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THE OMAHA DEC
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VOL. XXXVI-KO. 12.
Omaha, Sunday morning, September o, ioog.
single copy five cents.
AROUND THE WORLD WITH WILLIAM JENNINGS BRYAN
Inquiry Into Conditions That Prevail in the Austria-Hungarian Empire at Present Point to Conclusion That Matters Cannot Long Go On as Thoy Are and Change Must Come or Empire is Doomed
The
Omaha
Sunday
ku.ndhjkm. Norway, June 12. (Special Correspondence
of The Bee.) Reference has already been made to the
altitude of Hungary toward Austria, and what is true of
Hungary 1b to a less extent true of Bohemia and the Polish
section of the empire. In fact Austria-Hungary la held
together by a rope of sand, and there ia no telling when that rope
may break.
It required the aid of Russia to hold Hungary within the em
pire half a century ago, and now that Russia is no longer In position
to bolster up the Hapsbnrg house, the outlook is not bright for the
family of Francis Joseph unless the friendship of Emperor William
takes the form of armed assistance. I mention this "because the anti
Hungarian feeling In Austria, the aversion to the German language
In Bohemia, and the demands of the Polish subjects, not to speak .
of disaffection elsewhere, all point to trouble ahead for the ruler of
Austria-Hungary 1
I visited Bohemia with a view to gathering Information on the
situation and was surprised to find the hostility between the Ger
man and Bohemian elements. A half century ago the German
language was spoken everywhere in Bohemia, but today the Ger
mans and Bohemians have separate schools and except where busi
ness Interests compel It. neither learn the language of the other.
Bo strong is the feeling that a Bohemian desiring to master the
German language would, if financially able, study It outside of
Bohemia in preference to attending a German school in his owa
country. ' -.
It is a great misfortune to the people of Hungary and Bohemia
as well as to the Imperial government that this hostility to the
German language has become so bitter, for the German is one of
the great languages of the earth, being the spoken tongue of more
than 600,000,000 and containing In printed form most of the
literary treasures of the world. The German libraries are rich In
treatises on science and art, history and philosophy, government and
religion, and these should be within the reach of the people of
Hungary and Bohemia. Whatever may be the merits of the Magyar
and the Czech languages, they are spoken by so few, comparatively,
that they cannot possibly furnish so large a store of learning as the
German language contains. .
The Austrian government, however, has itself to blame. tqt
the estrangement, for, instead of ; attempting to win the affections V
of the alien people made subject to It, if attempted to coerce them
with the usual result. Resentment toward the rulers soon turned
Into resentment toward the language, and It became patriotic to
abhor a tongue which it would have been advantageous to cultivate.
Human nature Is the same everywhere, but kings seem' to be aa
Ignorant of It as they are of the lessons of history. ; -
i Federation Must Change
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STREET SCENE ITT PRAGUE.
The Austria-Hungary empire cannot exist long under its present
regime; If it Is to continue, the bond of union must be a substantial
one and no bond of union is' substantial that does not knit itself
about the hearts of both parties to the union. There are certain
advantages to be derived from the association of several small
fundamental rights, or "against a strong national sentiment Cold,!
calculating statesmen", sometimes underestimate the influence of
sentiment, but they usually discover their error, sometimes too late,
if they attempt to trample upon it Austria-Hungary as a federation
of states; each absolutely Independent in Its internal affairs, woM American fade papers are kept for the business public and where
be strong, but Austria-Hungary, composed of dissatisned groups all
yielding unwillingly to an arrogant Austrian influence, is pitiably
ireak. ' ' - - ""' " -
taring. Just now Bohemia )s the Mecca for violinists, America con"
trlbutlng its quota of students. . "
Jan Hubs' church is still one of Prague's landmarks, although
the Catholic church has regained Its supremacy. The Hradschin and
the public buildings surrounding the Hradschiner Platz are of his- -torio
Interest, aa is also the old Jewish burying ground.
, Carlsbad and Its Waters
. ... Our American consul at Prague, Mr. Ledoux, has Inaugurated '
a very praiseworthy Index system for the collection and preservation -of
Information of value to importers . and exporters. He baa con
verted one room of the consular office Into a reading room where
It having gone beyond all the other cities of the continent In the
taking over of what are known as the natural monopolies. It finds
It not only possible to own and operate Its water works, lighting
plants and tramways, but it finds it profitablo to do so, the profits
which under private ownership go to the stockholders accruing in
Vienna to the whole people. So successful is municipal ownership
In practice that opposition to the principle has been silenced. Those
who in the United States are struggling in spite of the Influence of
organized wealth exerted through subsidized newspapers, corrupted
councils and sometimes even through a biased Judiciary, to restore
the streets of our cities to the public can find encouragement In
Vienna's experience. The conflict can have but one end, namely,
triumph for municipal ownership. "Sorrow may endure for a night,
but Joy cometh In-the morning."
Austria-Hungary has a well developed system of forestry. I
noticed this on a former visit and made inquiries about It this time.
There is a law compelling the planting of a tree whenever one is cut
down, and, not content with maintaining the present number, the
denuded hills are being replanted. It seems difficult to turn publio
attention to any subject until abuse has made action Imperative, but
the sooner our own country awakes to the danger involved in the
destruction of our timber, the less we shall be compelled to suffer for
the7 enormous waste committed In our forests.
I have been intending for some time to speak of the matter
of permanent buildings for our embassies, and Vienna is a case In
point. Oup ambassador at Vienna, Mr. Francis, has had difficulty in
finding a suitable place for the embassy. I discussed the subject
during my former visit abroad and my observations on this trip
have still furthers strengthened the opinioa that our country owes
to Itself as well as to Its representatives to purchase or erect at each
of the foreign capitals a permanent embassy building.
Disadvantage of Being American Ambassador
At present each new ambassador or minister must begin his
official career with a house hunting expedition, and the local land
lords, knowing this, are quick to take advantage of the situation.
At one place an American ambassador was recently asked to pay
double what his predecessor had paid, and as he was not willing to
do this he is still living at a hotel. There are not many suitable
buildings from which to select, .nd our representative is at the
mercy of those who control the limited supply. Diplomatic require
ments are such that the embassy must be centrally located and
sufficiently commodious to enable the ambassador or minister to
return the courtesies which he receives. Small apartments are
numerous and there are a few palaces which can be rented, but
the former are not large enough and the latter much larger than
necessary.
Our government ought to own a building conveniently located
and suitable for the offices and home of the ambassador. It must
either do this or choose between two Bystems, both of which are
bad, viz., compel the representative to spend more than his salary
for house rent or continually increase the salary of diplomatic repre-
and the pavilions jammed. Tha numerous attendants were kept
busy filling the mugs (which are put Into long-handled holders) from
the, gushing fountains. At the time of the Lisbon earthquake the
largest spring is said to have ceased its flow for three days.
. Riding through Bohemia at this time of thyear one sees a
great-deal of the farming land, the only unpleasant feature being
the number of women at work In the fields and alons: the roads. The
more-one sees of the world, the. more one can appreciate tlfe re- sentatlves to keep'pace withvthe growing rent in the capitals of the
mark of.that witty Frenchman,' Max O'Rell,1 who, in his lecture on world. To throw the burden upon the government's representative
"Her Royal. Highness, -Woman,',' .-declares that if he, were going to
,bG born one of that sex he would pray to be born In America.
is undemocratic; to risk constantly increasing rent is raise economy.
It is not in harmony with our theory of government to have an.
The tie which holds Canada, Australia and New Zealand to
England Is Infinitely stronger than that which binds Hungary and
Bohemia to the Austria-Hungarian throne. And why? Not because
they use the same language, for the American colonies wrote the
Declaration of Independence In the same tongue that George III
employed. Canada, Australia and New Zealand are loyal to England
because England allows them to do as they please. If a British
Woman's position ln?our country-is not, only vastly superior to her Important branch of the publio service open to rich men only, and
position In Asia, buf very much better than the position of the that Is the case under the present system. No poor man can afford
' - . ' ' ... a 1 1.. . I - i - x am am Amartnan mlntatftp rtf DTnhflflDftllnr
a list or American exporters witn a description or tneir wares may ; . " r . . . . . . . t. . ,
k v- v -.1 , Vlenas Janot only the capital Of the. Austria-Hungarian empire, to any of the principal countries of Europe, and as the years go by
the public library system to trade, and stnick me as likely ta be tf on -reatj:ltles. of Europe. It Is worth visiting for its . the expense of a dlplomatlc residence will become greater as the
value in increasing our sales. i architecture alone, its publio bulldlngi combining masslveness and Value of urban property Increases.
Carlsbad Is only a few hours' ride from Prague ' and' I took STaceItJs also rich In monuments and statuary and well supplied While the telegraph and cable have somewhat decreased the
advantage of that fact to visit-it. It is built along the narrow and, "with -dflvea; 5parka'. and; place..; ol; amusement :. The- boulevard are responsibility of the foreign representative by bringing hla Into
winding yalley of the Pepl. and 1 nearly 1,200 feet above the sea. ed with resfaurants, each .with a, large yard filled with tables doser contact with the home government, still much depends upon
It has been a health resort for some six or seven centuries and Is , cnairs, iae .rresnmenw nog servea in us open air auring me the ability, tne sagacity ana me discretion oi mose wuom wo uU
now visited yearly by more than 60,000 Invalids. The. water Is hot,
and th numerous springs seem to come from a common 'reservoir.
parliament acted toward these colonies as the imperial government The principal spring, called the Sprudel, has a temperature "of 164
degrees and contains sulphate of soda, carbonate of soda and com
mon salt. The solid substances deposited by the water soon form
into a very hard rock which takes a polish, like marble. These de
posits gather so rapidly that all pipes leading from the springs
and even the springs themselves must be frequently cleaned or they
would soon be choked up.. . .. , .
summer, months.', .'These .places are thronged In' the evening and on
Sunday afternoon, families often bringing their lunch baskets and
: buying their coffee or beer at; the restaurant.
acts toward Hungary and Bohemia even a common language and
a common history could not prevent 'a separation. "There is a
scattering that lncreaseth," says Solomon, "and a withholding of
more than Is meet, but It tendeth to penury." The proverb can he
applied to governments, and Francis Joseph might consider it with
profit. . o
It must be remembered that Bohemia Is no insignificant part - Liver complaint is 'the disease which brings most of the visitors
Of the empire. - It has an area of 20,000 square miles and a popula
tion of 6,000.000, and is rich in minerals and in manufactures.
It Is noted' for glass works, Bohemian glass having-a world wide
reputation. It ha Important textile Industries also, and its agricul
ture has been carried to a high state of perfection. It has played a
conspicuous part In the history of central Europe, 1 rich In heroes
and possesses a strong national spirit. . ' '
to Carlsbad, and. I was surprised to find that, instead of being a
fashionable resort, a .large majority of the people who assemble
here are of the middle classes. It Is a city of boarding houses and
small hotels, with a few larger establishments. By 11 o'clock the
i . . - Features of Viennese. Life
The-coffee bouses, as they are found In Vienna, deserve men
tion. These are -scattered all over the city and are very popuplar.
Newspapers are usually kept' on file and the customers read the
events of. the' day'while they sup their coffee and beer. '
Vienna, is a musical center and Its theaters are not surpassed
anywhere.' We attended a production of Faust there,' a French opera
built upon Goethe's great drama, and found the theater constructed
with a special view to the accommodation of a large orchestra. Nor
Is it strange that music should be so distinguishing a feature of
abroad. Our government ought to be in a position to select rrom tne
whole citizen body those most competent for the work to be en
trusted to them, and it goes without saying that efficiency In the
public service Is not measured by the amount of money which an
official has either Inherited or accumulated. V
There Is another argument in favor of the building of per
manent embassy buildings which ought to have weight with our
neoDle. If dlDlomatlc representatives are chosen only from those'
who are able to spend more than their official Incomes, It naturally
follows that some will be richer than others and that the establish-,
ments nfaintained wni differ in expenslveness. In fact, experience
has shown that a new representative Is sometimes embarrassed by
the lavish expenditures of a preceding one.
The standing of our nation abroad demands that our ambas-
t r0tt art H HCrtH nnA fllA tnwn SfllAan nrnKoKlft WaitiA tlitt'aa.ll, ' 74 an n AD. Ufa Knanl If 1 Am AmAvAt Vl a if urn. Y n KnmA Qi.ana .1A... mlnlatara aVloll 1ttA In atvlA In lfApnlnff with f)U1 1 PH.
morning is the time for drinking the water. I rose at 6, and with
our vice consul at Prague, Mr. Welssburger, as my guide, hurried to
Pragueglt. capital city,' has long been -an educational center 'the springs; the invalids were even then beginning to come forth
and is still the .eat of Its intellectual as well as Its political life, each with his mug, and soon there was a swarm of mem. The city ,
There 1 a very complete Industrial school at the capital which con- has erected large pavilions at several of the springs, and at two of
tribute in no small degree to the country, prominence In manufac- these bands play between 6 and 8. By 6: SO the street are crowded.
of . Haydn, of Mozart, of Shubert and .of Beethoven, not to speak
. of a number: of lesser lights. - v ,-
' .Vienna is also' famous for; Its educational Institutions. Its
university has. an honorable record of more than five centuries, and
its medical college is attended by students from every land.
Vienna Is also an example In the matter of municipal ownership.
and extravagance is as offensive as parsimony. By owning its own
embassy buildings our government can regulate the standard of
living and entertainment of those who represent It at foreign courts.
There is no doubt that our nation must ultimately come to this plan,
and the sooner it adopts it the better. - W. J. BRYAN. '
. . (Copyngnt. iue.j
Constaminople A Beehive of Social Political and Religious Unrest
m SPENT ten days. May 22 to June 2. 1906, In Constantinople,
Tukey, very pleasantly and profitably. Much of. this time
was consumed ia writing, attending Christian meetings and
t . In persona! visitation, connected with Christian effort. This
did not allow m as much time as I wanted for sight-seeing
and studying that city and Its people. .Constantinople has about
1,600,000 people and Is mostly on the west, or European, side of the
Bosphorus. The Bosphorus ha no tide,' but baa always the same
level. It Is several miles wide, twenty to thirty miles long, following
a deeply curved line of bay and promontories, between high, sloping
hills, the whole distance from the Black sea to tha Sea of Marmora,
rendering it, doubtless, the most picturesque and charming straits
In the world. The city Is divided by the Golden Horn, an Inlet of
the Bosphorus, Into north and south divisions. These divisions, how
ever, are Joined by a large bridge, which is made to allow boat and
hip. to pas through. Most of the shipping to Constantinople anchor
la the Golden Horn. Constantinople, completely covering the
Europen shore ot the Bosphorus, from the water' edge far back over
the high, curved and sloping hills for miles north and south of the
Golden Horn, and on both sides of the Golden Horn, appears to the
greatest advantage from boats on the Bosphorus or from the Asiatic
shore. This great panorama. Including many splendid public and
private buildings, luxuriant parks and gardens, the royal palaces
and grounds' ampng them, together with hundreds of majestic
mosques and minarets, make Constantinople appear, from without,
to better advantage than any other city I know of. At night its
Innumerable light present an Illuminated picture uaequaled by any
other city In the world that I have seen.
When, however, you enter the city all the charm of beauty and
harmony vanishes. The streets, steep, crooked and narrow, spoil the
appearance ot the beet, buildings. They are poorly paved and out of
repair. It Is a common saying that few things are repaired In the
Turkish empire. The sidewalks are scarcely worthy' of such a name
and are mostly blocked by restaurants and stores with their tables
and merchandise; also by bootblacks and dogs. While the people
occasionally use the sidewalks, they mostly walk In the streets. The
streets are thronged with pedestrian, persons carrying all manner
of things on their back; horses and donkeys with persons or other
burden upon them, dogs In all attitudes and carriages driven In
Jehu style, as dangerous as automobiles. It ia surprising how all
this goes on from morning till night -with so little Injury. The
suburbs ot the city along the Bosphorus, particularly northward,
have many, delightful places, on of which Is Roberts college loca
tion. Very, lew. It any, excel It la beautiful and picturesque scenery
anywhere. . The Bosphorus is very much like the Hudson river. The
main division of Constantinople south of the Golden Horn is Stambul,
which includes the site of old Bysantium, the city of Constantino's
day. This part of Stambul borders the Golden Horn and extends
out into the Bosphorus like a promontory. It has the most com
manding outlook of the entire city and has within it limits the old
and great Mosque St. Sophia, the Museum, the Sublime Porte, etc
It Is protected by an old wall running along the Bosphorus shore pf '
Stambul for miles to a large fort with seven towers, and thence at
right angles, or nearly so, for miles to the farthest Inland point ot
the Golden Horn. The general testimony is that the city Is poorly
governed. I was told that there were In Constantinople 40,000
soldiers. Many soldiers and officer are to be seen In every part of
the city, day and night. At a military-station near the end of the
Golden Horn bridge are stationed four soldiers whenever an officer
passes by they are ordered to present arms. They seemed to be con
stantly employed the whole time with this exercise.
Suspicion prevails throughout the whole population, which
doubtless comes of the almost universal disposition to get, without
fair returns or compensation, the most out of .11 dealings. The
general manager of the hotel at which I stopped, an Italian Catholic,
said to me, 'No man. can do successful business In Constantinople
and be a true Christian." The party who put my things aboard
the steamer said, when I asked him why my baggage bad to go
through the custom house again when I left the city, "The more
trouble they make you the more money they get." Indeed I heard
it everywhere that money was generally accepted by officials. I make
all these statements second hand and not from personal knowledge.
All the male population wear the red tes hat They wear it all the
time. In the house, In the sacred mosques. In meetings, religious or
otherwise, at meals, In the streets, In business, in social Intercourse,
everywhere J have seen them. I presume they do not sleep with
them on, that is in bed. . I became rather tired of them. It was too
much sameness. The women generally covered their faces In the
street. Many of them dressed very richly and tastefully and be
have very modestly. -
I am told that there are 40,000 dogs In Constantinople. - They
are Its scavengers. They are hard looking dogs. They have no
one whom they can regard as their master or friend. Many sleep on
the sidewalks, the streets, anywhere, day or night, that affords them
a comfortable place. Nobody dlsturbe them In their sleep, not
even the tough boy. But many of them are hurt In the streets by
the recklessly driven carriages. They all have a discouraged look..
Tou scarcely ever see one look up hopefully and wag his tall. Both
head and tall hang down. The dogs in one section of the street or
city band themselves together and will not tolerate any dog from
another' part ot the street or city to enter their quarters. He can
stay If he Is able to fight his way. A book could be written on the
many things about dogs In Constantinople. There are antiquated
horse street car lines. The sultan, I was told, would not allow elec
tricity to be used generally for power or light. The poor, irregular
. street have so far prevented the Introduction of the automobile. '
There are numerous religious denominations.' M will name the
. more prominent The Mahomedans, 891 mosques; the Greeks
sixty ehurches; the' Armenian Gregorlans, thirty-eight churches; the ,
Jews, thlrty-slx synagogues; the Roman . Catholics, thirty-one
churches, and the Protestant Evangelical, five churches. All these
outside of the Mahomedans and Jews, are Christian organizations.
The great .majority are devoted to their churches and ritual, rather -than
to Jesus Christ There Is very little living close to Jesus Christ
and working according to the Bible requirements under the immedi
ate guidance and direction of the Holy Spirit. The government is
opposed to organisation for religious work, mistrusting that it will
work harm to the government, itself..
' . I attended the last meeting of the Western. Turkey mission of .
the American board and was surprised at the amount and high
. character of their work. The mission asked fat to speak to them
on the Y. M. C. A. work, which I was glad to do. The mission passed
a hearty resolution relative to my visit and the greeetings I pre
sented them. I spoke to a meeting of the native Armenian Y. M.
C. A. on 'Sunday afternoon In the Bible house of the American
board. It was quite a large meeeting. On Monday evening I "met
with three officers of the association that I might give them more
definite outlines of work that they might do In Constantinople, with
which the authorities would .not find fault ,
At both these meetings I was followed by detectives of the
Turkish government , At the Sunday afternoon meeting the detec
tives came Into It and a policeman also,, but they found nothing In
what I said to which they could take exception. The meeting on
Monday evening was in my hotel room. The men who met with me
In this meeting knew that detectives were after us. They did not'
stay late, for they would possibly have been arreseted if they had
done so. On Sunday night I spoke to a meeting of the Y. M. C. A.
at Roberts college. I was not hindered. I was told to-eyeak with
the greatest of liberty, which I did. But I said nothing, however,
that could be reckoned against the best interests of the sultan'
government The detectives who were on my path went to Mr. W., W.
Feet, the treasurer ot the American board la Constantinople. I knew.
Mr. Peet thirty-five years ago in Nebraska In connection with the
B. & M. R. R. company. He told them that I waa all right and,,
would do nothing against the government, '
By tne way, Mr. Peet Is the party who paid over the Indemnity;
money to the bandits for the liberation of Miss Stone. Mr. Peet 1.
respected by everybody in Constantinople who know him. Tha
Turks have great faith In blm. "He has Just finished a service of
twenty-five years as treasurer of the Turkish mission ot the American
board at Constantinople. A resolution of appreciation of Mr. Peet'.
twenty-five years' service was passed by the last annual meeting ot
the mission, Just held, that any person1 might be glad to have,' in hi.
I went through a great part of the city proper. Its. main publla
street and many ot the smaller street -where the people live la
the most simple fashion. I have done this with all the large eastern
cities. , When, however, I learned that( detectives were after me
because ot my association work I kept more closely to my hotel and
the Bible house, where I could readily make them Understand who Z
was and what I was representing. "' .., f '. 1
..'In company with :Mr,.-W.,.W. Peet and others, M visited the
museum. It was exceedingly ; interesting .This is. considered one
of the very best museum, where fine specimens of antiquity are
found. There are so many Under the sultan's dominion, where tha
finest and, most notable specimens of antiquity have been found.
Wherever successful efforts have been made by nations, schools,
companies or individuals to cccure such antiquities by excavation or
otherwise, I understand that the Turkteh government reserves" a
certain portion for itself. This, I am Informed, Is particularly the
case with the museums In Constantinople and Cairo. Among many
kinds of antiquities the specimens of sarcophagi were the most ln7
tereetlng to me. They were beyond all others I had hitherto seen
In respect to art and beauty. The best ones had been secured near
Sidon. One, said to be the sarcophagus of Alexander the Great,
waa the finest. It was superbly carved and very large. There was
also an exceedingly fine carved pulpit, called St. Paul's pulpit. There
was also a fragment of a stone of warning from the Temple of Herod
In Jerusalem, which, by its inscription, warned the gentiles not to
enter the court of the Jews. While in the museum, heavy cloud,
gathered and there was much thunder and lightning. I said to Mr.
Peet, "This promise to be a regular old Nebraska storm. He
replied, "we will certainly have a violent storm." It soon reached
the museum. Doors and window, were soon closed. All without
.(Continued on Page Savea-JL ...
