at  random,  but  many 
other  similar  evidences  have  been  forthcoming  late- 
ly to  indicate  that  England  was  in  sympathy  with 
our  side.    As  late  as  the  17th  of  July  the  West- 


AUSTRIA-HUNGARY  AND  THE  WAR       29 

minister  Gazette  in  London  said  that  it  was  impos- 
sible to  expect  the  Austro-Hungarian  Government 
to  stand  by  impassively.  Servia  would  do  well  if 
she  considered  the  just  anxieties  of  her  great  neigh- 
bor and  would  do  all  to  pacify  him.  She  should 
not  wait  for  pressure,  which,  as  Count  Tisza,  the 
Hungarian  premier,  had  said,  might  lead  to  war- 
like complications.  The  Servian  press  campaign 
undoubtedly  had  not  improved  and  alleviated  the 
general  feeling  after  the  Sarajevo  murder.  Vienna 
and  Budapest  were  justly  suspicious. 

I  do  not  say  that  all  these  expressions  and  state- 
ments occurred  to  me  at  that  moment,  although  as 
a  problem  the  British  attitude  just  then  was  highly 
interesting  to  all  of  us. 

We  spent  one  day  in  Carlsbad  and  then  proceeded 
on  our  way  via  Prague  to  Vienna,  I  shall  never 
forget  the  countless  scenes  of  enthusiasm  which  I 
witnessed  during  those  days  and  during  the  follow- 
ing weeks  which  I  spent  in  Austria-Hungary.  The 
points  of  my  personal  observation  were  naturally 
limited  as  to  number  and  area,  as  passenger  rail- 
way traffic  in  the  first  days  of  mobilization  was 
greatly  handicapped,  as  was  to  be  expected.  But 
through  the  daily  press,  through  many  friends  with 
whom  I  was  able  to  communicate,  I  was  certainly 
able  and  in  a  position  to  collect  data  of  interest. 

I  begin  with  Bohemia,  where  we  then  were.  We 
have  been  often  reading  in  foreign  newspaper  re- 
ports about  strong  pro-Russian  leanings  of  the  Bo- 
hemians.   In  these  reports  we  were  given  to  under- 


30       AUSTKIA-HUNGARY  AND  THE  WAR 

stand  that  at  the  very  first  occasion,  whether  this 
would  materialize  in  the  shape  of  war  or  in  some 
other  shape,  Bohemians  would  bolt  and  secede  from 
the  Monarchy.  These  fantastic  predictions  had  of 
course  no  foundation  beyond  the  fact  that  the  Ger- 
man and  Cech  population  were  occasionally  at  log- 
gerheads over  questions  of  local  politics.  No  out- 
sider can  apply  a  just  measure  to  the  framework 
of  motley  nationalities  which  compose  the  Austro- 
Hungarian  Monarchy.  They  are  apt  to  overrate 
local  dissensions  and  only  too  apt  to  overlook  the 
strength  of  historic  cohesion.  Bohemian  historians 
who  proclaim  the  reign  of  Charles  IV,  who  was 
elected  emperor  in  1347,  as  the  golden  age  for 
Bohemia,  whom  they  call  the  "father  of  his  people," 
because  he  founded  the  University  in  Prague  and 
generally  improved  the  looks  of  the  city  and  because 
he  liked  to  live  there,  are  all  in  accord  that  Em- 
peror-King Francis  Joseph's  reign  has  been  the 
second  golden  age  for  their  country. 

The  task  of  the  ruler  has  become  more  difficult 
since  the  days  of  Charles  IV,  and  this  is  due  to  the 
complications  of  modern  political  life.  Bohemia, 
during  the  reign  of  Emperor-King  Francis  Joseph, 
has  become  a  wealthy  country  of  first  class  indus- 
trial importance.  Bohemian  art  and  music  have 
flourished  during  this  period  as  never  before.  The 
use  of  Bohemian  language  in  schools  and  adminis- 
tration is  practically  general.  Bohemian  autonomy 
has  made  great  strides  and  Bohemians  think  to-day 
as  their  famous  leader,  Francis  Palacky,  thought 


AUSTRIA-HUNGARY  AND  THE  WAR       31 

about  fifty  years  ago.  "We  Techeques  (Cechs) — so 
he  said — can  gain  what  we  want  and  aspire  to,  in 
Austria  alone.  Beware,  if  ever  we  come  under  the 
Russian  knout."  All  little  misunderstandings  of 
a  local  and  political  character  Avere  at  once  for- 
gotten, when  war  broke  out.  Bohemians  felt  that 
their  future  and  happiness  were  linked  to  the  Mon- 
archy's future.  In  Prague,  capital  of  Bohemia, 
Cechs  and  Germans  fell  around  each  other's  necks. 
Cechs  and  Germans  went  in  throngs  before  the  Ger- 
man Consulate  in  their  city  singing  the  "Wacht  am 
Rhein"  in  Bohemian  alternately  with  the  Austrian 
anthem  and  their  own  song,  "Kde  Domov  muj." 
They  cheered  both  emperors  and  went  to  the 
Radetzky  monument,  from  where  Prince  Lobkowitz 
addressed  them  in  both  languages — Bohemian  and 
German.  They  also  went  before  the  palace  of 
Prince  Thun,  Bohemia's  Governor,  cheering  him 
and  cheering  the  country.  Industrious  home- 
builders  as  they  are  known  to  be,  they  had  no  mis- 
givings about  the  importance  and  seriousness  of 
the  impending  war. 

They  may  dislike  the  idea  of  war  in  theory,  as 
everybody  does,  but  everybody  knows  too  well  that 
an  amalgamation  with  Russia  would  very  soon 
make  an  end  to  their  privileged  position  as  a  lead- 
ing Slav  people.  Russians  would  soon  force  them 
to  give  up  their  individuality  as  a  people.  More- 
over, they  abhor  the  idea  of  being  under  a  corrupt 
Russian  rule.  For  every  Bohemian  knows  that 
Russia  is  corrupt  and  Russian  rule  would  spell 


32       AUSTRIA-HUNGARY  AND  THE  WAB 

financial  contributions  not  only  to  the  Government 
alone,  and  in  an  altogether  much  larger  degree  than 
their  present  public  charges,  but  would  bring  pri- 
vate exactions  and  graft  of  Russian  public  officers. 

As  a  matter  of  loyalty  Bohemians  have  been 
known  as  loyal  and  gallant  soldiers  in  all  wars 
which  our  country  had  to  fight  in  the  past,  in  1866 
against  Prussia,  and  in  1878  in  Bosnia.  Reports 
from  the  front  of  the  present  war  are  all  unani- 
mous in  their  praise  of  Bohemian  valor  and  loyalty. 
Bohemians  in  the  present  war  have  enthusiastically 
responded  to  the  call  to  arms.  Statements  pub- 
lished in  certain  papers  that  Bohemian  regiments 
had  deserted,  that  Bohemians  had  shown  disloyal- 
ty to  their  home  country,  are  nothing  but  bold  lies, 
made  out  of  whole  cloth. 

On  the  contrary,  Bohemians  have  given  a  splendid 
exhibition  of  their  prowess  on  all  battlefields,  and 
this  was  recognized  by  the  Chief  Commander  of  the 
Army,  the  Emperor-King  himself.  The  54th  Han- 
nakian  Infantry  Regiment  so  far  has  been  particu- 
larly the  recipient  of  great  praise  for  its  valor. 

At  each  station  in  Bohemia — and  this  is  true  of 
each  station  in  the  Monarchy — ^girls  and  women 
clad  in  white  were  expecting  the  military  trains, 
to  present  the  soldiers  with  flowers,  cigars,  cigar- 
ettes, coffee  and  sweets.  It  would  be  unjust  were 
I  to  omit  the  part  that  women  played  in  raising 
enthusiasm.  Women  have  now  as  ever  been  instru- 
mental in  keeping  up  our  national  patriotism. 

Vienna,  where  we  proceeded  next,  presented  the 


AUSTRIA-HUNGARY  AND  THE  WAR       33 

aspect  of  a  jubilant  city.  His  Majesty  the  Emperor 
and  King  had  just  arrived  there  on  the  30th  of  July 
from  his  usual  summer  resort  in  Ischl.  Enthusiasm 
at  his  arrival  knew  no  bounds.  Nothing  could 
have  proved  more  conclusively  that  the  war  was 
not  of  his  making  and  that  the  people  stood  by  him 
unanimously,  than  the  reception  and  cheers  of  the 
many  ten  thousands  of  crowds.  These  cheers  meant 
the  heart-beat  of  all  the  people  of  Austria-Hungary 
They  represented  the  beginning  of  a  great  new  era 
for  the  Monarchy  of  Austria-Hungary. 

Instead  of  a  general  disruption  and  disintegra- 
tion, which  her  enemies  had  fervently  hoped  for, 
the  war  had  united  everybody.  All  party,  race  and 
creed  lines  of  a  sudden  ceased  to  exist.  There 
has  been  some  feeling  between  Austrians  and  Hun- 
garians over  questions  of  home  policy,  and  as  in  the 
case  of  Bohemia  they  were  apt  to  be  exaggerated  by 
people  not  familiar  with  our  internal  affairs.  Now, 
however,  these  feelings  have  disappeared ;  Hungar- 
ian students  and  other  Hungarians  marching  on 
the  streets  of  Vienna  and  singing  the  Austrian, 
Hungarian  and  German  anthems  were  loudly 
cheered  by  the  Viennese.  One  student  went  before 
the  monument  of  Admiral  Tegethoff  and  addressed 
the  crowds  with  the  words :  "May  the  heroic  spirit 
of  this  great  one  inspire  us  all !" 

The  way  the  people  of  the  whole  country  felt 
over  the  war  is  perhaps  best  expressed  in  the  fol- 
lowing article  of  the  Fremdenhlatt,  a  leading 
paper  of  Vienna:     "The  general  mobilization  of 


34       AUSTRIA-HUNGARY  AND  THE  WAR 

Austria-Hungary  is  a  measure  of  defense.  Austria- 
Hungary  is  a  peace-power  and  has  always  in  the 
past  proved  that  she  was  not  inspired  either  by  a 
wish  of  conquest  or  a  desire  for  glory.  We — so  the 
article  says — conduct  this  was  for  peace's  sake,  and 
the  peace  which  we  desire  is  one  for  the  whole 
globe.  Servia,  through  her  policy  of  incommen- 
surate ambition,  does  not  allow  Europe  to  regain 
the  assurance  of  lasting  peace.  If  she  is  taught  a 
lesson,  this  would  be  a  profit  to  all  civilized  peoples. 
It  is  therefore  unjustified  that  the  Russian  Empire 
interferes  in  this  struggle  by  throwing  into  the 
balance  all  her  own  military  forces.  We  have  to 
fight  this  struggle  with  our  injudicious  neighbor. 
There  is  no  reason  why  she,  Russia,  should  have  to 
fight  with  us.  We  have  never  led  an  aggressive 
policy  against  Russia,  either  in  the  present  or  in 
the  past.  We  cannot  understand  why  our  conflict 
with  Servia  should  hurt  the  Russian  sphere  of  in- 
terest. Servia  is  an  independent  state.  A  depend- 
ence of  this  kingdom  at  our  flank  on  whatever 
third  power  we  cannot  admit.  We  are  on  the  point 
to  overthrow  the  group  of  conspirators  which  now 
leads  and  corrupts  her.  If  Russia,  when  we  pre- 
pare for  this  action,  acts  as  if  we  were  to  attack  a 
Russian  vassal,  we  certainly  must  answer,  that 
Servia  is  no  Russian  vassal  state.  Through  her 
mobilization  Russia  has  imposed  a  heavy  burden 
not  only  on  herself,  but  on  the  whole  of  Europe. 
Above  all  on  our  people.  But  we  are  convinced 
that  our  people  will  bear  this  burden  with  the  cour- 


AUSTRIA-HUNGARY  AND  THE  WAR       35 

age  which  has  already  shown  such  splendid  expres- 
sions in  these  days." 

WAR  ENTHUSIASM  IN  HUNGARY. 

Prague  and  Vienna  were  by  no  means  alone  in 
their  enthusiasm.  This  was  equally  loud  in  Buda- 
pest, Zagreb,  Lemberg,  Zara,  Innsbruck,  Gorz, 
Salzburg,  Triest  and  every^'here  in  the  Monarchy. 
In  Budapest  parliament  was  adjourned  with  a 
royal  rescript  on  July  28th.  At  this  occasion 
speeches  were  made  by  the  leaders  of  political 
parties  indicative  of  the  general  sentiment  which 
inspired  the  whole  country.  The  Premier,  Count 
Tisza,  said  that  the  country  was  proud  because  of 
the  spirit  which  had  aroused  the  whole  nation  with- 
out distinction  of  nationality.  "The  whole  nation 
enthusiastically  hastens  to  follow  the  call  of  His 
Majesty  to  the  flag,  and  we,  members  of  Hungarian 
Government,  feel  the  additional  burden  to  our  great 
and  sacred  duties  due  to  the  general  enthusiasm. 
We  must  see  that  this  enthusiasm  is  not  spent  in 
vain,  and  that  it  may  also  find  expression  in  splen- 
did deeds  on  the  battlefield.  It  is  our  duty  to 
exercise  our  influence  in  such  a  manner  that  this 
war,  which  is  imposed  on  us  and  which  we  finally 
resolved  to  carry  on  after  all  our  peaceful  efforts 
had  been  frustrated,  shall  not  come  to  an  end  until 
the  honor  and  safety  and  peace  of  the  Hungarian 
nation  and  of  the  whole  Monarchy  will  be  secured 
for  our  country  for  all  time  to  come." 

Count  Albert  Apponyi  expressed  the  opinion  of 


36       AUSTRIA-HUNGARY  AND  THE  WAR 

all  political  parties  formerly  opposing  Government, 
when  he  said  that  everybody  was  convinced  of  the 
unavoidability  of  the  present  reckoning  and  that 
by  starting  it  we  were  merely  performing  a  most 
elementary  defensive  duty.  He  also  hoped  that  this 
action  would  be  successful  and  make  an  end  to  the 
disease  which  practically  compelled  us  every  second 
year  to  order  a  mobilization.  If  we  had  stood  these 
conditions  any  longer,  we  would  have  reached  the 
point  where  Europe  would  have  called  us  her  second 
"sick  man."  Count  Apponyi  expressed  hope  that 
war  would  be  localized  to  Servia  and  paid  a  glow- 
ing tribute  to  the  loyalty  of  our  German  allies. 

Another  very  significant  speech  which  was  de- 
livered at  the  same  time  in  the  Hungarian  House 
of  Lords  was  that  of  the  Right  Reverend  John 
Csernoch,  Archbishop  of  Esztergom  and  Roman 
Catholic  Primate  of  Hungary.  He  said  in  part: 
"The  history  of  the  Hungarian  House  of  Lords  has 
never  witnessed  a  moment  of  similar  earnest.  Not 
in  our  history  alone  but  in  the  history  of  the  whole 
world  we  look  in  vain  for  outrageous  events  of  the 
kind  which  preceded  this  moment  of  earnest."  He 
then  went  on  to  discuss  matters  in  Servia  and  said : 
"Servia  has  obstinately  refused  to  comply  with  our 
just  demands  and  has  proven  that  she  does  not  want 
to  break  with  her  old-time  policies.  Thus  the  right 
and  duty  devolved  upon  us  to  extinguish  the  fire- 
brand at  the  frontier  of  our  home  country,  to  de- 
mand satisfaction  for  violated  justice  and  order, 
and  to  chastise  the  guilty  who  have  shed  innocent 


AUSTRIA-HUNGARY  AND  THE  WAR       37 

blood.  .  .  .  It  is  peace  and  not  war  that  we 
want,  but  peace  which  leads  to  life  and  not  to  death 
or  extinction.  If  ever  a  war  was  just,  it  is  the 
present  war,  which  does  not  only  conform  to  strict 
law,  but  also  to  the  most  rigorous  re(iuirements  of 
morality."  He  ended  his  speech  with  cheers  for  the 
King. 

Thousands  of  people  marched  to  the  beautiful 
Palace  of  Archduke  Joseph  August  in  Buda  across 
the  Danube  to  assure  him  that  the  people  of  Hun- 
gary would  stand  by  their  king  as  they  had  for- 
ever in  the  past  history  of  their  country.  Archduke 
Joseph  August,  who  is  tremendously  popular  with 
the  people  in  Hungary,  made  a  rousing  patriotic 
speech. 

Offers  of  help,  financial  and  otherwise,  poured  in 
at  the  Red  Cross  and  Aid  for  the  Wounded  head- 
(juarters  in  every  city.  Countess  L4szl6  Sz^chenyi, 
who  was  formerly  Gladys  Vanderbilt,  offered  her 
Budapest  palace  to  the  wounded  of  the  war.  The 
( ommittee  of  the  Social  Democratic  labor  organiza- 
tion decided  to  hand  one  million  crowns  from  the 
workmen  compensation  fund  to  the  Hungarian 
Premier,  asking  him  to  invest  it  in  state  bonds  or 
otherwise  for  the  use  of  the  country  during  the  war. 

Croatians  far  from  sympathizing  \v'lth  Servia 
have  enthusiastically  thrown  in  their  lot  with  their 
fellow-countrymen  in  the  Monarchy.  The  Croatian 
house  rogiment  at  Waraadin  achieved  wonders  of 
valor  in  our  fights  with  Servia, 

Of  particular  interest  among  the  many  declara- 


38       AUSTRIA-HUNGARY  AND  THE  WAR 

tions  of  loyalty  was  the  message  sent  by  the  repre- 
sentatives of  the  Servian  orthodox  population  of 
the  city  and  district  of  Bihac,  Bosnia  and  of  Mos- 
tar,  Herzegovina.  "The  people,"  so  this  message 
ran,  "deemed  it  their  most  sacred  duty  in  these 
trying  moments  to  declare  solemnly  that  the 
Servian  orthodox  population  stands  loyally  and 
unfalteringly  by  the  throne  of  His  Majesty  the 
Emperor  and  King.  Nothing  could  shake  their  un- 
alterable loyalty  to  their  sovereign  and  country." 
From  this  it  can  be  seen  that  the  Servians  of  the 
occupied  provinces  of  Bosnia  do  not  sympathize 
with  the  subversive  methods  of  the  Servians  in 
Servia. 

War  history  has  likewise  already  recorded  the 
staunch  loyalty  of  Roumanian-Hungarians  and 
Slovak-Hungarians.  The  former,  who  have  a  strong 
representation  of  their  people  in  the  12th  array 
corps,  three-quarters  of  the  whole  corps  being 
chiefly  Roumanian-Hungarian,  received  high  praise 
in  the  Army  Order  of  September  1st.  They  had 
been  in  the  fire  of  the  enemy  for  six  days  without 
relief  and  never  gave  way.  On  the  27th  of  August 
one  single  company  of  the  62d  Regiment,  which  is 
chiefly  composed  of  Roumanian-Hungarians,  re- 
pulsed three  Russian  battalions. 

As  to  the  latter,  the  5th  and  6th  army  corps,  under 
Generals  Puhallo  and  Boroevics,  count  many 
Slovak  soldiers,  who  were  congratulated  repeatedly 
by  the  whole  press  for  their  splendid  deeds  on  the 
Russian  battlefields.    During  my  sojourn  in  Hun- 


AUSTRIA-HUNGARY  AND  THE  WAR       39 

gary,  attempts  were  made  by  the  Russians  to  lead 
the  Slovaks  to  desertion  and  disloyalty.  To  this 
end  the  most  unbelievable  methods  were  adopted. 
Once  for  instance  the  rumor  was  circulated  by  them 
that  Mr.  Juriga,  Slovak  leader  and  member  of  the 
Hungarian  Parliament,  had  been  court-martialed 
and  shot,  because  he  was  alleged  to  have  advised  his 
countrymen  to  abstain  from  fighting  in  the  Austro- 
Hungarian  army.  For  a  few  days  this  rumor  per- 
sisted, then  it  was  found  that  the  rumor  was  ''^fake." 
Mr.  Juriga,  of  course,  never  had  been  either  court- 
martialed  or  shot  and  exhorted  his  countrymen  to 
stand  loyally  by  Austria-Hungary. 

POLES  AND  THE  WAR. 

Without  any  doubt,  however,  two  representative 
nationalities  of  the  Monarchy  were  even  more,  and, 
if  I  may  express  myself  so,  personally  interested 
in  the  war :  the  Poles  of  Galicia  and  the  Ruthenians 
of  Bukowina  and  Galicia  and  northeastern  dis- 
tricts of  Hungary.  For  these  two  people  the  war 
meant  more  than  mere  self-defense  and  a  struggle 
to  maintain  national  honor.  It  meant  that  the 
clock  of  time  had  struck  forjthem  to  help  to  liberate 
their  millions  of  brethren  who  are  suffering  under 
Russian  yoke. 

To  the  Galician  Poles  it  brought  back  all  at  once 
the  memories  of  the  glorious  past  of  their  country. 
Of  Mieczyslaw  I,  in  962-972,  their  first  king,  who 
had  married  the  daughter  of  King  Boleslav  of 
Bohemia,  inaugurating  the  early  traditions  of  these 


40       AUSTRIA-HUNGAEY  AND  THE  WAR 

two  people,  Poles  and  Bohemians,  which  finally 
brought  them  together  again  under  the  common 
sceptre  of  the  dynasty  of  Hapsburg  and  Austria- 
Hungary.  In  1370-1382  Louis  the  Great  of  Hun- 
gary was  also  the  King  of  Poland,  and  the  first 
foundations  of  a  friendship  between  Poles  and  Hun- 
garians were  laid  which  still  endures. 

In  1573  Poles  looked  for  a  king  in  France.  They 
brought  the  brother  of  King  Charles  IX,  Henry  of 
Valois,  home  to  their  country  after  they  had  with 
great  difficulty  persuaded  him  to  swear  allegiance 
to  their  Constitution  and  the  pacta  conventa.  But 
French  enthusiasm  for  the  Polish,  cause  has  hardly 
ever  outlived  the  glory  of  first  moments.  King 
Henry  fled  from  the  country  after  a  few  months  of 
residence,  during  which  he  had  never  felt  at 
home. 

In  1576  they  selected  their  king  again  from  Hun- 
gary, Transylvania  electing  Prince  Stephen  Bdth- 
ory  as  their  king.  Under  his  reign,  which  lasted 
until  1586,  Poland  was  a  powerful  country.  The 
Baltic  Sea  formed  its  northern  frontiers,  the  Black 
Sea  its  southern  borders.  But  most  glorious  of 
them  all  was  Jan  Sobieski,  who  reigned  under  the 
name  of  John  III  from  1674-1694.  "Let  a  Pole 
rule  over  Poland,"  was  the  slogan  which  elected 
him.  He  has  gone  down  in  history  as  the  savior 
of  Vienna  against  the  Turks.  The  Turkish  Grand 
Vizier,  Kara  Mustapha,  approached  Vienna  with  his 
army  of  300,000  and  all  hope  had  been  abandoned 
to  save  the  city.    Sobieski  organized  an  army  and 


AUSTRIA-HUNGARY  AND  THE  WAR       41 

joined  it  with  the  Imperial  troops  of  Charles  of 
Lorraine.  On  the  12th  of  September,  1682,  these 
two  eminent  generals  defeated  and  completely 
routed  the  enemy,  who  left  back  an  immense  booty. 
"Non  nobis,  non  nobis,  Domine  exercituum,  sed 
nomini  tuo  da  gloriam,"  said  Sobieski  in  his  prayer 
before  the  battle  started,  and  he  saved  Christianity 
from  the  onslaught  of  the  Orient. 

After  Sobieski,  Poland's  days  of  glory  went  in 
decline,  until  at  the  time  of  King  Stanislaus  Augus- 
tus Poniatowski,  who  was  but  a  tool  of  the  Czarina 
Catherine  II  of  Russia,  Poland  had  to  submit  to  a 
first  partition.  Russia  got  the  palatinates  of 
Mscislaw  and  Witepsk  and  some  other  palatinates 
situated  on  the  Dnieper,  Prussia  took  the  palatinates 
of  Marienburg,  the  Pomorze,  Warmia  and  a  part  of 
Great  Poland.  Austria  had  Red  Russia  or  Galicia 
with  parts  of  Podolia  and  Little  Poland. 

In  1793  the  second  partition  followed,  giving  the 
remainder  of  Great  Poland  to  Prussia  and  Lithu- 
ania and  Volhynia  to  Russia, 

1794  was  the  year  of  Kosciuszko's  splendid  but, 
owing  to  Russia,  unsuccessful  feats,  which  were  fol- 
lowed in  1795  by  the  third  partition  of  Poland. 
Austria  had  Cracow  with  the  country  between  the 
Pilica,  the  Vistula  and  the  Bug;  Prussia  had  War- 
saw with  the  territory  as  far  as  the  Niemen,  and 
the  rest,  the  largest  part,  went  to  Russia.  At  each 
successive  time  when  an  enthusiastic  reform  move- 
ment of  the  Polish  patriots  promised  success, 
Russia  intervened  in  behalf  of  the  reactionaries, 


42       AUSTRIA-HUNGARY  AND  THE  WAR 

and  she  invariably  also  secured  the  largest  slices  of 
territory. 

Then  came  the  Napoleonic  wars.  Napoleon 
established  the  Grand  Duchy  of  Warsaw,  promising 
the  Poles  complete  freedom  under  the  Kussian  rule. 
At  the  congress  of  Vienna  the  Kingdom  of  Poland 
was  established,  but  with  the  Czar  as  a  king.  Aus- 
tria retained  Galicia  and  the  salt  mines  of  Wie- 
liczka,  Prussia  Posen.  Cracow  was  declared  an 
independent  city. 

The  establishment  of  the  Polish  kingdom  with 
the  Czar  was  really  a  personal  triumph  of  Prince 
Adam  Czartoryski,  who  was  a  friend  of  the  Czar 
and  had  done  his  utmost  to  make  his  countrymen 
realize  that  the  success  of  their  national  aspirations 
was  possible  with  Russian  support  only. 

Russia,  gradually  gaining  in  power  after  a  while, 
did  not  need  the  support  of  the  Poles  any  longer 
and  in  the  name  of  the  Czar  most  oppressive  meas- 
ures were  put  in  force.  In  the  two  revolutions  of 
1830  and  1863  the  Russian  generals  Paskiewitch 
and  Diebitch,  but  above  all  Count  Murawiew, 
initiated  periods  of  wholesale  executions  against 
the  Polish  patriots,  such  as  the  world  had  never 
known  until  then.  Henceforth,  all  teaching  in  the 
schools  of  Poland  was  in  Russian  only. 

In  1904,  during  Russia's  unsuccessful  war 
against  Japan,  however,  when  interior  strife  and 
revolutions  threatened  the  very  existence  of  the 
Empire,  Russia  a^in  promised  reform  to  Poland: 
Catholic  religion  should  be  taught  in  Polish  in  all 


AUSTRIA-HUNGARY  AND  THE  WAR       43 

colleges;  Poles  should  have  the  right  to  lease  and 
acquire  land  in  the  western  districts;  they  should 
be  considered  in  connection  vnth  appointments, 
etc.  But  hardly  had  the  treaty  of  Portsmouth  been 
signed,  when  Russia  could  not  further  withstand 
the  "Russia  for  the  Russians"  slogan,  and  began 
her  fight  against  Polish  language  and  culture  again. 

On  the  other  hand  Emperor  Joseph  II  granted 
the  Poles  in  Galicia  agrarian  reforms  and  generally 
tried  to  benefit  his  new  subjects  in  every  possible 
way.  Under  Emperor  Leopold  II  and  Emperor 
Francis  a  great  many  useful  reforms  were  carried 
out.    Galicia  prospered,  Russian  Poland  did  not. 

Since  1848  Galicia's  administration  was  placed 
on  a  national  basis.  Serfdom  ceased  entirely,  edu- 
cation in  a  national  Polish  sense  was  reformed, 
national  Polish  literature  encouraged.  Polish  was 
declared  as  the  official  language  of  the  administra- 
tion and  the  school  language.  Poles  were  admitted 
not  only  to  the  positions  of  their  local  administra- 
tions which  they  had  had  anyway  for  a  long  time, 
but  to  important  appointments  of  the  Central  Ad- 
ministration. 

And  thus  now  when  the  clock  sounded  its  time 
they  did  not  hesitate  a  single  instant,  but  declared 
themselves  for  Austria-Hungary  against  Russia. 
They  pin  their  hopes  on  Austria-Hungary,  which 
kept  all  her  promises  in  the  past.  Their  king, 
Sobieski,  had  once  saved  Vienna  and  Austria  from 
disasters,  and  they  know  that  Austria- Hungary 
will  always  be  grateful. 


44       AUSTRIA-HUNGARY  AND  THE  WAR 

Shortly  after  the  outbreak  of  the  war,  George 
Zulawski,  the  great  Polish  poet,  addressed  a  warm 
appeal  to  all  Poles.    This  is  part  of  the  appeal : 
"Prince  Joseph  Poniatowski  said  during  the 
battle  of  Leipzig,  1812 :  'The  honor  of  our  Polish 
nation  has  been  intrusted  to  me  by  God,  I  can 
yield  it  to  God  only.'    One  hundred  years  have 
elapsed   since.     Times  have  changed.     France, 
which  had   formerly  deceived  and   cheated   the 
Poles,  has  now  openly  and  shamelessly  embraced 
Eussia's  cause.    Our  former  adversaries  are  now 
our  allies.    Our  fight  continues.     Poland's  arch- 
enemy has  not  changed,  nor  has  the  honor  of  our 
nation. 

"We  stand  to-day  by  Austria  and  do  not  doubt 
for  a  moment  her  good-will.  Let  the  Grand  Duke 
Nicholas  juggle  with  promises  never  meant  to  be 
kept;  we  know  how  we  are  treated  here.  After 
having  lost  our  liberty  we  have  found  in  this 
monarchy,  the  most  liberal  in  Europe,  shelter  and 
protection. 

"We  are  full-fledged  citizens,  we  enjoy  here 
the  liberty  of  autonomy  and  of  our  national  ad- 
vance. We  like  to  consider  past  deeds,  for  they 
are  the  best  securities  of  a  future.  A  hundred 
years  ago  Polish  volunteers  donned  the  French 
tricolor,  which  was  then  a  symbol  of  liberty.  To- 
day the  Polish  volunteers  carry  the  black  and 
yellow  Austrian  colors.  We  carry  them  without 
offense  to  our  national  feelings,  as  they  represent 
a  symbol  of  a  state  which  grants  to  its  citizens 


AUSTRIA -HUNGARY  AND  THE  WAR       45 

the  largest  amount  of  liberty  and  which  together 
with  Poland  represents  the  gate  against  the  bar- 
barian floods  from  the  East. 

"We  have  the  right  and  duty  to  fight  for  Aus- 
tria and  against  the  common  enemy,  and  in  the 
face  of  history's  great  tribunal  it  is  Austria's 
duty  to  support  us.  Aside  from  all  other  con- 
siderations, Austria,  by  supporting  us,  supports 
herself,  simultaneously  carrying  out  her  great 
historical  mission :  to  be  a  haven  of  liberty  to  all 
the  people  suppressed  by  Russia. 

"We  have  strong  faith  in  our  good  cause,  in  the 
victory  of  liberty  and  culture  and  in  the  ultimate 
complete  defeat  of  Russia.  But  whatever  the 
fate  on  the  battlefields  may  be,  we  will  not  change 
our  attitude. 

"Today,  God  has  intrusted  the  honor  of  the 
Polish  nation  to  us,  Polish  volunteers,  and  we 
will  return  it  into  the  hands  of  God  only. 

"This  is  the  honor  of  the  nation  which  gave  us 
a  Zawisza  and  a  Poniatowski.  We  will  yield  it 
unto  the  hands  of  God  only,  and  we  have  strong 
faith  that  we  will  return  it  untarnished  on  the 
day  when  liberty  will  triumph  over  bondage, 
truth  over  falsehood,  light  over  darkness.  So 
help  us,  God!" 

After  the  outbreak  of  war  Polish  volunteer 
legions  were  at  once  organized,  until  their  number 
amounted  to  200,000.  Russia,  seeing  the  danger 
from  the  Polish  population  arrayed  against  her, 


46       AUSTRIA-HUNGARY  AND  THE  WAR 

gave  out  orders  that  no  quarter  should  be  given  to 
a  member  of  a  Polish  legion.  If  fallen  into  the 
hands  of  their  troops  he  should  be  hanged  forth- 
with. Thereupon,  on  October  1st,  our  Government 
sent  a  circular  note  to  all  neutral  powers  concern- 
ing the  Polish  legions.  The  qualification  of  these 
legions,  so  this  note  states,  was  clearly  established. 
They  comply  with  all  requirements  contained  in  the 
first  part  of  the  statutes  governing  rules  of  a  land 
war.  They  are  moreover  an  organized  part  of  the 
Austro-Hungarian  army.  Their  members  have 
sworn  the  oath  to  the  flag.  Their  subdivisions  are 
commanded  by  officers  of  the  Austro-Hungarian 
army  and  their  general  is  under  the  orders  of  the 
Austro-Hungarian  command.  If  Russia  would 
maintain  her  attitude  of  not  recognizing  these 
Polish  legions  as  regular  soldiers,  this  would  con- 
stitute a  breach  of  the  Hague  rules. 

RUTHENIANS  AND  THE  WAR. 

As  regards  the  Ruthenians  in  Galicia  and  Buko- 
wina,  I  will  have  occasion  to  mention  them  in  an- 
other chapter.  They  have  a  proud  history  reach- 
ing back  as  far  as  the  tenth  century.  One  of  their 
rulers,  Prince  Volodymir  Monomach,  was  married 
to  King  Harold  of  England's  daughter,  and  his 
daughter  became  Queen  of  France.  Their  princi- 
pality, which  had  Kiew  as  capital,  prospered  during 
many  centuries.  In  1654  they  signed  the  treaty  of 
Perejaslaw  with  the  northern  Russian  principali- 
ties of  which  Moscow  was  then  the  capital.     The 


AUSTRIA -HUNGARY  AND  THE  WAR       47 

so-called  "Swod  sakonow"  secured  full  liberties  to 
Ukrainia,  as  their  land  was  called,  in  regard  to 
administration  matters,  administration  of  justice, 
law,  finances,  foreign  representation,  army  matters, 
etc.  Very  shortly  thereafter,  however,  Russians  re- 
voked this  treaty,  conquering  and  oppressing  their 
country.  Under  Iwan  Mazeppa  in  the  beginning  of 
the  eighteenth  century,  when  Charles  XII  of  Swe- 
den celebrated  his  triumphs,  the  Ukrainians  made 
an  effort  to  regain  their  independence.  After  the 
battle  of  Poltawa,  however,  they  came  under  the 
Russian  yoke,  under  which  they  have  remained  since 
then.  Russia's  policy  to  the  Ukrainians  has  been 
one  constant  effort  to  denationalize  them,  until  even 
their  history  was  juggled  away  and  their  language 
declared  to  be  nothing  but  a  "small  Russian 
dialect." 

Ruthenians  in  Galicia  on  the  other  hand  have 
been  treated  well  by  Austria,  and  to  them  the  war 
represents  the  ray  of  future  hope.  They  have  given 
splendid  account  of  themselves  in  the  various 
fights.  But  above  all  their  venerable  Primate  of  the 
Greek  Oriental  Church  in  Czernowitz,  the  Right 
Reverend  Vladimir  Repta,  has  already  become  a 
historic  figure  through  this  war.  When  Russian 
soldiers,  who  had  penetrated  to  Czernowitz,  capital 
of  Bukowina,  were  asked  by  their  commanders  to 
arrange  a  pogrom  against  the  Jews,  the  Primate 
had  the  Jews  take  refuge  in  his  palace.  Questioned 
by  the  Russian  governor  why  he  did  this,  and  what 
his  confession  was,  he  replied :  it  was  the  religion 


48       AUSTRIA -HtlKGARY  AND  THE  WAR 

of  God.  He  was  the  servant  of  God,  before  whom 
everybody  was  equal  and  who  meted  out  justice  to 
everybody  alike.  After  the  alleged  Russian  victory 
of  Augustovo  he  was  asked  to  hold  a  high  mass. 
He,  however,  declared  that  he  had  sworn  an  oath  of 
allegiance  and  loyalty  to  the  Emperor  and  King 
Francis  Joseph  and  he  would  keep  it.  The  high 
mass  was  not  celebrated. 

AUSTRIA-HUNGARY  DEFENDER  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 

What  has  caused  all  the  people  of  the  monarchy 
to  join  hands  in  the  supreme  moments  when  war 
could  be  no  more  averted  and  what  has  kept  them 
together  with  such  firmness  and  enthusiasm  since 
then  ?  General  predictions  were  freely  given  round 
in  the  foreign  press  of  Europe,  also  in  a  consid- 
erable part  of  the  press  of  the  United  States,  that 
this  war's  first  result  w^ould  not  be  a  lost  battle, 
but  Austria-Hungary's  collapse.  War  came  and 
the  Monarchy  has  once  again  proven  its  traditional 
vitality,  which  was  always  strongest  when  a  strong 
peril  from  without  had  to  be  resisted. 

There  are  two  chief  reasons  which  account  for 
this  auspicious  result.  One  is  that  the  people  of 
the  monarchy  have  always  considered  themselves 
as  the  defenders  of  Christianity  against  the  on- 
slaught of  the  Orient.  So  was  Hungary  at  the  time 
of  King  Bela  IV  the  bulwark  of  Christendom 
against  the  wild  hordes  of  the  Tartars  and  Mon- 
golians. Hungary's  fertile  grounds  were  devas- 
tated, thousands  of  its  people  were  massacred,  but 


AUSTRIA-HUNGARY  AND  THE  WAR       49 

Hungary  lived  and  the  west  of  Europe  was  saved 
from  the  Tartar  invasion. 

Then  came  the  centuries  of  Turkish  invasions, 
the  glorious  victories  of  John  Hunyadi  and  his  son, 
King  Mathias  Corvinus,  over  the  Turkish  hosts. 
But  the  battle  of  Mohdcs  in  1526  brought  disaster 
to  the  Hungarian  army,  and  Hungary  became  a 
tributary  of  the  Ottoman  Porte  for  many  years  to 
come. 

In  1682  Jan  Sobieski  and  Charles  of  Lorraine 
saved  Vienna  and  Europe  from  the  strongest  attack 
Turkey  ever  had  launched  against  it.  Prince  Eugen 
of  Savoy,  the  victor  of  Zenta  and  of  many  other 
battles,  was  the  last  great  general  in  our  list  of 
Defenders  of  Christian  Faith. 

The  war  of  1914  has  revived  Austria-Hungary's 
old  mission.    Austria-Hungary  has  to  fight  Russia. 

Perhaps  my  American  readers  will  question  why 
I  have  placed  Russia  in  the  ranks  of  our  former 
enemies  from  Asia. 

In  1909,  when  I  came  back  from  Peking  across 
Siberia,  my  travelling  companion  was  the  then  First 
Secretary  of  the  Russian  Legation,  Monsieur  d'Ar- 
senieff.  As  his  present  enemy  I  will  say  that  he 
was  a  delightful  companion.  The  Siberian  trip 
lasted  two  weeks,  and  as  we  shared  one  compart- 
ment in  the  Russian  State  Express  during  this  long 
time  we  had  frequent  discussions  on  various  sub- 
jects together.  Having  known  him  for  some  time 
in  Peking,  I  asked  him  one  day  how  long  he  would 
spend  his  vacation  in  Europe.    "I  will  not  spend  it 


50       AUSTRIA-HUNGARY  AND  THE  WAR 

there  at  all.  I  will  stay  in  Russia,"  answered  he. 
This  answer  surprised  me  and  I  asked  him  why  he 
excluded  Russia  from  Europe.  "Russia  is  not 
Europe.  Russia  whether  in  Asia  or  Europe  is 
simply  Russia." 

This  answer  demonstrates  the  typical  Russian 
view.  Russia  has  millions  of  Buddhists  and  Lama- 
ists  among  its  subjects  in  Asia.  Its  religion  is 
nominally  the  Russian  Orthodox  Church,  but  in 
reality  it  is  Czarism.  The  Holy  Synod  sent  out  its 
"apostles"  to  our  Ruthenians  in  Galicia,  Bukowina 
and  parts  of  Hungary  to  win  them  over  to  the  Rus- 
sian Church.  These  apostles  were  gradually  trans- 
formed into  political  emissaries  of  the  Czar.  The 
Russian  Orthodox  Church  and  the  Holy  Synod  are 
merely  the  mouthpiece  of  Czarism  and  the  Czar. 
Russia  says :  We  fight  for  the  liberation  and  union 
of  all  Slavs.  What  she  really  means  is:  Czarism 
wants  to  eternify  its  own  rule  over  all  countries 
which  still  have  Slav  subjects  among  their  other 
subjects. 

In  Austria-Hungary  there  may  be  no  uniform 
national  idea  prevalent,  but  the  common  past,  com- 
mon history,  common  interests  have  welded  all  its 
people  together  into  a  union  which  assures  an  equal 
measure  of  happiness  to  everybody,  and  will  suc- 
cessfully repel  all  external  attacks  against  its  exist- 
ence. The  Slavs  who  live  under  the  monarchy's 
rule  enjoy  a  much  greater  amount  of  rights, 
personal  and  public,  than  in  Russia.  Austria-Hun- 
gary is  a  modern  empire,  where  everybody  can 


AUSTRIA-HUNGARY  AND  THE  WAR       51 

freely  develop  his  innate  talents.  In  Russia  almost 
all  individual  development  is  suppressed.  Against 
the  invasion  of  Czarism  Austria-Hungary  fights 
therefore  today  as  she  did  against  the  invasion  of 
Tartars,  Mongols  and  Turks  centuries  ago,  when 
the  foundations  of  her  Christian  Empire  were 
threatened.  The  defense  of  Christian  civilization 
has  still  continued  to  be  her  great  historic  mission. 
The  people  today  pray  as  Jan  Sobieski  did  when 
he  waged  his  great  battle  against  the  Turks :  "Non 
nobis,  non  nobis,  Domine  exercituum  sed  nomini 
tuo  da  gloriam." 

FRANCIS  JOSEPH  AND  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

There  is  another  reason,  and  this  is,  I  might  say, 
Austria-Hungary's  personal  reason  in  contraposi- 
tion to  the  former,  which  was  her  historic  reason. 
This  second  reason  is  expressed  in  the  manifesto  of 
our  venerable  Emperor  and  King.  In  former  cen- 
turies the  call  to  arms  in  some  countries,  especially 
in  Hungary,  was  the  sending  around  of  a  bloody 
sword.  That  would  have  met  with  little  response 
in  our  days. 

This  is  part  of  his  manifesto  which  was  addressed 
to  the  people  of  Austria-Hungary : 

"It  was  my  sincerest  wish  to  devote  to  the  work 
of  peace  the  years  which  the  Grace  of  God  hail 
granted  me  to  preserve  my  peoples  from  th<: 
heavy  burdens  and  sacrifices  of  war. 

"Divine  providence  decreed  otherwise. 


52       AUSTRIA-HUNGARY  AND  THE  WAR 

"The  activities  of  an  opponent  led  by  hatred 
compel  me  to  reach  for  the  sword  after  long  years 
of  peace  in  order  to  maintain  the  honor  of  my 
monarchy,  to  preserve  her  prestige  and  reputa- 
tion and  to  safeguard  her  possessions." 

And  after  enumerating  the  iniquities  done  by 
Servia  it  continues: 

**And  so  I  am  compelled  to  create  with  the 
power  of  arms  the  necessary  guarantees  to  safe- 
guard the  interior  tranquillity  and  the  lasting  ex- 
terior peace  for  my  countries. 

"In  these  serious  hours  I  am  fully  conscious  of 
the  full  extent  of  my  decision  and  of  my  respon- 
sibility before  the  Almighty.  I  have  examined 
and  weighed  everything. 

"With  a  quiet  conscience,  I  take  the  road  that 
duty  shows  me.  I  trust  in  my  peoples  that 
ranged  themselves  at  all  tempestuous  times  in 
unity  and  loyalty  around  my  throne  and  were 
always  ready  to  make  the  biggest  sacrifice  for  the 
honor,  grandeur  and  might  of  the  fatherland. 

"I  trust  in  the  valiant  armed  force  of  Austria- 
Hungary  inspired  by  loyal  enthusiasm. 

"And  I  trust  in  the  Almighty  that  he  may  give 
victory  to  my  arms." 

Forty-eight  years  have  come  and  gone  by  in  the 
wake  of  peace  for  our  country.  But  these  forty- 
eight  years  and  many  more  before  them  have  been 


AUSTRIA-HUNGARY  AND  THE  WAR       53 

no  years  of  personal  peace  to  the  venerable  ruler 
of  our  monarchy.  No  personal  grief,  no  known 
human  suffering  has  been  spared  to  him.  And  yet 
they  have  not  borne  him  down,  nor  have  they  been 
able  to  shake  his  sense  of  duty.  In  the  supreme 
moments  of  trial,  he  stood  up,  always  ready  at  the 
helm,  leading  his  people  with  the  undaunted  spirit 
of  a  seer.  He  believed  in  them  and  the  future  of 
Austria-Hungary.  And  the  people  of  Austria-Hun- 
gary believe  in  him,  because  his  words  spell  faith. 
In  the  history  of  mankind  there  is  probably  but 
one  proclamation  which  equals  the  former  in  sim- 
plicity, directness  and  sincereness  of  language.  This 
is  President  Abraham  Lincoln's  exhortation  to  the 
people  not  to  plunge  into  civil  war.  This  is  part 
of  his  exhortation : 

"Fellow-citizens :  The  momentous  case  is  before 
you.  On  your  undivided  support  of  your  Govern- 
ment depends  the  decision  of  the  great  question 
it  involves,  whether  your  sacred  Union  will  be 
preserved,  and  the  blessings  it  secured  to  us  as  one 
people  shall  be  perpetuated.  No  one  can  doubt 
that  the  unanimity  with  which  that  decision  will 
be  expressed  will  be  such  as  to  inspire  new  con- 
fidence in  republican  institutions,  and  that  the 
prudence,  the  wisdom,  and  the  courage  which  it 
will  bring  to  their  defense  will  transmit  them 
unimpaired  and  invigorated  to  our  children. 
May  the  Great  Ruler  of  Nations  grant  that  the 
signal  blessings  with  which  He  has  favored  us 


54       AUSTRIA-HUNGARY  AND  THE  WAR 

may  not  by  the  madness  of  party,  or  personal  am- 
bition, be  disregarded  and  lost,  and  may  His  wise 
providence  bring  those  who  have  produced  this 
crisis  to  see  the  folly  before  they  feel  the  misery 
of  civil  strife,  and  inspire  a  returning  veneration 
for  that  Union  which,  if  we  may  dare  to  pene- 
trate His  designs.  He  has  chosen  as  the  only 
means  of  attaining  the  highest  destinies  to  which 
we  may  reasonably  aspire." 

In  both  instances  momentous  events  had 
prompted  the  issuance  of  these  proclamations.  In 
both  instances  the  people  had  supreme  confidence 
and  faith  in  their  respective  leaders.  Men  who  can 
inspire  such  sublime  confidence  in  the  hearts  of 
their  people  that  their  words  become  the  gospel  of 
faith  are  the  truly  great  men  of  world's  history. 


II.— WAS  THE  AUSTRO-HUNGARIAN  NOTE* 
TO  SERVIA  BRUTAL? 

"Liberty"  is  the  title  of  a  statement  of  the  British 
case  sent  out  a  few  weeks  ago  by  Arnold  Bennett  to 
the  Saturday  Evening  Post.  Liberty!  The  title 
seems  appropriate  for  that  reason  only  that  in  no 
statement  on  the  war  is  there  more  liberty  displayed 
in  the  use  of  superlative  invectives  against  a  whole 
people  and  nation  than  in  this  one.  All  the  white- 
heat  venom  that  an  intelligent  human  being  can 
absorb  in  the  course  of  a  lifetime  is  injected  into 
this  article.  One  might  say  the  author  saved  it  up 
since  the  first  days  of  his  childhood  and  diffused  it 
all  at  once  in  one  supreme  effort.  It  is  regrettable 
that  an  author  of  the  world  reputation  of  Mr. 
Bennett  should  think  that  the  abuse  of  a  whole 
nation  constitutes  his  own  country's  strongest 
defense. 

Mr.  Bennett,  after  pronouncing  the  dictum  that 
"the  annexation  of  Bosnia  and  Herzegovina  by 
Austria-Hungary  in  1908  was  an  outrage  upon  the 
feelings  of  the  inhabitants,"  proceeds  to  explain 
"how  the  German  and  Austrian  branches  of  the 
military  worked  in  secret  together.  How  when  they 
had  reached  a  decision" — and  not  before,  according 
to  Mr.  Bennett's  special  information — "the  German 

*  The  note  and  answer  thereto  are  reprintad  in  the  appendix. 

55 


56       AUSTRIA-HUNGARY  AND  THE  WAR 

Imperial  Chancellor  and  the  German  Foreign  Sec- 
retary were  permitted  to  learn  the  inwardness  of 
the  state  of  affairs,"  whatever  that  is.  "And  then," 
he  continues,  "an  impossible  ultimatum  was  sent  to 
Servia,  and  the  thing  was  done.  The  fall  on  the 
bourses,  before  the  delivery  of  the  Servian  reply, 
showed  that  the  supreme  financial  magnates  had 
been  'put  wise.'  Every  embassy  knew.  All  diplomacy 
was  futile  and  most  of  it  was  odiously  hypocritical. 
Sir  Edward  Grey  alone  in  Europe  strove  against 
the  irrevocable.  With  the  most  correct  urbanity 
Germany  frustrated  him  at  each  move.  Neither 
France  nor  Italy  desired  aught  but  peace.  Whether 
or  not  Russia  desired  war  I  cannot  say"  (evidently 
Mr.  Bennett's  private,  confidential  informants  had 
failed  in  this  instance) ;  "but  it  is  absolutely  certain 
that  Germany  and  Austria  desired  war." 

Austria-Hungary's  ultimatum  to  Servia  has  been 
called  by  various  authors  "brutal,"  "inhuman,"  "un- 
speakable," "the  act  of  a  dotard,"  etc.  In  the  Sep- 
tember 30th  issue  of  the  Outlook  we  find  the  follow- 
ing expressive  comments:  "The  demand  of  Austria 
was  both  in  form  and  in  tone  such  as  one  inde- 
pendent power  could  not  be  expected  to  receive 
from  another  independent  power  without  resent- 
ment." It  might  be  said  here  that  the  first  impres- 
sion counts,  and  the  first  impression  of  this  Austro- 
Hungarian  note  filtered  through  the  published 
correspondence  of  the  English  White  Paper.  Sir 
Edward  Grey,  in  his  letter  to  the  British  Ambassa- 
dor at  Berlin,  said  of  it :  "I  have  never  before  seen 


i'm 


'^Stj^iA^ 


AUSTRIA-HUNGARY  AND  THE  WAR       57 

one  state  address  to  another  independent  state  a 
document  of  so  formidable  a  character." 

The  public  in  general  has  long  been  accustomed 
to  form  its  opinion  regarding  diplomatic  or  political 
questions  through  the  opinions  expressed  thereon 
by  the  diplomatic  and  political  leaders  of  approved 
calling  and  authority.  This  is  a  sound  enough  cus- 
tom and  cannot  be  objected  to.  In  presenting  this 
little  study  to  the  American  public  I  do  not  propose 
to  except  to  this  well  established  habit  of  mind  of 
larger  masses.  Nor  do  I  wish  to  cast  any  doubt  on 
Sir  Edward's  authority  to  comment  on  the  nature 
of  this  ultimatum.  I  will  endeavor,  however,  to 
demonstrate  that  the  Austro-Hungarian  note  will 
appear  very  much  less  brutal  both  in  tone  and 
in  substance  if  we  investigate  conditions  which 
prompted  it 

In  a  general  sense  the  critics  of  this  war  have  al- 
lowed their  minds  to  sway  too  easily  under  the  in- 
fluence of  outward  appearances  and  maudlin  senti- 
ment. Let  us  penetrate  under  the  surface  of  things, 
let  us  examine  and  weigh  some  of  the  evidence 
which  the  recent  Sarajevo  trial  has  brought  to 
light!  Let  us  consider  the  psychological  side  of 
the  relations  between  Austria-Hungary  and  Servia 
during  the  years  preceding  this  note !  A  little  light 
and  a  little  more  thoroughness  than  we  have  noticed 
heretofore  in  comments  on  this  and  other  phases  of 
the  war  will  go  far  towards  dispelling  false  impres- 
sions. If  faults  were  committed,  they  should  be  ex- 
posed, but  on  the  other  hand,  if  blame  was  attached 


58       AUSTRIA-HUNGARY  AND  THE  WAR 

unjustly,  it  should  be  lifted  and  justice  done  where 
justice  is  due. 

Of  all  the  war  comments  made  in  the  United 
States  none  has  shown  a  more  neutral  spirit  and 
at  the  same  time  been  more  accurate  in  its  con- 
clusions than  United  States  Circuit  Court  Judge 
Grosscup's  appeal  to  fair  judgment.  I  say  so  not 
because  his  views  coincide  with  mine,  or  because 
he  favors  my  country's  side,  but  because  it  is,  I  be- 
lieve, a  typically  American  statement  and  will,  this 
I  also  believe,  appeal  to  every  fair-minded  American 
reader. 

JUDGE  PETEE  GROSSCUP'S  VIEWS. 

I  will  cite  here  his  remarks  bearing  on  the  ques- 
tion of  this  chapter  in  extenso,  because  what  we  all 
aim  at  is  truth  and  justice,  and  nobody  has  grasped 
these  two  tenets  in  connection  with  the  war  better 
than  he  did.    This  is  what  he  says : 

"The  other  day  I  saw  a  group  of  men  in  a  lane 
some  distance  from  the  road,  who  seemed  to  be  in 
earnest  conversation.  Suddenly  one  of  the  men 
struck  one  of  the  others.  Immediately  I  felt  that 
he  was  the  aggressor,  that  he  wished  a  fight.  But 
the  facts,  had  I  been  near  enough  to  see  and  hear, 
might  have  been  different.  That  first  blow  as  I 
saw  it  may  have  been  in  self-defense;  I  was  not  near 
enough  to  the  other's  clenched  fist.  It  may  have 
been  deserved;  I  was  not  near  enough  to  hear  the 
provocation.  What  is  the  only  thing  visible  to  one 
at  a  distance  may  not  have  been  the  fact  at  all  as 
seen  by  those  upon  the  spot." 


AUSTRIA-HUNGARY  AND  THE  WAR       59 

"Though  the  White  Paper  covers  five  pages  of  the 
American  newspaper  in  which  I  found  it,  the  essen- 
tial facts  pertinent  to  this  larger  question  are  few 
and  can  be  compactly  stated.  The  first  of  these, 
trite  enough  but  never  to  be  lost  sight  of,  is  that 
the  Austro-Hungarian  monarchy  contains  a  very 
large  Slav  population — the  race  of  the  Servians  also 
— some  of  it  added  in  recent  years.  This  constituted, 
to  say  the  least,  a  highly  inflammable  anti-Austrian 
material  to  any  one  disposed  to  start  a  fire  within 
the  Austro-Hungarian  boundaries.  Another  fact, 
not  so  trite  but  equally  important,  is  that  Servia 
has  been  systematically  distributing  firebrands 
throughout  this  inflammable  matter.  "It  was  a 
subversive  movement,"  says  the  Austrian  foreign 
Minister  in  one  of  the  dispatches  constituting  the 
White  Paper,  intended  to  detach  from  Austria  a 
part  of  her  empire,  carried  on  by  organized  societies 
in  Servia,  to  which  Servian  high  officials,  including 
ministers,  generals  and  judges,  belonged,  and  re- 
sulting in  the  assassination  of  the  heir  to  the  throne 
and  his  wife,"  not  as  the  individual  mad  deed  of  a 
Guiteau  or  a  Czolgosz,  we  might  add,  but  as  "an 
organized  propaganda  and  conspiracy"  that  de- 
veloped itself  in  several  attempts,  at  several  uncon- 
nected points,  by  several  persons,  on  the  same  day ; 
a  statement  of  the  Servian  attitude  nowhere  denied 
in  this  English  White  Paper,  either  in  the  London 
Foreign  Office  or  the  embassies  at  Paris  or  St.  Peters- 
burg. On  the  contrary.  Sir  Edward  Grey  says  he 
cannot  help  but  look  with  sympathy  on  the  basis 


60       AUSTKIA-HUNGARY  AND  THE  WAR 

of  the  Austro-Hungarian  complaint.  And  Servia 
herself  practically  admits  the  truth  of  it,  in  her 
reply  to  the  Austrian  ultimatum;  for  though  she 
calls  whatever  agitation  took  place  "political,"  that 
is  to  say,  something  whose  object  is  the  change  of 
government  and  not  private  murder,  she  offers  to 
dissolve  the  Narodna  Odbrana,  a  revolutionary  so- 
ciety, and  every  society  which  may  be  "directing  its 
efforts  against  Austria-Hungary";  to  introduce  a 
law  providing  for  the  most  severe  punishment  of 
"publications  calculated  to  incite  hatred  against 
the  territorial  integrity  of  Austria" ;  to  remove  from 
the  "public  educational  establishments"  in  Servia 
everything  calculated  to  foment  propaganda  against 
Austria;  to  publish  in  the  official  gazette  and  read 
to  the  army  this  promised  new  attitude  of  Servia  to 
Austria;  and  to  remove  from  military  service  all 
such  persons  as  judicial  inquiry  may  have  proved 
to  be  guilty  of  acts  directed  against  the  integrity 
of  the  territory  of  Austria-Hungary — promises  no 
people  would  make  unless  there  was  a  basis  of  fact 
for  the  complaint. 

But  though  Servia  thus  acknowledged  the  basis 
of  the  complaint,  and  promised  to  take  measures  to 
remedy  it,  she  refused  the  "collaboration"  of  Aus- 
trian representatives,  or  the  participation  of  Aus- 
trian "delegates,"  in  the  investigation  relating 
thereto.  She  made  no  straight-out  denial  of  the 
subversive  movements  alleged.  The  most  that  can 
be  made  of  her  answer  is  that  she  neither  admits 
nor  denies,  but  simply  calls  for  the  proofs.    But  she 


AUSTRIA-HUNGARY  AND  THE  WAR       61 

refused  the  presence  of  Austria  at  the  taking  of 
the  proofs.  In  a  word,  as  Austria  viewed  it,  should 
the  promised  investigation  be  a  whitewash,  or 
should  it  be  a  sincere  effort  to  locate  responsibility? 
Austria  wanted  a  sincere  investigation ;  the  attitude 
of  Servia  looks  as  if  she  wanted  a  whitewash.  And 
it  was  on  that  that  the  two  countries  broke. 

Now,  was  Austria-Hungary  right  in  making  the 
demand  and  Servia  wrong  in  refusing  the  demand, 
that  Austrian  delegates  sit  in  at  the  investigation? 
This  is  the  crux  of  the  matter  as  a  question  between 
Austria  and  Servia.  The  conduct  of  nations,  like 
that  of  individuals,  must  stand  the  test  of  common 
sense,  and,  like  individuals,  nations  have  the  right 
to  have  their  word  taken  in  matters  of  this  kind 
until  their  word  is  no  longer  good,  by  being  re- 
peatedly broken;  so  that  had  this  been  the  first 
complaint  by  Austria  against  Servia  on  this  mat- 
ter, and  this  Servia's  first  promise  to  live  hereafter 
on  friendly  relations,  there  would  have  been  no 
justification  for  Austria's  demand,  or  for  her  re- 
fusal to  take  Servia's  word  that  a  fair  investigation 
would  be  made  and  the  guilty  punished.  But  this 
White  Paper  shows  that  this  was  not  Servia's  first 
promise;  that  she  had  made  former  promises;  that 
this  new  offer  of  her  word  was  the  offer  of  an  al- 
ready broken  word.  This  is  the  third  fact  in  the 
inquiry,  the  turning  fact  in  the  question  of  who  was 
wrong  and  who  was  right;  a  fact  entirely  ignored 
in  the  views  pressed  upon  Amerian  public  opinion. 
Five  years  before,  March  18,  1909,  Servia  gave  her 


62       AUSTRIA-HUNGARY  AND  THE  WAR 

word,  not  to  Austria  alone,  but  to  the  Great  Powers, 
that  this  scattering  of  firebrands  should  cease,  that 
thereafter  she  would  live  as  a  friendly  neighbor. 
That  shows  that  five  years  before  the  offense  was 
already  in  existence.  Did  it  cease?  Was  the  word 
kept?  In  the  note  communicated  to  Sir  Edward 
Grey  by  the  German  Ambassador  July  24th,  1914 — 
a  note  that  called  out  from  Sir  Edward,  not  a  de- 
nial, but  an  expression  of  sympathy — the  German 
Ambassador,  referring  to  that  earlier  promise,  says : 
"It  was  only  owing  to  the  far-reaching  self-restraint 
and  moderation  of  the  Austro-Hungarian  govern- 
ment, and  to  the  energetic  interference  of  the  Great 
Powers,  that  the  Servian  provocation  to  which 
Austria-Hungary  was  then  (March,  1909)  exposed 
did  not  lead  to  a  conflict.  The  assurance  of  good 
conduct  in  the  future  which  was  then  given  by  the 
Servian  government  has  not  been  kept.  Under  the 
eyes,  at  least  with  the  tacit  permission  of  official 
Servia,  the  great  Servian  propaganda  has  continu- 
ously increased  in  extension  and  intensity;  to  its 
account  must  be  set  the  recent  crime  the  threads  of 
which  lead  to  Belgrade";  an  indictment  that  none 
of  the  Powers  so  much  as  question — neither  the 
foreign  offices  nor  embassies  of  Russia,  England  or 
France — and  to  which  Servia  practically  pleads 
guilty  in  her  answer  to  the  Austrian  ultimatum 
already  stated. 

Now,  in  view  of  that,  what  was  Austria-Hungary 
to  do?  Accept  the  word  of  Servia  again?  We  must 
look  at  it  not  from  the  standpoint  of  those  who  think 


AUSTRIA-HUNGARY  AND  THE  WAR       63 

the  Austro-Hungarian  government  ought  to  be  de- 
stroyed, but  from  the  standpoint  of  Austria-Hun- 
gary itself.  What  would  we  of  America  do  if, 
despite  a  solemn  promise  to  desist,  some  neighbor- 
ing nation  continued  to  stir  up  racial  revolution 
among  our  people — ^say  Spain  among  the  Porto 
Ricans  or  Philippines?  Would  we  accept  that  na- 
tion's word  again?  It  is  a  just  and  generous  nature 
that  accepts  the  offender's  word  on  the  first  offense, 
but  a  foolish  or  craven  nature  that  continues  to 
accept  it  through  repetitions  of  the  offense.  Let 
us  not  lose  sight  of  the  practical  side  of  the  problem 
as  presented  to  Austria.  The  spirit  behind  these 
attacks  on  Austria-Hungary  was  not  the  spirit  of 
the  Servian  government  only,  but  the  spirit  of  the 
Servian  people  also.  A  government  may  be  reached 
sometimes  by  protest.  But  there  are  cases  in  which 
a  people  can  only  be  reached  by  some  tangible 
military  demonstration.  History  is  replete  with 
demonstrations  of  that  kind;  so  that  the  problem 
of  Austria,  now  that  the  government's  word  could 
no  longer  be  taken,  was  to  impress  the  people  of 
Servia  with  Austria-Hungary's  purpose  not  to  be 
silent  longer  under  these  flying  firebrands.  We 
went  to  war  with  Spain  for  less  than  Austria  was 
suffering  at  the  hands  of  Servia.  England  declared 
war  on  the  republic  of  Paul  Kruger  for  less.  And 
in  each  case  the  war  closed  with  territory  detached 
from  the  vanquished  and  taken  by  the  victor.  Were 
we  wrong?  More  than  that:  Did  any  great  outside 
Power  even  say  nay?  On  the  contrary  we  were  left 


64       AUSTRIA-HUNGARY  AND  THE  WAR 

to  deal  with  the  problems  as  we  thought  right. 
Why,  then,  should  any  outside  Power  say  nay  to 
Austria,  especially  if  no  territory  was  to  be  taken? 
Morally  right  in  her  demand  on  Servia,  to  sit 
in  at  the  investigation,  why  was  not  Austria  left 
alone  to  enforce  that  right,  as  England,  the  United 
States,  and  Italy  had  been  left  to  enforce  their 
rights?" 

THE  MURDER  OF  PRINCE  MICHAEL  OBRENOVIC. 

Judge  Grosscup  states  the  issue  underlying  the 
Austro-Hungarian  note  clearly,  and  his  statement 
requires  hardly  any  further  amplification.  There 
is,  however,  one  item  which  can  be  amplified.  Servia 
was  asked  to  admit  Austro-Hungarian  government 
officers  to  the  preliminary  investigations  of  the 
murder  plot  in  Sarajevo  which  claimed  the  Austro- 
Hungarian  Crown  Prince  and  his  consort  as  victims. 
Whenever  this  question  has  formed  the  subject  of 
discussion  in  newspapers  or  other  statements,  we 
have  always  read  utterances  such  as  the  following, 
for  instance:  "Had  Servia  yielded  to  this  demand 
she  would  have  forfeited  her  rights  as  an  indepen- 
dent state.  No  self-respecting  state  could  have 
tolerated  an  interference  of  so  humiliating  a 
nature." 

To  a  superficial  observer,  as  I  said  before,  the 
conclusion  reached  in  these  utterances  seemed  cor- 
rect and  sufficient.  In  reality,  however,  this  con- 
clusion misses  the  point  entirely.  Austria-Hun- 
[^ary's  demand  involved  a  friendly  cooperation  of 


AUSTRIA-HUNGARY  AND  THE  WAR       f.5 

Austro-Hungarian  and  Servian  government  oflScers 
and  was  based  on  historical  precedents.  On  June 
10th,  1868,  Prince  Michael  Obrenovic  of  Servia  was 
murdered  near  the  Royal  Park  of  Topsider  in  Bel- 
grade. In  the  course  of  the  investigation  of  this 
murder  plot  Servia  a^ked  the  government  of  Hun- 
gary that  some  of  her  government  officers  should 
be  allowed  to  participate  in  the  investigation  which 
was  conducted  in  Hungary,  as  the  murder  was 
traced  to  Servians  residing  mostly  in  Southern 
Hungary.  This  demand  was  practically  identical 
with  the  Austro-Hungarian  demand  in  the  present 
crisis.  Hungary  readily  acceded  to  this  demand, 
finding  it  a  most  natural  demand  to  make  under 
the  given  circumstances.  Hungary  desired  to  show 
her  friendly  feelings  to  the  neighboring  country, 
and  no  attempt  was  even  made  to  construe  this  as 
an  encroachment  of  Hungary's  suzerainty  or  inde- 
pendence. 

Hungary  in  1868-1870  had  nothing  to  conceal, 
and  was,  therefore,  keen  to  lend  a  hand  in  tracing 
the  murderers;  Servia  in  1914  is  apparently  in  a 
different  position.  Should  an  unbiased  examina- 
tion substantiate  the  claim  that  the  Servian  Govern- 
ment and  the  Crown  Prince  of  Servia  were  directly 
behind  this  murder  plot,  it  would  naturally  destroy 
the  prestige  of  Servia  forever.  The  Sarajevo  trial, 
as  I  have  shown  in  another  chapter,  has  substan- 
tiated Austria-Hungary's  charges  contained  in  her 
note.  Whatever  the  conclusions  from  this  trial 
evidence  may  be,  with  regard  to  Servia's  prestige, 


66       AUSTRIA-HUNGARY  AND  THE  WAR 

Servia  can  no  more  disclaim  responsibility,  of  that 
we  feel  confident. 

In  1868-1870  after  the  actual  murderers  of  Prince 
Michael  Obrenovic  had  expiated  their  crime, 
strong  evidence  was  presented  against  Prince  Alex- 
ander Karagyorgyevic,  a  close  kin  of  the  present 
King  of  Servia,  connecting  him  directly  with  the 
murder.  Servia  herself  asked  the  Hungarian  Gov- 
ernment to  carry  out  the  death  sentence  against  the 
last  named  Prince.  Hungary,  desiring  to  be  chival- 
rous to  both  the  Prince,  who  had  formerly  taken 
refuge  in  Hungary  and  who  had  appealed  for  her 
help,  and  to  Servia,  spared  the  Prince's  life.  She 
instituted,  however,  a  court  examination  with 
Servian  cooperation  to  find  out  whether  according 
to  Hungarian  law  he  had  committed  a  crime  for 
which  he  should  suffer  punishment.  As  a  result 
of  this  examination  it  was  found  that  Prince  Alex- 
ander Karagyorgyevic,  his  secretary,  Paul  Trifkovic, 
and  Filip  Stankovic,  a  merchant,  were  guilty  of  the 
crimes  charged  against  them.  Mr.  Sztrokay,  the 
District-Attorney  of  Budapest,  asked  that  the  Prince 
should  be  sentenced  to  death,  Stankovic  to  twenty, 
Trifkovic  to  fifteen  years'  hard  labor.  This  is  what 
the  indictment  of  the  defendants  said :  Paul  Eado- 
vanovic,  one  of  the  chief  plotters,  who  was  the  at- 
torney of  Prince  Karagyorgyevic  and  had  full 
authority  to  handle  his  affairs  in  Servia,  confessed 
that  he  had  agreed  with  the  Prince  in  1867  that 
Prince  Michael  of  Servia  should  be  murdered  if 
necessary  and  he,  Prince  Alexander,  should  be- 


AUSTRIA-HUNGARY  AND  THE  WAR       67 

come  his  successor.  To  this  purpose  Radovanovic 
was  paid  some  large  amounts  by  Vilotievic,  who 
was  the  manager  of  the  Prince's  estate  in  Servia. 
The  indictment  admits  that  Radovanovic  later  on 
withdrew  his  confession  damaging  to  the  Prince; 
this  withdrawal,  however,  was  not  made  bona  fide. 
Radovanovic  had  written  a  letter  to  Trifkovic  in 
which  he  promised  to  withdraw  that  part  of  his 
confession  which  was  damaging  to  the  Prince,  if  in 
return  the  latter  would  pay  30,000  florins  to  his 
family.  Radovanovic  identified  this  letter  in  an 
open  court  hearing  as  his  own.  Furthermore, 
Vilotievic,  the  above-named  manager  of  the  Prince's 
estate,  confessed  that  the  Prince  and  Trifkovic  had 
told  him  in  1867  in  Budapest  that  they  were  pre- 
paring a  plot  against  Prince  Michael.  He  was  told 
that  if  he  cared  for  his  position  he  would  have  to 
help  them  and  pay  Radovanovic  whenever  called 
upon  by  this  latter.  Later  on  Vilotievic  received 
27,000  florins  from  Trifkovic,  the  Prince's  secre- 
tary. Prince  Alexander  personally  and  verbally  in- 
structed him  to  pay  said  amount  to  Radovanovic 
after  the  murder  of  Prince  Michael.  Prince  Alex- 
ander, in  his  capacity  as  defendant  in  this  murder 
case,  declared  in  court  that  he  had  only  money 
enough  to  support  himself  and  his  family  in  a 
decent  way  befitting  his  rank.  It  was  shown,  how- 
ever, by  ample  evidence  that  the  Prince  had  received 
large  amounts  from  Russia  and  Roumania  prior  to 
the  murder,  and  had,  moreover,  sold  his  house  in 
Budapest  for  100,000  florins. 


68       AUSTRIA-HrXGARY  AND  THE  WaB 

The  indictment  also  shows  that  one  Stanko 
Zdrafkovic,  the  lessee  of  a  restaurant  owned  by 
Prince  Alexander  in  Belgrade,  had  confessed  that 
the  Prince  had  redoced  his  rent  bv  150  gold  ducats, 
provided  he  would  rent  a  room  to  one  Filip  Stanko- 
vic,  and  would  not  see  or  hear  what  happened  there. 
Paul  Trifkovic,  the  secretary  of  the  Prince,  was  the 
second  defendant.  He  is  shown  in  the  indictment 
to  have  been  in  correspondence  with  Radovanovic 
since  the  year  1S60.  They  met  whenever  this  latter 
came  to  Budapest,  Their  corresjKjndence  was  ef- 
fected in  ciphers,  as  was  the  correspondence  of  all 
defendants.  In  1868  they  met  in  Temesvar,  where 
Eadovanovic  one  day  handed  Trifkovic  a  plan  of  an 
amended  constitution,  asking  him  to  have  it  signed 
by  the  Prince  if  this  latter  ever  expected  to  ascend 
the  throne  of  Servia.  Trifkovic  confessed  that  upon 
instructions  from  Eadovanovic  he  had  three  six- 
cylinder  revolvers  and  three  daggers  with  sharpened 
points  on  both  ends  manufactured  in  Budapest. 
These  were  given  to  Radovanovic,  and  both  this  lat- 
ter and  Lazar  Marsic  confessed  that  the  murder  had 
been  committed  with  these  weapons. 

Filip  Stankovic  was  the  third  defendant  Ac- 
cording to  the  testimony  of  Anthony  Maistorovic 
and  Dome  Kuzmanovic  he  had  received  2,000  ducats 
from  the  wife  of  Prince  Alexander,  Princess  Per- 
sida,  to  stir  up  a  revolution  in  Servia.  At  another 
occasion  he  had  received  100  ducats  from  Prince 
Alexander  himself  for  the  same  purpose.  Stankovic 
and  Maistorovic  had  moreover  arranged  that  Prince 


AUSTRIA-HUNGARY  AND  THE  WAR       69 

Alexander  should  keep  20,000  gold  ducats  on  de- 
posit with  a  banker  called  Spirka  to  provide  for 
the  expenses  of  a  revolution  in  Servia. 

Prince  Alexander  Karagyorgyevic,  who  was  a 
very  close  blood  relative  of  the  present  King  of 
Servia,  was  sentenced  to  death,  but  judgment  was 
later  on  quashed. 

I  then  come  back  to  what  Judge  Grosscup  says: 
"It  is  a  just  and  generous  nature  that  accepts 
the  offender's  word  on  the  first  offense,  but  a  foolish 
or  craven  nature  that  continues  to  accept  it  through 
repetitions  of  the  offense."  In  contra-position  to 
this  I  refer  to  another  ^Titer's  statement,  which  is 
also  reproduced  in  this  book :  "The  world  does  not 
believe  that  the  boy,  Prinzip,  was  the  agent  of  the 
Servian  Government.  No  government  would  be  so 
blind  as  to  inspire  a  deed  which  must  so  redound 
to  its  disadvantage  and  its  discredit."  The  latter 
writer  erred  in  his  conclusions  because  he  was 
superficial.  But  many  have  erred  just  as  he  has, 
simply  because  they  did  not  have  the  proper  prem- 
ises to  draw  conclusions  from.  Austria-Hungary's 
conclusions  were  based  on  the  proper  premises 
which  she  had  set  up  in  her  experience  in  the 
past.  Servia  had  broken  her  word  on  March  18, 
1909,  when  she  pledged  it  to  us  and  to  the  Great 
European  powers  that  she  would  henceforth  be  a 
good  neighbor  to  the  monarchy.  From  the  very 
next  day  after  she  had  made  this  pledge  she  set  out 
to  break  it  openly  and  less  openly  just  as  it  suited 
her  plans.  The  Great  Powers  having  frowned  on  her 


70       AUSTRIA-HUNGARY  AND  THE  WAR 

ambitions  she  strove  resolutely  to  attain  her  ends, 
by  hook  or  crook.  We  have  the  court  evidence  of  the 
Sarajevo  trial  to  corroborate  these  statements. 
The  building  up  of  the  Narodna  Odbrana  and  of  a 
whole  chain  of  affiliated  societies  to  advocate  a 
revolutionary  propaganda  against  Austria-Hun- 
gary could  not  even  by  her  warmest  sympathizer 
be  interpreted  as  the  acts  of  a  good  neighbor.  But 
this  was  not  all.  As  we  can  gather  from  the  trial 
evidence,  she  has  done  everything  to  vilify  Austria- 
Hungary's  character  in  the  foreign  press,  to  create 
the  impression  that  while  she  had  broken  her  pledges 
she  had  ample  justification  for  doing  so.  Has  not 
Servia  broken  faith  with  the  powers  before  1909? 
It  is  a  matter  of  common  knowledge  and  substan- 
tiated by  incontrovertible  facts  that  although  the 
reigning  dynasty  of  Karagyorgyevic  and  King 
Peter  had  pledged  to  punish  the  late  King  Alexan- 
der's murderers,  many  of  these  murderers'  con- 
federates have  occupied  important  public  positions 
with  the  Servian  Government  up  to  the  last.  Every- 
body knows  that  Great  Britain  has  for  a  long  time 
entertained  no  diplomatic  relations  with  Servia  for 
reasons  which  seemed  obvious  then,  but  have  drifted 
into  oblivion  now.  Why?  Because  Servia  enter- 
tains a  highly  efficient  press  bureau  in  the  United 
States  and  other  countries,  and  people  are  so  quick 
to  forget  things,  if  they  happen  to  be  either  too 
much  or  too  little  interested  in  matters  or  persons. 
The  psychology  of  a  country's  population  is  gov- 
erned by  the  same  causes  as  is  governed  the  psy- 


AUSTRIA-HUNGARY  AND  THE  WAR       71 

chology  of  an  individual.  If  an  Individual  has 
some  knowledge  of  things,  this  is  increased  and 
steadied  by  a  life's  experience.  If  he  has  none  of 
his  own  making,  life's  experience  will  supply  him 
with  a  good  substitute.  And  so  it  is  with  the  people 
of  a  country.  Whether  of  primitive  or  high  culture, 
knowledge  and  civilization,  their  country's  tradi- 
tions and  past  experience  will  help  to  increase  and 
steady  whatever  they  may  have  attained  of  their 
own.  What  are  the  traditions  of  Servia's  people? 
Servians  are  temperamentally  light-hearted,  joyous 
and  frivolous,  not  devoid  of  a  great  many  artistic 
features.  Yet,  is  there  any  country  in  the  world 
which  can  equal,  for  instance,  the  long  list  of  rulers 
assassinated  on  or  around  their  country's  throne? 

CHRONOLOGY   OF  SERVIAN   REGICIDES. 

Almost  from  the  earliest  beginnings  of  a  Servian 
country,  Servian  kings  and  princes  have  very  sel- 
dom died  a  natural  death. 

1.  In  902  of  the  Christian  era  Prince  Klonimir, 
a  descendant  of  the  first  Servian  prince,  KnazVlasz- 
timir,  was  murdered  by  the  orders  of  his  rival, 
Prince  Peter. 

2.  In  917  this  same  Prince  Peter  was  murdered 
by  his  subjects. 

3.  Prince  John  Vladimir,  the  great  grandson  of 
Knaz  Vlasztimir,  was  murdered  by  his  subjects  on 
May  22,  1015. 

4.  His  successor.  Prince  Stefan  VoJ8zl6,  died 
under  suspicious  circumstances. 


72       AUSTRIA-HUNGARY  AND  THE  WAR 

The  next  dynasty  was  that  of  the  Nemanyidas. 
Their  princes  died  either  on  the  battlefields  or 
were  killed  by  their  subjects. 

5.  Prince  Stefan  Uros  was  murdered  by  the 
orders  of  his  son,  Dragutin,  in  Durazzo,  1272. 

6.  Prince  Stefan  Uros  III  was  murdered  by 
Servian  noblemen  in  the  castle  of  Jovecan,  Septem- 
ber, 1331. 

Dragutin  later  on  assumed  the  name  of  Dusan, 
and  was  the  greatest  sovereign  Servia  ever  has  had. 
Curiously  enough,  he  died  a  natural  death. 

7.  His  son,  Prince  Stefan  Uros,  was  assassinated 
by  his  subjects  in  1367.  This  ended  the  dynasty 
of  the  Nemanyidas,  as  his  mother,  after  his  murder, 
retired  to  a  convent.  His  murderer,  a  Servian 
noble  by  the  name  of  Vukasin,  had  been  raised  to 
rank  and  honors  by  Czar  Dusan,  the  father  of  the 
last  named  prince,  and  it  was  in  murdering  the 
latter's  son  that  he  paid  off  his  debt  of  gratitude. 
However,  he  could  not  avoid  his  fate.  Sultan 
Bajazid  suddenly  attacked  him  and  his  army  of 
60,000  men. 

8.  Prince  Vukasin  fled  but  was  attacked  and 
murdered  by  his  own  troops,  who  wanted  to  get 
hold  of  his  large  golden  chain.  His  corpse  was 
buried  without  the  head. 

9.  Vukasin's  son.  Prince  Marko  the!  Superb, 
was  murdered,  for  a  change,  not  by  his  own  sub- 
jects, but  by  a  "vallach"  man. 

His  successor  Was  his  uncle 

10.  Prince  John  Ugljesa,  who  was  killed  by 


AUSTRIA-HUNGARY  AND  THE  WAR       73 

Lazar,  the  natural  son  of  Czar  Dusan.      Lazar's 
son-in-law,  Prince  Milos,  killed 

11.  Sultan  Murad  I,  whereupon  Prince  Lazar 
was  decapitated  by  the  Turks.  His  successor, 
Prince  George  Brankovic,  died  a  natural  death, 
but  his  consort, 

12.  Princess  Irene,  was  poisoned  by  her  young- 
est son, 

13.  Lazar.  This  latter  then  ascended  the  throne, 
but  soon  died  under  suspicious  circumstances. 

The  dynasty  of  the  Brankovic  died  out  in  1516 
with  Prince  George  Brankovic.  Thereafter  Servia 
came  under  Turkish  yoke  and  there  were  no  kings 
or  princes  to  be  murdered  for  quite  a  while. 

14.  In  modern  times  Prince  Michael  Obrenovic 
was  murdered  in  1868,  upon  the  instigation  of 
Prince  Alexander  Karagyorgyevic,  a  very  close  kin 
of  the  present  King  Peter. 

15.  King  Alexander  of  Servia  and 

16.  Queen  Draga  were  killed  in  1903. 

Do  such  traditions  leave  no  trace  on  the  psy- 
chology of  a  people's  mind?  The  stories  told  to 
their  children  in  the  nurse's  room,  repeated  and  am- 
plified in  the  schools  w^hich  their  boys  frequented, 
revelled  and  gloried  in  the  bloody  exploits  of  the 
glorious  past.  Is  it  to  be  wondered  that  when  their 
boys  grew  up,  the  taste  of  blood  seemed  not  strange 
to  them?  They  had  by  this  time  grown  accustomed 
to  the  assassinations  of  their  own  princes,  their 
own  leaders  in  public  life.  They  could  not  under- 
stand why  Austria-Hungary  should  have  objected 


74       AUSTRIA-HUNGARY  AND  THE  WAR 

to  their  killing  or  attempting  to  kill  Austro-Hun- 
garian  governors,  generals  or  archdukes.  If  these 
assassinations  were  necessary  to  attain  their  ends 
— which  was,  let  us  say,  the  union  of  all  southern 
Slavs  in  a  greater  Servian  empire  or  republic — 
then  the  only  thing  that  could  be  objected  to  was 
that  some  of  these  murderous  attempts  proved  un- 
successful. Failure  delayed  the  realization  of  these 
ends. 

COULD  THE  SERVIAN  QUESTION  HAVE  BEEN 
ARBITRATED? 

I  have  often  heard,  in  these  past  months,  ques- 
tions why  Austria-Hungary  did  not  submit  her  dif- 
ference with  Servia  to  international  arbitration. 
Servia  had  made  an  offer  of  this  kind,  but  Austria- 
Hungary,  so  it  is  charged,  had  brutally  rejected 
the  offer.  If  any  one  will  carefully  examine  the  text 
of  the  arbitration  treaties  which  the  United  States 
and  any  other  States  have  signed  with  one  another, 
he  will  invariably  find  a  clause  therein  that  all  ques- 
tions can  be  submitted  to  the  International  Arbitra- 
tion Court,  except  questions  involving  vital  inter- 
ests, independence  and  national  honor  of  a  country. 
History  has  so  far  shown  no  exception  to  this.  The 
Alabama  question,  which  Great  Britain  likes  to 
point  out  in  this  connection,  has  involved  no  ques- 
tion of  national  honor  on  her  side.  That  was  a  clear 
case  of  breach  of  neutrality  and  the  only  question 
to  be  decided  therewith  wafe  really  a  question  of 
dollars  and  cents. 


AUSTRTA-HUNGARY  AND  THE  WAR       75 

The  case  of  the  "Alabama"  in  1862,  which  oper- 
ated so  successfully  against  the  commercial  navy 
of  the  Northern  States,  is  too  well  known  and  re- 
quires no  amplification  beyond  the  fact  that  the 
Arbitration  Court  of  Geneva  14  September,  1872, 
sentenced  Great  Britain  for  her  breach  of  neutrality 
to  a  payment  of  15,000,000  dollars,  to  be  paid  to 
the  United  States.  The  same  is  true  with  reference 
to  the  "Florida"  and  "Shenandoah."  These  steam- 
ers chose  for  their  field  of  action  the  stretch  of  sea 
between  the  Bahama  Archipelago  and  Bermuda 
and  Melbourne,  respectively,  for  the  purpose  which 
was  immediately  carried  out  of  going  to  the  Arctic 
seas  to  attack  American  whaling  vessels.  The 
granting  of  coal  supplies  by  Great  Britain  in  quan- 
tities sufficient  for  such  purposes  constituted  a 
flagrant  breach  of  neutrality  on  the  part  of 
England. 

In  the  case  of  Austria- Hungary  and  Servia,  the 
former  country's  national  honor  was  involved.  She 
could  not  barter  her  honor  away  for  dollars  and 
cents,  nor  could  she  submit  her  claims  to  the  judg- 
ment of  any  International  Arbitration  Court.  The 
futility  of  such  a  proposition  will  become  instantly 
apparent  to  any  open-minded  American,  if  he  will 
consider  the  following  issues: 

Let  us  assume  for  a  moment  that  in  the  immedi- 
ate neighborhood  of  the  United  States,  for  instance 
in  Mexico,  although  I  wish,  of  course,  to  cast  no  slur 
on  Mexico,  past  experiences  notwithstanding,  the 
people  had  for  many  centuries  in  their  history  adopt- 


76       AUSTRIA-HUNGARY  AND  THE  WAR 

ed  the  habit  of  murdering  all  their  presidents.  Let 
us  then  assume — merely  for  an  academic  argument's 
sake — that  the  people  of  Mexico  would  for  many- 
years  have  adopted  a  policy  of  pronounced  hostility 
to  the  people  of  the  United  States.  They  would  for 
instance  have  organized  open  or  secret  revolution- 
ary committees  in  Mexico  and  in  border  States,  in 
Texas,  California.  These  committees  would  have 
carried  on  a  general  propaganda  advocating  the  dis- 
ruption of  the  Government  of  the  United  States 
here  and  abroad!  Would  in  fact  tell  the  whole 
world  in  the  foreign  press  that  Americans  were 
bullying  the  people  of  little  Mexico  into  a  state  of 
abject  slavery  and  submission!  Let  us  suppose 
that  their  propaganda  had  lasted  for  a  great  many 
years,  that  the  Government  of  the  United  States 
had  complained  to  the  other  great  powers  and  these 
had  used  diplomatic  pressure  on  Mexico  to  stop 
her  anti-American  intrigues.  Mexico  would  then 
have  pledged  herself  to  be  good  in  future,  but  would 
have  instantly  resumed  her  activities  with  more 
vehemence  than  before.  Let  us  assume,  for  argu- 
ment's sake,  that  as  a  sequel  of  these  activities  the 
Governors  of  Texas  or  California  had  been  mur- 
dered by  Mexicans  with  the  support  of  their  govern- 
ment. Let  us  suppose  then  that  after  some  further 
pleasant  neighborly  acts  of  this  kind,  the  revolu- 
tionary committee  in  Mexico,  backed  by  the  Mexi- 
can Government,  had  carried  out  a  murderous  plot 
against  the  President  of  the  United  States  and  had 
in  fact  assassinated  him  ....  Let  us  assume  all 


AUSTRIA-HUNGARY  AND  THE  WAR       77 

these  things  and  let  me  then  ask  the  questions: 
Is  there  any  American  who  can  honestly  answer 
me  that  the  United  States  Government  would  not 
have  sent  a  note  to  Mexico — exactly  as  brutal,  if 
our  note  was  brutal — ^as  we  did  to  Servia?  Is  there 
any  American  who  would  not  call  Mexico's  answer 
insuffllcient,  if  the  latter  in  her  answer  had  said  that 
she  had  no  knowledge  of  any  outrages  committed 
against  the  United  States?  And  is  there  any  Amer- 
ican who  would  say  that  this  difference  between  the 
United  States  and  Mexico  should  be  arbitrated  by 
the  International  Court  of  the  Hague? 

This  is  in  substance  Austria-Hungary's  case 
against  Servia  and  this  is  why  the  author  does  not 
believe  that  the  Austro-Hungarian  note  to  Servia 
was  brutal. 


III.— THE  SARAJEVO  TRIAL. 

When  these  lines  are  written  the  trial  which  de- 
serves to  rank  with  the  most  famous  trials  of  the 
world  is  over.  In  a  certain  sense  it  was  the  most 
famous,  undoubtedly  the  most  unique  trial  in 
world's  history.  The  case  which  was  decided  here 
plunged  the  people  of  practically  the  whole  civilized 
world  into  a  terrible  war.  It  caused  the  people 
of  nearly  all  the  large  countries  of  Europe  to  meet 
each  other  as  enemies  on  blood-stained  battlefields. 

Who  knows  how  large  the  number  of  victims  will 
be?  Who  knows  what  changes  this  war  will  bring 
to  the  map  of  Europe?  Who  knows  what  the  final 
price  will  be  which  the  various  countries  will  have 
to  pay? 

The  Court  at  Sarajevo  had  to  hand  down  a  ver- 
dict in  the  case  of  the  murder  of  Archduke  Francis 
Ferdinand  d'Este,  the  presumptive  heir  to  the 
throne  of  Austria-Hungary  and  his  august  consort, 
the  Princess  of  Hohenberg.  Little  did  the  actual 
murderers  and  their  immediate  confederates  realize 
that  the  bullets  which  struck  down  these  two  ex- 
alted victims  would  cast  practically  the  whole  civ- 
ilized world  into  the  present  deep  gloom.  This 
murder  was,  of  course,  merely  the  occasion  which 
precipitated  war,  not  the  cause  originating  it.  If, 
however,  we  view  things  with  sufficient  calmness, 

78 


AUSTRIA-HUNGARY  AND  THE  WAR       79 

we  can  say  that  possibly  the  real  causes  of  the  war 
could  have  remained  in  the  background  as  they  had 
been  for  many  years  in  the  past,  had  this  unexpected 
event  not  brought  them  all  to  the  surface.  To  ren- 
der full  justice  to  the  psychological  aspects  of  this 
phase  of  the  question  one  would  have  to  know 
whether  the  actual  murderers  foresaw  the  terrible 
consequences  of  their  deed  when  they  committed  it. 
At  least  one  of  the  murderers,  Nedjelko  Cabrinovic, 
the  bomb-thrower,  who  injured  thirteen  bystanders, 
but  did  not  kill  the  Crown  Prince,  made  an  admis- 
sion to  the  contrary.  He  confessed  that  had  he 
known  that  millions  and  millions  would  have  to 
suifer  and  millions  of  mothers  would  have  to  cry, 
he  would  have  blown  up  himself  with  all  six  bomba 
But  the  evidence  brought  out  at  the  trial  clearly 
shows  that  Cabrinovic  and  Prinzip,  his  ally  in 
crime,  and  the  other  immediate  confederates  had 
merely  been  the  tools  of  higher-ups  in  Servia,  and 
it  is  hard  to  believe  that  these  "higher-ups"  should 
not  have  foreseen  the  consequences.  All  would 
rather  tend  to  indicate  that  they  had  not  only  fore- 
seen these  consequences  but,  indeed,  hoped  to  make 
them  come  true. 

When  the  first  news  was  cabled  over  to  us  on  the 
eventful  day  of  the  Crown  Prince's  murder,  I  was 
asked  by  the  reporters  to  express  an  opinion  as  to 
who  and  what  had  caused  the  murder.  I  hesitated 
not  a  moment  and  branded  the  murder  as  the  deed 
of  an  anarchist.  I  could  not  imagine  any  other  pos- 
sibility.   Later,  when  some  papers  came  out  with 


80       AUSTRIA-HUNGARY  AND  THE  WAR 

the  statement  that  the  murder  must  have  been  the 
outcome  of  a  national  Servian  plot,  I  was  not  in- 
clined to  share  their  opinion.  It  is  hard  to  believe 
that  the  mind  of  a  whole  country  should  have  run 
amuck,  yet,  the  above  statement  pre-supposed  that. 
Now,  after  having  been  home  and  seen  and  heard 
and  read  everything  in  conection  with  this  murder, 
I  know  that  I  was  wrong  in  the  beginning  and 
these  papers  right.  Official  Servia  was  behind  the 
dastardly  murder  plot.  Strange  as  it  may  seem,  a 
majority  of  the  papers  now  are  rather  inclined  to 
accept  my  first  version,  absolving  Servia.  Yet,  at 
the  beginning  there  was  no  evidence  available,  now 
there  is.  The  human  nature  of  editors  is  very  often 
inscrutable. 

The  purpose  of  this  study  is  to  shed  light  on  the 
proceedings  of  this  trial  which  began  on  October 
12th  and  ended  October  28th.  In  all  22  defend- 
ants were  tried  under  a  charge  of  high-treason, 
and  three  defendants  under  a  charge  of  complicity 
and  for  concealing  the  weapons  intended  for  the 
use  of  the  plotters  against  the  life  of  Archduke 
Francis  Ferdinand  and  the  Princess  Hohenberg. 
In  ordinary  times  a  jury  would  sit  in  a  trial  of  such 
character,  that  is  for  high-treason  or  for  murder. 
Both  crimes  are  comprised  in  the  list  of  the  25 
crimes  and  misdemeanors  of  the  introductory  Arti- 
cle VI  of  the  Austrian  Law  of  Criminal  procedure, 
for  which  jury  trials  are  prescribed  by  law.  In 
times  of  war,  however,  jury  trials  are  naturally 
suspended.    The  general  mobilization  of  the  army 


AUSTRIA-HUNGARY  AND  THE  WAR       81 

calls  for  the  serv>*e  of  jurymen  and  everybody 
alike.  This  of  course  provided  a  member  serving 
on  a  jury  would  come  under  the  provisions  of  the 
mobilization  order  at  all.  The  provisions  for  the 
first  line  of  the  army,  landwehr  and  landstrum,  in- 
clude male  persons  up  to  their  42nd  year  of  age 
only.  The  suspension  of  jury  trials  in  times  of 
war — as  prescribed  in  our  criminal  law  procedure, 
both  in  Austria  and  Hungary,  is  due  to  considera- 
tions of  expediency  rather  than  to  any  other  reason. 
This  does  not,  however,  interfere  with  the  publicity 
of  the  trials.  I  make  specific  mention  of  this,  be- 
cause prominent  American  papers,  as  shown  later, 
seem  to  be  under  the  wrong  impression  that  on  ac- 
count of  the  war,  administration  of  justice  in  Aus- 
tria-Hungary must  be  lagging  behind  and  impaired. 
Our  criminal  law  procedure  in  force  in  times  of 
war  explicitly  provides  that  every  grownup  and 
unarmed  person  is  admitted  to  the  main  hearing 
of  a  trial,  the  last  restriction  being  not  extended 
to  persons  who  carry  arms  because  of  their  office. 
Defendants  are  allowed  fullest  liberty  at  the  hearing 
in  bringing  out  every  evidence  to  strengthen  their 
case.  If  they  have  no  attorneys  of  their  own  selec- 
tion, the  court  appoints  attorneys  for  the  defense 
ex-officio,  as  is  done  in  this  country  under  similar 
circumstances.  Judgment  of  the  Court  must  be 
based  solely  on  evidence  presented  openly  at  the 
hearing  of  the  trial.  The  preliminary  examination 
of  a  criminal  case  is  done  by  a  special  judge  in 
conjunction  with  the  prosecuting  attorney.     This 


82       AUSTRIA-HUNGARY  AND  THE  WAR 

special  judge  cannot  be  a  member  of  the  Court  or 
Senate  before  which  the  case  is  heard  at  the  main 
trial.  The  defendant  has  to  be  taken  before  this 
special  judge  within  24  hours  after  his  arrest  and 
has  to  be  told  why  he  is  arrested.  The  Court  or 
Senate  before  which  a  criminal  case  is  tried  has 
to  consist  of  three  judges  (two  judges  and  a  pre- 
siding judge) .  In  a  trial  against  more  defendants 
than  one  or  two,  there  are  in  addition  two  assistant 
judges  for  substitution  purposes. 

In  the  Sarajevo  trial  the  Court  consisted  of  Cir- 
cuit Court  Judge  Dr.  Curinaldi  as  Presiding  Judge 
and  the  Common  Pleas  Court  Judges  Dr.  Naumo- 
Tics  and  Dr.  Hoffman  as  assessors.  The  two  sup- 
plementary Judges  were  Common  Pleas  Court 
Judges  Dr.  Fialka  and  Dr.  Pitha.  The  State  was 
represented  by  Prosecuting  Attorney  Svara  and 
Assistant  Prosecuting  Attorney  Dr.  Stark.  The 
following  attorneys  were  acting  for  the  defense: 
Dr.  Premuzics,  Dr.  Zistler,  Dr.  Feldbauer,  Dr. 
Perisics,  Judge  Strupl  and  Assistant  Judge  Malek. 

In  addition  to  the  25  defendants  there  were 
about  50  or  75  witnesses  heard  after  having  been 
sworn  in. 

PROSECUTING  ATTORNEY'S  OPENING  ADDRESS. 

I  will  now  first  recount  the  main  points  of  the 
prosecuting  attorney's  opening  address,  which  con- 
tains the  case  of  the  state.  The  state  commented 
extensively  on  the  whole  origin  of  the  conspiracy. 
This  is  stated  to  have  been  hatched  in  Belgrade, 


AUSTRIA-HUNGARY  AND  THE  WAR       83 

capital  of  Servia,  by  the  members  of  the  "Narodna 
Odbrana."  The  two  real  purposes  of  this  Servian 
society  were  to  use  every  possible  open  and  secret 
means  to  cause  a  disruption  of  the  neighboring 
monarchy.  It  advocated  the  disintegration  of  cer- 
tain provinces  from  the  main  body,  namely  Bosnia, 
Herzegovina,  Croatia  and  Slavonia,  and  some 
southern  counties  of  Hungary.  The  society  also 
entertained  an  active  propaganda  for  war  against 
Austria-Hungary.  General  Bozo  Jankovic  was  the 
president  of  this  society.  The  members  of  the 
Narodna  Odbrana  and  other  political  circles  in 
Belgrade  and  Servia  were  of  opinion — so  it  was 
charged — that  the  late  Archduke  Francis  Ferdi- 
nand would,  because  of  his  strong  individuality,  be 
a  strong  obstacle  to  the  union  of  all  these  provinces 
and  all  the  Southern  Slavs  under  Servian  sceptre. 
They  decreed,  therefore,  that  the  Archduke  must 
die.  Gavrilo  Princip,  Nedjelko  Cabrinovic  and 
Trifco  Grabez  were  selected  by  the  Narodna 
Odbrana  to  carry  out  the  death  warrant  against 
the  Archduke  during  the  latter's  stay  in  Sarajevo. 
For  this  purpose  they  were  put  under  the  orders 
of  Major  Voislar  Tankosic,  Major  Pribicevlc  and 
Mr.  Ciganovic,  an  oflScer  of  the  Servian  State  Rail- 
ways. All  three  were  members  of  the  Narodnn 
Odbrana,  They  supplied  bombs  and  Browninj.; 
pistols,  from  the  Royal  Servian  arsenal  at  Kraguje 
vac.  Moreover  Ciganovic  instructed  the  thre« 
named  defendants  in  the  use  of  Browning  pistols 
training  them  on  an  open  ground  near  Topsider, 


84       AUSTRIA-HUNGARY  AND  THE  WAR 

Belgrade.  Finally,  they  supplied  the  three  de- 
fendants with  a  sufficient  dose  of  cyanide  potassium, 
in  order  that  they  should  commit  suicide  after 
the  performance  of  their  deed,  whereby  their 
relations  with  the  Servian  officials  would  never 
become  known.  With  the  aid  of  the  Narodna  Od- 
brana  all  weapons  were  smuggled  from  Belgrade 
across  the  Servian  frontier  and  farther  to  Sarajevo. 
Thus  the  three  defendants  were  first  recommended 
to  the  good  care  of  the  Servian  Major  Popovic  in 
Sabac,  a  member  of  the  Narodna  Odbrana,  who 
gave  them  further  recommendations  to  the  Captain 
of  the  Eoyal  Servian  Border  Police  in  Loznica, 
another  member.  He  also  obtained  reduced  fare 
for  them  on  the  Servian  railways.  From  here  they 
were  recommended  by  the  said  captain  to  Mr. 
Grbic,  an  officer  of  the  Royal  Servian  customs  serv- 
ice. Thence  they  were  guided  to  the  island — Isako- 
vica  Ada,  on  the  river  Drina,  and  from  here  to 
Trnvo,  Bosnia.  Two  confidential  agents  of  the  Na- 
rodna Odbrana,  by  name  of  Mico  Micic  and  Yakov 
Milovic  acted  as  their  guides.  In  Trnvo  the  local 
representative  of  the  Narodna  Odbrana,  by  name 
of  Obren  Milosevic,  took  charge  of  them  and  brought 
them  in  touch  with  Veljko  Cubrilovic,  teacher  in 
Priboj,  County  of  Zwomik.  This  latter  brought 
them  to  Mitar  Jovo,  Blagoje,  Nedjo  Kerovic  and 
Cvijan  Zepanovic,  all  of  whom  were  confidential 
agents  of  the  oftnamed  Narodna  Odbrana.  These 
men  took  them  to  Misko  Jovanovic,  a  merchant  in 
Tuzla,  Bosnia,  who  was  also  an  accredited  agent 


AUSTRIA-HUNGARY  AND  THE  WAR       85 

of  the  same  society.  In  his  house  they  concealed 
all  weapons,  whence  Misko  Jovanovic  and  another 
member  of  the  Narodna  Odbrana,  Ilic  Danilo, 
a  newspaper  man  and  former  teacher,  trans- 
ferred them  to  Sarajevo,  capital  of  Bosnia.  The 
latter  subsequently  engaged  three  confederates,  by 
name  of  Vazo  Cubrilovic,  Svjetko  Popovic,  gradu- 
ates of  a  college  in  Sarajevo,  and  Mehmedbasic, 
resident  of  Stolac,  to  assist  the  three  first  named 
defendants  in  the  carrying  out  of  their  deed.  The 
last  three  named  men  were  adepts  of  the  Greater 
Servia  propaganda.  Ilic  Danilo  also  distributed 
the  weapons  among  them  on  the  day  when  the  mur- 
der took  place.  He  likewise  showed  them  the  places 
where  they  were  to  post  themselves.  A  student  by 
name  of  Lazar  Dukic  (Gyukic)  assisted  him  in  this 
work.  Jovo  Kranjcevic,  another  student  of  Sara- 
jevo, arranged  with  the  above  named  Vazo  Cub- 
rilovic that  he  would  conceal  all  weapons  after  the 
murder  had  either  been  carried  out  successfully  or 
failed.  Finally  it  was  claimed  by  the  state  that 
four  other  students,  namely  Branko  Zagorac,  Mar- 
ko  Perin,  Dragan  Kalenber  and  Nicola  Forkazic, 
had  previous  knowledge  of  the  murder  plot  and  did 
not  inform  the  authorities  as  prescribed  by  law.  Ned- 
jelko  Cabrinovic,  the  first  named  defendant,  threw 
a  bomb  on  the  automobile  in  which  the  late  Arch- 
duke and  Princess  Hohenberg  were  driven.  This 
bomb  exploded  but  did  not  hurt  the  august  couple. 
The  explosion  injured,  however,  thirteen  by- 
Btanders,  some  of  them  seriously.    Later  on  Gavrilo 


86       AUSTRIA-HUNGARY  AND  THE  WAR 

Prinzip  fired  two  shots  from  his  Browning  pistol 
on  the  Crown  Prince's  automobile,  when  the  latter 
drove  back  from  the  reception  at  the  Mayor's  office. 
After  the  murder  Ivan  Momcinevic,  a  shoemaker; 
Franjo  Sadilo,  another  shoemaker,  and  the  latter's 
wife.  And jela,  took  all  the  weapons  from  JovoKran- 
jcevic,  mentioned  heretofore,  and  concealed  them. 
Nor  did  they  surrender  them,  when  the  police  came 
to  make  inquiries;  in  fact,  they  denied  all  knowl- 
edge about  their  whereabouts. 

The  above  specified  acts  constitute  crimes  of  high 
treason  under  Paragraph  I  of  Art.  Ill  of  the  Crimi- 
nal Law.  All  the  forenamed  defendants  were  ar- 
rested and  have  to  stand  trial,  with  the  exception 
of  Mehmedbasic,  who  fled  to  Montenegro. 

This  is  the  gist  of  the  state's  case.  It  can  be 
seen  that  the  state  has  followed  up  the  murder  plot 
from  the  very  beginnings.  The  charge  of  intellec- 
tual authorship  and  participation  of  the  Narodna 
Odbrana  is  not  made  in  a  general,  vague  way,  but 
the  particular  instances  whereon  this  charge  rests 
are  specified.  The  hiring  of  the  murderers,  supply- 
ing them  with  the  required  weapons,  smuggling 
both  these  latter  and  the  hired  murderers  across  the 
Servian  frontier  is  minutely  recounted.  Every  de- 
tail of  the  preparation  of  the  murder  seems  to  have 
had  the  careful  planning  and  help  of  this  powerful 
society,  which  had  its  ramifications  all  over  Servia, 
Bosnia  and  many  other  parts  of  the  Austro-Hun- 
garian  Monarchy.  If  we  accept  Professor  Pupin's 
admission,  even  here  in  the  United  States. 


■''^^^ 


AUSTRIA-HUNGARY  AND  THE  WAR       87 

The  hearing  of  the  testimony  took  many  days. 
It  would  be  out  of  place  to  report  the  entire  testi- 
mony within  the  limited  space  of  this  study.  I 
will,  however,  endeavor  to  bring  in  all  the  main 
points  which  the  more  important  defendants  and 
witnesses  admitted  either  in  confirmation  or  supple- 
ment of  the  prosecuting  attorney's  charges  or  which 
they  denied. 

On  the  whole  it  must  be  acknowledged  by  every 
impartial  person  who  has  followed  the  reports  of 
the  trial,  that  this  latter  was  extremely  fair  and 
that  the  testimony  has  substantiated  the  State's 
contentions  in  practically  every  detail.  It  has  also 
brought  out  many  new,  damaging  facts. 

TESTIMONY  OF  DEFENDANTS. 

This  is  some  of  the  more  important  testimony: 
1.  Nedjelko  Cabrinovic,  the  bomb-thrower,  con- 
fessed that  he  had  made  the  acquaintance  of  Milan 
Vasic,  Royal  Servian  Major  and  Secretary  of  the 
Narodna  Odbrana  in  Belgrade,  some  time  before 
and  had  received  money  and  instructions  from  him 
concerning  the  whole  propaganda  of  the  Narodna 
Odbrana.  This  was  at  the  time  of  the  Balkan  war. 
He  was  at  that  time  employed  by  Professor  Zivojin 
Barcic,  director  of  the  State  printing  office  in  Bel- 
grade, and  a  member  on  the  executive  staff  of  the 
Narodna  Odbrana.  Cabrinovic  confessed  that 
through  his  constant  affiliation  with  this  society  he 
became  thoroughly  imbued  with  the  idea  that  it  was 
the  duty  of  every  member  to  find  means  thai  all  the 


88       AUSTRIA-HUNGARY  AND  THE  WAR 

Southern  Slav  districts  of  Austria-Hungary  should 
he  detached  from  the  monarchy  hy  force  and  should 
he  united  at  least  temporarily  with  Servia.  His 
individual  desire  was  then  to  organize  a  Southern 
Slav  republic. 

Early  in  the  spring  of  1914,  he  was  informed  of 
the  impending  arrival  of  Archduke  Francis  Ferdi- 
nand in  Sarajevo  for  the  military  manoeuvres.  He 
discussed  with  Prinzip  and  one  Joko  Bajic  what 
could  be  done.  All  three  decided  to  inquire  from 
members  of  the  Narodna  Odbrana.  The  last  named 
was  a  member  of  the  society  and  suggested  to  con- 
sult Major  Milan  Pribiecevic  and  Professor  Zivojin 
Barcic,  employer  of  Cabrinovic.  However,  these 
were  just  then  absent  from  Belgrada  ■Prinzip 
thereupon  suggested  to  enter  into  communication 
with  Milan  Ciganovic,  officer  of  the  Servian  State 
Railways.  Ciganovic  was  closely  connected  with 
all  the  leaders  of  the  Narodna  Odbrana.  He  had 
f  ji'merly  been  a  so-called  "Komitadji,"  leader  of  a 
kjcrvian  franctireur-band.  From  the  testimony  of 
Cabrinovic  it  can  be  safely  deduced,  that  before 
Prinzip  had  made  his  suggestion,  he  had  already 
consulted  Ciganovic.  Ciganovic  took  them  to  Major 
Tankosic  and  through  their  joint  aid — so  Cabrino- 
vic admitted — they  were  supplied  with  four  Brown- 
ing pistols  and  six  bombs.  He  also  admitted  that 
they  were  supplied  with  a  sufficient  dose  of  cyanide 
potassium  to  enable  them  to  commit  suicide.  They 
had  been  admonished  not  to  give  away  either  Major 
Tankosic^  who  was  a  leading  officer  of  the  Servicurp 


AUSTRIA-HUNGARY  AND  THE  WAR       89 

General  Staff,  or  anybody  connected  with  the  Nar- 
odna  Odbrana.  He  then  recounted  their  whole 
trip  from  Belgrade,  substantiating  in  nearly  every 
point  the  prosecuting  attorney's  charges.  He 
brought  out  two  additional  facts,  to  wit :  that  Major 
Popovic  in  Sabac,  to  whom  they  had  been  directed 
by  headquarters  in  Belgrade,  supplied  him  and  his 
confederates  with  false  passports, a  false  description 
of  their  persons  and  letters  to  the  Servian  Captain, 
Joco  Prvanovic,  in  Losnica.  The  other  sensational 
admission  was  that  Professor  Zivojin  Barcic,  in- 
fluential member  of  the  Narodna  Odbrana,  had  in- 
troduced him  to  the  Croum  Prince  Alexander  of 
Servia.  This  meeting  took  place  in  April  of  this 
year  at  9  o'clock  in  the  evening.  Cabrinovic  had  a 
long  talk  with  the  Crown  Prince,  but  refused  to 
disclose  the  nature  of  this  conversation.  This  pre- 
sentation late  in  the  evening,  at  a  time  when  the 
Archduke's  visit  in  Sarajevo  was  already  known, 
must  certainly  be  considered  as  significant  The 
Court  did  not  press  this  point  very  stronglHl  -low 
ever,  as  it  is  a  standing  rule  in  our  law  prrf^ 
that  the  doings  and  statements  of  members  of  reign- 
ing families  cannot  be  discussed  at  public  hearings. 
This  rule  seems  to  have  been  observed  to  a  con- 
siderable extent,  although  Austria-Hungary  is  in 
war  with  Servia,  proving  the  tact  and  reserve  of 
the  Court,  Such  and  similar  questions  were  left 
for  the  diplomatic  and  political  authorities  to  de- 
cide. 
Cabrinovic   broke  down    repeatedly   under   the 


90       AUSTRIA-HUNGAKY  AND  THE  WAR 

strain  of  his  depositions.  Some  admissions  con- 
cerning letters  of  recommendation  he  only  made 
after  the  letters  had  been  shown  to  him.  One  letter 
had  been  found  by  the  Austro-Hungarian  troops 
after  their  occupation  of  Loznica.  Cabrinovic  also 
admitted  that  he  was  afraid  of  Major  Tankosic, 
assistant  Chief  of  the  Servian  General  Staff,  and 
that  was  the  reason  he  participated  in  the  murder 
plot. 

2.  The  second  defendant,  Gavrilo  Prinzip,  acted 
very  differently  from  the  previous  witness.  He  did 
not  exhibit  signs  of  regret  or  compunction  over  his 
murderous  acts.  Prinzip  was  for  the  last  four 
years  a  student  of  a  college  in  Belgrade.  Formerly 
he  had  been  at  a  school  in  Tuzla,  Bosnia.  During 
his  residence  in  Belgrade  he  became  convinced  that 
all  Southern  Slav  districts  of  Austria-Hungary, 
including  Bosnia  and  Herzegovina,  must  be  taken 
away  from  the  monarchy  by  force,  if  necessary. 
That  was  the  mission  of  Servia.  Asked  about  the 
activities  of  the  Narodna  Odbrana,  Prinzip  replied 
that  this  society  had  the  aim  to  raise  the  national 
conscience  of  Servia.  He  admitted  knowing  Major 
Tankosic,  Ciganovic,  admitted  having  received  150 
dinars  from  the  latter  and  a  dose  of  cyanide  potas- 
sium to  commit  suicide  after  the  murder.  Prinzip 
confessed  that  he  had  taken  this  poison  as  advised, 
but  vomited  it  out  again  and  suffered  no  harm.  He 
admitted  having  received  the  bombs  and  pistols 
from  Ciganovic  and  Major  Tankosic.  Although  very 
reluctantly  he  had  to  admit  the  receipt  of  letters 


AUSTRIA-HUNGARY  AND  THE  WAR       91 

to  the  various  officers  of  the  Narodna  Odbrana  en 
route  from  Belgrade  to  Sarajevo.  Prinzip  was  also 
very  reluctant  about  giving  away  any  of  his  con- 
federates, but  contradicted  himself  repeatedly.  He 
admitted  of  course  having  shot  both  the  Archduke 
and  his  consort.  An  important  admission  which  he 
made  was  to  the  effect  that  he  had  written  Danilo 
Ilic  in  the  beginning  of  May  of  the  current  pear 
from  Belgrade  that  a  murder  plot  was  being  hatched 
against  Archduke  Francis  Ferdinand.  He  asked 
for  his  assistance. 

3.  Trifko  Grabez  was  the  next  defendant.  He 
admitted  almost  everything  that  had  been  admitted 
by  his  two  confederates  about  the  receipt  in  Bel- 
grade of  the  bombs,  pistols,  money  and  letters  to 
various  members  of  the  Narodna  Odbrana.  A  new 
point  in  his  testimony  was  the  admission  that  when 
they  met  Veljko  Cubrilovic,  a  member  of  the  Nar- 
adna  Odbrana,  the  latter  instantly  asked  them 
whether  the  bombs  and  pistols  were  to  be  used  in 
the  plot  against  the  life  of  Archduke  Francis  Fer- 
dinand. The  prosecuting  attorney  singled  out  this 
admission  as  an  instance  that  the  Narodna  Odbrana 
had  evidently  instructed  all  of  its  members  who 
could  be  of  assistance,  to  give  help  to  the  murderers. 
Grabez  admitted  that  he  was  ready  to  kill  the  Arch- 
duke, had  he  had  a  chance.  He  was  told  by  Danilo 
Ilic  to  post  himself  at  the  Carjeva  Cuprija  in  Sara- 
jevo and  fire  at  the  Archduke's  automobile  when  the 
latter  left  the  Konak,  the  residence  of  the  Governor. 
After  the  murder  he  tried  to  escape  but  was  arrested 


92       AUSTRIA-HUNGARY  AND  THE  WAR 

on  the  way  to  the  Servian  town  of  Visehrad.  Gra- 
bez  admitted  that  the  bombs  which  they  received  in 
Belgrade  were  entirely  like  those  which  came  from 
the  Royal  Servian  arsenal  at  Kragujevac. 

4.  The  next  defendant  was  Danilo  I  lie,  a  bank 
clerk,  who  went  shortly  before  the  murder  from 
Sarajevo  to  Belgrade.  From  there  he  returned  to 
Sarajevo  and  took  positions  with  two  Servian 
papers.  Ilic  admitted  having  distributed  the  bombs, 
pistols  and  the  cyanide  potassium  among  the  con- 
spirators. He  was  a  poor  witness,  contradicting 
himself  frequently. 

5.  Vaso  Cuhrilovic,  a  student  of  a  Sarajevo  col- 
lege, admitted  his  intention  to  kill  the  Crown 
Prince.  He  testified  that  upon  receipt  of  the  news 
of  the  Crown  Prince's  arrival,  he  instantly  con- 
ceived the  plan  to  kill  him.  He  talked  matters 
over  with  a  friend  by  name, of  Gyukic,  who  took 
him  to  Danilo  Ilic.  Here  he  was  informed  that 
everything  had  heen  arranged  in  Belgrade  for  the 
murder  of  the  Croion  Prince,  whence  weapons  would 
he  supplied.  He  further  admitted  having  received 
instructions  from  Ilic  as  to  the  use  of  throwing 
bombs. 

6.  Cvejtko  Popovic  was  the  next  defendant.  He 
had  frequented  a  school  in  Sarajevo  to  prepare  for 
school  teaching.  He  had  been  reading  pamphlets 
against  Austria-Hungary  and  expressed  himself  in 
fullest  sympathy  with  the  Pan- Servian  propaganda. 
Cubrilovic  had  asked  him  to  join  the  conspiracy 
against  the  Crown  Prince  and  he  gladly  heeded  the 


AUSTRIA-HUNGARY  AND  THE  WAR       93 

call.  He  was  posted  on  the  corner  of  Cumuria 
Street,  near  the  Appel  Riverside  Avenue,  and  was 
expected  to  throw  bombs  at  the  Crown  Prince  when 
the  latter's  automobile  passed  by.  He  confessed 
that  he  had  also  received  a  dose  of  cyanide  potas- 
sium from  Hie,  but  courage  left  him  at  the  last 
minute  to  throw  the  bomb.  He  expressed  regret 
for  the  deed. 

7.  The  next  defendant,  Veliko  Ciibrilovic,  tes- 
tified that  he  had  been  twice  in  Belgrade,  once  at  a 
congress  of  teachers  and  the  second  time  to  cele- 
brate the  Servian  Sokolday.  He  met  Bozo  Milan- 
ovic,  the  president  of  the  Narodna  Odbrana,  at 
Sabac  at  one  of  his  visits  and  was  asked  by  this 
latter  to  make  a  secret  propaganda  for  the  society's 
aims  in  Bosnia.  He  admitted  that  the  clvairman  of 
all  Servian  societies  in  larger  townships  or  villages 
of  Bosnia  were  members  of  the  executive  staff  of 
the  Narodna  Odbrana.  He  was  himself  president 
of  the  Servian  Sokol  in  Priboj,  and  in  this  capacity 
belonged  to  the  Narodna  Odbrana.  He  made  dam- 
aging admissions  concerning  the  activities  of  many 
confederates.  He  confessed  that  he  was  sure  about 
it,  that  a  strong  revolutionary  committee  stood  be- 
hind Prinzip  and  his  confederates,  which  had  sup- 
plied them  with  the  deadly  weapons.  He  was,  how- 
ever, not  prepared  to  admit  that  the  Narodna  Od- 
brana was  the  revolutionary  committee,  although 
everything  pointed  to  that  assumption.  When 
shoivn  a  letter  of  the  Servian  Army  Inspector  to  the 
commander    of    tfie    Drina    Division    of    October 


94       AUSTRIA-HUNGARY  AND  THE  WAR 

5,  1911,  wherein  the  latter  vms  advised  that  the 
Sokol,  Pohratimstwo  and  other  Servian  societies 
in  Bosnia  merely  acted  as  '^dummies''  to  cover  up 
the  revolutionary  propaganda  of  the  Narodna  Od- 
hrana,  he  tried  to  give  an  evasive  answer.  There- 
upon he  VMS  shown  evidence  to  the  effect  that  he 
had  supplied  the  Servian  Government  with  a  minute 
description  of  all  roads,  rivers,  brooks,  wells  and 
the  whole  topography  of  the  Bosnian  district  of 
Zvornik,  also  a  complete  list  of  all  Servian  fam- 
ilies residing  in  this  district.  For  this  work  he 
had  received  50  dinars.  Reluctantly  he  admitted 
this  to  be  true,  but  tried  to  explain  that  this  work 
served  literary  purposes  only.  Apparently  by  an 
oversight  he  gave  away  that  Professor  Dedijer  had 
prepared  a  similar  topographic  description  of  Her- 
zegovina. He  testified  to  the  knowledge  of  the 
Servian  origin  of  the  homhs  and  said  that  he  knew 
that  he  would  have  heen  killed  hy  the  Servian  revo- 
lutionaries had  he  not  aided  the  confederates  as 
requested. 

His  testimony  was  very  important,  as  it  supplietl 
some  missing  links  in  the  chain  of  evidence  against 
the  Narodna  Odbrana,  In  connection  with  his 
testimony  the  State  entered  as  evidence  the  official 
files  of  the  recent  trial  against  a  Servian  spy  hy 
name  of  Alexa  Popovic,  in  Banjaluka,  Bosnia, 
which  clearly  demonstrate  that  Bozo  Milanovic, 
above  named  president  of  the  Narodna  Odbrana  in 
Sabac,  Servia,  was  also  directing  the  Servian  cen- 
tral spy  office  over  the  whole  of  Bosnia. 


AUSTRIA-HUNGARY  AND  THE  WAR       95 

7a.  Misko  Jovanovic  was  the  next  defendant.  He 
is  the  son  of  a  wealthy  merchant  and  owner  of  a 
moving  picture  show.  He  was  a  special  agent  of 
the  Narodna  Odbrana.  He  admitted  having  re- 
ceived about  forty  books  concerning  revolutionary 
literature  sent  to  him  by  Bozo  Milanovic,  president 
of  the  N.  O.  in  Sabac,  which  he  distributed  among 
Bosnian  peasants.  When  shown  a  circular  letter 
which  he  had  addressed  to  the  Sokol  Society  at  Tuzla, 
of  which  he  was  the  superintendent,  and  asked  to 
explain,  he  gave  an  evasive  answer.  This  was  one 
passage  of  the  circular  letter:  "Beloved  brethren: 
We  have  not  been  given  the  privilege  of  sacrificing 
our  lives  for  the  liberation  of  our  country,  for 
Servia.  It  is  our  sacred  duty  to  help  our  (Servian) 
brethren  with  financial  contributions/'  He  ad- 
mitted having  discussed  the  matter  of  the  murder 
of  the  Crown  Prince,  but  he  said  he  thought  that 
the  murder  would  not  come  off.  He  admitted,  more- 
over, having  concealed  the  weapons  in  his  house 
in  Tuzla  and  transferred  them  later  to  Doboj. 
Nevertheless  he  had  sent  a  telegram  of  regret  to 
His  Majesty  the  Emperor  and  King  after  the  mur- 
der, signing  this  telegram  as  the  superintendent  of 
the  Sokol  Society  at  Tuzla. 

7b.  Lazar  Gjukic,  student  of  a  State  normal 
school,  and  Branko  Zagorac,  student  of  a  commer- 
cial school,  admitted  having  had  previous  knowledge 
of  the  murder  plot  and  various  discussions  with  the 
chief  conspirators.  Milan  Kranjcevic  pleaded 
guilty  to  the  charge  that  he  had  not  denounced  to 


96       AUSTRIA-HUNGARY  AND  THE  WAR 

the  authorities  that  the  Narodna  Odbrana  had  sup- 
plied bombs  for  the  murder  of  the  Crown  Prince, 
although  having  had  previous  knowledge  of  the 
whole  plot.  He  admitted  that  it  was  a  matter  of 
common  knowledge  among  all  his  friends  that  the 
Narodna  Odbrana  enlisted  so-called  komitadjis, 
that  is  bands  distributing  bombs  among  them,  and 
that  the  scope  of  the  whole  propaganda  of  this 
society  was  to  establish  a  great  Southern  Slav  Em- 
pire under  the  leadership  of  the  dynasty  of  Kara- 
gyorgyevic.  He  regretted  the  murder  of  the  Crown 
Prince,  hut  he  avowed  that  it  was  necessary  to  kill 
a  person  of  exalted  rank  as  a  sign  of  protest. 

8.  Marko  Perim,  a  student,  Nicola  Forkazic,  a 
high  school  student,  Dragan  Kalemher,  another 
student,  and  Miko  Micic,  a  baker,  had  all  prelimi- 
nary knowledge  of  the  murder  plot,  but  did  not  re- 
port it  to  the  authorities.  Their  depositions  were 
not  very  important. 

The  last  named  was  shown  various  letters  found 
in  Loznica,  Servia,  after  the  occupation  of  this 
place  by  the  Austro-Hungarian  troops,  which 
proved  his  complicity  in  the  murder  plot.  He, 
however,  denied  his  guilt. 

9.  The  next  defendant,  Jakov  Milovic,  was  a 
peasant.  He  was  charged  with  having  aided  the 
murderers  on  the  Servian  frontier  and  put  them 
into  touch  with  some  of  the  individuals  named  in 
the  charge  of  the  prosecuting  attorney.  He  was  a 
very  unwilling  witness.  The  next  defendant  was 
also  a  peasant  by  name  of  Ohren  Milosevic.     He 


AUSTKIA-HUNGARY  AND  THE  WAR       97 

admitted  that  the  forenamed  Milovic  had  brought 
the  murderers  to  him.  When  he  first  refused  to 
have  anything  to  do  with  them,  Milovic  gave  the 
secret  sign.  Thereupon  he  took  charge  of  the  homhs 
and  Milovic  carried  the  revolvers. 

10.  The  next  three  defendants  were  a  father 
and  his  two  sons,  by  name  of  Mitar  Kerovic,  a 
peasant,  Nedo  and  Blagoja  Kerovic.  They  had 
been  asked  by  Cubrilovie  to  drive  the  murderers 
in  a  cart  to  Tuzla.  They  had  seen  the  bombs  and 
pistols  and  were  told  for  what  purpose  they  would 
be  used.  They  were  afraid  to  report  this  to  the  aiu- 
thorities.  Cubrilovie  had  vmrned  them  to  he  silent. 
"The  hoys  came  from  Servia  and  will  risk  their^ 
lives,  therefore  it  is  necessary  to  keep  mum"  so  he 
had  told  them. 

Blagoja  Kerovic  testified  that  he  had  been  told 
that  Bosnia  was  a  tear  in  the  eye  of  Servia,  and  that 
Trifko  Grabez,  one  of  the  three  chief  defendants, 
had  confided  to  him  that  if  they  were  hetrayed,  there 
would  he  people  in  Servia  who  would  revenge  them. 
Cvijan  Stjepanovic  substantiated  the  latter's  testi- 
mony. 

11.  Ivan  Momcinevic,  shoemaker,  Frank  Sadilo, 
carpenter,  and  his  -wifey Angela Sadilo^were  charged 
with  having  received  some  of  the  weapons  from  the 
defendant  Kranjcevic  in  Sarajevo.  They  admitted 
this,  but  excused  themselves  that  they  did  not  think 
that  there  was  anything  important  connected  with 
the  safekeeping  of  these  arms.  Sadilo  injected 
humor  into  his  testimony.    He  said  that  he  liked 


98       AUSTRIA-HUNGARY  AND  THE  WAR 

the  Serbs,  when  he  did  not  see  them.    He  admitted 
being  a  Croatian  and  a  Catholic, 

12.  Next  to  the  hearing  of  the  testimony  of  the 
defendants  the  exact  age  of  Gavrilo  Prinzip,  the 
chief  plotter  and  murderer,  was  ascertained.  Ac- 
cording to  the  church  record  he  was  born  on  July 
13th,  1894.  In  another  record  of  the  same  church, 
however,  the  birthdate  was  given  as  June  13th, 
1894. 

TESTIMONY  OF  WITNESSES  AND  OTHER  EVIDENCE. 

Then  followed  the  testimony  of  witnesses: 

13.  The  first  witness,  Trifko  Krstanovic,  was 
one  of  the  most  important  witnesses  of  the  State 
to  demonstrate  the  sinister  activities  of  the  Narodna 
Odbrana  against  Austria-Hungary. 

Witness  is  an  orthodox  Servian.  He  came  to 
Servia  before  the  annexation  of  Bosnia  and  Her- 
czegovina,  viz.,  before  1908.  He  came  to  Belgrade 
after  unsuccessful  efforts  to  find  a  position;  he 
was  on  the  point  of  returning  to  Bosnia  when  he 
met  a  police  officer  who  took  a  fancy  to  him.  The 
officer  sent  him  to  Major,  then  Captain,  Tankosic, 
member  of  the  Narodna  Odbrana.  This  latter  em- 
ployed him  as  a  "komitadji."  Later  on  he  was 
transferred  to  the  staff  of  Major  Pribicevic.  There 
were  twenty  others  with  him;  the  number,  how- 
ever, gradually  increased  to  140.  They  were  taught 
how  to  lay  mines,  blow  up  tunnels  and  destroy 
railway  tracks.  General  Bozo  Jankovic,  president 
of  the  Narodna  Odbrana  in  Belgrade  and  the  whole 


AUSTRIA-HUNGARY  AND  THE  WAR       99 

of  Servia,  often  inspected  them  and  paid  for  their 
board.  In  addition  they  were  paid  25  paras  a  day 
for  tobacco.  Major  Pribicevic,  another  member  of 
the  Narodna  Odbrana,  inspected  them  twice  a  week. 
After  the  annexation  of  Bosnia  they  were  dis- 
charged. Through  the  good  offices  of  General  Jan- 
kovic  he  came  in  the  employ  of  the  Narodna  Od- 
brana direct.  Jankovic  sent  him  repeatedly  on 
secret  missions  to  Sabac  and  to  the  frontiers.  Gen- 
eral Jankovic  had  told  him  that  the  powers  in  he- 
ing  {viz.  Russia)  had  wanted  Servia  to  formally 
acknowledge  the  annexation  of  Bosnia,  hut  also  to 
he  in  readiness  for  the  first  emergency.  At  that 
time  the  Narodna  Odbrana  was  engaged  in  spy- 
work.  It  entertained  a  little  depot  of  arms  in  the 
War  Office.  Witness  also  met  the  Servian  officers 
Optrkic  and  Bralovic,  in  addition  to  the  first  named 
two  majors,  Tankosic  and  Pribicevic,  who  were  to 
play  such  an  important  part  in  the  murder  plot 
against  the  Crown  Prince.  Witness  testified  that 
from  personal  knowledge  he  knew  that  only  well- 
to-do  and  such  persons  could  be  members  of  the 
Narodna  Odbrana  in  Bosnia,  who  could  keep  their 
mouths  shut.  Witness  was  17  months  in  this  em- 
ploy as  the  special  orderly  of  General  Jankovic. 
After  that  he  entered  the  services  of  BozoMilanovic, 
the  president  of  the  Narodna  Odbrana  in  Sabac, 
whose  name  was  repeatedly  mentioned  above.  After 
seven  months  of  service  he  (Milanovic)  gave  him  a 
membership  ticket  of  the  Narodna  Odbrana.  This 
ticket  consisted  of  a  card  of  Milanovic,  over  whose 


100     AUSTRIA-HUNGARY  AND  THE  WAR 

name  "Narodna  Odhrana"  was  inscribed  with  a 
seal  and  a  deathhead  between  two  hands. 

From  Sabac  witness  was  sent  to  the  War  Office 
for  revolvers.  There  was  continuous  intercourse 
betwen  the  Narodna  Odbrana  and  the  War  Office. 
In  the  War  Office  he  saw  the  exact  topographic  map 
of  Bosnia.  At  one  occasion  he  received  orders  from 
the  Narodna  Odbrana  to  go  to  Bosnia  and  murder 
one  Ljuho  Stanojevic.  This  order  was  later  with- 
drawn. Witness  had  a  pay  of  60  dinars,  but  found 
that  this  was  not  enough  and  so  he  left  the  employ 
of  the  Narodna  Odbrana  after  four  years'  service. 
General  Jankovic  questioned  him  why  he  wanted 
to  leave.  When  he  answered  that  he  did  not  receive 
enough  pay,  he  was  arrested.  Later  on  he  was 
released  upon  the  intervention  of  a  Servian  mem- 
ber of  the  Bosnian  Diet  and  was  allowed  to  open  a 
bakery  in  Bosnia.  Witness  declared  that  in  Servia 
the  feeling  of  hatred  for  Austria-Hungary  ran  very 
high  and  everything  had  been  done  for  years  to  pre- 
pare the  war  against  Austria-Hungary.  According 
to  witness.  Major  Pribicevic  had  probably  not  par- 
ticipated in  the  plot,  because  he  would  have  been 
more  clever  in  suppressing  all  evidence  of  com- 
plicity than  Major  Tankosic  was. 

14.  Letters  were  next  read  of  the  witnesses: 
Mr.  Arthur  Job  and  Mr.  Ibrahim  Gjuzilberg,  who 
had  both  been  injured  by  the  bomb  explosion. 

15.  After  the  testimony  of  a  few  eye  witnesses 
who  had  seen  the  throwing  of  the  bomb  by  Cabrino- 
vic  the  testimony  of  Ljubo  Stanarincic  was  heard. 


AUSTRIA-HUNGARY  AND  THE'^AJR' '  lOl 

This  man  had  been  in  Servia  for  some  time  and  was 
arrested  there  as  a  spy,  but  escaped  and  came  to 
Bosnia.  He  testified  that  he  knew  from  personal 
knowledge  that  ofl&cers  in  the  active  service  of  the 
Servian  army  commanded  the  "Komitadji's."  At 
the  time  of  the  a/nnexation  of  Bosnia  and  later  on, 
the  Narodna  Odbrana  employed  these  Komitadjis 
against  Austria-Hungary ,  declaring  a  war  of  life 
and  death  against  the  monarchy.  The  Narodna 
Odhrana  received  subsidies  from  the  Servian  Gov- 
ernment and  was  allowed  the  privilege  of  using 
arms  of  the  state  arsenals.  The  so-called  black 
legion  was  a  subdepartment  of  the  Narodna  Od- 
brana which  had  the  task  to  assassinate  everybody 
who  would  do  anything  against  the  Na/rodna 
Odbrana. 

16.  Defendant  Gabrinovic,  who  had  listened  to 
this  testimony,  stated  on  rebuttal  that  it  was  true 
in  substance  and  all  particulars  except  that  there 
was  no  inscription  on  the  arms  showing  that  they 
actually  were  Servian  state  arms. 

17.  Vlado  Kujundcic  was  the  next  witness.  He 
had  been  a  Servian  Komitadji.  He  confirmed  the 
last  witness'  testimony.  He  also  deposed  that  at 
the  time  of  the  occupation  of  Loznica  and  Little 
Zvornik  by  the  Austro-Hungarian  troops,  at  which 
he  was  present,  it  was  found  in  the  files  of  Servian 
Government  in  these  places  that  in  that  district 
alone  Servia  maintained  an  organization  of  100 
spies.  Micic,  one  of  the  defendants,  was  also  named 
as  one  of  the  highly  qualified  secret  agents.    The 


102     AUSTRIA  HONGARY  AND  THE  WAR 

files  also  demonstrated  plainly  that  the  Servian 
Sokol  and  Pobratimstvo  societies  in  Bosnia  were 
merely  acting  as  "dummies"  for  the  revolutionary 
propaganda  of  the  Narodna  Odbrana. 

18.  Next  came  the  testimony  of  eight  witnesses 
who  had  been  injured  by  the  explosion  of  the  bomb 
which  Gabrinovic  had  thrown  on  the  automobile 
of  the  Crown  Prince.    Their  testimony  is  irrelevant. 

19.  The  next  witness  was  General  Potioreh, 
military  governor  of  Bosnia.  He  gave  a  graphic 
description  of  how  the  bomb  was  thrown  which  in- 
jured several  persons,  also  Lieutenant-Colonel 
Merici.  The  Crown  Prince,  so  witness  deposed,  in- 
sisted on  visiting  the  wounded  officer  in  the  hospital 
after  the  reception  was  over,  although  he  ( the  wit- 
ness) had  warned  him  to  drive  to  Ilidze  on  a  differ- 
ent road  than  the  one  marked  out  in  the  program. 
When  the  automobile  of  the  Crown  Prince  turned 
into  Francis  Joseph  Road  he  suddenly  heard  two 
detonations  and  saw  both  the  Crown  Prince  and 
Princess  Hohenberg  fall  down  from  their  seats.  He 
recounted  other  particulars  of  the  murder  which 
are  sufficiently  known,  through  cable  and  press 
reports. 

20.  Next  came  the  testimony  of  physicians  who 
had  conducted  the  post  mortem  and  of  a  number 
of  eye-witnesses  who  had  seen  the  murderers  in  the 
act.  Their  testimony  is  of  no  particular  interest. 
One  witness,  Dohroslav  Jevdevic,  testified  that  to 
his  personal  knowledge  Prinzip,  the  murderer  of  the 
Crown  Prince,  had  had  an  entry  to  the  highest 


AUSTRIA-HUNGARY  AND  THE  WAR     103 

circles  in  Belgrade.    He  did  not  specify  what  these 
highest  circles  were. 

21.  Dragutin  Stojanovic,  ofl&cer  of  the  Servian 
State  Railways,  testified  that  he  heard  in  Belgrade 
that  a  murder  plot  had  been  hatched  there.  His 
intention  was  to  go  to  Sophia,  capital  of  Bulgaria, 
and  report  what  he  knew.  He  went  there,  but  for 
some  reason  could  not  carry  out  his  intention. 
Later  on  he  returned  to  Belgrade  to  gather  further 
evidence,  and  finally  went  to  Temesv^r,  Southern 
Hungary,  where  he  was  arrested  as  a  Servian  spy. 
He  was  a  member  of  a  "Komitatdi  band"  under 
command  of  Major  Tankosic.  A  month  before  the 
murder  of  the  Crown  Prince  Major  Pribicevic,  of 
the  Narodna  Odhrana,  asked  him  lohether  he  would 
go  to  Bosnia  on  a  special  mission.  Stojanovic  de- 
clined to  go.  He  further  testified  that  it  was  com- 
mon knowledge  in  Belgrade  that  Major  Pribicevic 
had  gone  to  Bosnia  to  prepare  everything  for  the 
war  against  Austria-Hungary.  Countless  arms 
were  smuggled  into  Bosnia  through  Major  Pribice- 
vic and  the  Narodna  Obrana's  agency.  After  the 
murder  of  the  Crown  Prince  Milan  Ciganovic  fled 
from  Belgrade.  Witness  testified  also  that  after 
the  Balkan  war  the  "Komitadjis"  had  to  return  all 
arms,  bombs,  etc.,  to  the  government.  For  this 
reason,  only  Servian  Government  or  its  members 
viz.,  the  Narodna  Odbrana,  could  have  supplied 
bombs  to  the  murderers. 

22.  The  two  main  defendants  Grabez,  Cabrino- 
vic,  who  had  listened  to  this  witness'  testimony, 


104     AUSTRIA-HUNGARY  AND  THE  WAR 

declared  on  rebuttal  that  witness  was  in  the  pay  of 
the  Austro-Hungarian  secret  service.  A  discussion 
ensued  between  the  forenamed  defendants  and 
Prinzip  in  the  course  of  which  they  admitted  jointly 
that  Gjuro  Sarac,  a  man  by  name  of  Bukorac  and 
a  mysterious  thin  person  by  the  name  of  Dr.  Kasimi- 
rovic,  all  three  in  Belgrade,  had  also  known  about 
the  plot.  The  latter  is  stated  to  have  studied  in 
Kiew,  Kussia,  and  have  been  a  close  friend  of  Major 
Tankosic. 

The  presiding  judge  thereupon  remarked  that  one 
Dr.  Radovan  Kasimirovic  was  one  of  the  editors  of 
the  "Hriscanski  Vjesnik,"  the  Christian  Messenger, 
in  Belgrade.  The  defendants  were  not  able  to  give 
any  more  definite  news  about  the  identity  of  this 
man. 

23.  The  State  then  produced  the  annual  report 
(1912-13)  of  the  Sokol  Society  "Dusan  Silni"  in 
Kragujevac,  Servia.  Copy  of  this  report  had  been 
found  in  the  offices  of  numerous  Servian  Sokol  so- 
cieties in  Bosnia,  including  the  one  in  Tuzla.  This 
report  was  submitted  to  show  the  close  connection 
of  the  Narodna  Odbrana  and  these  Sokol  societies. 
The  Narodna  Odbrana  was  named  in  the  report  as 
the  largest  patron.  The  districts  of  Bosnia  and 
Herzegovina  with  40  societies  and  3,000  members 
were  named  as  contributing  members.  The  report, 
which  was  read  at  the  general  meeting  of  the  above- 
named  society  in  Kragujevac,  contains  the  following 
important  passages :  ''The  aim  of  the  Sokol  societies 
is  to  unite  all  Slavic  brethren.    Part  of  these  had 


AUSTRIA-HUNGARY  AND  THE  WAR     105 

heen  already  liberated,  hut  the  enemy  in  the  North, 
meaning  Austria-Hungary,  is  more  dangerous  and 
heartless  because  he  is,  in  both  culture  and  finances, 
stronger  than  vye  are.  This  enemy  keeps  millions 
of  our  brethren  in  chains  and  sloA^ery.  We  cannot 
leave  them  to  the  mercy  of  this  terrible,  insatiable 
enemy.  We  must  hurry  to  their  aid.  Our  souls 
yearn  for  the  lost  Servian  Empire.  We  must  visit 
our  brethren  across  the  Drina  and  the  city  of  Saror 
jevo,  in  order  to  find  the  legacy  of  Saint  Sava, 
etc.  .  .  ."  The  report  goes  on  in  this  bombastic 
language.  At  the  end  thanks  are  voted  to  the 
Narodna  Odbrana  and  the  Servian  Sumadia  divi- 
sion for  their  powerful  assistance.  The  president 
of  this  Sokol  Society  is  the  Servian  major  of  in- 
fantry, Milhajlo  Kovasevic ;  president  of  the  execu- 
tive committee,  a  Servian  major  of  artillery, 
Tasovac. 

The  State  in  presenting  this  evidence  also  em- 
phasized the  close  relations  between  the  Servian 
army  and  the  Narodna  Odbrana  as  well  as  the  Sokol 
societies.  The  army  and  these  societies  were  pr  .•  > 
tically  one  great  body  plotting  hand  in  hand  against 
the  stability  and  existence  of  the  Austro-Hungarian 
monarchy,  the  army  by  supplying  regular  and  ir- 
regular soldiers  and  arms,  the  Sokol  societies  by 
fomenting  dissent  in  the  ranks  of  the  population 
of  Bosnia,  the  Narodna  Odbrana  by  helping  to  do 
both. 

24.  Defendants  Veljko  Cubrilovic  and  Misko 
Jovanovic  on  rebuttal  declared  that  they  were  not 


106     AUSTRIA-HUNGARY  AND  THE  WAR 

cognizant  of  the  activities  of  the  Sokol  Society  in 
Kragujevac.  Defendant  Cabrinovic,  however,  ad- 
mitted that  this  latter  society  had  sent  circulars 
and  lists  to  all  Sokol  societies  in  Bosnia.  He  also 
admitted  knowledge  that  the  Narodna  Odbrana  had 
helped  to  bring  about  the  present  war. 

25.  A  number  of  witnesses  were  then  heard  on 
minor  details  of  the  murder  plot.  A  witness  by 
name  of  Ivan  Grcar  confirmed  the  depositions  of 
former  witnesses  concerning  the  revolutionary 
propaganda  of  the  Narodna  Odbrana  with  reference 
to  the  disruption  of  the  Austro-Hungarian  mon- 
archy. Some  of  the  defendants  on  rebuttal  declared 
him  to  be  a  spy.  At  this  point  the  hearing  and  dis- 
cussions were  very  heated  and  the  Court  had  to  fre- 
quently admonish  and  calm  the  wrangling  parties. 

26.  One  of  the  next  witnesses  by  name  of  Luka 
AUnovic  testified  that  to  his  personal  knowledge 
there  existed  many  societies  in  Belgrade  whose  aim 
was  to  have  all  generals  in  the  Austro-Hungarian 
army  assassinated.  These  societies  entertained 
close  intercourse  with  similar  societies  in  Bosnia, 
Dalmatia  and  Croatia.  Questioned  to  specify  these 
Servian  societies  he  gave  evasive  answers,  but  later 
on  mentioned  the  Sokol  societies  and  the  Narodna 
Odbrana  as  being  the  primary  movers  of  the  whole 
propaganda.  It  is  fair  to  add  that  he  made  this 
statement  as  a  matter  of  a  common  knowledge 
among  all  his  friends  and  not  as  a  matter  of  direct 
first-hand  knowledge. 

27.  Another  witness  by  name  of  Jove  Jaglicic 


AUSTRIA  HUNGARY  AND  THE  WAR     107 

testified  that  one  Petar  Klaric,  of  the  township  of 
Foca  and  member  of  the  Narodna  Odbrana,  had  ap- 
proached him  to  become  a  Servian  spy  and  to  enter 
the  Narodna  Odbrana  as  a  member  or  worker.  Ac- 
cording to  Petar  Klaric's  statement,  who  also  had 
accepted  a  similar  position  with  the  'Narodna  Od- 
hrana,he  had  to  collect  data  concerning  the  military 
forces  in  Kalinovik,  Bosnia.  The  Servian  Major 
Todorovic  in  Banja  Koviljaca,  near  Loznica,  had 
taught  him  to  instruct  new  members  of  the  Narodna 
Odbrana  in  the  use  of  bombs  and  other  weapons. 
A  special  duty  of  all  members  of  this  society  con- 
sisted in  using  all  possible  efforts  to  cause  whole- 
sale desertions  of  Austro-Hungarian  soldiers  and 
in  bloioing  up  railway  tracks  and  gunpowder 
magazines. 

28.  The  next  testimony  was  read  from  the  state- 
ment made  by  Svetozar  Milanic  under  oath  some 
time  before  his  death.  This  man  had  gone  to  Bel- 
grade early  in  1914  to  earn  his  living  there  as  a 
teacher  of  German  and  French.  He  had  1,600 
crowns  on  his  person  and  his  immediate  future 
seemed  to  be  assured.  He  applied  for  a  position  as 
assistant  teacher  in  a  Belgrade  high  school,  but  was 
unsuccessful  in  his  application.  Thereupon  he  ap- 
plied for  a  position  as  clerk  and  sales  agent  of  a  few 
Servian  trading  firms.  At  the  time  when  the  visit 
of  the  Austro-Hungarian  Crown  Prince  in  Sarajevo 
had  already  become  known  in  Belgrade  he  had  in 
the  caf6  of  the  Hotel  Eichskranz  in  Belgrade  re- 
peatedly witnessed  a  gang  of  young  men  with  a 


108     AUSTRIA-HUNGARY  AND  THE  WAR 

photo  of  the  Crown  Prince  which  was  passed  from 
hand  to  hand.  He  could  not  overhear  their  conver- 
sation, however.  Later  on  he  moved  to  an  appart- 
ment  which  he  shared  with  another  man.  In  the 
same  house  a  number  of  young  men  lived  in  whose 
quarters  daily  meetings  took  place.  From  his 
roommate,  who  knew  these  people,  he  heard  that 
the  chief  of  the  Servian  detective  department  came 
there  daily  to  instruct  these  young  men  in  various 
languages  which  they  would  need  soon.  From 
various  indications  and  conversations  with  his 
roommate,  Milanic  suspected  that  some  plot  was 
prepared  against  the  Austro-Hungarian  Crown 
Prince,  as  this  latter's  name  and  impending  visit 
was  on  everybody's  lips  in  those  days.  He  tried  to 
investigate,  but  all  of  a  sudden  the  whole  gang  of 
young  men  cleared  their  quarters.  Thereupon  he 
decided  to  call  at  the  Austro-Hungarian  Consulate 
General,  but  was  arrested  on  his  way  to  the  consular 
ofl&ce  by  a  Servian  gendarme  who  es-corted  him  to 
the  police.  Here  he  was  questioned  about  the  pur- 
pose of  his  visit  to  the  consulate.  Then  he  was  put 
into  various  jails  on  a  trumped  up  charge  that  he 
was  a  spy.  In  the  jail  he  was  beaten  repeatedly 
with  sandbags,  and  once  he  nearly  fell  victim  to  an 
assault  of  another  inmate  of  the  jail.  According 
to  the  witnesses'  statement  this  murderous  assault 
must  have  heen  arranged  hy  the  police,  as  a  police 
officer  urns  quietly  standing  hy  when  the  assault 
took  place.  Eventually  one  day  he  was  taken  out  of 
jail  and  brought  before  the  chief  of  police.    Both 


AUSTRIA-HUNGARY  AND  THE  WAR     109 

this  latter  and  the  assistant  chief  were  present. 
They  handed  him  triumphantly  a  clipping  from  a 
paper  referring  to  the  murder  of  the  Croirni  Prince. 
^'You  tried  to  prevent  this,"  so  he  testified  they  said 
to  hAm,  "hut  we  are  cleverer  than  you  are.  Now 
Austria-Hungary's  turn  comes  next.  We  will 
destroy  it."  Witness  was  told  that  he  would  have 
to  leave  Belgrade  at  once.  Before  leaving,  however, 
he  loas  asked  to  sign  a  paper  that  all  his  effects  had 
been  handed  over  to  him  in  best  order.  Milanic  re- 
fused to  sign  because  both  his  money  and  sundry 
valuables  had  been  taken  from  him  during  his  con- 
finement. In  spite  of  his  protestations  he  was 
escorted  over  the  frontier  to  Belgrade,  and  was  told 
by  the  police  that  Count  Berchtold  would  un- 
doubtedly come  and  call  for  his  lost  effects.  Wit- 
ness was  shoion  the  photos  of  the  murderers,  and  he 
VMS  asked  whether  he  could  identify  them  as  some 
of  the  young  men  whom  he  had  seen  in  the  house 
where  he  lived.  He  identified  Trifko  Grabez,  one 
of  the  three  chief  defendants,  but  was  uncertain 
about  the  remainder.  Defendant  Prinzip  on  re- 
buttal branded  Milanic  as  a  spy. 

29.  A  number  of  other  depositions  were  read 
then  containing  minor  evidence.  The  State  then 
submitted  a  book  entitled  "Narodna  Odbrana"  as 
court  evidence,  which  was  accepted.  According  to 
the  book,  published  in  Servia,  this  society  had  been 
organized  around  or  some  short  time  before  the  an- 
nexation of  Bosnia.  The  enrolling  and  training  of 
voluntary  corps  so-called  "Komitadjis"  is  declared 


110     AUSTRIA-HUNGARY  AND  THE  WAR 

to  be  one  of  the  principal  aims  of  the  Narodna 
Odbrana.  The  latter  has  agencies  in  Servia  and 
abroad  which  are  called  upon  to  circulate  every- 
where reports  of  the  enmity  of  Austria-Hungary 
against  Servia.  It  is  asked  that  the  foreign  press 
should  he  interested  in  this  vilification  campaign 
of  Austria-Hungary  abroad.  Austro-Hungarian, 
Italian,  French  and  Russian  papers  were  thus  won 
for  the  cause  of  Bervia,  but  among  others  there  also 
figured  the  Balkan,  published  in  Chicago,  U.  S., 
and  the  Borba  Balkana,  published  in  St.  Louis, 
Mo.  According  td  Article  23  of  its  rules  and  by- 
laws the  Narodna  Odbrana's  official  seal  contains  a 
deathhead  betaken  two  hands.  An  annex  of  this 
book  called  the  "Black  List"  was  thereupon  read, 
referring  to  the  Austro-Hungarian  army.  These 
were  some  of  its  contents:  "Bosnia  and  Herzego- 
vina have  always  been  Servian  countries.  After  the 
Congress  of  Berlin  Austria-Hungary  occupied  these 
countries  and  has  since  tortured  the  Servian  nation 
in  every  possible  way.  Since  Europe  was  not  will- 
ing to  help  Servia,  the  latter  decided  to  free  herself 
from  the  Austrian  yoke.  All  Servians  must  get 
thoroughly  familiar  with  the  conditions  in  the 
Austro-Hungarian  army,  because  that  will  help  Ser- 
via in  her  future  war.  Austria-Hungary  has  ten 
other  nations  and  this  is  her  weakness,  because  the 
soldiers  would  not  want  to  fight.  The  Austro-Hun- 
garian artillery  was  weak.  Servians  and  Croatians 
constitute  seven  of  the  contingent  of  the  Austro- 
Hungarian  army.     All  Slavs  are  dissatisfied  and 


AUSTRIA-HUNGARY  AND  THE  WAR     111 

could  he  easily  induced  to  hetray  tJwir  country, 
The  Austro-Hungarian  army  is  afraid  of  guerilla 
wars  in  the  mountains.  The  Servians  need  not  he 
afraid,  hecause  the  Austro-Hungarian  army  would 
have  other  enemies"  In  other  pamphlets  published 
in  Belgrade  in  1912,  which  the  prosecuting  attorney 
also  submitted  as  court  evidence,  the  Servian  popu- 
lation is  asked  to  incite  revolutions  in  AuetriorHun- 
gary,  that  heing  the  only  way  to  destroy  the  mon- 
archy. In  two  pamphlets  of  the  same  year,  entitled 
"Ratne  Pjesme"  and  "Smrt  Jednog  Heroja,"  the 
union  of  Servia  ivith  Bosnia  and  Herzegovina  is 
asked,  and  the  murderous  attempt  of  Bogdan 
Zerajic  on  the  life  of  the  former  military  governor 
of  Bosnia,  General  Baron  Varesanin,  is  glorified. 
Servia's  youth  is  asked  to  follow  this  example." 

Defendant  Prinzip,  at  the  reading  of  this  passage, 
interrupted  the  prosecuting  attorney  with  a  "Hoch 
Zerajic."  Whereupon  he  was  admonished  by  the 
court  to  abstain  from  improper  remarks.  Defen- 
dants Cabrinovic,  Prinzip  and  Grabez,  on"  rebuttal, 
demanded  the  subpoena  of  various  witnesses.  Upon 
their  request  being  granted  by  the  ccoirt,  Grabez  de- 
clared that  this  was  a  mistake;  they  wanted  to  mis- 
lead the  court.  He  knew  that  nothing  could  happen 
to  him  beyond  the  twenty  years'  jail. 

After  this  interruption,  the  prosecuting  attorney 
resumed  the  reading  from  the  pamphlets.  The  in- 
formation contained  in  these  latter  tends  to  show 
that  the  following  societies  represent  the  Narodna 
Odbrana  propaganda  in  Austria- Hungary:  the  Ser- 


112     AUSTRIA-HUNGARY  AND  THE  WAR 

vian  society  "Prozvieta"  in  Sarajevo,  all  the  Ser- 
vian Sokol  societies  in  Bosnia,  Herzegovina,  Croa- 
tia, Dalmatia  and  the  B^cska,  Southern  Hungary, 
numerous  lecture  clubs,  singing  societies,  agricul- 
tural societies,  etc. 

30.  Next  came  the  depositions  of  the  medical 
experts  concerning  the  wounds  inflicted  by  the  bul- 
let shots  on  the  Crown  Prince  and  his  consort,  and 
the  testimony  of  the  gun  experts.  Various  gun  ex- 
perts made  depositions.  All  agreed  that  the  homhs 
used  in  connection  with  the  murder  plot  hy  the 
murderers  were  identical  with  the  hand  grenades 
used  in  the  Servian  army.  The  construction  of 
these  hand  grenades  was  declared  to  he  absolutely 
identical  with  those  found  at  another  expert  ex- 
amination in  Brcko,  which  were  wrapped  up  in  the 
original  form  of  packing  as  issued  hy  the  Servian 
state  arsenal  in  Kragujevac.  On  these  wrapping 
papers  the  original  signatures  of  the  Servian  depot 
officers  in  Kragujevac  w^re  plainly  legible.  Hand 
grenades  of  this  construction  are  not  manufactured 
outside  of  Servian  anywhere.  The  gun  experts  were 
entirely  in  accord  about  this.  The  revolvers  were 
declared  to  be  modern  type  revolvers  made  in 
Belgium.. 

31.  After  a  few  testimonies  of  minor  importance 
and  some  general  statements  made  by  defendants 
Vazo  Cubrilovic  and  Lazar  Gjukic  parts  of  the 
calendars  of  the  Servian  "Prozvieta"  society  in 
Sarajevo  (named  above)  were  offered  in  evidence 
and  read  in  court.     The  "Prozvieta"  society,  as 


AUSTRIA-HUNGARY  AND  THE  WAR     113 

stated  in  her  by-laws,  was  engaged  in  cultural  pur- 
suits only.  In  this  calendar  issued  for  the  year 
1914,  however,  items  such  as  the  following  were 
contained  :  that  the  victory  of  the  Servian  army  over 
the  Bulgarian  and  Turkish  troops  was  all  the  more 
welcome  as  this  victory  was  really  a  victory  over 
Austria-Hungary.  By  raising  the  national  con- 
science of  Servia  the  national  foundations  of  Aus- 
tria-Hungary were  undermined.  Therefore,  every 
strife  among  Servians  must  cease  in  order  to  achieve 
the  great  aim :  Austria-Hungary's  downfall.  It  was 
immaterial  what  means  were  used  to  obtain  this 
end,  provided  they  were  adequate,  etc. 

32.  The  next  witness  was  Henry  Schulz,  a  tailor 
apprentice,  whom  the  Servians  had  used  as  a  spy 
against  Austria-Hungary.  His  testimony  was 
damaging  both  to  Bozo  Milanovic,  the  oftnamed 
president  of  the  Narodna  Odbrana  in  Sabac,  Servia, 
and  to  one  defendant,  viz.,  Misko  Jovanovic.  Wit- 
ness admitted  having  been  a  Servian  spy  in  1913, 
and  having  surrendered  valuable  strategic  informa- 
tion concerning  the  district  of  Tuzla.  He  also  ad- 
mitted having  received  various  amounts  from 
various  Servian  officers.  One  Kosta  Todorovic,  a 
member  of  the  Narodna  Odbrana,  had  told  him  that 
they,  the  Servians,  had  plenty  of  confidential  men 
in  Bosnia,  on  whom  they  could  rely  in  time  of  war. 

Another  witness  testified  that  from  his  personal 
knowledge  many  movements  of  younger  people, 
chiefly  students,  in  Croatia,  Bosnia,  of  which  he 
had  personal  knowledge  had  been  invariably  in- 


114     AUSTRIA-HUNGARY  AND  THE  WAR 

spired  by  the  Narodna  Odbrana.  Witness  deposed 
that  from  the  time  that  the  delegates  of  Austrian 
Southern  Slav  universities  visited  Belgrade  in 
1912  the  Pan-Servian  propaganda  had  gained  a 
tremendous  impetus.  At  that  time  Crown  Prince 
Alexander  of  Servia  received  two  of  the  students 
hy  name  of  Vladimir  Bazilic  and  Luca  Jukic  in 
audience.  The  government  in  Belgrade  supplied  the 
students  with  money,  and  soon  thereafter  Luka 
Jukic  committed  his  sensational  murderous  attempt 
on  the  life  of  Baron  Skerlecz,  Banus  (governor)  of 
Croatia. 

The  plan  was  to  cause  war  between  Servia  and 
Austria-Hungary  should  the  revolutionary  plot  of 
the  students  prove  entirely  successful.  At  the  time 
of  the  trial  against  Luka  Jukic  and  his  confederates, 
a  Servian  professor  from  the  University  in  Belgrade 
brought  the  greetings  of  Croicn  Prince  Alexander 
to  Zagreb  to  all  the  defendants.  Witness  having 
been  a  defendant  in  that  trial,  also  was  the  recipient 
of  this  royal  favor. 

Theodore  Popovic  and  Trezimir  Kovadc,  the  next 
two  witnesses,  testified  that  from  second  hand  they 
knew  that  the  Narodna  Odbrana  had  supplied  some 
68,000  crowns  to  defray  the  expenses  of  the  Luka 
Jukic  trial  in  Zagreb.  Their  testimony  also  brought 
out  some  further  interesting  evidence,  which  I,  how- 
ever, deem  out  of  place  to  record  here,  as  it  is  based 
on  second  hand  knowledge  and  more  or  less  hear- 
say. As  circumstantial  evidence  these  statements 
may  have  had  considerable  value. 


AUSTRIA-HUNGARY  AND  THE  WAR     115 

33.  The  state  then  offered  various  reports  from 
various  courts  concerning  personal  data  of  some  of 
the  defendants  and  these  latter  were  given  full 
privilege  to  deny  or  confirm  same. 

From  a  protocol  drawn  up  in  the  Austro-Hun- 
garian  Legation  in  Belgrade,  which  was  read  in 
court,  it  appeared  that  Milan  Ciganovic,  officer  of 
the  Servian  State  Railways,  member  of  the  Narodna 
Odbrana  and  confidential  agent  of  General  Bozo 
Jankovic,  had  left  Belgrade  recently,  and  was  sup- 
posed to  have  gone  to  Ribari.  Gavrilo  Prinzip  had 
been  in  constant  communication  with  him  while  he 
was  in  Belgrade.  Ciganovic  had  written  his  mother 
from  Belgrade  in  May  that  he  would  go  to  Salooiki. 
The  Servian  State  Railways  informed  her  that  he 
was  alive,  but  would  not  give  any  further  clue  as 
to  his  whereabouts.  These  data  were  brought  out 
in  the  trial  and  are  important  also  because,  in  her 
answer  to  the  Austro-Hungarian  note,  Servia  had 
stated  that  Ciganovic  had  been  "employed  until 
June  15  in  the  Department  of  Railroads,  and  it  has 
not  been  possible  to  arrest  this  man  up  to  now." 
The  prefect  of  police  of  Belgrade,  however,  is  cited 
by  the  Austro-Hungarian  Government  in  its  com- 
ment on  the  Servian  reply  having  brought  about 
the  departure  of  Ciganovic,  and  having  known 
where  the  latter  was.  The  same  prefect  had  also 
declared  in  an  interview  that  there  was  no  man  of 
the  name  of  Milan  Ciganovic  in  Belgrade.  From 
the  letter  of  the  Department  of  Railroads  to  the 
mother  of  Ciganovic,  which  was  submitted  in  court, 


116     AUSTRIA-HUNGARY  AND  THE  WAR 

it  would  seem  clearly  that  this  department  knew 
where  Ciganovic  was,  consequently  the  prefect  of 
police  and  Servian  Government  must  necessarily 
also  have  known  it. 

34.  After  various  other  testimonies  concerning 
defendants  of  minor  importance,  a  report  of  the 
police  department  in  Zimony  was  submitted  as 
court  evidence.  Zimony  is  in  Hungary  right  across 
from  the  city  of  Belgrade.  From  this  report  it  ap- 
peared that  the  Narodna  Odbrana  had  been  founded 
in  1908  in  Belgrade.  The  following  were  the  found- 
ers: General  Bozo  Jankovic,  president;  Ljuba  Jo- 
vanovic,  Ljuba  Davidovic,  Vojislav  Bujovic,  Pro- 
fessor Zivojin  Barcic,  Svetozar  Tomic,  Major  Voja 
Tankosic  and  Major  Milan  Pribicevic.  All  of  the 
named  persons  have  played  a  very  prominent  part 
in  Servian  public  life.  Some  of  them,  in  fact,  were 
practically  the  leaders  of  modern  Servia.  Major 
Pribicevic  had  drawn  up  the  revolutionary  by-laws, 
directed  against  Austria-Hungary. 

35.  This  was  followed  by  the  lecture  of  the  by- 
laws of  various  societies  which  were  involved  in  the 
trial.  On  rebuttal,  three  defendants,  Gjukic, 
Kranjcevic  and  Vazo  Cubrilovic,  denied  that  the  by- 
laws of  their  secret  student  societies  were  like  those 
which  had  been  read,  declaring  that  their  laws  had 
been  made  later. 

When  the  files  of  the  Schafer  and  Hercigonja 
trial  for  high  treason  were  offered  in  court  as  evi- 
dence, and  parts  of  them  having  reference  to  the 
present  trial  read,  defendant  Prinzip  all  of  a  sud- 


AUSTRIA  HUNGARY  AND  THE  WAR     117 

den  stood  up  and  declared  that  he  tvas  an  enemy  of 
the  reigning  dynasty.  With  these  files  the  state 
tried  to  demonstrate  that  the  complicity  of  Servian 
Government  in  the  revolutionary  propaganda 
against  Austria-Hungary  was  already  apparent  in 
the  Hercigonja  case,  which,  however,  was  an  unsuc- 
cessful case  from  the  Servian  point  of  view,  as 
Servia  did  not  obtain  what  she  wanted.  Having 
failed  in  that  instance,  every  effort  was  strained 
to  bring  the  murder  plot  against  the  Crown  Prince 
of  Austria-Hungary  to  a  successful  issue. 

After  some  further  papers  and  testimony  of  minor 
importance  had  been  offered,  the  submission  of 
evidence  was  closed. 

CLOSING  ARGUMENTS  OF  PROSECUTION  AND  DEFENSE. 

To  American  readers  it  may  perhaps  occur  why 
the  defense  did  not  submit  special  evidence  after 
the  state  had  rested  its  case.  Criminal  law  pro- 
cedure in  our  country  is  somewhat  different  from 
the  procedure  in  this  country.  First  of  all,  as  a 
rule,  the  prosecuting  attorney  does  not  make  a  dark 
secret  of  his  evidence  prior  to  the  trial.  Counsel 
for  defense  can  consult  with  the  special  judge  who 
attends  to  the  preliminary  examination,  and  also 
with  the  prosecuting  attorney  about  the  case's  evi- 
dence. Both  sides  are  pretty  well  aware  of  the 
extent  and  nature  of  the  mutual  evidence  before- 
hand. In  a  case  such  as  this  the  defendant's  own 
testimony  was  really  evidence  for  the  defense,  al- 
though formally  the  state  presented  it.     On  the 


118     AUSTRIA-HUNGARY  AND  THE  WAR 

other  hand  defendants  testified  on  rebuttal  when- 
ever they  desired  to  do  so.  They  could  have  done  so 
after  each  new  witness'  testimony.  All  testimony 
introduced  by  them  was  admitted.  Altogether, 
about  one  hundred  persons  testified,  and  a  great 
deal  of  written  or  printed  evidence  was  submitted. 
If  the  whole  evidence  was  not  recounted  here,  this 
is  merely  due  to  the  limited  space  of  this  study,  and 
because  a  great  deal  of  it  I  found  unimportant  from 
the  American  reader's  point  of  view. 

The  prosecuting  attorney's  argument  to  the  court 
lasted  nearly  a  whole  day  and  covered  the  whole 
ground.  He  first  drew  attention  to  the  enthusiasm 
of  the  population  of  Sarajevo  which  greeted  the 
arrival  of  the  Crown  Prince.  In  contrast  thereto, 
he  emphasized  the  poignant  grief  into  which  the 
population  of  the  whole  country  had  been  cast  by 
the  dastardly  murder.  The  actual  murderers,  so 
he  said,  were  a  few  immature  young  men,  who  had 
been  instigated  to  commit  the  murder.  The  real 
instigators  were  not  in  court,  he  was  sorry  to  state. 
Servia  was  the  instigator  of  the  murder.  Servia, 
which  owed  her  independent  existence  and  the  in- 
crease of  her  territory  primarily  to  the  Austro-Hun- 
garian  monarchy.  The  latter  had  saved  her  from 
utter  destruction  after  the  defeat  of  Slivnitza,  which 
Prince  Alexander  of  Battenberg  inflicted  on  Servia. 
Yet  Servia  had  repaid  Austria-Hungary  with  dark 
ingratitude.  Servia,  in  her  place,  had  been  insti- 
gated hy  another  higher  up,  ty  the  despotic  Empire 
of  the  Czar,  which  used  Servia  as  its  plaything  and 


AUSTRIA -HUNGARY  AND  THE  WAR     119 

tool.  No  wonder  that  Servia,  under  the  pernicious 
influence  of  Russian  flattery  or  bullying,  had  grad- 
ually lost  all  sense  of  proportion.  She  wanted  to 
play  the  same  part  in  the  ranks  of  the  Southern 
Slav  nations  as  Russia  is  playing  among  the  North- 
ern Slavs.  Under  this  sinister  influence,  Servia 
stopped  at  nothing.  Using  the  slogan  of  the  union 
of  all  Southern  Slav  nations  as  her  battle  cry,  she 
bent  all  her  efforts  to  disrupt  the  existence  of  the 
monarchy.  Particularly  did  she  exhibit  a  keen  de- 
sire to  wrest  Bosnia  and  Herzegovina  from  Aus- 
tria-Hungary's rule.  Servia's  ambition  was  the 
cause  of  many  a  crisis  in  Europe.  When  the 
monarchy  annexed  Bosnia  and  Herzegovina  in 
1908  she  began  to  organize  revolutionary  move- 
ments to  undermine  the  stability  of  the  monarchy 
from  within.  The  great  powers  of  Europe  had 
failed  to  support  her  ambition,  so  she  took  recur- 
rence to  her  own  methods.  Evidence  of  this  case 
had  shown,  so  the  prosecuting  attorney  said,  that 
Servian  state  ministers,  high  officers  of  the  army 
and  the  Servian  Crown  Prince  himself  had  had  per- 
sonal and  frequent  intercourse  with  the  hired  mur- 
derers of  the  Austro- Hungarian  Crown  Prince.  This 
charge  could  be  fairly  made.  The  Narodna  Odbrana 
had  been  the  tool  in  the  hands  of  the  Servian  Gov- 
ernment. This  society  had  infected  the  entire  social 
life  of  the  Southern  Slavs  in  the  monarchy.  It 
preached  hatred  of  the  monarchy.  It  advocated 
Bosnia's  and  Herzegovina's  forcible  separation  from 
the  monarchy.    It  had  taken  possession  of  the  Serb 


120     AUSTRIA-HUNGARY  AND  THE  WAR 

Autonomous  Church  and  School  Systems  in  Bosnia. 
It  had  entrapped  all  social,  cultural,  agricultural 
and  even  financial  organizations  into  its  meshes. 
These  organizations  had  gradually  become  auxil- 
iaries of  the  baneful  Pan-Servian  activities.  Their 
members  did  not  hesitate  to  commit  high  treason 
against  Austria-Hungary  for  the  benefit  of  Servia. 
Defendants  had  practically  all  admitted  that  the 
Austro-Hungarian  Crown  Prince  was  an  obstalce  in 
the  way  of  the  Pan-Servian  dreams  coming  true. 
Servian  headquarters  in  Belgrade  recognized  in 
Arch  Duke  Francis  Ferdinand  a  strong,  leading  in- 
dividual who  would  frustrate  their  ambitious  plans. 
This  is  why  these  headquarters  decided  that  he 
must  be  eliminated  at  any  cost.  Hercigonja,  whom 
they  had  hired  as  a  murderer,  failed  in  his  effort. 
Thereupon  they  discovered  a  few  impecunious 
youngsters  in  Belgrade,  whom  they  thoroughly  pre- 
pared, playing  on  their  flexible  enthusiastic  nature. 
Servian  Government  supplied  the  hired  murderers 
with  arms  and  money.  Its  officers  taught  them  how 
to  use  the  deadly  weapons,  which  they  then  caused 
to  be  smuggled  across  the  Servian  frontier.  In 
Bosnia  its  confidential  organs  helped  to  transport 
these  weapons  and  the  murderers  to  Sarajevo.  All 
these  acts  constituted,  from  the  point  of  view  of 
Austria-Hungary,  crimes  of  high  treason.  All  con- 
federates who  had  either  directly  participated  in 
the  murder  or  had  helped  or  abetted  the  murderers, 
had  failed  to  notify  the  state  authorities  of  the  im- 
pending murder,  were  guilty  as  charged.  The  prose- 


AUSTRIA  HUNGARY  AND  THE  WAR     121 

cuting  attorney  then  specified  each  separate  case, 
and  asked  for  a  jnst  punishment  in  pursuance  with 
the  law. 

38.  On  the  following  two  days  the  attorneys  for 
the  defense  spoke.  Their  task  was  a  difficult  one. 
The  whole  country  being  in  the  thralls  of  war,  prac- 
tically for  the  very  reason  which  caused  the  trial, 
what  could  they  say  in  defense  of  self-confessed 
murderers  and  their  allies.  Yet,  they  acquitted 
themselves  with  high  credit  to  their  profession.  Dr. 
Max  Feldbauer,  Gavrilo  Prinzip's  attorney,  argued 
that  his  client  was  the  victim  of  the  criminal  higher- 
ups  in  Belgrade.  Prinzip  would  like  to  appear  as 
a  national  hero  who  had  championed  the  cause  of 
all  Southern  Slavs.  In  reality  he  was  a  poor  de- 
luded youth  who  had  been  transformed  into  a  fana- 
tic in  Belgrade.  Prinzip,  so  he  said,  had  merely 
committed  murder,  not  high  treason.  The  attorney 
also  argued  that  he  had  not  yet  accomplished  his 
twentieth  year  at  the  time  when  he  committed  the 
murder.  He  pleaded  for  the  mercy  of  the  court. 
Concerning  defendant,  Blagoje  Kerovic,  Dr.  Feld- 
bauer  attempted  to  show  that  at  the  worst  he  had 
violated  a  minor  paragraph  of  the  criminal  code 
only. 

Jakov  Milovic  he  declared  to  be  a  mere  rambler 
who  had  no  part  in  either  the  murder  or  high  trea- 
son. Forkazw  had  known  nothing  of  the  murder 
and  should  be  acquitted.  Next  came  Dr.  Premuzics 
who  used  all  his  eloquence  to  show  that  Cahrinoinc 
deserved  clemency,  because  he  had  giveu  exhibitions 


122     AUSTKIA-HUNGARY  AND  THE  WAR 

of  honest  repentance  and  because  he  had  evidently 
acted  under  the  hypnotic  influence  of  the  powers  in 
Belgrade.  Misko  Jovanoinc  was  merely  guilty  of 
"^  having  taken  bombs  and  arms  from  his  place  to 
Doboj.  The  attorney  tried  to  show  that  he  had  not 
been  a  confederate  and  was  ignorant  of  the  real  use 
of  these  weapons.  Mitar  Kerovic  was  a  peasant  of 
too  primitive  intellectual  powers  to  grasp  the  mean- 
ing of  the  whole  plot.  Branko  Zagorac,  so  his  at- 
torney said,  did  not  appreciate  the  serious  character 
of  the  whole  proceeding  and  for  this  reason 
neglected  to  report  same  to  the  authorities. 

Dr.  Pericic  pleaded  for  Cvjetko  Popovic,  Svijan 
Stjepanovic,  Momcinovic  and  Sadilo.  His  defense 
was  their  ignorance  of  the  real  purpose  of  the 
weapons  which  they  had  concealed.  Judge  Strup- 
pel  argued  that  Trifko  Grahec  had  been  a  tool  of 
others,  while  the  State,  so  he  alleged,  had  not  made 
a  case  against  Mico  Micic,  Jovo  Kerovic  and  Marko 
Kerim. 

Dr.  Zistler  for  Veljko  Cubrilovic  raised  points  of 
law.  He  argued  that  the  court  had  no  jurisdiction 
over  his  client.  His  client,  moreover,  had  no  knowl- 
edge of  the  use  of  the  bombs  and  pistols.  For  his 
other  client,  Vaso  Cubrilovic,  he  alleged  his  minor 
age  as  an  extenuating  circumstance.  Ivo  Eranjce- 
vie  was  a  good,  loyal  Croatian  who  could  not  be  sus- 
pected of  high  treason. 

Judge  Malek  tried  to  show  that  in  the  ease  of  Ilic 
no  connection  existed  between  him  and  the  Narodna 
Odbrana. 


AUSTRIA-HUNGARY  AND  THE  WAR     123 

Defendant  Djukic  (Gyukic)  was  only  partially 
guilty,  inasmuch  as  he  had  said  to  Cubrilovic,  that 
Hie  was  preparing  a  big  plot.  For  defendants 
Obren  Milosevic  and  Kalenber,  Judge  Malek 
pleaded  extenuating  circumstances. 

After  the  prosecuting  attorney  had  replied  to  all 
arguments  a  significant  scene  followed.  All  de- 
fendants stood  up,  declaring  that  they  regretted 
what  had  happened.  They  were  ignorant  of  the 
fact  that  the  Crown  Prince  had  children.  They 
asked  that  the  orphans  be  told  that  they  were  sorry 
for  their  deeds.  The  children  should  forgive  them. 
Defendants  said  that  they  were  not  guilty.  They 
had  been  deluded  into  the  belief  that  they  had  been 
sacrificing  themselves  for  a  good  cause.  Cabrinovic, 
one  of  the  three  chief  defendants,  asked  permission 
of  the  court  to  make  a  statement.  Permission  was 
given.  In  a  longer  address,  often  interrupted  by 
sobs,  he  declared  on  his  oath  that  he  and  his  con- 
federates did  not  really  intend  to  murder  the  Crown 
Prince.  The  plan  of  the  murder  plot  originated 
from  Belgrade.  It  was  the  outcome  of  their  sojourn 
in  Servia's  capital,  where  they  came  in  touch  with 
the  Servian  Government  people.  They  had  there 
been  feasted  and  "spoiled"  by  everybody  who  was 
in  the  lead  in  high  government  circles  and  the 
people.  They  had  been  deluded  into  the  belief 
that  they  were  doing  something  great  and  patri- 
otic. They  did  not  really  hate  the  Habsburg  Dy- 
nasty, although  they  were  not  pleased  with  the 
system. 


124     AUSTEIA-HUNGARY  AND  THE  WAR 

The  court  then  adjourned  until  the  28th  of  Octo- 
ber, when  sentence  was  given. 

THE  SENTENCE. 

Sentence  in  the  famous  trial  was  handed  down 
on  October  28th,  that  is  exactly  on  the  day  four 
months  after  the  murder  was  committed. 

Pursuant  to  Paragraphs  111  and  299,  210  of  the 
Criminal  Code,  Gavrilo  Prinzip,  Nedeljko  Cabrino- 
vic  and  Trifko  Grabez,  the  three  chief  defendants, 
were  found  guilty  of  high  treason  and  murder  in  the 
first  degree.  All  three  were  given  the  highest  pen- 
alty allowed  by  law  to  wit:  twenty  years  in  the 
penitentiary.  The  first  named  will  be  subjected  to 
one  day  of  fast  in  every  month,  the  third  named  to 
one  such  day  of  fast  in  every  three  months.  For  the 
second,  no  such  provision  was  made.  In  addition, 
all  three  of  them  will  spend  the  day  of  the  28th  of 
June  of  each  year  in  a  dark  cell  alone. 

The  reason  why  death  sentence  was  not  applied  in 
their  case  is  due  to  the  fact  th^t  they  had  not  yet 
passed  their  twentieth  year  at  the  time  of  the  com- 
mission of  the  murder.  The  Austrian  law  stipu- 
lates that  no  murderer  can  be  sentenced  to  death 
who  at  the  time  of  the  murder  has  not  yet  attained 
his  twentieth  year.  Under  the  Austrian  law,  a 
person  under  twenty  has  not  yet  reached  the  age  of 
full  responsibility. 

Danilo  Ilic,  Veljko  Cubrilovic,  Misko  Jovanovic, 
Nedo  Kerovic  and  Jakov  Milovic  were  found  guilty 


AUSTRIA-HUNGARY  AND  THE  WAR     125 

of  high  treason  and  participation  in  the  murder 
plot  and  were  sentenced  to  death. 

The  other  defendants  were  sentenced  as  follows : 
Mitar  Kerovic,  for  high  treason,  to  life  imprison- 
ment; Vaso  Cubrilovic,  for  participation  in  acts 
of  high  treason,  to  sixteen  years  penitentiary  with 
one  day  of  fast  every  six  months. 

Cvejtko  Popovic,  for  participation  in  acts  of  high 
treason,  to  thirteen  years  penitentiary. 

Lazar  Gyukic  and  Jovo  Kranjcevic,  for  participa- 
tion in  acts  of  high  treason,  to  ten  years  peniten- 
tiary; Svijan  Styepanovic,  for  the  same  crime,  to 
seven  years  penitentiary;  Branko  Zagorac  and 
Marko  Perim,  for  acts  in  connection  with  high 
treason,  to  three  years  imprisonment.  All  of  the 
forenamed  have  to  spend  the  day  of  the  28th  of 
June  in  a  dark  cell  alone. 

Jovo  Kerovic,  Blagoje  Kerovic,  Nikola  Forkazic, 
Dragan  Kalenber,  Miko  Micic,  Obren  Milosevic, 
Ivan  Momcinevic,  Franjo  Sadilo  and  Angela  Sadilo 
were  acquitted  and  forthwith  released. 

CONCLUSION. 

And  here  ends  the  Sarajevo  trial.  I  have  en- 
deavored to  recount  all  important  incidents  as 
truthfully  as  it  is  possible  to  do  it.  I  have  not 
tried  to  make  things  look  worse  than  they  were, 
nor  have  I  sought  to  make  them  appear  better. 
I  have  left  out  the  mention  of  hearsay  evidence 
almost  entirely,  and  where  I  did  report  it,  I  stated 
explicitly   that  it  was   not   based   on   first  hand 


126     AUSTRIA-HUNGARY  AND  THE  WAR 

knowledge.  Ordinarily,  a  record  of  a  trial  makes 
dry  reading.  This  trial,  however,  was  of  such 
far-reaching  consequences  that  it  cannot  fail  to  at- 
tract attention.  I  believe  that  the  defendants  had 
as  fair  a  trial  as  could  have  been  given  them  in  any 
country. 

We  have  been  constantly  reading  reports  in  the 
daily  papers  of  the  occupation  of  Sarajevo  by  the 
Servian  and  Montenegrin  troops.  The  trial  was 
stated  to  have  taken  place  amidst  the  roaring 
thunder  of  the  enemies'  guns.  Of  course,  these  re- 
ports were  more  or  less  visionary.  Sarajevo  was 
never  for  a  moment  in  danger  of  occupation.  Its 
natural  position  makes  it  well  nigh  impregnable. 
Moreover,  the  enemy  had  at  its  very  best  hardly 
crossed  the  frontier.  It  is  true,  Sarajevo  is  very 
close  to  the  Servian,  frontier,  and  this  vicinity  may 
have  raised  the  expectations  of  both  the  enemy's 
generals  and  their  sympathizers  in  the  press. 

But  when  this  is  said,  let  us  stop  for  a  moment 
and  consider  how  difficult  the  situation  must  have 
been  for  the  judges  and.  attorneys  who  played  their 
parts  in  this  world  drama.  Let  us  consider  the  re- 
sponsibility, that  everybody  felt,  the  painstaking 
care  that  was  taken  by  everybody  to  serve  the  ends 
of  justice. 

We  all  are  human  and  we  all  may  be  given  to 
errors  or  blunders.  Yet,  from  all  tangible  indica- 
tions, it  seems  that  no  miscarriage  of  justice  has 
taken  place  in  Sarajevo.  We  are  proud  to  point  to 
its  outcome,  because  it  brought  a  vindication  to  our 


AUSTRIA-HUNGARY  AND  THE  WAR     127 

country's  cause.  But  this  is  not  all.  We  are  proud 
of  our  courts  of  justice,  because  they  have  always 
maintained  their  independence.  We  know  of  no 
Austrian  or  Hungarian  judge  who  can  be  bribed, 
of  none  who  would  take  cognizance  of  anybody  or 
anything  except  his  own  conception  of  the  ideals 
of  justice.  Austria-Hungary  is  a  monarchy,  yet 
her  court  system  is  the  very  acme  of  democracy.  In 
the  performance  of  their  oflBcial  duties,  Austro- 
Hungarian  co-urts  or  judges  will  take  the  orders  of 
nobody  and  nobody  is  high  enough  in  the  monarchy 
who  could  ever  try  to  tell  a  court  what  it  should  do. 

I  make  these  comments  purposely,  because  at  tLe 
time  of  the  trial  and  at  the  time  when  sentence  was 
passed,  various  editorials  have  appeared  in  Amer- 
ican papers,  which  were,  to  say  the  least,  discour- 
aging. 

I  will  cite  two  at  randonu  Both  were  published 
in  a  leading  morning  paper : 

"The  world  does  not  believe  that  the  boy  was 
the  agent  of  the  Servian  government.  No  govern- 
ment would  be  so  blind  as  to  inspire  a  deed  which 
must  so  redound  to  its  disadvantage  and  its  dis- 
credit. More  probably  he  was  merely  aa  unbal- 
anced enthusiast,  seeking  to  sacrifice  his  own 
life  in  striking  a  blow  for  his  country.  His  mur- 
derous act  was  the  opportunity  which  Austria 
awaited  to  strike  a  blow  at  the  little  Servian  na- 
tion which  was  waxing  dangerously  ambitious. 


128     AUSTRIA-HUNGARY  AND  THE  WAR 

All  the  white  books  in  the  world  fail  to  bring 
conviction  that  Servia  was,  in  any  degree,  guilty. 
"Prinzip  is  now  on  trial  for  his  life  in  Sara- 
jevo. As  far  as  Prinzip  himself  is  concerned,  the 
trial  will  be  a  mockery.  There  is  no  doubt  of  his 
guilt.-  The  punishment  of  the  murderer  is  his 
due.  But  the  trial  will  go  still  further.  It  will 
be  Austria's  attempt  to  convict  not  Prinzip  but 
the  whole  Servian  nation.  Twenty-two  alleged 
conspirators  must  stand  trial  with  Prinzip,  and 
one  cannot  fancy  that  their  chances  for  acquittal 
will  be  large.  Through  all  these  Servians  every 
effort  will  be  made  to  show  that  the  Belgrade 
Government  inspired  the  murder  upon  June  28. 
Austria  is  making  a  final  desperate  effort  to  clear 
her  owTi  skirts  and  to  shift  the  responsibility  for 
the  epoch-making  catastrophe  in  which  she  has 
involved  Europe." 

"To  have  sentenced  Prinzip  and  Gabrinovic  to 
death  would  have  been  to  place  upon  them  direct 
responsibility  for  the.  assassination.  This  would 
not  be  in  harmony  with  the  Austrian  theory. 
Austria  has  insistently  held  that  the  two  school- 
boys were  merely  unimportant  tools  in  the  hands 
of  a  body  of  Servian  conspirators  who  acted  with 
the  cognizance,  if  not  with  the  direct  inspiration, 
of  the  Servian  Government.  The  murder  at  Sara- 
jevo, committed  by  an  irresponsible  youth,  act- 
ing solely  of  his  own  volition,  would  have  been 
no  excuse  for  the  Austrian  attack  on  Servia, 


AUSTRIA-HUNGARY  AND  THE  WAR     129 

which  brought  about  the  European  war.  The 
mercy  shown  to  Prinzip  is  in  accordance  with 
the  theory  of  a  national  Servian  conspiracy  for 
which  the  entire  Servian  nation  merits  punish- 
ment. 

"Twenty  alleged  conspirators  were  tried  with 
Prinzip  and  Cabrinovic.  Of  these,  four  are  con- 
demned to  death,  and  one  to  life  imprisonment. 
They  are  nameless  in  the  dispatches,  and  the  de- 
tails of  the  evidence  against  them  are  unknown. 
They  are  probably  held  to  be  important  per- 
sonages in  the  murder  plot. 

"It  is  not  to  he  doubted  that  the  court  at  Saror 
jevo  took  cognizance  of  the  desires  of  Vienna.  Its 
judgment  is  a  striking  instance  of  consistency  and 
of  logical  adherence  to  a  theory." 

With  no  knowledge  of  local  conditions,  or  of  the 
facts  in  the  case,  these  facts  being  at  that  time  un- 
known to  anybody,  does  the  author  of  these  edi- 
torials consider  them  a  fair  presentation  of  this 
trial? 

I  trust  that  he  who  wrote  these  editorials  will 
read  my  above  report  of  this  trial,  and  I  trust  that 
after  having  read  it  he  will  be  man  and  American 
enough  to  admit  that  at  least  he  made  a  mistake. 


IV.— HAS  SERVIA  ANY  HISTORICAL  CLAIMS 
OVER  BOSNIA  AND  HERZEGOVINA? 

In  the  clash  between  Austria- Hungary  and  Ser- 
via,  sympathizers  of  the  latter  have  frequently  ad- 
vanced the  claim  that  in  former  times  of  history 
Bosnia  and  Herzegovina  had  been  a  part  of  Servia. 
According  to  them,  Austria-Hungary  in  1908  robbed 
Servia  of  what  was  her  own  under  the  rights  of  his- 
tory. Although  historical  rights,  if  once  lost,  can 
hardly  again  serve  as  a  basis  of  claims  to  recover 
sovereign  rights  over  a  territory,  we  will  for  the 
sake  of  argument  assume  that  they  can.  If  Bosnia 
really  had  belonged  to  Servia  prior  to  its  incorpora- 
tion in  any  other  country,  then  under  this  assump- 
tion, the  claims  of  her  sympathizers  existed  at  the 
time  when  Austria-Hungary  "robbed"  her  of  these 
two  provinces  in  1908  and  also  exist  today.  Servia, 
in  fact,  claims  that  she  is  fighting  now  to  establish 
them  again. 

What  is  history's  verdict  concerning  these  claims? 

BAELY  HISTORY  OF  BOSNIA. 

Omitting  the  remote  times  when  Bosnia  was  part 
of  the  Roman  Empire  and  the  invasions  of  the 
Goths,  we  have  reliable  information  concerning  the 
past  of  Bosnia  as  far  back  as  the  12th  century, 
A.  D.     Bosnia  was  then  originally  divided  into 

130 


AUSTRIA-HUNGARY  AND  THE  WAR     131 

various  small  principalities  under  the  leadership  of 
so-called  Zsupans.  The  most  important  ones  were 
Bosna,  Ozora,  Rama  and  Chelm.  Their  inhabitants, 
a  mixture  of  Illyrians  and  Southern  Slavs,  adopted 
Christianity  very  early.  Their  Bishop  of  Bosna  was 
subordinated  to  the  Archbishop  of  Spalato,  and 
later  to  the  Archbishop  of  Ragusa.  In  the  12th 
century  an  oriental  orthodox  sect,  the  Bulgarian 
"bogumils,"  related  to  the  Byzantinian  Paulicians 
(also  called  Patarenes),  began  to  gain  strong  foot- 
hold. Their  appearance  on  the  scene  sowed  the 
seed  for  future  feuds. 

Beginning  from  the  reign  of  Coloman  the  Libra- 
rian, King  of  Hungary,  who  also  conquered  Croatia, 
and  more  particularly  from  King  Stefan  II  of  Hun- 
gary ( beginning  of  12th  century ) ,  the  Zsupans  of  the 
various  principalities  which  today  constitute  Bos- 
nia and  Herzegovina  recognized  the  feudal  lordship 
of  the  Kings  of  Hungary.  During  the  reign  of  King 
Stefan  II  Emperor  John  of  Byzancz,  that  is,  the 
Greek  Empire,  repeatedly  invaded  Bosnia  and 
Syrmia  from  the  South.  King  Stefan  II  defeated 
his  troops  in  1129,  whereupon  they  made  peace. 
In  1130,  just  before  his  death.  King  Stefan  ar- 
rangwl  for  the  marriage  of  his  successor.  King  B^la 
the  Blind,  of  Hungary,  with  Ilona,  daughter  of 
Uros,  Chief  Zsupan  of  the  Rdcz  (who  ruled  over  a 
territory  comprising  the  Servia  of  today).  B^la  the 
Blind  conquered  Dalmatia  from  Venice  and  also 
Spalato.  Subsequently  he  occupied  all  the  terri- 
tory in  the  valley  of  the  Sprecse,  which  possesses 


132     AUSTRIA-HUNGARY  AND  THE  WAR 

rich  salt  mines,  (practically  the  only  salt  mines  of 
the  Balkans) .  These  territories  received  the  group 
name  of  "Banate  of  So"  from  these  salt  mines,  So 
being  the  equivalent  of  salt  in  Hungarian.  He  also 
gathered  in  Rama  and  took  the  title  of  King  of 
Rama  in  or  about  1138. 

Hungary's  influence  over  Bosnia  increased  enor- 
mously after  the  death  of  Emperor  Manuel  of  By- 
zancz,  in  1180.  King  Bela  III  of  Hungary  was  a 
successful  conqueror  in  the  Balkans.  He  crossed 
the  River  Save,  conquered  the  fortresses  of  Barancs- 
and  Belgrade  in  1182.  He  even  proceeded  as  far  as 
Sophia  in  1183. 

At  the  time  of  the  death  of  King  Emmeric  of 
Hungary,  the  kings  of  Hungary  had  the  following 
titles:  King  of  Hungary,  Croatia,  Rama,  Servia, 
Halics,  Bulgaria  and  Bosnia.  The  territories  of 
Croatia,  Dalmatia,  and  Bosnia  were  incorporated 
in  the  Hungarian  Kingdom  of  those  days. 

CZAR  DUSAN,  THE  DKEAMEB. 

Under  King  Robert  Charles  of  Hungary  (of  the 
dynasty  of  the  Anjous)  Hungary  in  1319  conquered 
even  Macedonia,  and  Milutin,  then  King  of  Servia, 
was  defeated  by  him. 

During  the  reign  of  King  Robert  Charles,  Stephan 
Dusan  ascended  the  throne  of  Servia  in  1331.  Ste- 
phan Dusan  was  a  dreamer.  He  evolved  in  his  mind 
the  idea  of  a  "Great  Servian  Empire,"  which  should 
include  the  whole  Balkans  first  and  the  whole 
Roman  Empire  next.    After  having  conquered  the 


AUSTRIA-HUNGARY  AND  THE  WAR     133 

larger  part  of  Servia  and  having  built  up  Belgrade, 
he  had  himself  crowned  Serb  and  Greek  Emperor 
and  desired  to  be  known  as  the  "almost  Lord  of  the 
whole  Roman  Empire."  In  those  days  to  hold  a 
position  in  the  world  titles  were  even  more  required 
than  today.  He  selected  Venice  as  his  national 
ally  to  rule  over  the  Byzantinian  Empire.  Venice 
was  then  one  of  the  dominant  powers  of  Europe. 
To  have  Venice's  support  for  the  conquest  of  the 
world  meant  as  much  then  as  the  United  States'  or 
Germany's  support  would  mean  today.  But  he 
seemed  to  have  an  unsteady  mind,  for  he  soon  aban- 
doned this  idea  and  began  to  invade  the  neighbor- 
ing territories.  His  troops  overran  Halomfold, 
Dalmatia  and  Bosnia.  As  a  prosecutor  of  Catholics 
he  was  welcomed  in  this  latter  country  by  the  "bo- 
gumils,"  the  orthodox  sectarians.  As  an  enemy  of 
King  Louis  the  Great  of  Hungary,  son  of  Robert 
Charles,  he  again  had  the  sympathies  of  Venice, 
which  feared  the  great  power  of  Louis.  There  also 
was  another  motive  that  prompted  him  to  raid 
Bosnia.  Stephan  Kotromanovics,  also  called  Ste- 
phan  II,  was  the  Chief  Zsupan  of  Bosnia  (1323- 
1353 ) .  He  was  the  father  of  the  beautiful  "banilla" 
Elizabeth,  for  whose  hand  Dusan  had  aspired  in 
vain,  having  been  jilted  in  favor  of  King  Louis  the 
Great.  Whether  it  was  an  actual  overthrow  in  the 
game  of  love  or  whether  King  Louis  seemed  a  more 
acceptable  son- in-law  to  Stephan  II  is  not  easy  to 
say.  However,  when  Czar  Dusan  broke  into  Bos- 
nian territory  he  was  defeated  by  Stephan  II  with 


134     AUSTRIA-HUNGARY  AND  THE  WAR 

the  assistance  of  King  Louis'  troops,  and  when  he 
made  a  second  attempt  he  was  decisively  beaten 
by  his  luckier  rival,  King  Louis  the  Great  himself, 
in  1354.  This  was  shortly  after  the  death  of  Ste- 
phan  II.  Stephan  Tvartko,  cousin  of  the  latter, 
was  his  successor,  but  for  a  while  at  least  his 
mother,  Ilona  Szubics,  ruled,  who  yielded  in  every- 
thing to  the  wishes  of  King  Louis  and  the  Pope. 
For  this  subserviency  King  Louis  created  Stephan 
Tvartko  King  of  "Bosnia  and  the  Adriatic  Shore." 
Dusan  could  do  naught.  After  his  defeat  at  the 
hands  of  King  Louis  he  found  himself  in  an  un- 
enviable position  and  would  indeed  have  fared 
badly  had  the  Pope  not  intervened  in  his  behalf. 
In  his  plight  he  conceived  the  rather  ingenious  idea 
to  declare  himself  for  the  Catholic  Church  and  to 
recognize  the  Holy  Father's  supremacy.  This  was 
a  strong  feather  in  his  cap  and  the  Pope  insisted 
that  King  Louis  the  Great  should  not  harass  "a 
faithful  son"  of  the  Catholic  Church.  King  Louis 
was  anyway  not  a  "persona  gratissima"  with  the 
Pope.  His  disfavor  was  due  to  intrigues  of  wicked 
Queen  Joanna  of  Naples,  ex-wife  of  Louis'  brother, 
whom  she  had  ignominiously  put  to  death.  And  so 
it  came  that  King  Louis  the  Great  and  "Czar"  Du- 
san made  peace  with  each  other  in  1355.  Dusan, 
from  being  a  vassal  of  King  Louis,  became  a  vassal 
of  the  Pope ;  but  only  for  a  short  while.  For  hardly 
had  peace  been  concluded,  than  he  threw  all  his 
Catholic  vows  overboard  and  expelled  the  Pope's 
legates  from  his  country.    Troubles  then  began  to 


AUSTRIA-HUNGARY  AND  THE  WAR     135 

grow  fast  for  him  until  death  overtook  him  on 
December  20,  1355. 

I  thought  I  would  give  a  little  longer  synopsis  of 
his  meteoric  career.  I  wish  to  render  full  justice 
to  his  abilities  as  a  ruler  and  diplomat.  I  find  it 
impossible,  however,  to  support. his  country's  claim 
over  Bosnia  in  connection  with  his  reign.  Apart 
from  the  fact  that  he  had  a  few  straggling  followers 
among  the  "bogumil"  malcontents,  he  has  never 
actually  held  sway  over  Bosnia.  Moreover,  by 
virtue  of  his  two  defeats  by  Stephen  II  and  by 
King  Louis,  whatever  weight  he  may  have  carried 
with  his  followers  and  friends  must  have  been 
greatly  eclipsed  by  the  former.  His  successors 
amounted  to  nothing,  and  in  1363  Stephan  Uros,  of 
R^czorszdg-Servia,  was  again  defeated  by  King 
Louis. 

MAP    OF  BALKAN   STATES  IN   FOURTEENTH  CENTURY. 

In  this  connection  it  is  interesting  to  throw  a 
glance  at  the  map  of  the  Balkans  of  those  days.  I 
have  a  map  of  the  year  1382  before  me,  and  this  is 
what  it  says.  The  banates  of  S6  and  Ozora  (which 
then  took  the  place  of  Northern  Bosnia  of  today) 
belonged  to  the  Kingdom  of  Hungary.  Also  a  large 
part  of  the  Southern  Bosnia  of  our  day.  The  nom- 
inal Bosnia  of  those  days  began  south  of  Visehrad 
and  Travnik  and  reached  as  far  as  Durazzo  and 
south  of  Prizrend,  where  it  bordered  on  the  Byzan- 
tinian  (Greek)  Empire.  The  banate  of  Macs6  in- 
cluded Belgrade  and  surroundings.    Servia  proper 


136     AUSTRIA-HUNGARY  AND  THE  WAR 

was  south  of  it  with  the  cities  Stolac,  Ravanica, 
Krusevac  and  Nis  (Nissa).  The  banate  of  Szoreny 
was  to  the  southeast  of  Hungary,  in  the  corner 
formed  by  the  Danube  and  the  Transylvanian 
Alps.  Havasalfold  was  bordering  on  Szoreny  to  the 
east  and  Moldva  and  Bessarabia  to  the  northeast 
from  Szoreny.  All  or  most  of  these  banates  were  at 
the  time  of  Louis  the  Great,  as  also  frequently  be- 
fore his  reign  and  after,  vassal  territories  of  the 
kings  of  Hungary.  Croatia  was  then  where  Dal- 
matia  is  today,  under  the  rule  of  Hungary ;  as  was 
a  large  part  of  Italy.  This  clearly  indicates  that 
if  any  historical  claims  are  to  be  laid  on  Bosnia 
and  other  banates  or  principalities,  as  for  instance 
on  Servia  herself,  by  anybody,  they  can  bedaid  by 
Hungary,  and  of  course,  incidentally,  by  Austria- 
Hungary. 

HUNGARY  SUZERAIN  OF  BOSNIA  AND  SERVIA. 

During  the  reign  of  Charles  II  of  Hungary, 
w^ho  was  a  weakling,  Bosnia  threw  off  her  Hun- 
garian bonds  of  vassalship  temporarily,  but  under 
Stephan  Dobisa,  King  of  Bosnia,  when  Emperor- 
King  Sigismund  ruled  over  Hungary,  around  1390, 
Bosnia  submitted  to  the  protectorate  of  Hungary 
again.  In  1404  she  recognized  Sigismond  definitely 
as  her  suzerain.  Sigismond  donated  Ozora  (see 
above)  to  a  Hungarian  nobleman,  John  Garay,  and 
joined  the  banate  of  So  to  the  banate  of  Macso. 
As  a  further  illustrating  fact  of  history  I  will  say 
here  that  under  George  Braijkovics,  adopted  son 


AUSTRIA-HUNGARY  AND  THE  WAR     137 

of  Stephan  Lazarevics,  also  called  the  "despot"  of 
Macso,  Belgrade,  Macso  and  the  fortress  of  Pokol 
were  incorporated  in  Hungary  (1426-27). 

At  the  time  of  the  world-famous  Hunyadi's  rule 
over  Hungary,  Thomas  Ostoja,  "King  of  Bosnia," 
betook  himself  personally  to  the  Diet  of  Szeged  in 
Hungary  (1459)  and  made  allegiance  to  King 
Mathias  Corvinus,  as  his  liege  lord  and  sovereign. 
Mathias  gave  Servia  to  Stephan  Ostoja  and  made 
him  King  of  Bosnia  later,  while  of  course  maintain- 
ing Hungary's  suzerainty  rights  over  both  coun- 
tries. 

In  1461  the  King  of  Bosnia,  in  a  fit  of  unfulfilled 
ambition,  aspired  to  independence.  He  asked  a 
crown  from  the  Pope  and  got  it  over  the  protests 
of  Mathias.  This,  however,  spelled  ruin  to  Chris- 
tian Bosnia,  for  the  Sultan  shortly  after  invaded 
both  Servia  and  Bosnia,  and  capturing  the  Bosnian 
King,  ordered  him  decapitated.  Mathias,  although 
everlastingly  engaged  in  greater  conquests  in  the 
north  and  west  of  his  vast  realm,  could  spare  enouf!:^ 
time  to  rush  down  to  Bosnia  and  defeat  the  Sul- 
tan's troops.  He  recovered  Jaica  and  a  large  part 
of  Bosnia  (1464).  When  after  his  departure  Jaira 
again  changed  hands  with  the  Sultan,  Mathias  de- 
termined to  strike  a  strong  blow.  He  completely 
routed  the  Turkish  army  on  October  13, 1479,  at  the 
famous  battle  of  Keny^rmezo.  Nor  was  this  all ;  for 
in  1480  he  followed  up  his  success  by  recapturing 
Jaica  once  more  and  by  conquering  Uzora,  Szre- 
bernik  and  the  surroundings  of  Jaica, 


138     AUSTRIA-HUNGARY  AND  THE  WAR 

These  territories  remained  with  the  crown  of 
Hungary  until  the  battle  of  Mohdcs,  the  battle  that 
sounded  Hungary's  fate  in  1526,  when  the  Turks 
took  possession  of  a  large  portion  of  Hungary. 

Bosnia  and  Herzegovina  have  since  stayed  under 
Ottoman  yoke  until  practically  the  days  of  our 
era,  1878,  although  temporarily  the  victorious 
troops  of  Prince  Eugen  of  Savoy  have  progressed 
as  far  as  Sarajevo  (1697). 

BOSNIA    SINCE    1878.       SERVIA'S    CLAIM    OVER    BOSNIA 
WITHOUT  FOUNDATION. 

What  happened  in  1878  with  Bosnia  and  Herze- 
govina is  familiar  enough  to  the  American  public 
and  need  not  be  dwelt  upon  with  any  length.  We 
have  been  made  the  trustees  of  Bosnia  and  Herze- 
govina by  the  will  of  all  the  Powers  assembled  at 
the  Congress  of  Berlin,  to  pacify  the  people  of  these 
two  countries  and  to  restore  order  there.  Austria- 
Hungary  has  carried  out  her  mission  faithfully, 
although  this  has — in  the  beginning — cost  the  lives 
of  many  of  her  soldiers.  She  has  carried  out  her 
mission  at  the  expense  of  her  blood  and  her  good 
money.  She  has  built  churches  and  schools,  roads 
and  railway  lines,  developed  commerce,  reorganized 
the  finances  of  these  countries  and  planted  western 
civilization  in  a  place  where  for  centuries  the  dark- 
est superstition  and  ignorance  reigned  supreme. 

What  right  had  Servia  to  call  her  to  account  in 
1908  and  since  then,  when  Austria-Hungary,  after 
30  years  of  faithful  administration,  acquired  the 


AUSTRIA-HUNGARY  AND  THE  WAR     139 

rights  of  a  lawful  owner  from  Turkey,  the  former 
owner,  with  a  regular  deed  of  transfer,  by  paying 
the  price  in  a  regular  bargain  with  the  rightful 
owner?  Servia  had  no  claim  whatever  on  Bosnia. 
She  had  never  ruled  over  Bosnia,  as  was  plainly 
shown  above;  but  rather  has  she  been  under  the 
rule  of  Hungary  for  many  years  in  the  past.  Aus- 
tria-Hungary, on  the  strength  of  these  historical 
rights,  has  never  laid  claim  to  her  territory. 

Yet  Servia  has  been  using  and  is  still  using  de- 
vious means  of  a  would-be  pretender.  There  are 
people,  apparently  many  people,  in  the  United 
States,  who  seem  to  give  her  credit  for  her  alleged 
claims.  Perhaps  these  people  have  in  mind  that 
there  are  some  Servians  living  in  Bosnia  and  Her- 
zegovina and  that  for  this  reason  the  two  countries 
had  better  be  united.  But  if  the  theory  were  ac- 
cepted that  all  countries  harboring  people  who 
speak  the  same  language  should  he  united  under  one 
rule,  where  would  it  lead  tof  England  could  claim 
to  he  the  rightful  ruler  over  the  United  States  or 
vice  versa,  and  Spain  to  he  the  logical  ruler  over 
certain  South  American  states,  etc.  This  theory 
would  lead  ad  absurdum  and  no  serious  person  can 
really  uphold  it. 

We  have  charged  Servia  and  have  full  evidence  in 
hand  that,  with  her  official  aid  she  has  incited  our 
people  in  Bosnia,  Herzegovina,  Croatia  and  South- 
ern Hungary  to  high  treason  and  disruption  of  the 
monarchy. 

Servia  ignored  the  charges,  nay,  scorned  them. 


140     AUSTRIA-HUNGARY  AND  THE  WAR 

Because  of  other  denial  of  justice,  we  were  com- 
pelled to  take  the  law  into  our  hands.  Thereupon 
Servia  began  to  appeal  to  the  world  in  general  and 
to  the  United  States  in  particular,  that  she  was  so 
small  and  Austria-Hungary  so  hig  and  it  was  unfair 
for  a  big  fellow  to  hit  a  small  fellow. 

I  do  not  say  that  a  criminal  who  stands  at  the  bar 
in  expectation  of  his  punishment,  is  not  deserving 
of  compassion,  but  would  this  compassion  be  ivell 
applied  if  it  were  to  go  to  defeat  the  ends  of  justice, 
by  interfering  with  the  judge,  creating  public  senti- 
ment against  him,  because  he  would  not  yield  to 
maudlin  sentiment  and  enforce  law  and  justice? 

This  is  in  substance  the  case  of  Servia  and  Aus- 
tria-Hungary. But  Servia  sidesteps  again  and  pres- 
ents a  plea  of  outraged  historical  and  ethnographi- 
cal rights.  We  have  in  full  fairness  to  Servia's 
plea  tried  to  discover  a  ground — if  even  a  flimsy 
one — to  her  alleged  claims,  but  find  none.  I  think 
whoever  has  carefully  read  the  above  analysis  will 
say  with  me  that  there  is  none. 


v.— THE  GREAT  RUSSIAN  PROPAGANDA  IN 
GALICIA,  BUKOVINA  AND  THE  NORTH- 
EASTERN DISTRICTS  OF  HUNGARY 
BEFORE  THE  WAR. 

When,  in  the  early  days  of  September,  news  came 
from  Europe  that  Lemberg,  capital  of  Galicia,  had 
surrendered,  this  was  heralded  by  the  Russians 
as  a  tremendous  victory.  In  their  highly  colored 
official  and  semi-official  reports,  they  endeavored 
to  convey  the  impression  that  a  tremendous  number 
of  guns  had  been  captured  by  their  armies  prior 
to  the  fall  of  Lemberg,  and  the  number  of  Austro- 
Hungarian  prisoners,  killed  and  wounded,  in  their 
reports,  equalled  whole  army  corps. 

The  day  after  my  arrival  in  New  York  from  Eu- 
rope the  morning  papers  placed  the  number  of  Aus- 
tro-Hungarian  guns  captured  in  connection  with 
the  successful  so-called  siege  of  Lemberg  at  200. 
The  noon  editions  based  on  fresh  "authentic"  re- 
ports from  Petrograd  raised  it  to  400,  and  the  Even- 
ing Telegram  came  out  with  a  headliner  that  2,000 
guns  had  been  taken.  From  subsequent  reliable  in- 
formation it  appeared,  however,  that  there  never 
had  been  a  regular  siege  of  Lemberg.  The  Rus- 
sians approached  the  city  after  the  Austro-Hun- 
garian  troops  had  left  it  for  nearly  two  whole  days. 
Not  one  gun  was  captured  by  the  Russians  on  this 

141 


142     AUSTRIA-HUNGAEY  AND  THE  WAR 

occasion,  as  there  were  none  there.  The  city  had 
been  evacuated  in  order  to  safeguard  Lemberg 
against  a  bombardment  and  destruction  of  its  public 
buildings.  Lemberg  is  not  a  fortified  city,  and 
what  earthworks  there  were  around  the  city  were 
of  merely  temporary  character.  It  was  from  the 
beginning,  clear  to  the  leaders  of  the  Austro-Hun- 
garian  army  that  it  would  be  well-nigh  impossible 
for  any  army  to  hold  the  entire  Galician  and  Bu- 
kovinian  frontier  against  the  enemy  at  every  point. 
This  frontier  has  an  extension  of  about  700  miles, 
and  there  are  no  natural  boundaries  in  the  shape 
of  mountains  or  even  rivers,  separating  the  two 
provinces  from  Russia. 

Apart  from  these  humanitarian  and  strategic  con- 
siderations, however,  there  were  other  reasons 
which  have  also  undoubtedly  influenced  the  com- 
mand of  the  Imperial  and  Royal  Army  to  tempor- 
arily abandon  Lemberg  and  parts  of  Eastern  Gali- 
cia  and  the  Bukovina  to  the  enemy.  We  are  fully 
aware  today  that  Russia  has  carefully  prepared 
this  war  for  decades  in  the  past.  Just  as  we  know 
today  that  Russia  was  all  along  the  prime  instiga- 
tor of  Servia  against  Austria-Hungary,  we  know 
that  the  late  Mr.  von  Hartwig,  her  former  minister 
in  Belgrade,  had  been  one  of  the  chief  conspirators 
in  helping  to  weave  the  meshes  which  should  entrap 
the  monarchy  in  a  war  with  the  whole  world.  We 
also  know  that  Russia  has  for  many  years  in  the 
past  prepared  the  ground  in  Galicia,  Bukovina  and 
the  northeastern  counties  of  Hungary  to  facilitate 


AUSTRIA-HUNGARY  AND  THE  WAR     143 

prospective  military  operations  in  those  districts. 
It  must  have  occurred  even  to  the  general  American 
public,  not  familiar  with  the  history  and  conditions 
of  our  countries,  that  the  Russian  invasion  into 
Austria-Hungary  has  been  directed  against  these 
particular  districts.  I  will  endeavor  in  this  chapter 
to  give  some  general  outlines  of  how  these  Russian 
ante-war  preparations  have  been  made. 

Speaking  in  broad  terms,  the  great  Russian  prop- 
aganda in  Austria-Hungary  has  been  active  since 
1843.  The  Russian  Panslav  author,  Pogodin,  is 
credited  with  having  originated  this  propaganda. 
From  the  year  1843  he  made  extensive  travels  all 
over  Galicia  and  tried  to  sow  the  seed  of  future 
foment.  This  does  not  indicate  that  Russians  have 
not  been  coveting  the  conquest  of  parts  or  the  whole 
of  the  monarchy  farther  back  even.  This  was, 
however,  the  first  conscious  actual  move  on  Russia's 
part,  which  resulted  in  the  foundation  of  the  secret 
"Pogodinian  Russo-Galician  Colony." 

A  professor  of  Lemberg  University  and  other  in- 
tellectual men  entered  as  members.  Their  task 
was  to  win  over  the  broader  masses  of  the  popula- 
tion. The  Russian  invasion  of  1849,  in  Hungary, 
acted,  of  course,  as  a  strong  incentive  to  develop 
this  propaganda.  The  two  leading  men  of  the  move- 
ment were  the  Royal  Hungarian  Councillor,  Adolph 
I.  Dobzsj^nski  (Dobrfinszky),  and  later  on  Ivan 
Naumovicz,  who  was  both  a  priest  and  a  member 
of  the  Austrian  diet.  Through  their  agency  papers 
and  pamphlets  were  issued  all  over  East  Galicia, 


144     AUSTRIA-HUNGARY  AND  THE  WAR 

Northern  Bukovina  and  Northeastern  Hungary,  ad- 
vocating the  sending  out  of  students  and  professors 
to  Russian  schools  and  colleges.  They  were  ex- 
pected to  return  as  trained  leaders  of  the  Pan-Rus- 
sian movement. 

I  might  draw  here  tne  attention  of  my  readers 
to  the  analoguous  way  adopted  during  a  good  many 
years  by  Japan  in  conducting  her  Japanese  propa- 
ganda in  China.  Through  official  and  semi-official 
agencies  a  large  number  of  Chinese  students  have 
been  for  many  years  attracted  to  Nippon's  shores. 
To  the  author,  who  during  his  ten  years'  residence 
in  the  Far  East,  has  become  more  or  less  intimately 
acquainted  with  the  people  of  China  and  Japan, 
there  can  be  no  doubt  that  Japan  has  sinister  de- 
signs against  China.  Her  methods  are  those  of  a 
persistent  propaganda  to  win  over  the  souls  and 
minds  of  the  nation's  future  leaders  for  her  cause. 
Just  as  it  would  be  a  deplorable  result  for  the  whole 
world  if  the  scheming  little  Japanese  plotter  ever 
gained  his  ends  in  China,  it  would  be  no  less  re- 
grettable if  the  arch-plotter  and  trouble-monger, 
Russia,  were  to  win  against  Austria-Hungary  and 
Germany. 

Russia's  propaganda  had  one  great  advantage 
over  Japan's  propaganda  in  China,  in  that  it  in- 
volved religious  motives,  and  a  religious  propa- 
ganda is  the  strongest  possible  ally  to  the  political 
promoter,  as  history  has  taught  us  many  a  time. 
Under  the  pretext  of  familiarizing  members  of  the 
Greek  Catholic  Church  with  the  alleged  superior 


AUSTRIA-HUNGARY  AND  THE  WAR     145 

precepts  and  rites  of  the  Russian  Orthodox  Church, 
Russia  obtained  her  introduction  into  many  house- 
holds. Her  open  advocacy  of  a  political  propa- 
ganda would  have  doubtlessly  made  her  suspicious 
and  barred  her  entry.  In  this  respect  the  evidence 
in  the  famous  trial  of  Olga  Hrabar,  her  father, 
Adolph  Dobrdnszky,  Naumovicz,  editor  Markow 
and  Ploszczanski,  in  the  year  1882,  for  high  treason, 
thoroughly  substantiates  my  above  comments.  But 
even  to  a  greater  extent  this  joint  propaganda  be- 
came apparent  through  the  disclosures  of  the  sen- 
sational trial  at  Mdramarossziget,  Hungary,  1913. 
I  will  have  occasion  to  amplify  this  statement  here- 
after. 

The  leaders  of  the  Russian  propaganda  in  Buko- 
vina  were  the  Gerowski  brothers,  grandsons  of  the 
above  named  Court  Councillor  Adolf  Dobr^nszky. 
Behind  all  stood  and  stands  the  "Slavic  Benevolent 
Society^'  in  St.  Petersburg  (Petrograd),  supplying 
everybody  with  money.  To  a  special  department 
of  this  society  the  "Galickaja  Rus"  is  entrusted  the 
organized  direction  of  this  propaganda.  Count 
Wladimir  Bobrinski — the  same  who  carries  on  the 
"temporary"  functions  of  a  Russo-Galician  Gov- 
ernor— was  and  is  the  soul  of  it.  Through  his  ef- 
forts hundreds  of  thousands  of  rubles  were  collected 
to  further  the  Pan-Russian  ideas  and  "Neoslavism" 
— and  in  connection  with  the  winning  of  souls, 
money  was  spent  lavishly.  Count  Bobrinski  made 
an  extensive  trip  in  Galicia  and  Bukovina  in  1908. 
He  was,  if  not  the  star  witness,  undoubtedly  the 


146     AUSTRIA-HUNGARY  AND  THE  WAR 

most  prominent  witness  in  the  trial  of  M4ramaros- 
sziget.  His  statement :  'We  shall  not  rest  until  the 
Russian  flag  flies  on  the  Carpathians"  is  still  un- 
forgotten  and  evidently  was  a  strong  feather  in  his 
cap  to  earn  him  the  temporary  governorship  of 
Galicia. 

To  illustrate  how  far  the  underground  machina- 
tions of  the  Pan-Russian  propagandists  had  gone 
shortly  before  the  outbreak  of  the  war,  I  will  cite 
the  words  of  one  of  the  leaders  of  this  propaganda 
in  Galicia.  These  words  were  spoken  in  connection 
with  a  visit  of  Russians  in  Galicia  on  July  28th, 
1908,  to  whom  this  leader  wished  to  express  thanks 
for  their  visit.  "We  thank  you,"  he  said,  "as  the 
representatives  of  the  ruling  parties  in  Russia,  that 
you  have  not  forgotten  the  brothers  of  subjugated 
Russia/^  This  goes  to  show  that  they  really  con- 
sider these  provinces  as  parts  of  the  Russian  Em- 
pire. The  reason  is  evident.  Russia,  in  the  course 
of  years,  realized  that  Austria-Hungary,  by  grant- 
ing her  Ruthenian  subjects  the  free  use  of  their  lan- 
guage and  other  privileges,  became  a  growing  men- 
ace to  Russia's  own  thirty-five  or  more  millions  of 
Ruthenians  in  Southern  Russia,  whom  the  latter, 
on  her  side,  had  tried  in  vain  to  despoil  of  their 
language  and  nationality  by  amalgamating  them 
completely.  Ruthenians  in  Russia  would  soon  be- 
come aware  of  how  much  better  their  brothers  in 
Austria-Hungary  fared  and  would  clamor  for  more 
rights,  which  of  course  Russia,  faithful  to  her  re- 
actionary traditions,  was  unwilling  to  grant.  Hence 


AUSTRIA-HUNGARY  AND  THE  WAR     147 

her  counter-moves  in  Galicia  and  Bukovina,  in 
which  religious  fanaticism  was  called  to  play  such 
a  prominent  part. 

RUSSIANS  ACTIVITIES  IN  GALICIA. 

Through  her  persistent  efforts  and  a  gold  stream 
of  rubles,  Russia  succeeded  in  the  last  50  years  in 
winning  over  the  peasants  of  whole  districts,  par- 
ticularly those  of  Zloczow,  Sanok,  Brody,  Przem- 
yslany,  Zborow,  Turka,  Zolkiew  and  Zydaczow.  I 
named  these  because  our  war  experiences  up  to  date 
have  shown  that  in  these  districts  the  Russian  in- 
vaders have  found  more  or  less  willing  confederates. 
Had  it  not  been  for  her  underhanded  methods  and 
wholesale  bribes,  Russia,  in  spite  of  the  tremendous 
odds  in  her  favor,  would  never  have  been  able  to 
achieve  what  little  she  has  achievel  in  the  length 
of  time.  I  have  demonstrated  in  another  chapter 
that  the  motley  nationalities  of  Austria-Hungary 
are  all  fighting  with  staunch  loyalty  for  the  mon- 
archy's cause.  The  rumors  circulated  by  the 
enemy's  press  to  the  effect  that  wholesale  desertions 
have  occurred  and  are  occurring  daily  in  the  Im- 
perial and  Royal  army,  are  bold  lies  made  out  of 
whole  cloth.  There  have  been  no  defections  of 
whatever  small  proportions.  Russia,  however,  had 
the  population  of  whole  sections  on  the  frontier  in 
her  pay,  and  she  has  utilized  these  wholesale  bribes 
to  the  best  of  her  ability  in  the  course  of  her  mili- 
tary operations.  Cyril  Krylowski,  librarian  of  the 
"Duchownaja  Akademia"  in  Kiew,  the  prime  mover 


148     AUSTRIA-HUNGARY  AND  THE  WAR 

of  the  Russophile  propaganda  next  to  Count  Bob- 
rinski,  is  credited  with  the  ante-war  statement  that 
27,000  to  30,000  peasants  had  been  so  well  "pre- 
pared" by  the  Russian  emissaries  that  they  could 
be  safely  relied  upon  in  time  of  war.  In  addition 
to  these  peasants  the  Russophile  propagandists  have 
never,  however,  neglected  to  affiliate  with  certain 
intellectual  leaders  of  eastern  Galicia;  attorneys, 
judges,  college  professors,  etc.  For  obvious  reasons 
I  will  suppress  the  names  of  the  leading  conspira- 
tors, although  I  wish  to  say  that  it  is  hoped  that 
they  will  be  unable  to  play  their  sinister  part  any 
more. 

But  above  all  it  was  through  the  organization 
of  societies  that  the  Pan-Russian  propaganda  in 
Galicia  has  received  a  strong  impetus.  The  "Mich- 
ael Kaczkowski  Society"  was  one  of  the  leading 
societies  of  this  genre.  It  was  founded  in  1875  to 
counteract  the  activities  of  the  Ukrainian  (i.  e., 
Neo-Ruthenian)  society  "Proswita,"  hostile  to 
Russia.  Reverend  Naumovicz  was  its  founder, 
although  the  name  which  the  society  bears  is  bor- 
rowed from  the  name  of  a  Circuit  Court  judge  who 
had  left  his  whole  fortune  (about  80,000  gulden) 
to  public  instruction  and  cultural  purposes.  Orig- 
inally this  society  was  a  literary  club,  holding 
meetings,  where  lectures  on  arts  and  poetry  were 
made.  It  also  issued  a  periodical.  When,  however, 
Reverend  Naumovicz  was  elected  to  the  Austrian 
Diet,  he  became  entangled  with  the  above  men- 
tioned Court  Councillor  Dobransky,  and  through 


AUSTRIA  HUNGARY  AND  THE  WAR     149 

him,  with  some  leaders  of  Russian  society  in 
Vienna.  Soon  the  Russian  Embassy  in  Vienna  be- 
came interested  in  him  and  his  society  and  an  an- 
nual subsidy  of  about  12,000  rubles  was  secured 
from  the  Russian  Government  to  further  the  ends 
of  the  society.  It  is  perhaps  superfluous  to  em- 
phasize that  thereafter  this  society  was  turned  into 
a  bulwark  of  Russophile  sentiment.  This  society 
numbered  approximately  20,000  members  at  the 
outbreak  of  the  war. 

The  Kaczkowski  Society  is  also  in  close  connec- 
tion with  the  so-called  Stauropigian  Institute  in 
Lemberg,  which  was  known  to  act  as  the  go-between 
for  all  financial  transactions  between  this  and  other 
societies  and  Russian  Government.  When  a  short- 
age of  fupds  occurred,  when  one  or  the  other  so- 
ciety was  in  financial  straits,  this  institute  was 
always  found  a  ready  helper  with  Russian  money. 

Another  noteworthy  society  was  the  "Russkie 
Druzyny,"  which  in  connection  with  her  fire  engine 
department  entertained  a  whole  military  organiza- 
tion, and  the  curious  part  of  it  was  that  this  organi- 
zation used  the  same  commands  and  a  great  many 
practices  in  force  with  the  Russian  infantry. 

The  "Narodni  Dom,"  a  leading  national  institu- 
tion in  Lemberg,  erected  to  help  needy  students 
financially  and  otherwise,  with  a  large  library  and 
museum,  has  also  lately  been  subjected  to  strong 
Russopliile  influence. 

But  not  only  societies  and  clubs  were  put  into 
service  by  the  unscrupulous  Russophile  propagan- 


150     AUSTJRIA-HUNGARY  AND  THE  WAR 

dists.  Within  the  last  decade  particularly,  a  num- 
ber of  savings  banks,  credit  and  loan  associations 
were  founded  in  some  of  the  cities  close  to  the  Rus- 
sian fontier,  in  Brody,  Kolomea,  Sanok,  Gorlice, 
with  the  more  or  less  apparent  purpose  of  support- 
ing the  ends  of  this  propaganda.  As  late  as  last 
year  leading  directors  of  these  institutes  obtained 
a  loan  from  Russia  of  two  million  rubles.  The 
successful  outcome  of  this  financial  transaction 
was  chiefly  due  to  Count  Bobrinsky  and  the  Russian 
Orthodox  bishop  in  Wladimir  Wolysk.  The  Benev- 
olent Slavic  Society  in  St.  Petersburg  (Petrograd) 
has  also  been  a  primary  factor  in  all  financial  aids. 
It  has  repeatedly  arranged  collections  in  St.  Peters- 
burg for  "the  needs  of  Austrian  Russians  in  Gali- 
cia."  One  such  collection  is  said  to  have  yielded 
upwards  of  3,000,000  rubles.  Money  opens  almost 
every  gate.  Is  it  to  be  wondered  if  the  Russian 
army  has  found  a  certain  number  of  confederates 
in  East  Galicia?  The  New  York  Evening  Telegram 
vould  have  been  more  justified  in  reporting  the 
"successful  capture  of  2,000  consciences  instead  of 
2,000  guns"  with  the  aid  of  almighty  "Rubles" ! 

The  Russophile  propaganda  has  of  course  inci- 
dentally made  good  use  of  the  press.  Within  the 
last  ten  or  fifteen  years  quite  a  number  of  papers 
favoring  schismatic  and  pro-Russian  tendencies 
have  been  published.  One,  called  Lemko,  is  a  per- 
iodical, which  is  sent  in  many  hundreds  of  copies 
to  readers  in  the  United  States,  for,  strange  as  it 
may  seem  to  the  American  public,  Russia  entertains 


AUSTRIA-HUNGARY  AND  THE  WAR     151 

here  quite  an  active  pro-Russian  propaganda  among 
the  Ruthenian  immigrants  from  Galieia,  Bukovina 
and  Hungary. 

Schools  and  churches,  however,  have  proved  the 
most  effective  mediums.  When,  in  the  year  1910, 
a  number  of  schools  in  Lemberg,  Kolomea,  Stanis- 
lau,  Tarnopol,  Brody,  Zloczow,  Sambor,  Sanok  and 
Przemysl,  subsidized  by  Russia,  were  visited  by  the 
official  school  inspectors,  it  was  found  that  in  these 
schools  nothing  but  Russian  was  taught.  Pupils 
had  been  told  to  hate  and  despise  Ruthenians.  Books 
of  history  dealt  with  Galieia  as  a  province  of  Rus- 
sia. The  only  maps  found  were  those  of  Russia. 
Is  it  to  be  wondered  that  the  pupils,  after  leaving 
these  schools,  were  bound  to  become,  when  grown 
up,  apostles  of  the  Russian  cause? 

The  Russian  Church  propaganda  in  Galieia  and 
Bukovina  (see  below)  was  carried  on  with  a  great 
amount  of  cunning.  A  distinction  must  be  made 
here  between  the  Greek  Oriental  Church  and  the 
Russian  Orthodox  Church.  The  former  is  recog- 
nized in  Austria  and  the  respective  congregations 
are  under  the  orders  of  the  Greek  Oriental  Metro- 
politan in  Czernowitz.  The  latter  is  not  recognized. 
This  state  of  affairs  compelled  the  Russian  Church 
authorities  to  adopt  secret  means  of  propaganda. 
Ruthenian  youths  of  Austrian  citizenship  were  first 
sent  to  Russian  monasteries  and  theological  col- 
leges in  Russia  at  the  expense  of  the  Russian  Or- 
thodox Church.  Those  who  qualified  after  the  ter- 
mination of  their  studies  were  sent  back  to  Gali- 


152     AUSTRIA-HUNGARY  AND  THE  WAR 

cian  villages  well  supplied  with  funds  and  para- 
phernalia of  their  church  rites  and  began  to  make 
proselytes  for  the  Kussian  Church.  The  parents  of 
those  youths  were  only  too  willing  to  give  them  up, 
as  thereby  the  expenses  of  their  household  were  de- 
creased ;  moreover,  the  future  of  the  boys  seemed  as- 
sured. We  know  also  that  Russian  popes  (this  is 
the  current  name  for  the  priests  of  the  Russian 
Church)  were  sent  to  Galicia  as  emissaries  to  or- 
ganize the  church  districts.  There  were  three  of  such 
districts  at  the  outbreak  of  the  war :  in  Grab,  Cielaz 
and  Zalucze.  Whenever  news  of  conversions  of  the 
village  people  in  these  districts  transpired  in  large 
numbers,  it  was  given  out  that  these  conversions 
accrued  to  the  Greek  Oriental  Church  to  allay  sus- 
picion. Attention  was  really  attracted  only  when 
the  Nowoje  Wremja^  on  June  11,  1909,  published 
an  appeal  of  Archbishop  Anthony  of  W^olhynia.  In 
this  appeal  mention  was  made  of  a  committee  to 
erect  a  Russian  church  in  Zalucze  and  contribu- 
tions were  also  asked  and  made  in  Russia  for 
churches  in  other  Galician  districts.  In  1911,  and 
since  the  schismatic  propaganda  became  very  active, 
there  were  isolated  instances  in  which  some  of  the 
Russian  Church  emissaries  openly  harangued  the 
people  to  break  off  from  Austria-Hungary  and  be- 
come Russian  subjects.  As  recently  as  1911  they 
openly  told  the  people  that  the  Czar's  troops  were 
sure  to  invade  Galicia  very  soon  and  prepartaions 
to  the  effect  were  in  progress.  In  a  few  instances 
the  Greek   Catholic   clergy  also  encouraged  this 


AUSTRIA-HUNGARY  AND  THE  WAR     153 

propaganda.  It  is  claimed  that  the  pilgrimages  of 
Ruthenian  peasants  of  Galicia  to  Poezajew  and  to 
Kiew  in  Russia  had  been  assisted  by  the  Greek 
Catholic  clergy.  The  brunt  of  the  responsibility  in 
connection  with  these  conversions  is,  however,  laid 
down  to  the  charge  of  the  Russian  emissaries.  The 
latter  were  also  more  in  favor  with  the  people, 
because  they  did  not  collect  regular  church  fees 
as  prescribed  for  the  clergy  of  the  Greek  Catho- 
lic Church,  but  performed  their  church  services 
gratis. 

BUKOVINA  AND  THE  RUSSIAN   PROPAGANDA. 

I  have  given  larger  space  to  comments  on  Rus- 
sian ante-war  activities  in  Oalicia  because  they  were 
at  all  times  more  pronounced  there  than  in  any 
other  parts  of  the  monarchy.  Russian  propaganda 
was,  however,  by  no  means  a  neligible  factor  in 
either  the  Austrian  Crownland  of  Bukovina,  or  the 
Kingdom  of  Hungary.  In  the  former,  as  was  stated 
above,  the  Gerowski  brothers  in  Czernowitz  and 
the  whole  family  of  the  Gerowskis  were  leaders  of 
this  pro-Russian  propaganda.  This  family,  through 
its  relatives  and  other  close  friends,  has  entertained 
continued  relations  with  the  leaders  of  the  Russo- 
phile  party  in  Russia.  Most  of  its  members  were 
involved  in  trials  for  high  treason.  The  names  of 
these  leaders  I  deem  it  out  of  place  to  mention  here. 
This  study  merely  attempts  to  show  to  impartial 
readers,  from  another  angle,  that  Russia  had  been 
preparing  for  this  war  against  Austria-Hungary 


154     AUSTRIA-HUNGARY  AND  THE  WAR 

for  many  years  in  the  past,  and  her  assertions  to  the 
contrary  are  discredited  by  countless  proofs. 

The  strongest  factors  in  the  pro-Russian  propa- 
ganda in  Bukovina  were  the  press  and  the  churches. 
Kupczanko,  editor  of  the  Swisda^  a  violent  pro- 
Russian  paper,  was  involved  in  a  trial  for  high 
treason  in  1892,  but  he  fled  to  Russia  before  punish- 
ment could  be  meted  out  to  him ;  it  is  believed  with 
the  aid  of  the  Russian  Embassy  in  Vienna. 

Another  prominent  press  organ  was  the  Russka 
Prawda.  This  paper  made  it  its  particular  task 
to  demonstrate  that  the  Ruthenians  had  no  claim 
to  existence  as  an  independent  race  of  people.  Their 
language  was — so  it  was  alleged — merely  an  in- 
ferior dialect  of  Russian,  and  Ruthenians  were 
really  Russians.  This  paper  also  openly  disre- 
garded the  existence  of  Austria-Hungary  and  es- 
poused Russian  policies  only.  It  had  no  regular 
list  of  subscribers,  but  the  copies  were  mailed  under 
cover  to  a  large  list  of  people  in  Bukovina  and 
northern  Hungary  free  of  charge.  It  was  of  course 
subsidized,  if  not  entirely  owned  by  the  "Slavic 
Benevolent  Society"  in  St.  Petersburg,  as  were 
other  ^milar  sheets. 

About  twenty  per  cent,  of  the  Greek  Oriental 
clergy  in  Bukovina  has  been  in  the  course  of  time 
won  over  to  the  pro-Russian  propaganda.  Their 
activities  were  of  course  carried  on  secretly.  One 
means  consisted  in  the  fitting  out  of  pilgrimages 
of  peasants  on  a  large  scale  to  the  monasteries  near 
Kiew  and  Odessa.    The  expenses  of  such  trips  were 


AUSTRIA-HUNGARY  AND  THE  WAR     155 

borne  entirely  by  the  "Slavic  Benevolent  Society" 
in  St,  Petersburg,  which  also  financed  similar  pil- 
grimages to  Russian  monasteries  in  Palestina  (Asia 
Minor) .  The  pilgrims  were  in  return  for  gratuitous 
trips  expected  to  encourage  the  spread  of  the  schis- 
matic propaganda,  to  sell  Russian  prayerbooks, 
pictures  of  the  Czar  and  his  family,  etc.,  etc. 

RUSSIAN  INTRIGUES  IN  HUNGARY. 

If  the  close  proximity  of  Russia  had  much  to  do 
with  the  spread  of  a  systematic  pro-Russian  propa- 
ganda in  Bukovina  and  Galicia,  matters  stood  dif- 
ferently with  Hungary,  separated  as  it  is  from 
the  Austrian  borderlands  by  a  mighty  chain  of 
mountains,  the  Carpathians. 

Yet  have  we  heard  that  quite  considerable  por- 
tions of  the  Russian  army  had  attempted  to  cross 
the  passes  of  the  Carpathians  and  had  invaded  some 
northeastern  counties.  The  counties  of  Mdramaros 
and  Ung  were  the  battlefields  of  these  raids.  The 
total  number  of  the  invaders  was  variously  placed 
at  from  30,000  to  50,000  men.  They  were,  however, 
defeated  by  our  valiant  defenders  and  either  killed 
or  taken  prisoners.  At  the  foot  of  the  Uzsok  pass 
alone  8,000  killed  Russians  were  buried,  and  it  is 
believed  that  hardly  any  were  allowed  to  return 
to  tell  the  tale.  Soon  after  this  ill-fated  raid  had 
begun,  speculation  was  rife  as  to  how  it  was  pos- 
sible for  the  Russians  to  cross  the  Carpathians  at 
all.  This  huge  mountain  range,  completely  encir- 
cling Hungary,  has  always  been  considered  im- 


156     AUSTRIA-HUNGAEY  AND  THE  WAR 

passable  for  larger  bodies  of  troops  and  their  trans- 
ports. Subsequent  events  have  of  course  substan- 
tially proved  the  correctness  of  this  theory,  inas- 
much as  the  Russians  do  not  seem  to  have  been  able 
to  carry  their  transports  over  the  mountains.  The 
fact  stands  out,  however,  that  they  have  crossed 
the  mountains  with  their  cavalry,  infantry  and 
some  machine  gun  detachments.  The  riddle  was 
solved  with  the  arrival  of  the  home  papers.  Some 
of  the  Ruthenian  peasant  folk  had  showed  the  way 
to  the  Russians  by  scattering  about  Indian  corn 
and  barley  on  some  of  the  secret  mountain  roads, 
which  are  not  in  use  for  the  general  traffic.  Russian 
scouts  followed  up  these  chicken-feed  trails  and 
opened  the  way  to  the  main  army.  These  Ruthen- 
ians  were  of  course  proselytes  of  the  Russian  ante- 
war  propaganda. 

It  would  be  utterly  unjust — as  attempts  have  al- 
ready been  made  in  various  papers — to  brand  the 
entire  Ruthenian  population  of  the  monarchy  as 
traitors,  because  some  of  their  number  have  been 
black  sheep.  Nothing  would  be  farther  from  the 
truth  and  real  facts.  The  Ruthenian  population 
has  for  immemorial  time  been  unswervedly  loyal 
to  Austria-Hungary.  As  a  whole  body  Ruthenians 
have  always  been  hostile  to  Russia,  and  thirty-five 
million  of  Ruthenians  (or  Ukrainians)  in  Russia 
will  undoubtedly  bless  the  day  and  hour  when  they 
will  be  liberated  from  Russian  yoke  and  gain  an 
independent  state  of  their  own.  Ruthenians  have 
proud  historic  traditions,  and  their  rejuvenation 


AUSTRIA-HUNGARY  AND  THE  WAR     157 

would  be  undoubtedly  a  hoped-for,  splendid  achieve- 
ment of  the  present  world  struggle,  just  as  the 
creation  of  a  Polish  Kingdom  would  be  another 
momentous  success. 

The  isolated  cases  of  Ruthenian  treachery  are  due 
exclusively  to  the  Russian  propaganda  before  the 
war.  Practically  the  first  news  of  the  Russian 
invasion  into  Hungarian  territory  reached  the 
world  from  the  Hungarian  town  of  Huszt.  Now 
this  little  town  is  in  the  closest  vicinity  of  the 
township  of  Iza,  which  was  always  known  as  the 
hotbed  of  pro-Russian  activities.  The  people  of  this 
township,  as  well  as  those  of  the  neighboring  vil- 
lages of  Keselymezo  and  Lipcse  are  mostly  descend- 
ants of  fief  holders  from  the  historic  Rdkoczy 
period.  There  are  only  very  few  illiterates  among 
them,  and  their  reputation  for  cunning  is  pro- 
verbial. They  were  won  over  to  the  Russian  Or- 
thodox Church  in  a  similar  way  as  their  brethren 
in  Galicia  and  Bukovina  had  been.  Russian  emis- 
saries, styling  themselves  "apostles  of  the  common 
people,"  visited  them,  bringing  prayerbooks  and 
promising  financial  help.  The  people  in  those  vil- 
lages were  mostly  poor  and  such  aid  was  welcome. 
Money  being  involved,  the  rumor  of  these  visits 
soon  spread  among  the  population  of  nearby  dis- 
tricts. All  of  a  sudden  the  population  of  whole 
districts  began  to  renounce  allegiance  to  their  old 
churches  and  priests.  The  church  authorities,  blam- 
ing the  inefficiency  of  their  priests,  replaced  them 
by  others.    The  substitutes  were  threatened  in  their 


158     AUSTRIA-HUNGARY  AND  THE  WAR 

safety,  some  of  them  expelled  from  the  respective 
villages.  Thereupon  the  clergy  had  to  apply  for  the 
assistance  of  the  state  authorities.  Investigations 
which  followed  gradually  disclosed  the  whole  ex- 
tent of  the  underground  work  of  the  Russian  mole. 
In  this  connection  two  facts  are  noteworthy :  One 
is  that  under  the  Acts  IX  and  XLII,  of  the  years 
1868  and  1895  respectively,  the  Greek-Oriental 
Church  is  recognized  in  the  Kingdom  of  Hungary 
only  inasmuch  as  it  pertains  to  the  Roumanian 
and  Servian  Churches,  That  is,  the  Russian  Or- 
thodox Church  is  not  recognized.  The  other  extant 
fact  is  that  the  Russian  propaganda  in  all  of  the 
named  districts  in  Hungary  (as  well  as  in  Galicia 
and  Bukovina)  has  had  a  double  purpose.  It  was 
both  a  church  propaganda  and  a  political  move. 
The  former  was  and  is  directed  against  the  Roman 
Catholic  Church.  The  Holy  Synod  of  Russia  never 
could  forgive  Rome  the  loss  of  a  large  number  of 
their  former  church  members  in  the  Balkan  and 
other  countries,  due  to  concessions  of  the  Holy  See 
in  Rome.  The  new  Greek  Catholic  converts  were 
allowed  to  retain  some  of  the  Byzantinian  rites  and 
their  mother  tongue  in  the  usage  of  the  church. 
Their  priests  were  allowed  to  marry,  whereas  strict 
celibacy  is  imposed  on  Roman  Catholic  priests. 
This  is  why  Roman  Catholics  in  Russia  have  always 
met  with  persecution.  This  is  also  one  of  the  very 
reasons  why  Russia  so  strongly  opposed  the  occupa- 
tion of  Bosnia-Herzegovina  by  Austria-Hungary. 
Russia  was  afraid  of  the  Christianization  of  the 
Orthodox   believers   in    Bosnia  and   Herzegovina 


AUSTRIA-HUNGARY  AND  THE  WAR     159 

under  our  regime.  Russia  reckoned  that  by  keeping 
up  her  religious  propaganda  in  Galicia,  Bukovina 
and  Hungary,  she  would,  be  compensated  for  the 
losses  which  her  church  had  suffered  in  other  coun- 
tries. What  she  really  wanted,  however,  was  to 
pave  the  way  to  the  intended  "land  grab"  by  mak- 
ing "spiritual"  conquests  first.  The  trials  of  Iza, 
in  1903,  and  of  M^ramarossziget,  in  1904  and  1913, 
have  brought  this  to  the  surface  so  convincingly  as 
to  dispel  any  doubts  which  may  have  been  formerly 
entertained  in  this  regard. 

As  in  the  case  of  Galicia  and  Bukovina,  so  in 
Hungary's  case  a  considerable  part  of  the  Russian 
propaganda  against  Hungarian  Ruthenians  was 
carried  on  by  way  of  America.  Here  every  possible 
means  were  used  and  are  being  used  by  the  Russian 
Church,  which  is  a  willing  helper  of  Russian  Gov- 
ernment to  foment  dissatisfaction  in  the  ranks  of 
the  Hungarian  Greek  Catholic  clergy,  and  induce- 
ments are  offered  to  win  them  over  to  the  Orthodox 
Church.  Fortunately  these  endeavors  have  met 
with  scanty  success.  A  considerable  number  of 
Hungarian  Ruthenians  have,  however,  changed 
faith,  and  these  renegades  were  used  as  go-betweens 
by  the  Russians  to  persuade  their  friends  and  rela- 
tives in  Hungary  to  follow  suit.  Little  do  the  peo- 
ple of  the  United  States  know  that  their  country 
thus  has  umciUingli/  and  unconsciously  also  sup- 
plemented a  feio  sparks  lohich  helped  to  ig^nite  the 
firebrand  of  Europe's  war.  The  Russian  hear  has 
been  rampaging  here  on  the  loayside,  as  he  does  all 
over  the  rest  of  the  globe. 


VI.— ECONOMIC  WAR  CONDITIONS  IN  AUS- 
TRIA-HUNGARY.   THE  UNITED  STATES 
AND  THE  DUAL  MONARCHY. 

The  statement  attributed  to  the  famous  Austrian 
general  of  former  centuries,  Count  Montecucculi, 
that  there  are  three  things  necessary  to  conduct  a 
successful  war:  "money,  money,  and  money,"  is 
probably  less  known  to  the  American  public,  than 
it  is  to  my  own  countrymen.  The  same  idea  has 
since  then  been  expressed  repeatedly  by  many  sec- 
retaries of  war  or  of  the  navy,  and  other  men  promi- 
nently connected  with  the  war  movement  of  one 
or   the  other  country. 

Under  the  highly  developed  present  conditions 
it  is  not  only  the  actual  cash  outlay  for  the  main- 
tenance of  the  army  and  navy,  but  the  whole  na- 
tional wealth  and  economic  strength  which  have 
to  be  taken  into  account  by  any  country  that  goes 
to  war.  A  country  unable  to  demonstrate  finan- 
cial and  economic  stability,  or  at  least  sufficient 
stamina  to  resist  the  various  forms  of  attacks  which 
are  directed  against  the  possessions,  property  and 
the  whole  national  wealth  of  the  population  while 
war  and  fighting  are  going  on  is,  ab  initio,  hopelessly 
beaten  by  the  adversaries  who  may  be  in  a  better 
position  in  this  respect  than  itself. 

Is  Austria-Hungary's  financial  and  economic 
160 


AUSTRIA-HUNGARY  AND  THE  WAR     161 

strength  sound  enough  to  enable  her  to  conduct 
this  war  without  fear  of  a  financial  collapse? 

I  would  like  to  quote  here  the  comments  of  Dr. 
Rudolph  Sieghart,  President  of  the  Austrian  Credit 
Foncier  (Bodenkreditanstalt)  which  is  probably 
the  strongest  financial  institute  in  the  monarchy 
today.  Dr.  Sieghart  was  formerly  the  Austrian 
State  Minister  of  the  Treasury  and  is  a  Privy 
Councillor  of  his  Imperial  and  Royal  Apostolic 
Majesty.  His  word  should  therefore  carry  double 
or  even  treble  weight,  to  wit:  as  the  word  of  a 
leading  banker  in  Austria-Hungary,  of  the  former 
first  official  state  expert  in  matters  concerning  the 
finances  of  Austria,  and  indirectly  concerning  those 
of  the  whole  monarchy,  and  of  an  adviser  of  the 
Emperor  and  King. 

"The  question" — so  he  says — "whether  the  people 
can  look  with  confidence  upon  the  economic  fitness 
of  the  country  to  conduct  this  war,  must  be  un- 
reservedly answered  in  the  affirmative.  Austria- 
Hungary's  national  wealth  is  prepared  to  meet  all 
and  every  vicissitude  that  this  war  may  bring. 
What  was  weak  and  unstable  has  fallen  ofif  long 
since  the  repeated  crises  connected  with  the  Balkan 
wars.  What  was  left  is  the  powerful  stock,  and 
this  stock  is  healthy  and  able  to  weather  storms. 
Anxieties  concerning  real  estate  and  other  values 
entrusted  to  the  State  administration,  the  lawful 
trustees  of  the  people,  are  utterly  absurd  and  sin- 
ful." Dr.  Sieghart  then  continues  to  state  that  ac- 
cording to  the  experiences  of  the  past,  periods  of 


162     AUSTRIA-HUNGARY  AND  THE  WAR 

economic  advances  usually  follow  periods  of  war,  as 
was  shown  particularly  after  the  German-French 
war,  after  the  war  in  South  Africa,  and  after  the 
Balkan  w^ars.  Modern  economic  conditions  con- 
tain a  wonderful  capacity  of  recovery.  To  this 
capacity  it  can  be  ascribed  that  the  wounds  inflicted 
by  a  war  on  the  whole  economic  system  quickly 
heal.  Dr.  Sieghart,  in  this  respect,  entirely  dis- 
agrees with  some  pessimists  who  foresee  long 
periods  of  financial  depression  for  all  countries  in- 
volved in  a  war.  "Above  all" — so  he  continues — 
"must  it  not  be  forgotten  that  our  war  with  Servia 
is  also  an  economic  war.  The  unending  alarms  and 
the  undermining  tendencies  of  this  Pan-Servian 
propaganda  were  a  great  drain  on  our  economic 
conditions." 

Dr.  Sieghart,  moreover,  declares  that  Austro- 
Hungarian  currency  or  State  bonds*  have  nothing  to 
fear  on  account  of  the  war.  Austro-Hungarian  cur- 
rency is  established  on  as  solid  a  foundation  as  that 
of  any  other  large  country  in  Europe  or  elsewhere. 
State  annuities  at  the  present  exchange  rates  would 
bear  5  per  cent.,  which  indicates  an  unusually  high 
rentability,  all  the  more  as*nobody  thinks  at  present 
of  converting  our  State  loans.  Anybody  who  would 
sell  these  State  bonds  at  a  time  such  as  this  would 
cut  into  his  own  flesh,  as  he  must  lose  on  this  deal. 
To  withdraw  deposits  from  savings  banks,  or  banks, 
would  be  even  more  short-sighted,  as-  the  with- 
drawer  loses  interest  and*  causes  damage  to  the  gen- 
eral community. 


AUSTRIA-HUNGARY  AND  THE  WAR     163 

With  reference  to  Austro-Hungarian  currency  it 
can  be  stated  that  both  the  organization  of  the 
Austro-IIungarian  Banks,  in  1878,  and  the  adoption 
of  a  gold  standard  in  1892,  have  greatly  contributed 
to  place  our  currency  system  and  our  general  finan- 
ces on  a  very  sound  basis.  The  currency  reform  is 
chiefly  due  to  Dr.  Alexander  Wekerle,  former  Hun- 
garian Premier,  who  is  one,  if  not  the  foremost  of 
financial  geniuses  whom  Austro-Hungary  has  ever 
produced.  The  banks'  gold  was  secured  from  abroad 
through  "gold  loans."  Forty-nine  percent  of  all 
banknotes  in  circulation  must  be  covered  by  the 
gold  reserve  of  the  Austro-Hungarian  banks.  The 
banknotes  are  exchanged  in  gold  by  the  bank  on 
demand.  The  gold  reserves  of  the  Austro-Hunga- 
rian bank  have  always  been  very  high.  On  the  aver- 
age they  are  higher  than  those  of  the  Bank  of  Eng- 
land. The  Austro-Hungarian  Bank,  through  its 
very  large  number  of  agencies  scattered  all  over 
Austria-Hungary,  has  always  well  taken  care  of 
the  needs  of  the  business  firms  in  the  whole  dual 
monarchy.  Complaints  were  seldom  heard,  except 
that  Hungary  at  times  demanded  a  more  evenly 
balanced  division  of  control  between  Austria  and 
Hungary.  Conditions  now,  however,  are  very  satis- 
factory in  this,  and  in  fact,  all  other  respects.  The 
present  governor  of  the  bank,  Dr.  von  Popovics, 
was  formerly  Dr.  Wekerle's  right-hand  aid  in  the 
State  Treasury  Department. 

At  the  time  when  I  write  these  lines,*  oflBcial 

*  From  home  reports  it  appears  that  over  three  billion  crowns  were  under- 
written since  then. 


164     AUSTEIA-HUNGARY  AND  THE  WAR 

wireless  messages  have  reached  us  to  the  effect  that 
although  Austria-Hungary's  war  loan  was  not  yet 
officially  opened  to  the  general  public,  over  one  bil- 
lion crowns  were  almost  instantly  underwritten. 
This  is  certainly  a  splendid  demonstration  of  fit- 
ness, and  the  alarmists  of  the  hostile  camps,  who 
had  in  the  early  days  of  the  war  predicted  both  a 
national  and  financial  collapse  of  Austria-Hungary, 
will  certainly  go  away  disappointed  and  mind  their 
own  business  in  the  future. 

WHAT  WERE  THE  ECONOMIC  EFFECTS  OF  THE  WAR  IN 
THE  FIRST  MONTHS? 

Because  of  the  suddeness  of  the  outbreak  of  this 
world  war,  business  had  to  face  the  hard  task  in 
the  beginning  of  accommodating  itself  to  the  newly 
created  situation.  We  will  see  hereafter  in  what 
way  government  in  Austria-Hungary  was  able  to 
assist  business  in  its  unexpected  predicament. 

In  the  early  beginnings  of  the  war,  means  and 
ways  had  to  be  found  by  business  to  readjust  con- 
ditions which  were  apt  to  arise  owing  to  the  sudden 
withdrawal  of  about  two  million  of  men  from  the 
field  of  labor.  As  was,  however,  to  be  expected,  the 
men  who  left  for  the  battlefields  could  be  almost 
instantly  replaced  by  the  men  and  w^omen  whom 
they  left  behind,  and  by  other  hitherto  unemployed 
elements.  This  latter  element  may  perhaps  be  taxed 
as  shifty  in  normal  times,  but  necessity,  if  nothing 
else,  would  transform  it  into  a  useful  pillar  of  so- 
ciety under  the  changed  environments  of  life. 


AUSTRIA-HUNGARY  AND  THE  WAR     165 

Those  men  who  handle  business  in  Austria-Hun- 
gary instantly  realized  that  two  great  dangers  must 
be  swiftly  and  deftly  eliminated,  if  anything  like  an 
economic  equilibrium  should  be  maintained:  the 
shutting  down  of  factories,  which  would  cause  stag- 
nation, and  the  increased  number  of  unemployed. 
They  set  out  firmly  on  their  task  and  as  far  as 
reliable  information  shows,  they  have  to  a  great  ex- 
tent been  successful  in  solving  this  problem.  They 
had  one  strong  ally  to  foot  their  bills  of  additional 
expense,  namely,  the  last  extraordinarily  abundant 
crops  in  the  whole  area  of  the  monarchy.  This  was 
one  of  the  best  years  for  our  farmers.  They  were 
not  even  handicapped  by  a  shortage  of  farm  hands  to 
gather  in  crops,  while  we  read  in  reports  that  gov- 
ernment in  France  had  to  issue  orders  to  the  women 
in  France  to  go  out  to  the  fields  to  collect  the  crops. 
Austria-Hungary  was  undoubtedly  in  a  luckier 
position  than  her  present  enemy. 

Mobilization  in  our  country  was  carried  out  very 
successfully.  Regiment  cadres  were  filled  easily 
and  nearly  a  million  men  volunteered  for  military 
service  up  to  date  who  would,  under  our  military 
rules,  not  be  liable  to  war  service.  This  favorable 
result  enabled  our  war  office  to  give  permission  to  a 
comparatively  large  number  of  men  who  had  been 
called  into  the  ranks  to  return  to  the  temporary  har- 
vest work  in  the  fields.  This  I  can  verify  from  my 
own  experience  during  my  recent  sojourn  in  Aus- 
tria-Hungary, as  on  the  estate  which  my  family 
owns  in  Central  Hungary  we  were  allowed  to  retain 


166     AUSTRIA-HUNGARY  AND  THE  WAR 

temporarily  a  sufiScient  number  of  field  laborers  for 
the  necessary  harvesting.  As  the  crops  could  be 
sold  very  well  and  generally  brought  good  prices,  it 
was  possible  to  start  with  the  sowing  of  the  winter 
seeds  and  no  complications  are  to  be  expected  in 
this  connection.  Agricultural  products,  cattle, 
poultry,  butter,  eggs,  etc.,  all  sold  well. 

Sound  agricultural  conditions  are  the  founda- 
tions of  the  economic  stability  of  every  country. 
These  conditions  mean  that  the  larder  can  be  kept 
well  supplied  and  that  the  dreaded  phantom  of 
famine  is  merely  a  myth  and  a  fabrication  of  our 
illwishers. 

The  daily  press  during  the  last  months  brought 
repeated  reports  concerning  alleged  famine  threat- 
ening the  people  of  Austria-Hungary,  especially 
in  large  cities.  These  reports,  however,  can  be  dis- 
proved in  a  most  authoritative  way,  and  I  take 
occasion  further  on  to  demonstrate  that  these  re- 
ports lack  any  serious  foundation. 

As  regards  the  effect  of  war  on  factories  we  must 
distinguish  between  factories  and  other  industrial 
concerns  which  benefit  from  the  large  orders  placed 
with  them  by  the  Government  and  such  as  do  not. 
That  the  Skoda  factory  in  Pilsen,  Bohemia,  pros- 
pers, having  supplied  some  of  the  large  guns  which 
have  battered  the  fortresses  of  Belgium  and  France, 
need  not  be  emphasized.  But  the  same  is  also  true 
of  all  the  factories  which  supply  arms,  ammunition 
and  gunpowder  and  all  sinews  of  warfare  to  the 
army,  and  it  is  true  also  of  the  Stabilimento  Tech- 


AUSTRIA-HUNGARY  AND  THE  WAR     167 

nico  in  Triest,  the  Danubius  shipping  yard  in 
Fiume  and  the  Whitehead  Torpedo  factory  near 
Fiurae,  etc.,  which  execute  orders  for  the  navy.  All 
these  concerns  probably  work  overtime.  The  fac- 
tories manufacturing  clothing  and  wearing  apparel 
for  the  troops  are  kept  constantly  busy.  So  are 
linen  and  underwear  factories,  factories  turning  out 
the  winter  outfit  for  the  soldiers,  tanneries,  shoe  fac- 
tories and  box  factories  whose  output  makes  an 
easy  and  safe  transportation  of  all  requirements  of 
the  army  to  the  seat  of  war  possible.  Factories  pro- 
viding tin  goods  and  food-stuffs  of  any  kind  cannot 
complain  of  lack  of  business. 

As  to  the  second  category  of  factories  and  indus- 
trial concerns  it  can  be  stated  on  reliable  informa- 
tion from  our  country  that  coal  mines  are  working 
70  or  80  per  cent,  of  their  regular  output.  There  is 
no  scarcity  of  coal  noticeable.  Iron  industry  main- 
tains about  75  per  cent,  of  its  usual  business.  Gov- 
ernment has  placed  with  these  factories  large  orders 
of  rails  and  other  necessities  for  the  State  Railways. 

We  admit  of  course  that  Germany  in  this  respect 
is  in  a  more  favorable  condition  than  we  are.  In 
Prussia,  for  instance,  an  investment  credit  of  1,000 
million  marks  was  voted  to  assist  German  iron 
industry. 

Cotton  mills  reduced  their  business  by  about  40 
per  cent,  but  cotton  mills  in  every  country  in 
Europe  (including  those  in  England)  have  likewise 
been  compelled  to  reduce  their  business.  Sugar  and 
paper  industries  had  to  store  part  of  their  products. 


168     AUSTRIA-HUNGARY  AND  THE  WAR 

They  are,  however,  by  no  means  crippled  as  some 
people  would  like  to  make  us  believe. 

There  is  one  branch  of  industries  which  is,  it  is 
conceded,  more  or  less  at  a  standstill.  To  this  be- 
long all  factories  turning  out  sumptuary  articles, 
which  in  these  warlike  times  command  a  limited 
market  only;  factories  manufacturing  fancy  ar- 
ticles, glass  and  porcelain  ware,  enamel,  etc.  These 
industries,  however,  have  always  been  in  the  hands 
of  wealthy  concerns,  amply  provided  with  capital 
and  well  able  to  be  good  losers.  There  was  any- 
way some  depression  in  these  branches  of  industry 
necessitating  certain  reductions  of  work  and  war 
has  not  hit  them  at  a  time  when  big  business  cam- 
paigns had  been  launched. 

On  the  whole,  every  factory  owner  is  using  his 
best  efforts  to  keep  his  business  running.  I  deem  it 
appropriate  to  mention  that  the  well-known  patriot- 
ism of  our  business  men  and  loyalty  to  their  coun- 
try's cause  is  also  a  strong  incentive  to  stimulate  in- 
dividual efforts  of  this  kind.  Thus  employees  are 
not  threatened  with  sudden  "layoffs"  and,  it  is 
surely  fair  to  state,  based  on  sound  information, 
that  the  number  of  unemployed  during  the  war  in 
our  country,  particularly  in  larger  industrial  cen- 
tres, is  both  absolutely  and  relatively  much  smaller 
than  in  France  and  England. 

To  keep  smaller  business  supplied  with  credit, 
"war  credit  banks"  were  started  both  in  Austria 
and  Hungary.  I  will  discuss  them  later,  and  would 
like  to  emphasize  here  merely,  as  a  general  com- 


AUSTRIA-HUNGARY  AND  THE  WAR     169 

ment,  that  whether  in  times  of  peace  or  war,  as  long 
as  means  can  be  created  to  prevent  the  stoppage  of 
credit  sources,  no  serious  business  calamity  need 
be  feared. 

There  is  another  reason  which  contributed  to 
some  extent  to  the  depression  of  the  business  of  the 
last  named  factories  (glassware,  porcelain,  enamel, 
etc. ) ,  and  this  is  that  this  business  is  to  a  large  de- 
gree export  business.  Austrian  cut  glass,  Hun- 
garian enamel,  are  known  all  over  the  world,  al- 
though the  labels  "made  in  Austria"  or  "made  in 
Hungary"  are  often  replaced  by  labels  "made  in 
England"  or  "in  France,"  or  "home-made,"  etc. 

The  trans-oceanic  export  trade  is  suspended. 
There  is  no  shipping  possible  from  and  to  Austro- 
Hungarian  ports.  Railway  traflBc  to  neutral  coun- 
tries ( Switzerland,  Italy,  Holland,  Roumania,  Bul- 
garia, etc.)  is  possible,  but  under  conditions  rend- 
ered more  diflQcult  on  account  of  the  movements  of 
the  troops  which  naturally  monopolize  the  railways 
in  times  of  war.  Railway  transportation  is  also  of 
course  more  expensive  than  transportation  on  ships. 

But  when  this  is  said,  almost  everything  is  said 
where  the  balance  is  perhaps  to  some  extent  a  little 
unfavorable  to  Austria-Hungary.  We  must  not  for- 
get that  the  interruption  of  European  export  trade 
is  by  no  means  limited  to  Austria-Hungary  or  to 
Germany.  England's  export  and  import  traffic  with 
the  European  continent  has  doubtless  greatly  suf- 
fered. According  to  Rotterdam  reports  from  the 
end  of  September  the  British  Board  of  Trade  has 


170     AUSTRIA-HUNGARY  AND  THE  WAR 

suspended  bulletins  concerning  British  imports  and 
exports.  The  last  bulletin  issued  on  the  15th  of 
September  showed  a  decrease  of  16.2  million  pounds 
sterling,  nearly  80  million  dollars  in  the  imports 
and  a  decrease  of  26,4  million  pounds  sterling,  near- 
ly 130  million  dollars  in  the  exports.  These  de- 
creases refer  to  the  corresponding  periods  of  last 
year.  I  am  not  familiar  with  the  particulars  of  this 
depression  of  export  and  import  trade  in  Great 
Britain  beyond  these  above  facts  and  I  do  not  at- 
tempt therefore,  to  draw  any  comparison  or  con- 
clusions. 

In  a  general  way  we  can  say  that  Europe^s  and 
the  world's  foreign  trade  is  by  this  war  probably 
damaged  to  the  extent  of  about  twelve  billion  dol- 
lars. Germany,  Belgium,  Austria-Hungary,  Rus- 
sia, France,  are  the  largest  consumers  of  British 
products,  and  these  countries  are  practically  ex- 
cluded from  the  regular  channels  of  their  foreign 
trade.  British  India,  China  and  Japan  are  prob- 
ably very  greatly  hampered.  Australia  can  send  no 
wool  or  meat  to  the  European  continent,  British  In- 
dia no  cotton,  no  jute,  no  rice.  Neither  can  China 
export  her  rice,  nor  her  silk  or  tea  to  her  usual  cus- 
tomers of  long  years'  standing.  Brazil's  coffee  and 
cocoa  export  trade  must  be  greatly  impaired  and  so 
must  Chile's  export  of  nitrate  potassium.  To  what 
extent  the  grain  export  from  the  United  States  is 
handicapped,  I  am  not  now  in  a  position  to  state, 
but  it  certainly  is  impaired  too,  and  so  is  Ameri- 
can cotton  export. 


AUSTRIA-HUNGARY  AND  THE  WAR     171 

There  is  another  aspect  to  this  general  gloomy 
picture.  Investments  made  abroad  by  European 
countries  in  war  are  threatened.  So  are  goods 
stored  abroad  in  warehouses.  Outstanding  claims 
cannot  be  easily  settled.  But  all  this  is  equally  true 
for  every  country.  Shipping  companies  in  neutral 
countries,  as  for  instance  in  Italy,  Holland,  decline 
to  carry  risks  and  thus  transportation  through  their 
medium  becomes  a  very  risky  game. 

Trans-oceanic  exchanges  have  dropped  consider- 
ably. In  Brazil  it  is  claimed,  for  instance,  by  about 
25  per  cent.  A  natural  consequence  of  this  drop  is 
a  depreciation  of  the  goods  in  store  held  by  trans- 
oceanic import  firms.  That  hits  these  import  firms 
and  they  are  prevented  from  granting  the  usual 
facilities  of  payment  to  the  European  exporters. 
Because  of  the  loss  in  exchange  European  bills  of 
exchange  are  too  expensive  to  buy.  All  combina- 
tions as  to  the  bought  merchandise  are  thus  thrown 
completely  overboard  as  this  merchandise  eventu- 
ally proves  much  more  expensive  than  reckoned  in 
the  beginning.  What  is  the  next  result?  The  Euro- 
pean exporter  cannot  expect  payments  from  his 
customers.  The  importer  across  the  sea  of  course 
pays  interest,  but  never  more  than  6  per  cent., 
whereas  the  exporter  in  Europe  must  pay  about 
7  1-2  per  cent.  There  are  many  other  items  which 
enter  into  consideration,  expenses  for  travelling 
salesmen,  clerks,  rent,  taxes,  etc.  These  are  some 
of  the  drawbacks  under  which  our  export  trade  now 
labors.  Fortunately,  however,  in  tliis  respect,  trans- 
oceanic export  trade  from  Austria-Hungary  has 


172     AUSTRIA-HUNGARY  AND  THE  WAR 

never  yet  been  very  extensive  in  the  past.  We  have 
always  complained  of  the  lack  of  interest  shown  by 
our  business  men  in  export  trade.  These  remarks  I 
make  especially  with  reference  to  countries  such  as 
Great  Britain,  which  country  stands  and  falls  on 
her  export  trade. 

If  we  summarize  what  has  been  said  concerning 
general  conditions  of  agriculture,  industries  and 
trade,  it  can  be  confidently  stated,  that  Austria- 
Hungary  has  stood  the  test  very  well.  Her  strength 
of  resistance  has  not  been  impaired.  She  has  natu- 
rally suffered,  but  not  anyway  near  the  extent  pre- 
dicted by  hostile  wiseacres  and  far  less  than  feared 
by  her  sympathizers. 

As  malicious  reports  had  been  circulated  in  the 
foreign  press  of  some  countries,  whereby  sanitary 
conditions  and  the  credit  of  Austria-Hungary  was 
attacked,  the  City  of  Vienna  resolved  to  issue  regu- 
lar weekly  bulletins. 

These  bulletins  concern  all  questions  of  public 
interest  in  the  City  of  Vienna  and  in  the  monarchy. 

From  the  first  two  bulletins  issued  on  October 
13th  and  October  27th  respectively  the  following 
data  can  be  gathered : 

During  the  months  of  August  and  September  of 
the  two  respective  years,  1913  and  1914,  the  City  of 
Vienna  employment  agency  has  carried  on  the  fol- 
lowing business : 

Numbers  of  cases. 

1913  1914 

Received  offers  of  employment 54872  50492 

Received  applications  for  work 64244  60150 

Has  procured  employment 42053  48276 


AUSTRIA-HUNGARY  AND  THE  WAR     173 

This  shows  that  the  city  has  secured  employment 
to  6,223  more  persons  during  the  respective  months 
of  this  year  than  last  year.  Public  works  and  bids 
for  public  contracts  were  kept  on  regularly  and  the 
total  result  was  better  than  in  the  corresponding 
period  of  last  year. 

In  Vienna  over  80,000  families  of  the  men  gone  to 
the  battlefields  received  about  7  million  crowns  a 
month  as  an  aid  by  Government.  The  bulletin  men- 
tions here  as  an  interesting  item  that,  since  the  be- 
ginning of  war,  pawned  goods  valued  at  1,600,000 
crowns  were  withdrawn  from  the  pawnshops  under 
State  control.  Only  people  with  savings  or  surplus 
money  would  withdraw  their  watch  or  household 
effects  from  the  pawnshop. 

Safety  deposits  decreased  during  a  very  short 
period  after  mobilization  orders  had  been  issued,  but 
later  on  increased  very  considerably.  So,  for  in- 
stance, the  Central  Savings  Bank  of  the  City  of 
Vienna  alone  had  17  million  crowns  more  on  the 
10th  of  October  than  on  the  same  day  of  last  year, 
The  total  amount  of  savings  in  the  Vienna  savings 
banks  was  by  38  million  crowns  higher  at  the  fall 
of  September,  1914,  than  at  the  corresponding  date 
last  year. 

Provisions  and  foodstuffs  in  Vienna  are  entirely 
suflflcient.  Milk,  vegetables,  eggs,  fruit  and  pota- 
toes are  pouring  in  from  the  close  environments  of 
the  city. 

The  following  quantities  are  registered  in  the 
bulletin  as  imported  during  the  week  from  11-17, 
October,  1914 : 


174     AUSTRIA-HUNGARY  AND  THE  WAR 

in  1913  in  1914 

of  vegetables       21828  hundredweights        23496  hundredweights 
potatoes  16115  15297 

fruit  19257  13991 

eggs  398790  piece  499443  piece 

The  tremendous  increase  in  the  number  of  eggs  is 
certainly  noticeable. 

Eetail  prices  have  during  the  same  corresponding 
week  varied  only  very  slightly : 

1913  1914 

Crowns  Crowns 

Beef 1.60—2.60  1.80—2.60 

Pork 1.60—3.  1.60—3. 

Lard 1.84—2.20  1.80—2.10 

Bacon 1.74—2.08  1.60—2. 

Table  butter 3.40-^.24  3.40— i.20 

Cooking  butter 2.40—3.20  2.40—3.20 

Cream  pro  liter 0.26—0.32  0.26—0.32 

Milk - 0.20—0.26  0.20—0.24 

Eggs  pro  piece 0.09—0.10  O.IO— 0.16 

Potatoes  pro  kilogramm 0.10 — 0.14  0.10 — 0.14 

Flour  (wheat) 0.36—0.44  0.60—0.64 

Bread   (wheat) 0.28— 0.408  0.35—0.476 

Bread  (rye) 0.26—0.398  0.32—0.444 

Rice 0.40—0.96  0.48—0.88 

Sauerkraut 0.24^-0.28  0.24—0.28 

Beans   0.40—0.70  0.54—0.76 

As  can  be  seen  prices  have  hardly  changed  since 
last  year.  In  some  articles  (bacon,  lard,  milk,  table 
butter)  they  have  dropped.  Flour  and  bread  have 
risen  a  little.  Large  grain  and  flour  supplies  are 
still  kept  back  in  an  attempt  to  corner  the  market, 
but  Government  has  already  taken  energetic  meas- 
ures to  make  "breadusury"  entirely  impossible. 

Reports  of  the  Vienna  City  tax  office  clearly  illus- 
trate that  economic  conditions  are  very  favorable. 


AUSTRIA-HUNGARY  AND  THE  WAR     175 


According  to  these  reports  the  paid-in  taxes  for 
the  State  amounted  to : 


a 


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176     AUSTRIA-HUNGARY  AND  THE  WAR 

Whereas  therefore  in  August — in  the  confusion 
of  the  first  war  weeks — the  paid-in  taxes  were  2.6 
million  crowns  less  than  in  the  previous  year,  the 
paid-in  taxes  in  September  were  5.8  million  crowns 
higher  and  the  total  of  these  months  3.2  million 
crowns  higher  than  in  the  corresponding  period  of 
the  preceding  year. 

To  aid  the  increased  credit  demands  of  business 
people  Government  organized  a  War  Loan  Society 
governed  by  the  Austro-Hungarian  Bank  with  the 
co-operation  of  State  delegates.  This  society  is  au- 
thorized to  issue  bank  notes  amounting  to  500  mil- 
lion crowns  secured  by  mortgages  on  bonds,  mer- 
chandise or  other  appropriate  values. 

Upon  suggestion  of  the  Chamber  of  Commerce 
and  Industry  of  Vienna  a  War  Credithank  was  also 
established.  This  Creditbank  allows  discounts  and 
credits  on  drafts  (or  promissory  notes).  It  will 
particularly  help  smaller  concerns  with  no  regular 
bank  connections.  The  capital  stock  amounting  to 
6  million  crowns  was  subscribed  partly  by  Vienna 
banks,  partly  by  merchants  and  manufacturers. 
The  Community  of  Vienna  and  the  Chamber  of  Com- 
merce and  Industry  assumed  a  guarantee  amount- 
ing to  two  million  crowns  each. 

For  loans  to  even  smaller  tradespeople  the  Cham- 
ber of  Commerce  and  Industry  has  set  aside  a  fund 
amounting  to  400,000  crowns.  For  the  same  pur- 
pose the  Community  of  Vienna  permitted  the  City 
Central  Savings  Bank  to  apply  an  extra  credit  of 
one  million  crowns. 


AUSTRIA-HUNGARY  AND  THE  WAR     177 

Women  and  girls  without  means  of  support  can 
get  work  in  the  numerous  sewing  and  knitting  shops 
arranged  bj  the  Ladies'  Aid  of  the  City  Hall,  where 
mostly  clothing  and  underwear  for  the  soldiers  is 
manufactured. 

To  assist  clerks  and  commercial  employees  a  spe- 
cial committee  was  organized,  consisting  of  dele- 
gates of  the  State  and  community,  which  raises 
funds  partly  from  the  employees  and  employers  and 
partly  by  securing  subventions.  Of  the  Jewish 
refugees  fleeing  from  Eastern  Galicia  and  Buko- 
vina  to  Vienna  a  special  committee  takes  care  suffi- 
ciently. Press  accounts  that  these  refugees  had  to 
beg  for  bread  are  therefore  not  true. 

Of  supplies  there  is  ample  provision. 

In  the  city  slaughter  house  and  stockyards  at  St. 
Marx,  Vienna,  w^ere  killed : 

From  October  12-18        From  October  11-17 

1913  1914 

Cattle 4308  7462 

Calves    5144  5000 

Lambs  96  101 

Sheep  1593  2408 

Hogs  21728  15981 

As  r^ards  sanitary  conditions — so  the  bulletin 
reports — Vienna's  excellent  water  supply  and 
plumbing  system  are  good  safeguards  against  epi- 
demics. Mortality  of  the  population  is  by  13.7  pro 
mille  more  favorable  than  last  year.  Not  a  single 
case  of  cholera  occurred  in  Vienna. 

Schools  are  going  on  as  usual.  Theaters  are 
also  kept  open.    Anybody  who  reads  these  bulla- 


178     AUSTRIA-HUNGARY  AND  THE  WAR 

tins  must  admit  that  war  conditions  in  Vienna  are 
certainly  anything  but  unsatisfactory. 

War  credit  banlis  such  as  the  one  mentioned 
above  are  also  established  in  Hungary  and  Bohemia. 
General  conditions  in  Budapest,  Prague  and  other 
large  cities  are  equally  favorable,  although  no 
specified  particulars  were  as  yet  available  at  the 
time  when  this  book  was  written. 

A  point  of  interest  is  the  fact  that  since  July  25th 
all  exchange  quotations  stopped.  This  date  there- 
fore becomes  the  legal  date  in  connection  with  pay- 
ments to  be  effected.  This  date  has  for  instance 
bearings  on  the  administration  of  estates.  If  a  man 
died  on  October  or  November  the  15th  the  value  of 
his  shares,  bonds  is  fixed  according  to  the  last  quo- 
tations of  July  25th ;  the  value  of  his  estate  may  be 
therefore  overtaxed  or  underestimated. 

HOW  DOES  GOVERNMENT  AID  BUSINESS? 

We  have  already  seen  two  ways  of  Government 
aid: 

1.  Permission  of  war  oflSce  that  field  laborers 
could  temporarily  leave  their  ranks  and  go  back  to 
gather  in  the  crops. 

2.  Help  in  organizing  war  credit  banks  and  war 
loan  societies. 

The  law  LXIII  of  the  year  1912  in  Hungary  au- 
thorized Government  to  issue  various  ordinances  for 
the  welfare  of  business  and  public  during  war  times. 
Thus  a  moratorium  was  declared  to  enable  the  busi- 
ness world  in  general  and  the  smaller  people  in  i>ar- 


AUSTRIA-HUNGARY  AND  THE  WAR     179 

ticular  to  prepare  for  ways  how  to  meet  their  liabili- 
ties in  times  of  war.  Incidentally  it  also  prevents 
runs  on  banks  or  savings  banks. 

"Runs"  on  banks  as  need  hardly  be  emphasized, 
are  often  made  in  the  midst  of  peace.  When  in  1910 
a  "run"  was  made  on  the  Society  for  Savings  Bank, 
Cleveland's  strongest  financial  institution,  in  the 
course  of  which,  according  to  President  Myron  T. 
Horrick,  about  two  million  dollars  were  withdrawn 
within  a  few  days,  there  was  absolutely  no  reason 
why  this  run  should  have  started.  It  was  started  by 
an  irresponsible  person.  Calm  was  quickly  restored 
and  the  money  thus  withdrawn  was  redeposited 
with  considerable  additional  deposits. 

It  stands  to  reason  that  if  such  a  run  can  be  or- 
ganized in  times  of  peace,  on  a  first-class  and 
wealthy  banking  institution,  it  can  all  the  more  be 
arranged  in  times  of  war  when  people  are  generally 
suspicious  and  afraid.  The  issuance  of  a  morato- 
rium does  by  no  means  indicate  disorganized  or  even 
weak  market  conditions.  It  is  simply  a  surplusage 
of  government  caution  to  prevent  the  hoarding  away 
of  funds  which  serves  nobodj^'s  interest.  Of  course, 
if  a  moratorium  is  found  not  necessary,  as  was  the 
case  in  Germany,  this  is  undoubtedly  a  sign  that  the 
population  has  an  exceptionally  keen  sense  of  re- 
sponsibility for  the  duties  of  the  individual  towards 
the  whole  public  and  government.  IMoratoriums 
were  for  instance  declare<l  in  Great  Britain,  France, 
Russia,  Belgium,  Holland,  Italy,  Norway,  Rou- 
mania,  Sweden,  Luxemburg,  Egypt,  Brazil,  etc. 


180     AUSTRIA -HUNGARY  AND  THE  WAR 

To  illustrate  the  working  of  a  moratorium  or- 
dinance I  will  briefly  discuss  the  Hungarian  mora- 
torium based  on  the  law  LXIII  of  1912.  This  mora- 
torium or  government  permission  to  temporarily 
postpone  payments  concerns  all  payments  based  on 
bills  of  exchange,  commercial  papers,  drafts,  pub- 
lic warehouse  notes,  checks  and  all  commercial 
transactions  originating  prior  to  August  1,  1914. 
Interest  can  be  allowed,  if  the  law  otherwise  allows 
the  charge  of  interest.  The  moratorium  also  in- 
cludes the  delay  in  payment  of  patent  fees  which 
should  be  of  great  interest  to  American  holders  of 
patent  rights  in  Hungary  (also  in  Austria) . 

Not  included  in  this  benefit  are  the  payments  on 
account  of  interest,  annuities  and  partial  amortiza- 
tion of  all  payments  to  be  made  by  Government  or 
guaranteed  by  Government,  payments  on  account  of 
interest  on  bonds  and  obligations  in  use  for  trust 
funds  of  minors  (these  funds  as  will  be  known  en- 
joy the  particular  protection  of  Government  in  both 
Austria  and  Hungary) ;  interest  or  amortization 
bonds,  fees  or  taxes  to  be  paid  for  the  use  of  public 
waterworks  and  light;  payments  which  go  to  the 
Eed  Cross  fund  and  funds  for  the  families  of  sol- 
diers in  the  war;  annuities  and  alimony  payments; 
war  risk  insurance,  if  the  insurance  was  made  for 
that  purpose  or  if  against  payment  of  a  special 
premium  additional  insurance  risk  on  account  of 
war  was  accepted ;  all  ordinary  life  insurance  up  to 
500  crowns  must  be  paid  in  full ;  fire,  ice  (hail)  and 
animal  insurance  must  be  paid  in  full;  other  in- 


AUSTRIA  HUNGARY  AND  THE  WAR     181 

surance  against  damage  only  up  to  400  crowns ;  rent, 
except  if  the  lessee  is  a  soldier  (viz.,  in  the  army) ; 
debts  resulting  from  farm-leases;  wages  to  agricul- 
tural, industrial  employees,  and  all  other  wages 
arising  from  a  contract  between  master  and  ser- 
vant; fees  to  lawyers  and  doctors,  engineers,  au- 
thors, artists,  commission  agents,  inasmuch  as  these 
arise  from  ante  war  transactions  up  to  25  per  cent, 
of  the  amount;  sub-contractors'  claims  against  con- 
tractors ;  payments  of  funds  resulting  from  the  ad- 
ministration of  foreign  property;  claims  of  insur- 
ance agents  against  insurance  companies  and  a  few 
other  minor  instances.  As  regards  mutual  con- 
tracts signed  before  August  1st,  one  party  can  claim 
execution  of  contract  from  the  other  side  only,  if  he 
has  also  carried  out  his  part  of  the  contract. 

It  certainly  can  be  considered  as  a  sign  of  healthy 
business  conditions  that  we  were  in  a  position  to 
begin  earlier  than  other  countries  with  the  succes- 
sive suspension  of  this  moratorium  by  decreeing 
partial  payments.  Since  the  15th  of  October  25  per 
cent,  of  the  payments  based  on  promissory  notes  (or 
drafts)  and  10  per  cent,  of  ordinary  standing  busi- 
ness debts  are  payable.  On  November  15th  an- 
other 15  per  cent,  of  the  latter  category  of  debts  be- 
came due.  This  suspension  did  not  cause  any  par- 
ticular perturbance.  On  the  first  day  when  the  new 
order  was  in  force,  some  debtors  may  have  been 
caught  in  surprise,  but  most  of  them  would  settle 
their  liabilities  on  the  following  days.  In  many 
cases  the  whole  debt  was  paid  at  once.    Cash  pay- 


182     AUSTKIA-HUNGARY  AND  THE  WAB 

ments  were  very  brisk  in  many  parts  of  Hungary, 
Bohemia,  Moravia  and  Bosnia,  where  the  popula- 
tion had  good  crops  and  good  profits  through  Gov- 
ernment outlays. 

SOME  REMARKS  ON  THE  GENERAL  POSITION  OP 

PRIVATE  PROPERTY  IN  WAR  AND  VEXATIOUS 

WAR  MEASURES. 

With  the  war  going  on  relentlessly  we  are  grow- 
ing more  callous  to  the  more  or  less  colored  reports 
concerning  mutual  atrocities  committed  by  the  vari- 
ous armies.  If  we  want  to  be  impartial  we  must 
say  that  no  army  is  entirely  blameless  in  this  re- 
spect, although  our  present  allied  enemies  attempt 
through  a  livelier  press  campaign  to  demonstrate 
that  the  Germans  and  we  are  the  more  guilty  party 
than  they. 

There  is,  however,  one  particular  line  of  cruelty 
with  which  Germany  and  Austrian  reports  have  in 
recent  days  repeatedly  charged  England  and 
France,  that  is  with  their  pronounced  disregard  of 
property  rights  of  individuals  or  corporations  dur- 
ing the  war.  Aside  from  the  increasing  number  of 
seizures  of  private  property  on  neutral  ships  which 
does  not  form  contraband  of  war,  the  arbitrary  seiz- 
ure and  confiscation  of  private  bank  deposits  and 
bank  balances  of  individuals  must  be  considered  an 
altogether  flagrant  breach  of  every  principle  of  in- 
ternational law  and  international  propriety.  So 
for  instance  British  Government  ordered,  almost 
at  once  after  the  beginning  of  war,  that  German  or 


AUSTRIA-HUNGARY  AND  THE  WAR     183 

Austro-Hungarian  bank  establishments  in  English 
cities  be  either  entirely  closed  or  go  into  voluntary 
liquidation,  Government  confiscating  their  avail- 
able cash  funds.  In  such  a  way  the  Austrian  Laen- 
derbank  and  the  Anglo-Austrian  Bank  in  London 
were  practically  ordered  to  go  into  liquidation 
and  were  placed  in  the  hands  of  Government  trus- 
tees. These  were  some  of  the  terms  of  liquidation : 
The  activity  of  the  bank  must  be  exclusively  re* 
stricted  to  transactions  begun  before  August  the 
5th  (British  declaration  of  war).  They  cannot 
make  other  transactions.  This  order  meant  to  safe- 
guard the  settlement  of  the  claims  of  British  credi- 
tors and  was  issued  to  make  all  further  legitimate 
business  impossible  for  these  banks.  British  trus- 
tees were  moreover  to  superintend  all  payments 
effected  by  the  banks,  and  to  see  that  none  be  made 
whereby,  for  instance,  the  Austrian  stockholders 
might  profit.  All  surplus  resulting  after  the  liqui- 
dation of  all  outstanding  claims  should  be  paid  into 
the  treasury  of  the  Bank  of  England.  This  arbi- 
trary procedure  will  deliberately  damage  finan- 
cial interests  and  private  property  of  individuals 
and  is  without  parallel  in  the  history  of  the  civi- 
lized world. 

In  France,  soon  after  the  outbreak  of  the  war,  an 
ordinance  was  issued  that  all  goods  in  custom 
liouses  belonging  to  Austrians,  Hungarians  or  Ger- 
mans should  be  sold  at  auction  and  proceeds  should 
go  to  the  Government  of  France.  This  prctctically 
means  confiscation  of  private  property!  Later  on  it 


184     AUSTRIA-HUNGAEY  AND  THE  WAR 

was  stated  that  Austrian,  Hungarian  or  German 
property  was  placed  under  State  control.  No  sale 
of  such  property  should  take  placa  No  security 
however  exists  that  this  is  carried  out  and  in  view  of 
the  first  ordinance  it  is  indeed  doubtful  that  this 
is  really  being  carried  out. 

Neither  in  Austria-Hungary,  nor  in  Germany 
have  similar  ways  been  adopted.  Not  even  the  cars 
of  the  International  Sleeping  Car  Company  and 
those  of  the  Compagnie  Auxiliaire  were  confiscated 
in  Austria-Hungary,  although  there  would  be  great 
need  for  them.  On  the  contrary,  have  both  the 
Austrian  and  Hungarian  Governments  made  agree- 
ments with  these  companies  to  be  allowed  to  take 
possession  of  the  sleeping  cars  for  Red  Cross  pur- 
poses against  a  stipulated  price. 

Of  course  Germany  and  Austria-Hungary  may  be 
led  to  adopt  retaliatory  measures,  if  England  and 
France  will  persist  in  similar  methods  of  attacking 
private  property. 

England  expects  her  business  firms  to  stop  all 
business  with  firms  which  have  German  or  Aus- 
trian or  Hungarian  partners  in  trade.  English 
firms  should  not  remit  credit  balances  to  Austrian 
or  Hungarian  or  German  private  individuals  or 
firms,  because  that  would  be  unpatriotic.  Faith 
and  honesty  are  the  two  chief  factors  in  commerce. 
English  business  men  were  long  known  all  over  the 
world  as  ideal  business  men  to  deal  with.  Larger 
firms  in  England  may  possibly  not  strictly  observe 
this  rule  set  forth  by  their  Government.    There  are 


AUSTRIA-HUNGARY  AND  THE  WAR     185 

grounds,  however,  to  assume  that  the  younger  firms 
in  the  colonies  and  at  home  will  avail  themselves 
to  dodge  their  obligations.  The  question  is  whether 
such  a  shortsighted  policy  does  not  in  course  of  time 
bring  more  harm  than  profit.  England,  as  I  stated 
above,  is  eminently  the  country  of  export  and  her 
foreign  trade  is  all-important  to  her.  Austria- 
Hungary  and  Germany  have  always  been  England's 
best  customers  for  her  Birmingham  and  Manchester 
goods,  her  Bradford  woolenware.  Moreover,  Eng- 
land has  enjoyed  the  reputation  of  being  called  the 
banker  of  the  world.  This  reputation  netted  her 
huge  profits.  The  whole  cotton  rembours  and  the 
foreign  exchange  business  netted  her  billions  of  dol- 
lars. England  thinks  that  the  war  secured  her  the 
golden  opportunity  to  ruin  Germany's  and  Aus- 
tria-Hungary's foreign  trade  forever.  That  this 
will  prove  a  miscalculation  the  future  will  no  doubt 
demonstrate. 

In  the  meantime  England's  and  France's  war 
measures  have  forced  Austria-Hungary  to  adopt  or 
to  contemplate  the  adoption  of  retaliatory  methods. 
In  Austria-Hungary,  as  was  partly  above  indicated, 
the  enemy's  private  property  was  not  destroyed,  nor 
confiscated.  English  and  French  business  firms  can 
still  carry  on  their  business.  This,  however,  is  now 
put  under  the  control  of  the  State  to  the  extent  that 
no  money  should  go  abroad  to  the  enemy,  if  such 
money  was  acquired  in  Austria-Hungary  in  the 
course  of  business  with  our  own  people  and  paid  by 
them.    Should  such  money  go  to  the  enemy  it  might 


186     AUSTRIA-HUNGARY  AND  THE  WAR 

be  used  against  the  monarchy  and  that  must  be  pre- 
vented. As  will  be  seen,  this  is  a  very  different 
measure  from  confiscation  or  sale  of  private  prop- 
erty as  ordered  in  France  or  from  the  interdiction 
in  England  to  banking  institutions  to  negotiate 
business  transactions  at  all. 

In  this  respect  it  is  further  made  a  duty  to  every- 
body in  Hungary  to  declare  debts  which  are  owed 
to  subjects  or  inhabitants  of  the  countries  of  the 
enemy.  Municipalities,  public  corporations,  so- 
cieties, associations,  private  firms  and  all  individ- 
uals residing  in  Hungary  are  required  to  make  such 
declarations.  The  Secretaries  of  Trade  and  Treas- 
ury can  forbid  the  payment  of  such  debts  to  the 
enemy  or  stipulate  conditions  that  these  payments 
thus  due  be  deposited  with  savings  banks  or  the 
Austro-Hungarian  Bank.  Contraventions  of  these 
ordinances  may  be  fined,  with  heavy  fines  going  as 
high  as  50,000  crowns.  In  Austria  similar  ordin- 
ances were  issued  with  reference  to  English  and 
French  creditors. 

As  regards  the  payments  of  interest  on  Govern- 
ment bonds,  these  payments  cannot  be  made  to  sub- 
jects of  countries  with  which  Austria-Hungary  is  in 
war.  In  practice  this  interdiction  is,  however,  not 
carried  out  to  the  letter.  When  interest  became  due 
on  the  Austrian  gold  bonds  on  October  1st,  for  in- 
stance, payments  were  made  to  all  bondholders  and 
no  questions  were  asked.  It  is,  however,  not  im- 
possible, if  vexatious  British  or  French  war  meas- 
ures against  private  property  continue,  that  for  in- 


AUSTRIA-HUNGARY  AND  THE  WAR     187 

stance  consular  aflSdavits  may  be  demanded  in  the 
neutral  countries,  where  these  payments  on  account 
of  interest  on  Government  bonds  are  effected  to 
show  that  the  bondholder  is  no  British  or  French 
subject. 

It  will  be  noted  also  that  a  considerable  number 
of  English  and  French  banks  and  firms  have  claims 
outstanding  in  Austria-Hungary.  These  claims 
arise  from  loans  and  ordinary  business  transactions 
and  they  are  much  higher  than  the  Austro-Hunga- 
rian  claims  outstanding  in  France  or  in  England. 
Should  England  and  France  simply  cancel  these 
claims,  then  these  countries  would  make  a  very  bad 
bargain,  because  if  Austria-Hungary  should  adopt 
similar  retaliatory  measures,  they  would  be  heavy 
losers.  Even  so,  these  British  and  French  claims 
will  be  held  as  securities  that  all  damage  done  to 
Austrian  or  Hungarian  private  property  in  France 
or  England  be  properly  indemnified. 

It  is  very  doubtful  that  England  will  be  able  to  re- 
tain her  privileged  ante-war  position  as  the  banker 
and  broker  of  all  foreign  world-trade  after  the 
war.  Of  course,  if  she  should  gain  a  decisive  victory 
over  Germany  and  Austria-Hungary  she  would  be 
able  to  dictate  conditions  to  the  whole  of  Europe. 
But  this  is  a  matter  of  very  remote  possibility  and 
it  is  much  more  likely  that  Germany  and  Austria- 
Hungary  will  be  the  final  winners,  although  per- 
haps their  victory  may  not  be  of  a  decisive  nature. 
But  assuming  that  England  would  have  a  slight 
gain  in  the  end,  there  is  no  reason  to  believe  that 


188     AUSTRIA-HUNGARY  AND  THE  WAR 

after  peace  is  re-established,  seaports,  such  as  Bre- 
men, Rotterdam  or  Genoa,  will  further  submit  to 
the  monopolization  of  the  cotton  brokerage  or  the 
Brazil  coffee  brokerage  by  Liverpool  or  London. 
There  is  no  reason  to  assume  that  Berlin  or 
Hamburg  or  Rotterdam  bills  of  exchange  will 
not  replace  the  London  exchange  in  the  world 
market. 

One  effect  this  war  will  undoubtedly  have  which 
can  be  predicted  with  suJBficient  assurance  is,  that 
England  will  lose  her  German  and  Austro-Hun- 
garian  customers  to  a  very  large  degree  and  that 
this  trade  will  shift  to  other  countries,  preferably 
to  the  United  States. 

In  making  this  statement  I  am  not  led  by  any 
kind  of  illwish  or  spite.  These  sentiments  are  of 
course  entirely  strange  to  me.  I  am  viewing  the 
whole  situation  with  great  reserve  and  calmness 
and  my  interest  is  that  which  I  have  always  given 
to  matters  of  international  law  or  international 
character.  My  statement  should  be  merely  inter- 
preted as  a  summary  gathered  from  all  the  symp- 
toms available  at  this  time  in  my  country.  That 
this  summary  is  more  definite  in  form  is  due  en- 
tirely to  the  continuous  vexations  to  which  peace- 
ful Austrians  or  Hungarians  have  been  exposed  in 
England  and  in  the  British  Colonies  (in  Canada 
for  instance),  who  were  not  in  any  way  connected 
with  our  army  or  navy.  These  vexations  have 
naturally  caused  resentment  and  are  regrettable 
from  every  point  of  view. 


AUSTRIA-HUNGARY  AND  THE  WAR     189 

SOME  COMMENTS  ON  AUSTRIA-HUNGARY 'S  EXPORTS  AND 
IMPORTS.     RELATIONS  WITH  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

The  statistics  available  on  the  value  of  merchan- 
dise exported  and  imported  from  and  to  Austria- 
Hungary  during  the  years  1912  and  1913  into  and 
from  the  countries  with  which  the  dual  monarchy  is 
in  war  show  that  the  value  of  this  whole  foreign 
trade  amounted  to  about  |165,000,000.  Of  this 
amount  the  share  of  the  various  countries  was  as 
follows : 

1.  Great  Britain : 

Total  imports  from  Austria- 
Hungary  for  1913 $7,709,000.00 

Exports    , 4,482,000.00 

Foreign   re-exports 1,304,000.00 

Total  value  of  this  trade  about $65,000,000.00 

2.  Russia : 

Total  imports  from  Austria- 
Hungary  pro  1913 $17,316,000.00 

Total   exports 32,628,000.00 

Total  value  of  this  trade  about $50,000,000.00 

3.  France : 

Total  imports  from  Austria- 
Hungary  in  1913 $20,400,000.00 

•  Exports  about 8,749,000.00 

Total  value  of  this  trade  about $30,000,000.00 

4.  BriUsh-India : 

Imports  from  Austria-Hun- 
gary in  1913  about $17,500,000.00 

(Export  figures  not  available.) 

Total  value  of  this  trade $17,500,000.00 

5.  Japan : 

Total  imports  from  Austria- 
Hungary  in  1912  ( in  yen )        8,240,674.00 

Exports   (in  yen) 1,322,254.00 

Total  value  of  this  trade  about $2,250,000.00 

Total   value  of  this  foreign   trade 

about $164,750,000.00 


190     AUSTRIA-HUNGAKY  AND  THE  WAR 

As  can  be  seen  from  the  above,  British  Indian  ex- 
port statistics  were  not  available  at  the  time  when 
this  tabulation  was  made.  Statistics  concerning 
other  British  colonies  are  also  missing,  so  are  those 
concerning  Belgium,  Servia  and  Montenegro.  If 
we  add  the  values  yielded  by  the  foreign  trade  of 
Austria-Hungary  in  these  last  named  countries,  we 
may  conservatively  estimate  the  total  value  of  Aus- 
tria-Hungary's foreign  trade  with  the  countries  of 
her  present  enemies  at  about  $200,000,000. 

The  principal  articles  which  entered  into  this 
trade  were  the  following : 

In  the  group  of  exports  from  Austria-Hungary: 
Artificial  flowers  and  feathers,  artificial  tools,  an- 
timony, automobiles,  beer,  brushes,  buttons,  dye 
stuffs  and  colors,  chemicals,  drugs,  coal  and  coke, 
coffee,  cotton  yarn,  furniture,  fruits  (fresh  and 
dried),  glassware,  glass  beads,  hides,  iron  and  steel 
ware  (not  cast  iron),  steel  bars  and  rails,  tinplate 
manufactures,  wire  and  manufactures  of  wire,  raw 
jute,  leather  and  leather  belding  (unsewn),  linen, 
magnesite,  mineral  waters,  musical  instruments, 
seeds  and  plants,  straw  and  hay,  copra,  raw  silk, 
sugar,  tanning  materials,  tin,  wax  (including  bees- 
wax) and  paraffin,  wine,  wood  and  bark,  unmanu- 
factured wool,  combed,  spun  and  twisted  wool, 
wool  goods. 

In  the  group  of  imports  to  Austria-Hungary: 
Flax  and  tow,  hemp  and  tow,  manufactured  goods, 
raw  cotton,  artificial  silk,  woolen  piece  goods, 
casings  for  automobile  tires,  celluloid   in    sheets, 


AUSTRIA-HUNGARY  AND  THE  WAR     191 

malleable  iron,  axles  for  railway  use,  plows,  scrap- 
iron,  copper-wire,  wares  of  copper,  internal  com- 
bustion motors,  sewing  machines,  agricultural  im- 
plements, parts  for  industrial  machinery,  electric 
motors,  electric  measuring  aparatus,  metal  working 
machinery,  including  metal  working  machine  tools, 
etc. 

As  I  stated  above  one  probable  tendency  of  this 
war  will  be  to  shift  the  foreign  trade  of  Austria- 
Hungary  and  Germany  to  other  countries.  We  have 
full  confidence  that  this  war  will  strengthen  the 
dual  monarchy  instead  of  weakening  it  and  one  in- 
dication of  this  rise  in  strength  is  already  evi- 
denced in  the  "come  together"  movement  of  all  vari- 
ous nationalities  in  the  monarchy.  Various  men  of 
importance  in  history  have  at  various  times  stated 
that  the  monarchy  of  Austria-Hungary  is  a  direct 
necessity  for  Europe,  some  going  so  far  as  to  say 
that  were  the  monarchy  not  in  existence,  it  would 
have  to  be  remade. 

The  regrouping  of  the  Balkan  powers  now  and 
after  the  war  will,  of  course,  be  keenly  watched  by 
all  of  us.  It  is  of  great  importance  to  decide  the 
future  position  of  Austria-Hungary,  as  a  world- 
power.  We  confidently  expect,  however,  that  the 
war  will  bring  a  vindication  of  Austria-Hungary's 
policies — and  victory. 

Business  and  foreign  trade  are  rarely  connected 
with  sentiment.  Yet,  it  could  hardly  be  denied  that 
trade  relations  between  Germany  and  France  after 
1870  were  for  a  long  time  strongly  under  a  spell  of 


192     AUSTRIA-HUNGARY  AND  THE  WAR 

sentiment.  Great  Britain's  dominance  in  the  for- 
eign trade  has  been  more  or  less  accepted  as  a  neces- 
sity by  the  whole  of  the  European  Continent.  But 
there  is  no  reason  why  this  necesity  should  be  ac- 
cepted in  the  future.  And  it  is  here  in  the  readjust- 
ment of  the  foreign  trade  of  Continental  Europe 
that  the  United  States  can  and  will  play  an  all-im- 
portant part ! 

The  mutual  relations  of  the  United  States  and  the 
dual-monarchy  were  at  all  times  the  very  best.  We 
never  have  had  friction  of  any  kind.  We  may  have 
had  differences  of  opinion  on  the  theoretical  mean- 
ing of  the  "most  favored  nation  clause"  in  our  trade 
relations.  But  these,  as  I  have  attempted  to  show 
in  my  book  on  "Consular  Treaty  Rights  and  the 
Most  Favored  Nation  Clause,"  have  not  prevented 
Austria-Hungary  from  extending  to  the  United 
States  the  fullest  measure  of  courtesy  in  trade  po- 
litical matters  by  granting  a  most  favored  nation 
treatment  to  American  imports  after  1894.  In  this 
year  the  Wilson-Gorman  bill  in  repeal  of  the  Mc- 
Kinley  bill  established  a  duty  on  sugar  from  Aus- 
tria-Hungary. The  dual-monarchy  was  also  not  al- 
lowed the  benefits  of  the  United  States  treaties  with 
France  (1898)  Portugal  (1899)  and  Italy  (1900). 
Yet,  in  spite  of  all,  we  have  continued  to  maintain 
our  liberal  attitude  to  imports  arriving  from  the 
United  States.  We  recognize  that  the  United 
States  has  never  desired  to  discriminate  against 
Austro-Hungarian  trade,  but  that  her  theory  re- 
garding the  most  favored  nation  clause  is  a  mat- 


AUSTRIA-HUNGARY  AND  THE  WAR     193 

ter  of  principle  with  her,  based  on  the  traditions  of 
her  past.  These  traditions  and  this  principle  we 
respect.  We  believe  that  they  will  in  no  way  come 
between  us,  when  our  foreign  trade  relations  with 
the  United  States  will  be  resumed  after  the  war. 

The  total  imports  from  Austria-Hungary  to  the 
United  States  have  gradually  increased  from  $10,- 
067,970  in  1901  to  |19,192,414  in  1913.  During  the 
same  time  exports  from  the  United  States  to  the 
dual  monarchy  have  increased  from  $6,963,299  to 
123,065,050.  The  total  value  of  our  mutual  for- 
eign trade  in  1913  amounted  therefore  to  about 
$43,000,000.  The  total  imports  from  all  the  coun- 
tries with  which  our  country  is  in  war  amount 
roughly  speaking  to  about  $80,000,000  to  $100,000,- 
000.  This  amount  of  trade  could  easily  accrue  to 
the  United  States  in  addition  to  her  former  imports, 
which,  as  was  stated,  amounted  to  $23,065,050  in 
1913.  The  articles  herein  comprised,  as  can  be 
seen  from  the  above  list,  are  all  or  mostly  such  as 
are  produced  or  manufactured  in  this  country. 

It  seems  to  me  that  our  embassies  and  mutual 
consular  oflSces  could,  after  the  war  is  over,  accom- 
plish no  more  auspicious  task  than  to  see  that  this 
readjustment  and  mutual  expansion  of  our  foreign 
trade  becomes  true.  I  wish  to  asure  the  people  of 
the  great  American  Commonwealth,  that  on  our 
side  no  efforts  will  be  spared  to  arrive  at  this  result. 

Lest  it  be  forgotten,  let  us  say  that  the  United 
States  and  Austria-Hungary  have  also  had  other 
relations  to  entertain  with  one  another.     These 


194     AUSTRIA-HUNGARY  AND  THE  WAR 

relations  arose  from  the  remarkable  growth  of 
immigration  from  our  country  to  American  shores 
during  the  last  twenty-five  years.  This  immigra- 
tion may  at  times  perhaps  have  somewhat  com- 
plicated the  home  conditions  of  American  labor. 
It  will,  however,  hardly  be  denied  that  a  very  con- 
siderable share  of  the  rapid  advance  of  a  number 
of  large  American  industries  was  due  to  the  in- 
dustrious toil  of  the  laborers  from  Austria-Hun- 
gary.   Solid  and  honest  labor  hands ! 

Let  me  also  point  out  that  our  immigrants  have 
always  earnestly  endeavored  to  participate  in  the 
civic  and  social  welfare  work  of  this  country.  They 
have,  when  necessity  arose,  paid  their  toll  of  hlood 
to  help  America  and  promote  American  ideals. 

Let  me  point  out  to  my  readers  that  during  their 
own  country's  Civil  War  the  small  number  of  Hun- 
garian immigrants,  consisting  in  those  days  of 
scarcely  10,000,  contributed  a  contingent  of  about 
2,000  to  3,000  men  who  have  fought  for  the  United 
States.  Seven  of  these  2,000  to  3,000  have  attained 
the  rank  of  generals.  They  are  General  Stahel,  who 
commanded  an  army  corps;  General  Asboth,  who 
commanded  a  division  and  a  -district;  General 
Schoepf,  commander  of  a  -division  and  a  fort ;  while 
Generals  Knefler,  Kozlay,  Mundee  and  Pomucz  had 
charge  of  brigades. 

There  were  others  who  have  attained  high  rank 
in  the  army,  displaying  thereby  not  only  their 
loyalty  and  prowess,  but  also  their  efficiency. 

The  memories  of  those  fallen  in  the  Civil  War 


AUSTRIA-HUNGARY  AND  THE  WAR     195 

have  linked  our  people  together.  Will  the  present 
war  thrust  them  apart  again,  or  will  it  promote 
their  mutual  friendship  and  esteem? 

I  would  like  to  see  the  United  States  reach  out 
for  the  other  hand  from  our  shores.  It  is  a  good 
honest  hand,  that  will  hold  hers  in  her  grasp  and 
the  grasp  will  spell  loyalty. 

The  End. 


APPENDIX  A. 

THE  NOTE  OF  AUSTRIA-HUNGARY  TO  SERVIA.* 

Presented  July  23,  in  Belgrade. 

On  March  31st,  1909,  the  Royal  Servian  Minister 
to  the  Court  of  Vienna  made  the  following  state- 
ment, by  order  of  his  government : 

"Servia  declares  that  she  is  not  affected  in  her 
rights  by  the  situation  established  in  Bosnia,  and 
that  she  will,  therefore,  adapt  herself  to  the  de- 
cisions which  the  Powers  are  going  to  arrive  at 
in  reference  to  Art.  25  of  the  Berlin  Treaty.  By 
following  the  councils  of  the  Powers,  Servia  binds 
herself  to  cease  the  attitude  of  protest  and  re- 
sistance which  she  has  assumed  since  last  Octo- 
ber, relative  to  the  annexation,  and  she  binds  her- 
self further  to  change  the  direction  of  her  present 
policies  towards  Austria-Hungary,  and,  in  the 
future,  to  live  with  the  latter  in  friendly  and 
neighborly  relations." 

The  history  of  the  last  years,  and  especially  the 
painful  events  of  June  28th,  have  demonstrated  the 

•  The  note  of  Austria- Hungary  and  Servia's  reply  thereto  as  presented 
here,  are  a  reprodnction  of  the  only  authorized  Knelish  translation  of  the  fiervian 
White  Book,  which  was  reprintea  by  the  Patholnnd  in  New  York.  It  is  much 
more  complete  than  the  version  pr'nted  by  the  Nrw  York  Times,  which  was 
reprinted  by  the  American  Association  for  international  Concilation. 

197 


198     AUSTRIA-HUNGARY  AND  THE  WAR 

existence  of  a  subversive  movement  in  Servia  whose 
aim  it  is  to  separate  certain  territories  from  the 
Austro-Hungarian  monarchy.  This  movement,  which 
developed  under  the  eyes  of  the  Servian  Govern- 
ment, has  found  expression  subsequently  beyond 
the  territory  of  the  kingdom,  in  acts  of  terrorism,  a 
series  of  assassinations  and  murders. 

Far  from  fulfilling  the  formal  obligations  con- 
tained in  the  declaration  of  March  31st,  1909,  the 
Royal  Servian  Government  has  done  nothing  to 
suppress  this  movement.  She  suffered  the  criminal 
doings  of  the  various  societies  and  associations  di- 
rected against  the  monarchy,  the  unbridled  lan- 
guage of  the  press,  the  glorification  of  the  origina- 
tors of  assassinations,  the  participation  of  officers 
and  officials  in  subversive  intrigues;  she  suffered 
the  unwholesome  propaganda  in  public  education, 
and,  lastly,  permitted  all  manifestations  which 
would  mislead  the  Servian  people  into  hatred 
of  the  monarchy  and  into  contempt  for  its  institu- 
tions. 

This  culpable  tolerance,  of  which  the  Royal  Ser- 
vian Government  made  itself  guilty,  has  lasted 
up  to  the  moment  in  which  the  events  of  June  28th 
demonstrated  to  the  entire  world  its  ghastly  con- 
sequences. 

It  becomes  plain  from  the  evidence  and  confes- 
sions of  the  criminal  authors  of  the  outrage  of  June 
28th,  that  the  murder  at  Sarajevo  was  conceived  in 
Belgrade,  that  the  murderers  received  the  arms  and 
bombs  with  which  they  were  equipped  from  Ser- 


AUSTRIA-HUNGARY  AND  THE  WAR     199 

vian  oflScers  and  officials  who  belonged  to  the  Na- 
rodna  Odbrana,  and  that,  lastly,  the  transportation 
of  the  criminals  and  their  arms  to  Bosnia  was  ar- 
ranged and  carried  out  by  leading  Servian  frontier 
officials. 

The  cited  results  of  the  investigation  do  not  per- 
mit the  Imperial  and  Royal  Government  to  observe 
any  longer  the  attitude  of  waiting,  which  it  has  as- 
sumed for  years  towards  those  agitations  which 
have  their  centre  in  Belgrade,  and  which  from  there 
radiate  into  the  territory  of  the  monarchy.  These 
results,  on  the  contrary,  impose  upon  the  Imperial 
and  Royal  Government  the  duty  to  terminate  in- 
trigues which  constitute  a  permanent  menace  for 
the  peace  of  the  monarchy  . 

In  order  to  obtain  this  purpose,  the  Imperial  and 
Royal  Government  is  forced  to  demand  official  as- 
surance from  the  Servian  Government  that  it  con- 
demns the  propaganda  directed  against  Austria- 
Hungary,  i.  e.,  the  entirety  of  the  machinations 
the  aim  of  which  is  to  separate  parts  from  the 
monarchy  which  belong  to  it,  and  that  she  binds 
herself  to  suppress  with  all  means  this  criminal 
and  terrorizing  propaganda. 

In  order  to  give  to  these  obligations  a  solemn 
character,  the  Royal  Servian  Government  shall  pub- 
lish on  the  first  page  of  its  official  organ  of  July 
26,  1914,  the  following  declaration : 

"The  Royal  Servian  Government  condemns  the 
propaganda  directed  against  Austria-Hungary, 


200     AUSTRIA-HUNGARY  AND  THE  WAR 

i.  e.,  the  entirety  of  those  machinations  whose 
aim  it  is  to  separate  from  the  Austro-Hungarian 
monarchy  territories  belonging  thereto,  and  she 
regrets  sincerely  the  ghastly  consequences  of 
these  criminal  actions. 

"The  Royal  Servian  Government  regrets  that 
Servian  officers  and  officials  have  participated  in 
the  propaganda  cited  above,  and  have  thus 
threatened  the  friendly  and  neighborly  relations 
which  the  Royal  Government  was  solemnly  bound 
to  cultivate  by  its  declaration  of  March  31st, 
1909. 

"The  Royal  Government,  which  disapproves 
and  rejects  every  thought  or  every  attempt  to 
influence  the  destinies  of  the  inhabitants  of  any 
part  of  Austria-Hungary,  considers  it  its  duty 
to  call  most  emphatically  to  the  attention  of  its 
officers  and  officials,  and  of  the  entire  population 
of  the  kingdom,  that  it  will  henceforward  proceed 
with  the  utmost  severity  against  any  persons 
guilty  of  similar  actions,  to  prevent  and  sup- 
press which  it  will  make  every  effort." 

This  explanation  is  to  be  brought  simultaneously 
to  the  cognizance  of  the  Royal  Army  through  an 
order  of  His  Majesty  the  King,  and  it  is  to  be  pub- 
lished in  the  official  organ  of  the  army. 

The  Royal  Servian  Government  binds  itself,  in 
addition,  as  follows : 

1.  To  suppress  any  publication  which  fosters 
hatred  of,  and  contempt  for,  the  Austro-Hungarian 


AUSTRIA-HUNGARY  AND  THE  WAR     201 

monarchy,  and  whose  general  tendency  is  directed 
against  the  latter's  territorial  integrity. 

2.  To  proceed  at  once  with  the  dissolution  of 
the  society  Narodna  Odbrana,  to  confiscate  its 
entire  means  of  propaganda,  and  to  proceed  in  the 
same  manner  against  the  other  societies  and  as- 
sociations in  Servia  which  occupy  themselves  with 
the  propaganda  against  Austria-Hungary.  The 
Royal  Government  will  take  the  necessary  measures 
so  that  the  dissolved  societies  may  not  continue 
their  activities  under  another  name  oi*  in  another 
form. 

3.  Without  delay  to  eliminate  from  the  pub- 
lic instruction  in  Servia,  so  far  as  the  corps  of  in* 
structors  as  well  as  the  means  of  instruction 
are  concerned,  that  which  serves,  or  may 
serve,  to  foster  the  propaganda  against  Austria- 
Hungary. 

4.  To  remove  from  military  service  and  the  ad- 
ministration in  general  all  oflfi<*er8  and  oflBcials  who 
are  guilty  of  propaganda  against  Austria-Hungary, 
and  whose  names,  with  a  communication  of  the 
material  which  the  Imperial  and  Royal  Govern- 
ment possesses  against  them,  the  Imperial  and 
Royal  Government  reserves  the  right  to  communi- 
cate to  the  Royal  Government. 

5.  To  consent  that  in  Servia  officials  of  the  Im- 
perial and  Royal  Government  cooperate  in  the  sup- 
pression of  a  movement  directed  against  the  terri- 
torial integrity  of  the  monarchy. 

6.  To  commence  a  judicial  investigation  against 


202     AUSTRIAHUNGARY  AND  THE  WAR 

the  participants  of  the  conspiracy  of  June  28th,  who 
are  on  Servian  territory.  Officials,  delegated  by  the 
Imperial  and  Royal  Government,  will  participate 
in  the  examinations. 

7.  To  proceed  at  once  with  all  severity  to  arrest 
Major  Voja  Tankosic  and  a  certain  Milan  Cigano- 
vic,  Servian  state  officials,  who  have  been  com- 
promised through  the  result  of  the  investigation. 

8.  To  prevent  through  effective  measures  and 
participation  of  the  Servian  authorities  in  the 
smuggling  of  arms  and  explosives  across  the  fron- 
tier, and  to  dismiss  those  officials  of  Shabatz  and 
Loznica,  who  assisted  the  originators  of  the  crime 
of  Sarajevo  in  crossing  the  frontier. 

9.  To  give  to  the  Imperial  and  Royal  Govern- 
ment explanations  in  regard  to  the  unjustifiable 
utterances  of  high  Servian  functionaries  in  Servia 
and  abroad  who  have  not  hesitated,  in  spite  of  their 
official  position,  to  express  themselves  in  interviews 
in  a  hostile  manner  against  Austria-Hungary  after 
the  outrage  of  June  28th. 

10.  The  Imperial  and  Royal  Government  ex- 
pects a  reply  from  the  Royal  Government  at  the 
latest  until  Saturday  25th,  inst.,  at  6  p.  m.  A 
memoir  concerning  the  results  of  the  investiga- 
tions at  Sarajevo,  so  far  as  they  concern  points  7 
and  8,  is  enclosed  with  this  note. 

ENCLOSURE. 

The  investigation  carried  on  against  Gavrilo 
Prinzip  and  accomplices  in  the  Ck)urt  of  Sarajevo, 


AUSTRIA-HUNGARY  AND  THE  WAR     203 

on  account  of  the  assassination  on  June  28th,  so  far, 
yielded  the  following  results: 

1.  The  plan  to  murder  Archduke  Frank  Fer- 
dinand during  his  stay  in  Sarajevo  was  conceived  in 
Belgrade  by  Gavrilo  Prinzip,  Nedjelko  Cabrinovic, 
and  a  certain  Milan  Ciganovic  and  Trifko  Grabez, 
with  the  aid  of  Major  Voja  Tankosic. 

2.  The  six  bombs  and  four  Browning  pistols 
which  were  used  by  the  criminals  were  obtained  by 
Milan  Ciganovic  and  Major  Tankosic,  and  pre- 
sented to  Prinzip  and  Cabrinovic  in  Belgrade. 

3.  The  bombs  are  hand  grenades,  manufactured 
at  the  arsenal  of  the  Servian  army  in  Kragu- 
jevac. 

4.  To  insure  the  success  of  the  assassination, 
Milan  Ciganovic  instructed  Prinzip  and  Cabrinovic 
in  the  use  of  the  grenades  and  gave  instructions  in 
shooting  with  Browning  pistols  to  Prinzip  and  Gra- 
bez in  a  forest  near  the  target  practice  field  of  Top- 
shider  (outside  Belgrade). 

5.  In  order  to  enable  the  crossing  of  the  frontier 
of  Bosnia  and  Herzegovina  by  Prinzip,  Cabrinovic 
and  Grabez,  and  the  smuggling  of  their  arms,  a 
secret  system  of  transportation  was  organized  by 
Ciganovic.  The  entry  of  the  criminals  with  their 
arms  into  Bosnia  and  Herzegovina  was  efifected  by 
the  frontier  captains  of  Shabatz  (Rade  Popovic) 
and  of  Loznica,  as  well  as  by  the  custom  house 
official  Rudivoy  Grbic  of  Loznica  with  the  aid  of 
several  other  persons. 


204     AUSTRIA-HUNGARY  AND  THE  WAR 
THE  SERVIAN  ANSWER. 

Presented  at  Vienna,  July  25th,  1914. 

(With  Austria-Hungary's  commentaries,  which  are 
presented  under  quotation  marks. ) 

The  Royal  Government  has  received  the  com- 
munication of  the  Imperial  and  Royal  Government 
of  the  23d  inst.  and  is  convinced  that  its  reply  will 
dissipate  any  misunderstanding  which  threatens  to 
destroy  the  friendly  and  neighborly  relations  be- 
tween the  Austrian  monarchy  and  the  kingdom  of 
Servia. 

The  Royal  Government  is  conscious  that  nowhere 
there  have  been  renewed  protests  against  the  great 
neighborly  monarchy  like  those  which  at  one  time 
were  expressed  in  the  Skuptschina,  as  well  as  in 
the  declaration  and  actions  of  the  responsible 
representatives  of  the  state  at  that  time,  and  which 
were  terminated  by  the  Servian  declaration  of 
March  31st,  1909 ;  furthermore,  that  since  that  time 
neither  the  different  societies  of  the  kingdom  nor 
the  oflQcials  have  made  an  attempt  to  alter  the 
political  and  judicial  condition  created  in  Bosnia 
and  the  Herzegovina.  The  Royal  Government 
states  that  the  I.  and  R,  Government  has  made  no 
protestation  in  this  sense,  excepting  in  the  case  of  a 
textbook,  in  regard  to  which  the  I.  and  R.  Govern- 
ment has  received  an  entirely  satisfactory  explana- 
tion. Servia  has  given  during  the  time  of  the  Bal- 
kan crisis  in  numerous  cases  evidence  of  her  pacific 
and  moderate  policy,  and  it  is  owing  to  Servia  and 


AUSTRIA-HUNGARY  AND  THE  WAR     205 

the  sacrifices  which  she  has  brought  in  the  interest 
of  the  peace  of  Europe  that  this  peace  has  been 
preserved. 

"The  Royal  Servian  Government  limits  itself  to 
establishing  that  since  the  declaration  of  March 
31st,  1909,  there  has  been  no  attempt  on  the  part 
of  the  Servian  Government  to  alter  the  position  of 
Bosnia  and  the  Herzegovina. 

"With  this  she  deliberately  shifts  the  foundation 
of  our  note,  as  we  have  not  insisted  that  she  and 
her  offircials  have  undertaken  anything  oflScial  in 
this  direction.  Our  gravamen  is  that,  in  spite  of 
the  obligation  assumed  in  the  cited  note,  she  has 
omitted  to  suppress  the  movement  directed  against 
the  territorial  integrity  of  the  monarchy. 

"Her  obligation  consisted  in  changing  her  atti- 
tude and  the  entire  direction  of  her  policies,  and  in 
entering  into  friendly  and  neighborly  relations  with 
the  Austro-Hungarian  monarchy,  and  not  only  not 
to  interfere  with  the  possession  of  Bosnia." 

The  Royal  Government  cannot  be  made  respon- 
sible for  expressions  of  a  private  character,  as  for 
instance  newspaper  articles  and  the  peaceable  work 
of  societies,  expressions  which  are  of  very  common 
appearance  in  other  countries,  and  which  ordinarily 
are  not  under  the  control  of  the  state.  This,  all  the 
less,  as  the  Royal  Government  has  shown  great 
courtesy  in  the  solution  of  a  whole  series  of  ques- 
tions which  have  arisen  between  Servia  and  Austria- 


206     AUSTRIA-HUNGARY  AND  THE  WAR 

Hungary,  whereby  it  has  succeeded  to  solve  the 
greater  number  thereof,  in  favor  of  the  progress  of 
both  countries. 

"The  assertion  of  the  Royal  Servian  Government 
that  the  expressions  of  the  press  and  the  activity  of 
Servian  associations  possess  a  private  character, 
and  thus  escape  government  control,  stands  in  full 
contrast  with  the  institutions  of  modern  states  and 
even  the  most  liberal  of  press  and  society  laws, 
which  nearly  everywhere  subject  the  press  and  the 
societies  to  a  certain  control  of  the  state.  This  is 
also  provided  for  by  the  Servian  institutions.  The 
rebuke  against  the  Servian  Government  consists  in 
the  fact  that  it  has  totally  omitted  to  supervise  its 
press  and  its  societies,  in  so  far  as  it  knew  their 
direction  to  be  hostile  to  the  monarchy." 

The  Royal  Government  was  therefore  painfully 
surprised  by  the  assertions  that  citizens  of  Servia 
had  participated  in  the  preparations  of  the  outrage 
in  Sarajevo.  The  Government  expected  to  be  in- 
vited to  cooperate  in  the  investigation  of  the  crime, 
and  it  was  ready,  in  order  to  prove  its  complete 
correctness,  to  proceed  against  all  persons  in  regard 
to  whom  it  would  receive  information. 

"This  assertion  is  incorrect.  The  Servian  Govern- 
ment was  accurately  informed  about  the  suspicion 
resting  upon  quite  definite  personalities,  and  not 
only  in  the  position,  but  also  obliged  by  its  own 


AUSTRIA-HUNGARY  AND  THE  WAR     207 

laws  to  institute  investigations  spontaneously.  The 
Servian  Government  has  done  nothing  in  this 
direction." 

According  to  the  wishes  of  the  I,  and  R.  Govern- 
ment, the  Royal  Government  is  prepared  to  sur- 
render to  the  court,  without  regard  to  position  and 
rank,  every  Servian  citizen,  for  whose  participation 
in  the  crime  of  Sarajevo  it  should  have  received 
proof.  It  binds  itself  particularly  on  the  first  page 
of  the  oflQcial  organ  of  the  26th  of  July  to  publish 
the  following  enunciation : 

"The  Royal  Servian  Government  condemns 
every  propaganda  which  should  be  directed 
against  Austria-Hungary,  i.  e.,  the  entirety  of 
such  activities  as  aim  towards  the  separation  of 
certain  territories  from  the  Austro- Hungarian 
monarchy,  and  it  regrets  sincerely  the  lamentable 
consequences  of  these  criminal  machinations." 

The  Austrian  demand  reads : 

"The  Royal  Servian  Government  condemns  the 
propaganda  against  Austria-Hungary.    .    .    ." 

"The  alteration  of  the  declaration  as  demanded 
by  us,  which  has  been  made  by  the  Royal  Servian 
Government,  is  meant  to  imply  that  a  propaganda 
directed  against  Austria-Hungary  does  not  exist, 
and  that  it  is  not  aware  of  such.  This  formula  is  in- 
sincere, and  the  Servian  Government  reserves  itself 


208     AUSTRIA-HUNGARY  AND  THE  WAR 

the  subterfuge  for  later  occasions  that  it  had  not 
disavowed  by  this  declaration  the  existing  propa- 
ganda, nor  recognized  the  same  as  hostile  to  the 
monarchy,  whence  it  could  deduce  further  that  it  is 
not  obliged  to  suppress  in  the  future  a  propaganda 
similar  to  the  present  one." 

The  Royal  Government  regrets  that  according  to 
a  communication  of  the  I.  and  R.  Government 
certain  Servian  officers  and  functionaries  have  par- 
ticipated in  the  propaganda  just  referred  to,  and 
that  these  have  therefore  endangered  the  amicable 
relations  for  the  observation  of  which  the  Royal 
Government  had  solemnly  pledged  itself  through 
the  declaration  of  March  31st,  1909. 

"The  Government  .  .  .  identical  with  the 
demanded  text." 

The  formula  as  demanded  by  Austria-Hungary 
reads : 

"The  Royal  Government  regrets  that  Servian 
officers  and  functionaries  .  .  .  have  partici- 
pated.   .    .    ." 

"And  with  this  formula  and  the  further  addition, 
'according  to  the  declaration  of  the  I.  and  R.  Gov- 
ernment,' the  Servian  Government  pursues  the 
object,  already  indicated  above,  to  preserve  a  free 
hand  for  the  future." 

The  Royal  Government  binds  itself  further: 


AUSTRIA  HUNGARY  AND  THE  WAR     209 

1.  During  the  next  regular  meeting  of  the 
Skuptschina  to  embody  in  the  press  laws  a  clause, 
to  wit,  that  the  incitement  to  hatred  of,  and  con- 
tempt for,  the  monarchy  is  to  be  most  severely  pun- 
ished, as  well  as  every  publication  whose  general 
tendency  is  directed  against  the  territorial  integrity 
of  Austria-Hungary. 

It  binds  itself  in  view  of  the  coming  revision  of 
the  constitution  to  embody  an  amendment  into  Art. 
22  of  the  constitutional  law  which  permits  the  con- 
fiscation of  such  publications  as  is  at  present  im- 
possible according  to  the  clear  definition  of  Art,  22 
of  the  constitution. 

Austria-Hungary  had  demanded: 

"1.  To  suppress  every  publication  which  incites 
to  hatred  and  contempt  for  the  monarchy,  and 
whose  tendency  is  directed  against  the  territorial 
integrity  of  the  monarchy. 

"We  wanted  to  bring  about  the  obligation  for 
Servia  to  take  care  that  such  attacks  of  the  press 
would  cease  in  the  future. 

"Instead  Servia  offers  to  pass  certain  laws  which 
are  meant  as  means  towards  this  end,  viz. : 

"(a)  A  law  according  to  which  the  expressions  of 
the  press  hostile  to  the  monarchy  can  be  individ- 
ually punished,  a  matter  which  is  immaterial  to  us, 
all  the  more  so  as  the  individual  prosecution  of 
press  intrigues  is  very  rarely  possible  and  as,  with 
a  lax  enforcement  of  such  laws,  few  cases  of  this 
nature  would  be  punished.    The  proposition,  there- 


210     AUSTKIA-HUNGARY  AND  THE  WAR 

fore,  does  not  meet  our  demand  in  any  way,  and 
it  offers  not  the  least  guarantee  for  the  desired 
success. 

"(b)  An  amendment  to  Art.  22  of  the  constitu- 
tion, which  would  permit  confiscation,  a  proposal 
which  does  not  satisfy  us,  as  the  existence  of  such  a 
law  in  Servia  is  of  no  use  to  us.  For  we  want  the 
obligation  of  the  Government  to  enforce  it  and  that 
has  not  been  promised  us. 

"These  proposals  are,  therefore,  entirely  unsatis- 
factory and  evasive  as  we  are  not  told  within  what 
time  these  laws  will  be  passed,  and  as  in  the  event 
of  the  not-passing  of  these  laws  by  the  Skuptschina 
everything  would  remain  as  it  is,  excepting  the 
event  of  a  possible  resignation  of  the  Government." 

2.  The  Government  possesses  no  proofs,  and  the 
note  of  the  I.  and  R.  Government  does  not  submit 
them  that  the  society  Narodna  Odbrana  and  other 
similar  societies  have  committed,  up  to  the  present, 
any  criminal  actions  of  this  manner  through  anyone 
of  their  members.  Notwithstanding  this,  the  Royal 
Government  will  accept  the  demand  of  the  I.  and  R. 
Government  and  dissolve  the  society  Narodna  Od- 
brana, as  well  as  every  society  which  should  act 
against  Austria-Hungary. 

"The  propaganda  of  the  Narodna  Odbrana  and 
affiliated  societies  hostile  to  the  monarchy  fills  the 
entire  public  life  of  Servia;  it  is,  therefore,  an  en- 
tirely inacceptable  reserve,  if  the  Servian  Govern- 


AUSTRIA  HUNGARY  AND  THE  WAR     211 

ment  asserts  that  it  knows  nothing  about  it.  Aside 
from  this,  our  demand  is  not  completely  fulfilled 
as  we  have  asked  besides : 

"To  confiscate  the  means  of  propaganda  of  these 
societies  to  prevent  the  reformation  of  the  dissolved 
societies  under  another  name  and  in  another  form." 

"In  these  two  directions  the  Belgrade  Cabinet  is 
perfectly  silent,  so  that  through  this  semi-conces- 
sion there  is  offered  us  no  guarantee  for  putting  an 
end  to  the  agitation  of  the  associations  hostile  to 
the  monarchy,  especially  the  Narodna  Odbrana^" 

3.  The  Royal  Servian  Government  binds  itself 
without  delay  to  eliminate  from  the  public  instruc- 
tion in  Servia  anything  which  might  further  the 
propaganda  directed  against  Austria-Hungary,  pro- 
vided the  I.  and  R.  Government  furnishes  actual 
proofs. 

"Also  in  this  case  the  Servian  Government  first 
demands  proof  for  a  propaganda  hostile  to  the  mon- 
archy in  the  public  instruction  of  Servia,  while  it 
must  know  that  the  textbooks  introduced  in  the 
Servian  schools  contain  objectionable  matter  in  this 
direction,  and  that  a  large  portion  of  the  teachers 
are  in  the  camp  of  the  Narodna  Odbrana  and 
aflQliated  societies. 

"Furthermore,  the  Servian  Government  has  not 
fulfilled  a  part  of  our  demands,  as  we  have  re- 
quested, as  it  omitted  in  its  text  the  addition  desired 
by  us:  *as  far  as  the  body  of  instructors  is  con- 


212     AUSTRIA-HUNGARY  AND  THE  WAR 

cerned,  as  well  as  the  means  of  instruction' — a  sen- 
tence which  shows  clearly  where  the  propaganda 
hostile  to  the  monarchy  is  to  be  found  in  the  Servian 
schools." 

4.  The  Royal  Government  is  also  ready  to  dis- 
miss those  oflQcers  and  oflQcials  from  the  military 
and  civil  services  in  regard  to  whom  it  has  been 
proved  by  judicial  investigation  that  they  have  been 
guilty  of  actions  against  the  territorial  integrity  of 
the  monarchy ;  it  expects  that  the  I.  and  R.  Govern- 
ment communicate  to  it  for  the  purpose  of  starting 
the  investigation  the  names  of  these  officers  and 
officials,  and  the  facts  with  which  they  have  been 
charged 

"By  promising  the  dismissal  from  the  military 
and  civil  services  of  those  officers  and  officials  who 
are  found  guilty  by  Judicial  procedure,  the  Servian 
Government  limits  its  assent  to  those  cases  in 
which  these  persons  have  been  charged  with  a  crime 
according  to  the  statutory  code.  As,  however,  we 
demand  the  removal  of  such  officers  and  officials  aa 
indulge  in  a  propaganda  hostile  to  the  monarchy 
which  is  generally  not  punishable  in  Servia,  our  de- 
mands have  not  been  fulfilled  in  this  point." 

5.  The  Royai  Government  confesses  that  it  is  not 
clear  about  the  sense  and  the  scope  of  that  demand 
of  the  I.  and  R.  Government  which  concerns  the 
obligation  on  the  part  of  the  Royal  Servian  Gov- 


AUSTRIA-HUNGARY  AND  THE  WAR     213 

eminent  to  permit  the  cooperation  of  officials  of  the 
I.  and  R.  Government  on  Servian  territory,  but  it 
declares  that  it  is  willing  to  accept  every  coopera- 
tion which  agrees  with  international  law  and  crim- 
inal law  as  well  as  with  friendly  and  neighborly 
relations. 

"The  international  law,  as  well  as  the  criminal 
law,  has  nothing  to  do  with  this  question;  it  is 
purely  a  matter  of  the  nature  of  state  police  which 
is  to  be  solved  by  way  of  a  special  agreement  The 
reserved  attitude  of  Servia  is  therefore  incompre- 
hensible, and  on  account  of  its  vague  general  form 
it  would  lead  to  unbridgeable  difficulties." 

6.  The  Royal  Government  considers  it  its  duty 
as  a  matter  of  course  to  begin  its  investigation 
against  all  those  persons  who  have  participated  in 
the  outrage  of  June  28th  and  who  are  in  its  terri- 
tory. As  far  as  the  cooperation  in  this  investiga- 
tion of  specially  delegated  officials  of  the  I.  and  R. 
Government  is  concerned,  this  cannot  be  accepted, 
as  this  is  a  violation  of  the  constitution  and  of  crim- 
inal procedure.  Yet  in  some  cases  the  result  of  the 
investigation  might  be  communicated  to  the  Austro- 
Hungarian  officials. 

The  Austrian  demand  was  clear  and  unmistak- 
able: 

"1.  To  institute  a  criminal  procedure  against  the 
participants  in  the  outrage. 


214     AUSTRIA  HUNGARY  AND  THE  WAR 

"2.  Participation  by  I.  and  R.  Government  offi- 
cials in  the  examinations  ( 'Recherche'  in  contrast 
with  'enquete  judiciaire')." 

"3.  It  did  not  occur  to  us  to  let  I.  and  R.  Govern- 
ment officials  participate  in  the  Servian  court  pro- 
cedure; they  were  to  cooperate  only  in  the  police 
researches  which  had  to  furnish  and  fix  the  material 
for  the  investigation. 

"If  the  Servian  Government  misunderstands  us 
here,  this  is  done  deliberately,  for  it  must  be  famil- 
iar with  the  difference  between  "enquete  judiciaire" 
and  simple  police  researches.  As  it  desired  to 
escape  from  every  control  of  the  investigation  which 
would  yield,  if  correctly  carried  out,  highly  un- 
desirable results  for  it,  and  as  it  possesses  no  means 
to  refuse  in  a  plausible  manner  the  cooperation  of 
our  officials  (precedents  for  such  police  interven- 
tion exist  in  great  numbers),  it  tries  to  justify  its 
refusal  by  showing  up  our  demands  as  impossible." 

7.  The  Royal  Government  had  ordered  on  the 
evening  of  the  day  on  which  the  note  was  received 
the  arrest  of  Major  Voislar  Tankosic.  However,  as 
far  as  Milan  Ciganovic  is  concerned,  who  is  a  cit- 
izen of  the  Austro-Hungarian  Monarchy,  and  who 
had  been  employed  till  June  28th  with  the  Railroad 
Department,  it  has  as  yet  been  impossible  to  locate 
him,  wherefore  a  warrant  has  been  issued  against 
him. 

The  I.  and  R.  Government  is  asked  to  make 
known,  as  soon  as  possible,  for  the  purpose  of  con- 


AUSTRIA-HUNGARY  AND  THE  WAR     215 

ducting  the  investigation,  the  existing  grounds  for 
suspicion  and  the  proofs  of  guilt  obtained  in  the 
investigation  at  Sarajevo. 

"This  reply  is  disingenuous.  According  to  our  in- 
vestigation, Ciganovic,  by  order  of  the  police  pre- 
fect in  Belgrade,  left  three  days  after  the  outrage 
for  Ribari,  after  it  had  become  known  that  Cigano- 
vic had  participated  in  the  outrage.  In  the  first 
place,  it  is,  therefore,  incorrect  that  Ciganovic  left 
the  Servian  service  on  June  28th.  In  the  second 
place,  we  add  that  the  prefect  of  police  at  Belgrade, 
who  had  himself  caused  the  departure  of  this  Cigan- 
ovic and  who  knew  his  whereabouts,  declared  in  an  . 
interview  that  a  man  by  the  name  of  Milan  Cigano- 
vic did  not  exist  in  Belgrade." 

8.  The  Servian  Government  will  amplify  and 
render  more  severe  the  existing  measures  against 
the  suppression  of  smuggling  of  arms  and  explo- 
sives. 

It  is  a  matter  of  course,  that  it  will  proceed  at 
once  against,  and  punish  severely,  those  officials  of 
the  frontier  service  on  the  line  Shabatz-Loznica 
who  violated  their  duty  and  who  have  permitted 
the  perpetrators  of  the  crime  to  cross  the  frontier. 

9.  The  Royal  Government  is  ready  to  give  ex- 
planations about  the  expressions  which  its  officials 
in  Servia  and  abroad  have  made  in  interviews  after 
the  outrage  and  which,  according  to  the  assertion  of 
the  I.  and  R.  Government,  were  hostile  to  the  mon- 


216     AUSTRIA-HUNGARY.  AND  THE  WAR 

archy.  As  soon  as  the  I.  and  E.  Government  points 
out  in  detail  where  those  expressions  were  made 
and  succeeds  in  proving  that  those  expressions  have 
actually  been  made  by  the  functionaries  concerned, 
the  Royal  Government  itself  will  take  care  that  the 
necessary  evidences  and  proofs  are  collected  there- 
for. 

"The  Royal  Servian  Government  must  be  aware 
of  the  interviews  in  question.  If  it  demands  of  the 
I.  and  R.  Government  that  it  should  furnish  all 
kinds  of  detail  about  the  said  interviews  and  re- 
serves for  itself  the  right  of  a  formal  investigation, 
it  shows  that  it  is  not  its  intention  seriously  to  ful- 
fill the  demand." 

The  Royal  Government  will  notify  the  I.  and 
R.  Government,  as  far  as  this  has  not  been  al- 
ready done  by  the  present  note,  of  the  execution 
of  the  measures  in  question  as  soon  as  one  of 
these  measures  has  been  ordered  and  put  into 
execution. 

The  Royal  Servian  Government  believes  it  to  be 
to  the  common  interest  not  to  rush  the  solution  of 
these  affairs,  and  it  is,  therefore,  in  case  the  I.  and 
R.  Government  should  not  consider  itself  satisfied 
with  this  answer,  ready,  as  ever,  to  accept  a  peace- 
able solution,  be  it  by  referring  the  decision  of  this 
question  to  the  International  Court  at  The  Hague 
or  by  leaving  it  to  the  decision  of  the  Great  Powers 
who  have  participated  in  the  working  out  of  the 


AUSTRIA-HUNGARY  AND  THE  WAR     217 

declaration  given  by  the  Servian  Government  on 
March  31st,  1909. 

"The  Servian  note,  therefore,  is  entirely  a  play 
for  time." 


APPENDIX    B. 

PETER  THE  GREAT'S  WILL. 

According  to  the  document,  Peter  enjoins  the 
Russians  to  observe  these  instructions  as  the  Jews 
observed  the  laws  of  Moses,  and  prophesies  that 
they  will  be  successful. 

1.  Russia  must  keep  her  men  continually  in 
training  for  war.  She  should  be  at  peace  only  when 
it  is  necessary  for  her  to  recuperate  financially. 
Thus  war  must  serve  peace,  and  peace  war  for  the 
greater  glory  of  Russia. 

2.  Every  able  general,  every  learned  man  among 
the  best  instructed  nations  of  Europe  that  can  be 
induced  to  settle  in  the  dominions  of  the  Czar  is  an 
advantage  gained. 

3.  We  must  take  part  in  all  the  affairs  of  Europe. 
We  must  especially  sow  and  foster  discord  in 
Germany. 

4.  Poland  must  be  divided.  We  can  let  the 
neighboring  powers  have  a  share  until  we  can  re- 
take what  we  have  yielded. 

5.  Sweden  must  be  subjugated,  therefore  we 
must  separate  Sweden  from  Denmark  and  keep  up 
a  rivaly  between  them. 

6.  The  wives  of  Russian  princes  should  always 

218 


AUSTRIA-HUNGARY  AND  THE  WAR     219 

be  chosen  among  the  German  princesses,  to  increase 
our  influence  in  Germany. 

7.  Commercially,  we  must  ally  ourselves  with 
England.  We  need  English  gold  and  want  her 
seamen  and  traders  to  teach  ours. 

8.  We  must  incessantly  extend  ourselves  alonsr 
the  Baltic  Sea  and  the  Black  Sea. 

9.  We  must  advance  towards  Constantinople 
and  India.  When  we  have  India  we  can  do  with- 
out English  gold,  for  the  power  which  holds  the 
wealth  of  India  is  the  true  mistress  of  the  world. 
We  must  make  war  continually  upon  both  Turkey 
and  Persia  until  we  have  compassed  the  downfall 
of  both.  We  must  try  to  revive  the  ancient  com- 
merce of  the  Levant  and  Syria  with  Europe  and 
India. 

10.  We  must  promise  to  Austria  our  help  in 
making  her  mistress  of  all  Germany,  and  must 
excite  the  jealousies  of  the  German  princes  against 
her. 

11.  We  may  give  Austria  a  share  of  Turkey 
when  we  drive  the  Turks  from  Europe.  What  we 
give  her,  we  can  retake  afterward. 

12.  All  adherents  of  the  Greek  churches  in  Hun- 
gary, Turkey  and  Poland  we  must  support.  They 
will  be  our  friends  in  the  midst  of  the  enemies' 
country. 

13.  When  Sweden,  Persia,  Poland  and  Turkey 
have  been  subjugated,  when  the  Baltic  and  the 
Black  Seas  are  guarded  by  our  ships,  we  must  first 
offer  to  France,  and,  if  she  refuses,  to  Austria,  to 


220     AUSTRIA-HUNGARY  AND  THE  WAR 

share  the  world  with  her.  Thus  using  one  to  destroy 
the  other,  we  can  rush  the  remaining  one  at  our 
ease. 

14.  If  both  refuse  we  must  excite  their  jealous- 
ies until  they  exhaust  each  other  by  continual  wars. 
Then  Germany  must  be  attacked  with  overwhelm- 
ing forces.  When  Germany  and  France  are  over- 
come, the  rest  of  Europe  will  immediately  submit 
to  us.    Thus  can  and  must  Europe  be  subdued. 


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