1. The Habsburg Empire is built upon centuries-old traditions of reaction
and violence. Its present power is chiefly based on the alliance which
Bohemia and Hungary concluded with Austria against the Turkish peril in
1526. The Czechs freely elected the Habsburgs to the throne of Bohemia
which remained a fully independent state, its alliance with Austria and
Hungary being purely dynastic. But soon the Habsburgs began to violate the
liberties of Bohemia which they were bound by oath to observe, and this led
finally to the fateful Czech revolution of 1618. At the battle of the White
Mountain in 1620 the Czechs suffered a defeat and were cruelly punished for
their rebellion. All their nobility were either executed or sent into
exile, and their property confiscated. The country was devastated by the
imperial hordes, and its population was reduced from 3,000,000 to 800,000
during the Thirty Years' War.
In 1627 Ferdinand II. greatly curtailed the administrative rights of
Bohemia, yet he did not dare to deprive her entirely of her independence.
In his "Renewed Ordinance of the Land" Ferdinand declared the Bohemian
crown to be hereditary in the House of Habsburg, and reserved legislative
power to the sovereign. But otherwise the historical rights of Bohemia
remained valid, notwithstanding all subsequent arbitrary centralising
measures taken by the Habsburgs. Bohemia's rights were repeatedly
recognised by each succeeding Habsburg. Legally Bohemia is an independent
state to-day.
The heavy persecutions inflicted upon Bohemia had a disastrous effect upon
her intellectual life and national development which were completely
paralysed until the end of the eighteenth century, when owing to the
humanitarian ideals of those times, and as a reaction against the
Germanising centralistic efforts of Joseph II., the Czechs again began to
recover their national consciousness. This revival marked the beginning of
the Czecho-Slovak struggle for the re-establishment of their independence.
The movement was at first literary, and only in the forties became
political. It was a continuous struggle against reaction and absolutism,
and if the Czecho-Slovaks to-day can boast of an advanced civilisation, it
is only owing to their perseverance and hard endeavours, and not because of
any good-will on the part of the Austrian Government which put every
possible obstacle in their way.
2. _The present Austria-Hungary_ is primarily a dynastic estate, for the
crown was always its supreme political driving force, although at present
the Habsburgs are mere slaves of their masters, the Hohenzollerns. It is
this characteristic which justifies us in concluding that Austria is an
autocratic state _par excellence_. If there were no other reason, this
should be sufficient to make every true democrat an enemy of Austria.
Furthermore, it is this characteristic which makes us comprehend why the
Habsburg monarchy is fighting side by side with German autocracy and
imperialism against the allied democracies of the world.
Notwithstanding the so-called constitution which is a mere cloak for
absolutism, the monarch in Austria is emperor by "Divine Right" alone, and
is the absolute master of his subject peoples in virtue of his privileged
position which confers on him an inexhaustible amount of power and
influence. The internal as well as the foreign policy of the monarchy is
directed in the real or supposed interests of the dynasty. The principle
_divide et impera_ is its leading idea in internal politics, and the
increase of dynastic power in foreign policy. The question of war and peace
is decided by the emperor, to whom it also appertains to order matters
concerning the management, leadership and organisation of the whole army.
And though in Hungary the power of the monarch largely depends on the
Budapest Parliament, yet even here the constitutional power of the dynasty
is enormous, the King of Hungary being a governing and legislative factor
by no means inferior to that of the parliament.
Even when attempts were made at enfranchising the masses (as in 1896 and
finally in 1905), the motive again was purely dynastic. Such constitutional
measures as were taken, only strengthened racial dissensions and were
equally insincere and inefficient. The present constitution of 1867, as
well as the previous constitutions of 1849, 1860 and 1861, was granted by
the crown, to whom it was reserved to reverse or modify the same. The
parliament is absolutely powerless in Austria. It is a mere cloak for
absolutism, since the famous Paragraph 14 provides for absolutist
government by means of imperial decrees without parliament in case of
emergency. The dynasty took ample advantage of this clause during the first
three years of this war when absolutism and terrorism reigned supreme in
the Dual Monarchy. While since 1861 up to the beginning of the war 156
imperial decrees had been issued, fully 161 have been passed during the
first three years of the present war.
The arbitrary power of the dynasty is based: upon the organisation of the
army, the leadership of which is entrusted to the Germans; upon the feudal
aristocracy who are the only real Austrians, since they have no
nationality, though they invariably side with the dominant Germans and
Magyars; upon the power of the police who form the chief instrument of the
autocratic government and who spy upon and terrorise the population; upon
the German bureaucrats who do not consider themselves the servants of the
public, but look upon the public as their servant, and whose spirit of
meanness and corruption is so characteristic of the Austrian body politic;
finally, the dynasty relies upon the Catholic hierarchy who hold vast
landed property in Austria and regard it as the bulwark of Catholicism, and
who through Clericalism strive for political power rather than for the
religious welfare of their denomination. In alliance with them are the
powerful Jewish financiers who also control the press in Vienna and
Budapest. Clearly Austria is the very negation of democracy. It stands for
reaction, autocracy, falsehood and hypocrisy, and it is therefore no
exaggeration to say that nobody professing democratic views can reasonably
plead for the preservation of this system of political violence.
When we remember the enormous power of the dynasty and the political system
which supports it, we understand why in the past Austria has always played
the part of the most reactionary, autocratic and tyrannic state in Europe.
Hopes have indeed been expressed by some Austrophils in the good-will of
the new Austrian Emperor on account of his amiable character. The Slavs
have ample reason to distrust the Habsburgs who have proved to be
treacherous autocrats in the past, and whose records show them as an
incapable and degenerate family. As a political power Kaiser Karl is the
same menace to his subject Slavs as his predecessors. Above all, however,
he is of necessity a blind tool in the hands of Germany, and he cannot
possibly extricate himself from her firm grip. The Habsburgs have had their
chance, but they missed it. By systematic and continuous misgovernment they
created a gulf between the Slavs and themselves which nothing on earth can
remove. Every Habsburg believes he has a "mission" to fulfil. The only
mission left for Kaiser Karl is to abdicate and dissolve his empire into
its component parts. There is no reason whatever why Austria should be
saved for the sake of the degenerate and autocratic Habsburg dynasty.
3. Let us now examine the much misunderstood racial problems of the Dual
Monarchy. There is no Austrian nation, since there is no Austrian language.
Austria is a mere geographical expression. In fact the Slavs, constituting
the majority of Austrian subjects, would think it an insult to be called
Austrians. During the war they have been treated as subjects of an enemy
state, and to-day they have no part or lot with Austria. The Czech
statesman Rieger once declared that when the Slavs no longer desired the
existence of Austria, no one would be able to save her. And indeed, the
claims raised by the majority of Austria's population to-day mean the death
warrant of the Dual Monarchy.
To get a clear idea of the racial issue, we will quote the official
Austrian statistics, which tell us that in Austria-Hungary there are:
AUSTRIA. HUNGARY. BOSNIA. TOTAL.
SLAVS: Million. Million. Million. Million. Million.
Czecho-Slovaks 6.4 2 -- 8.4
Yugoslavs 2 3 1.8 6.8
Poles 5 -- -- 5
Ruthenes 3.5 0.5 -- 4
-- 24.2
LATINS:
Italians 0.8 -- -- 0.8
Rumanians 0.3 2.9 -- 3.2
-- 4
GERMANS 10 2 -- 12
MAGYARS -- 10 -- 10
OTHERS 0.6 0.4 -- 1
28.6 20.8 1.8 51.2
Thus it appears that the Slavs alone (without Italians and Rumanians) form
about 48 per cent. of the total population. The Germans form only 24 per
cent. of the population of Austria-Hungary, while in Hungary proper the
dominant Magyars do not form quite 50 per cent. of the population. The
predominance of the German and Magyar minorities is apparent not only from
the fact that they hold the reins of government, but also from their unfair
proportional representation in both parliaments. Thus instead of 310 seats
out of 516 in the Reichsrat the Slavs hold only 259, while the Germans hold
232 instead of 160. By gaining 83 Polish votes in return for temporary
concessions, the Germans have thus always been in the majority in the
Reichsrat in the past. In Hungary the proportion is still more unjust. The
Magyars hold 405 seats instead of 210 in the parliament of Budapest out of
the total number of 413, while the non-Magyars, entitled according to their
numbers to 203 seats, have in reality only five representatives in the
"democratic" parliament of Budapest.
All the above calculations are based upon official statistics which are
grossly exaggerated in favour of the Germans and Magyars. The picture would
be still more appalling if we took into consideration the actual number of
the Slavs. The Austrian census is not based upon the declaration of
nationality or of the native language, but upon the statement of the
"language of communication" ("Umgangsprache"). In mixed districts economic
pressure is brought against the Slavs, who are often workmen dependent upon
German masters and bound to declare their nationality as German for fear
they should lose their employment. From private statistics it has been
found that the percentage of Germans in Bohemia can hardly exceed 20 per
cent, as against 37 per cent, given by the official census. Still greater
pressure is brought to bear against the Slavs by the Magyars in Hungary,
who are famous for the brutal methods in which they indulge for the purpose
of shameless falsification of their official statistics. Thus the actual
strength of the rival races of Austria-Hungary may with every justification
be estimated as follows:
SLAVS:
Czecho-Slovaks 10 million \
Yugoslavs 7-1/2 " |
> 27 million
Poles 5 " |
Ruthenes 4-1/2 " /
LATINS:
Italians 1 million \
> 5 "
Rumanians 4 " /
GERMANS 10 " \
> 18 "
MAGYARS 8 " /
OTHERS 1 "
__________________________
51 million
4. The rule of the German-Magyar minority over the Slav and Latin majority,
finally established by the introduction of dualism in 1867, was made
possible only by the demoralising system of violence described above. One
race was pitted against the other in Austria and this enabled the Germans
to rule them better, while the Magyars in Hungary, by keeping their subject
races in the darkness of ignorance and by using the most abominable methods
of violence, succeeded in securing for themselves the entire monopoly of
government. The Magyars, who are a race of Asiatic origin, are truly the
faithful descendants of the ancient Huns, and true allies of the Huns
of to-day.
When Kossuth came to England in 1848, he was hailed as the champion of
freedom and liberty, and entranced his audiences in London and other
English cities by his remarkable oratory. As a matter of fact Kossuth,
though called "the father of the Magyars," was himself a denationalised
Slovak; instead of a "champion of liberty," he might with much greater
justification have been called the champion of the greatest racial tyranny
in Europe. For even then, while fighting for their own liberty and for the
independence of Hungary, the Magyars denied the most elementary political
and national rights to the other peoples living in Hungary.
In 1910 there were 2,202,165 Slovaks in Hungary according to the official
census. These two million Slovaks had only two deputies (Dr. Blaho and
Juriga), while the 8,651,520 Magyars had 405 seats, so that every Slovak
deputy represented one million electors, every Magyar deputy, however,
21,000. As regards administration, all civil service officials in Hungary
have to be of Magyar nationality. The cases of persecution for political
offences are innumerable: Slovak candidates were prevented from being
elected by being imprisoned. Corruption and violence are the two main
characteristics of all elections in "democratic" Hungary. Even to-day when
some Radicals in Budapest talk of electoral reform, they want suffrage to
be extended to Magyar electors only, and also stipulate that the candidates
shall be of Magyar nationality. No Magyar politicians will ever abandon the
programme of the territorial integrity of Hungary, their aims being
expressed in the words of Koloman Tisza: "For the sake of the future of the
Magyar State it is necessary for Hungary to become a state where only
Magyar is spoken. To gain the Slovaks or to come to a compromise with them
is out of the question. There is only one means which is
effective--Extirpation!" And this aim the Magyars have faithfully kept
before them for at least the last hundred years.
In the same way also the economic development of the non-Magyar
nationalities has been systematically hampered, because the Magyars know
that economic dependence means also political subservience. The Slovaks and
Rumanians are not allowed to found co-operative societies or banks on the
ground that such institutions "are opposed to the interests of the elements
which hold the Magyar State together."
But it is not only the non-Magyars who suffer. The Magyar working classes
and the majority of the Magyar country people themselves are deprived of
political rights, for Hungary is ruled by an oligarchy and scarcely 5 per
cent. of the population has the suffrage right.
We may say, therefore, without exaggeration that to-day Hungary is the most
reactionary country of Europe. Nowhere else (not even in Prussia) have the
people so little power as in Hungary, where the Socialists have not a
single seat in parliament. The "politics" in Hungary are the privilege of a
few aristocrats. Hungary is a typical oligarchic and theocratic state.
When the Magyars plead to-day for "peace without annexations" and for the
integrity of Hungary, they want to be allowed to continue to oppress and
systematically magyarise the Slavs and Rumanians of Hungary. The triumphant
allied democracies will not, however, stoop before autocratic Hungary. The
dismemberment of Hungary, according to the principle of nationality, is a
_sine qua non_ of a permanent and just peace in Europe.
5. The four strongest races in Austria-Hungary, then, are the Germans,
Magyars, Czecho-Slovaks and Yugoslavs, numbering from eight to ten million
each. The Austrian Germans and the Magyars occupy the centre, while the
Czecho-Slovaks inhabit the north (Bohemia, Moravia, Silesia and Slovakia),
and the Yugoslavs ten provinces in the southern part of the monarchy. In
order to facilitate German penetration and domination and to destroy the
last remnants of Bohemia's autonomous constitution, the Austrian Government
attempted, by the imperial decree of May 19, 1918, to dismember Bohemia
into twelve administrative districts with German officials at the head, who
were to possess the same power to rule their respective districts as had
hitherto appertained only to the Governor (Statthalter) of Bohemia, legally
responsible to the Bohemian Diet.
But not only are the Czecho-Slovaks and Yugoslavs divided between both
halves of the monarchy and among numerous administrative districts which
facilitate German penetration. Dissensions were fomented among the
different parties of these two nations and religious differences exploited.
The Yugoslavs, for instance, consist of three peoples: the Serbs and
Croats, who speak the same language and differ only in religion and
orthography, the former being Orthodox and the latter Catholic; and the
Slovenes, who speak a dialect of Serbo-Croatian and form the most western
outpost of the Yugoslav (or Southern Slav) compact territory. It was the
object of the Austrian Government to exploit these petty differences among
Yugoslavs so as to prevent them from realising that they form one and the
same nation entitled to independence. At the same time Austria has done all
in her power to create misunderstandings between the Slavs and Italians,
just as she tried to create dissensions between Poles and Ruthenes in
Galicia, and between Poles and Czechs in Silesia, well knowing that the
dominant races, the Germans and Magyars, would profit thereby. Fortunately
the war has opened the eyes of the subject peoples, and, as we shall show
later on, to-day they all go hand in hand together against their common
enemies in Berlin, Vienna and Budapest.