The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, June 3, 1906, Page 24

UNIVERSAL SUFFRAGE FINALLY N FRANCISCO CALL, SUNDAY, JUNE 3, 1906. BESTOWED UPON THE AUSTRIANS Victory Won for the People After a Long Fight With the Representatives of the Aristocracy. The people of Austria are to enjoy universal suffrage after enduring for long years the anciemt system by which special privileges were granted to the aristocracy. TUnder the old method nine “arfstocratic loafers” (to use the words of the Socialists) elected one Deputy, while 500,000 workmen had the same representation in Parliament. Vietor Adler mnd Engelbert Pernerstorfer led the people’s fight. €0 HAVE AL : ECIAL P n atéd and unequa Europe Many srruptio reform , bi st in an onditions 6f anti e are.brought to an e enter in peo; versal and eq hail stration of by the carried suffrage forni in Vienna-in No- translated run as inscriy in ded t Joafers elect on¢ freebooters d two hundred city 'in e deputy three hundred ofie’ deputy.’ thousand workmen the charity of electing he - five class into which the divided and which to- members to the or Lower House of the Aus- ament. First comes the proprietors’ class, electing 85 second, chambers of com- with 21 deputies; third, resi- cities and towns, with 1181 fourth, rural districts,. with deputies, and lastly a fifth class by _the law of 1896, and hav- deputies greatest abuses and most e from the elective found in proprietors,” elect members, or of the Lower House. The voting qual- ifications of “a landed proprietor vary what in the different provinces of tia, but as a rule they have littre do with the extent or value of the deputies rank standpoint the first curia of 5000 of whom exactly a fifth to preperty. In most cases the franchise is & historic right belonging to all estates inscribed 'in the “Landtafel,” or ofi¢iel register. The constituencies of this class also vary. greatly in.size.. In one instance in Bohemia seven great nobles, includ- ing Prince Schwarzenberg and. Prince Jobkowitz, elect ope deputy, all to themselyes. In anower case . in the Tyrol a great convent and church es- tate oontrolled by. twelve prelates elects a representative. But in other cases the landlords’ constituency may number anywhere from-20 to 300 or 400 t Comparing this state of things with the fifth class of electors, where, for example, in JKrain, 580,000 . workmen Have but ohe representative, gave the ocialjsts a striking’ argument in car- ng on ‘thefr agftation for universal suffrage. 2 Z The sécond curia, composed of cham- bers of commerce,-21s0 contgined man abuses, as {he deputies were not elect ed by-the general body of members in the whamber, but by the small body of . coungilors, numbering. somietimes iess ‘than a $core. &= : The third 4nd fourth curia, that is the voters in-the-tewns and rural dis- triets, approsches much more nearly \ - WHICH HAS ABOLITION TO S AMONG THE NOBILITY general voters suffrage, the qualification being the annual ht kronen ($1.60) in direct taxes, h as income, trade or house tax. fifth curia really embraced a al franchise, it imposes no tax-paying conditions whatever. But is full of inequalities as regards the proportionate size of the constituencies arying from the province of Krain, as »efore mentioned, with half a million voters, to districts in Lower Austria with less than a tenth of that number. And now all these privilezed and xceptional classes are to be abolished the bill which is at present before rliament Its provisions are long ind complicated as regards the ap- ortionment ,of representation among the different provinces and conflicting nationalities of the Austrian half of he dual monarchy. But as regards the road basis of the franchise the bill s simplicity itself. In one short par- igraph it provides that the right of voting is to be enjoyed by every male Austrian citizen who.has.reached -the age of 24 years and has resided in the clectoral district at least one year be- fore the day of election. Excepted if\nl_\' are persons who are ériminals or idiots. The condition of one year's residence not erftirely satisfactory to the Socialists, but they are not making any fght upon it. The chief opposition to the bill comes, of course, from the great landed proprietors, and the chief ob- stacles in the way of its passage arise from the strife between the Germans and the Slavs over their proportionate representation. The nobles and great landlords are furious over the introduction of the universal suffrage, entailing, as it does, the loss to them not only of direct representation, but also of much pres- tige and power. - Prince Schwarzenberg, is Bohemia and who still has vast pos- |sessions there, told the ex-American Embassador, Bellamy Storer, that uni- versal suffrage would ruin the country utterly. So angry are many of the aristocrats over the matter that they refused to entertain in their usual manner this winter, and the carnival was one of the classes of society were concerned. But the nobles will have to submit to the curtailment of their ancient privileges and recognize the coming of the prole- tariat. The obstacles from the inter-race conflicts, however, -are much more serfous. The new bill increases the total membership of the House from 245 to 455, and according to the ap- portionment proposed of the new seats the German party finds itself in a minority to %he Slavs which it na- turally resents. The Poles, by far the strongest single party in the house, are also much dis- pleased because though Galicia is given more members under the bill, the in- crease goes to the Ruthenian districts there and not to the Polish. The Government will have all its work cut out £o'get the bill- through. But it certainly will be passed and by ithe present Parliament, too. For the Germans and Poles know full well that | the longer the ineasure is deferrsd the worse their plight will be, as the Slavs are in a great majority in the country. The probable solution of the whole matter will be that the Goverment will ‘increase the total number of deputies still further, adding twenty or twenty- ’ 1 X payment | whose family once. owned one-fifth of | dullest on.record so far as the highest | ZHGELBIET. LIRS QTIZE <o WA BEARINGS OB NEW BoAT ‘In\‘entor Designs Craft| to Skim Over the Water. Special Cable to The Call. LONDON, June .2.—If the sanguine| expectations of the inventor are real- | ized, we are soon to witness a revolu- | tion in motor boats. Instead of forcing| their way through the water amid a| smother of spray the new type of craft| will skim lightly over the surface on a succession of air bubbles or globules that may be likened to ball bearings. The practicability of the idea is to| be put to the test in a boat now in| course of construction by Saunders, a | noted motor boat builder, at Goring, on | | the upper Thames. In shape the boat | |is a mere box, some thirty-threc feet| long by eight feet wide, the bottom | sloping upward forward and forming a | scow-shaped bow. She is net pretty, but in these hustling days it is ac-| counted no sin to sacrifice beauty to speed. On each side and amidship are fixed three stout keels, each about eight| inches deep. Between these on’ each | side of the center keel are seven other | lighter plates of about half the depth, making seventeen in all, extending the | full length of the bottom of the boat. Between the fins, or plates, are a num- ber of holes sloping aft. They are con- | nected with an air compressor driven by a motor engine, The boat depends for propulsion on the reaction of the jets of air from these orifices, of which there are a large number, striking the water. At the same time the air is prevented by | the fins from escaping to the sides of | the beat, and thus, it is claimed, is formed a species of airbed between the | water and the bottom of the boat, over | |.which the craft will glide with much greater velocity than could be attained |if forced through the water in the or- | dinary fashion by a propeller. | It sounds delightfully simple in the- | ory. but even to the lay mind it is ob- | vious that to sustain the weight of the | boat the airbed would have to be at | considerable - pressure, which would mean the absorption of a large amount |of power. But the inventor is no novice |in dealing with mechanical problems | |and has already brought out several | successful inventions. He declares that | a model boat on the sapme lines as the |craft he is now building showed re- | markable speed and demonstrated the practicability of his idea. | five seats apd giving them to the Ger- | mans, Czechs and Poles. There will certainly be a good deal of trading in | votes before the bill can be adopted, | especially as a two-thirds majority of the Parliament is necessary before any such change can be made in the Aus- |trian constitution. The introduction of univérsal suffrage into Austria came as a great and al- most dramatic surprise to all classes of the community, to the Socialists as well as to the landed proprietors. It was | precipitated by the exigencies of the | political crisis in Hungary, where the | Emperor-King after long hesitation | vielded to the persuasions of his min- |isters to meet the opposition of the coalition party with the threat of uni- versa] suffrage. When this was seri- ously proposed “in Hungary the ex- tended franchise could not, of course, be denied to the people of the Austrian half of the monarchy. And just at this moment, too, came the revolutionary upheaval in Russia, with the Czar's concession of the Douma and popular representation, which greatly stirred the socialists in the adjoining empires of Germany and Austria-Hungary. But altogether apart from these ex- ternal influences was the urgent neces- sity of parliamentary reform in Aus- tria. For a long time the Reichsrath assembled in Vienna had done no legis- lative work, the budget, recruiting bills and other absolutely essential meas- ures being passed under the emergency paragraph 14 of the constitution, which enables the crown to do certain things without the aid of the Parliament. The situation was fast becoming in- tolerable and some ‘radical reform had to be introduced. And thus after many years of patient and unwearying labor, Socialists suddenly find one of their most cherished aims on the point of achievement. Upon two men as leaders of the So- cialist party fell the chief burden of the work—Victor Adler and Engelbert Pernerstorffer, both members of the Reichsrath. Adler, the leadér of ‘the Socialist party, is a mam of great talents, a skilled organizer and re- markably gable writer. Pernerstorffer is the orator of the the tinest speakers i }‘May Endea;)r to Bring |as a province of the Ottoman empire, Plrgln! one of Parliament i GERMANY SUPPORTS THE PORTE Believed to_'—Be Behind| Sultan in Row With England. About Conference on Egypt. Position of Britain Now/ Quiestioned in Some Quarters. Spécial Dispatch to The Call LONDON, June 2.—The strengthening| of the British garrison in Esypt, ac- cording 'to the Daily Express, may be taken as_a convincing proof of Eng- land's determination to effectually chéckmate the Sultan's aggressive movement in placing Ottoman troops on Egyptian territory. There is little doubt, according to the same paper, that | the Sultan hopes by this new move to reopen the whole question of the| Britigsh occupation of Egypt, and that| he i8 backed in his schemes by the| Kaiser. | Egypt is by no means an independent country. She is a vassal state, bound | by her obligations to her suzerain, the | Sultan of Turkey. ~Moreover, . her. finances are more or less administéred | by an international commission, called | the “Caisse de la Dette.” And Egypt | being part of the Ottoman empire, her | powers are supposed to have tk_xeir source from the power of the Sultan, The great firman (the Sultan's official decree) ‘of June, 1873, gives the Khedive | a species of sovéreignty, subject to the payment of an annual tribute of}| £675,000. | The present trouble between Great | Britain and the Sultan in delineating | fie Egyptian boundary lies in these so- called “firmans” In the firmans of February 13 and June 1, 1841, by which the Sultan Abdul Medjid specified Egypt reférence was made to a certain official { map.. This map seems to have been mysteriously mislaid. ,But- the Sultan now claims that the Sinai Peninsula was marked on this map as not being part of Egypt because of a reference made to the disputed territory in a telegram from the Khedive to the Grand Vizier in 1892. The history of this telegram is cer- tainly one of the most remarkable on record” It is indirectly described in Sir Alfred Milner's (now Lord Milner) book, “England in Bgypt." SEEKS EGYPTIAN CONFERENCE. Througout the present dispute the Sultan has maintained that the Sinai Peninsula has been only administered by Egypt in the past for the specific | purposé of safeguarding the interests of | Egyptian pilgrims. And. the Porte| now maintains that, as there is no need for Egypt to police the Sinai Peninsula for this purpose, she wiil exercise her suzérainty and revoke any former edict on the subject. In other words, Tur- key claims the whole of the territory between the Mediterranean and the Red Sea, with the exception of that small plece of land enclosed between the Meégditerranean and. a line drawn be- tween Suez and El Arish. The true meaning of this will be real- ized when it is understood that Ger- many is backing the Sultan in his new schemes. says the Express. Germany remembers the manner in which Great Britain recently sympathized with France at the Algeciras conference, and she probably hopes by this new stroke of diplomacy to open up the whole question of the British occupa- tion of Egypt. or, at any rate, to score diplomatically by endeavoring to ob- tain a conference on the subject on the lineés of the Algeciras conference. Such a conference would, of course, involve an acknowledgment on the part- of Great Britain that the powers have to be reckoned with in Egyptian affairs. Unfortunately, our whole position in Egypt i8 a paradox, continues the Ex- préss. The British troops have not the slightest status in that country. They aré neither soldiers of the Khedive nor foreign soldiers invited by the Khedive. Théy cannot be the soldiers of a pro- tecting power, since theoretically there is no protecting power. As Lord Milner says, their presence is an accident, and their character that of simple visitors. Fr%rn a military point of view, they are of Yittle importance owing to the small- ness of their number. In 1905 they consisted of 5593 officers and men, but they have since been reduced to 3243. Thelr sole value lies in their outward and vmm; sign of British influence. LORD CROMER THE CHEF. Lord Cromer, our Minister Plenipo- tentlary and Consul General, is theo- retically only the authorized exponent of the views and wishes of the British Government. But to quote Lord Duf- ferin’s famous phrase, “the masterful hand of the resident” is the hand that rules Egypt. There remain the British officials in the Bgyptian Government service. Theoretically, like the other officials, they are the servamts of the Khedive. With few exceptions, they are not even thé heads of their departments, but subject to the wishes of native Minis- ters. But their advice is not like ordi- nary advice. It is usually taken in the light of a command. The reason for this curlous method of procedure’ lies in the. manner in which England came to be in Egypt. In 1882 Arabi Pasha raised his rebel- lion, and the slaughter of Europeans began in earnest. The British Govern- ment approached the Eumpe.i;x concert to put a stop to it. It askqd Turkey as the suzerain power to stdp in and reduce things to order; and finally it offered to combine with France to check the ravages which were taking place. But as no one appeared ready to do so, we were forced to undertake the stern duty ourselves, says the Express, and it is to Great Britain alone that thanks are due that Egypt was saved from anarchy, and that all European nations were saved incalculable loss in blood and treasure which would un- doubtedly have followed any hesitancy on our part. The end was reached on tim\?er 13, 1882, when Sir Garnet Olseley won the battle of Tel-el- Kebir, St | their capabilities, AMERICAN SINGERS IN PARIS WILL APPEAR IN BIG CONCERT ° AFFORDED AN OPPORTUNITY TO REACH PUBLIC AMERICAN SINGERS WHO ARE ST NITY OF DISPLAYING THEIR GERS AND THE GENERAL PUBLIC. <= DYING IN PARIS A TALENTS BY APPE2 ND WHO ARE RING AT ONCE TO0 B (o Frervares Lirs i Jorrrrre ar 2 rriFurG & = BE AFFOR EFORE THE C ED THE RITICS OPPO AND MANA- PARIS, June 2.—It is a remarkable | fact that 75 per cent of the foreigners studying music under the leading masters in Paris are Americans. They number not far short of 800 and a| large proportion are desirous of be- | coming professional singers. It is.a constant complaint with these young artists that their difficulties only begin when théir studies end. Frequently they have to walt years before they can get an opportunity of showing and if they are so fortunate as to get a hearing from this or that famous concert manager or operatic director it often takes place under conditions “the very reverse of favorable, The candidate is ushered with a beating heart into the presence of the great man, whose word means fame or blighted hopes. Everything is new: the acoustic properties of the empty sall or theater are unfamiliar; an aria is chosen and sung and the voice | almost invariably forced from sheer| nervousness, and before the aspirant has well realized what has happened a deprecating wave or ine hand has signified more plainly than words that the verdict is unfavorable. This picture is not overdrawn. Scores of young Ameérican students in | Paris could testify to its truthfulness. How is this state of things to be rem- edied? The problem is one of absorb- ing interest not only to the American colony in Paris, bu. to every one in- terested in the development of Amer- ican art. The practical-solution has been discovered. “Why,” asked some one, “should American singers not be afforded an opportunity of appealing directly to the public, just as American painters and sculptors - do who exhibit their work at the salons?’ The idea found favor. Mrs. Clinch-Smith, who made §0 uncommon a success in Paris so- ciety this season by .ier conducting of a ladies’ orchestra, took it up with enthusiasm and Ssoon a patronage com- mittee . was formed to guarantee the necessary outlay. It was proposed to hire a theater and give three full performances, that is to_say with orchestra and scenery, of some of the best-known operas. M. Gailhard, director of the Grand Opera, and .the leading professors of singing and musical critics ‘were consulted as to the: feasibility of the undertaking. They were unahimous in their ap- proval. Oscar Hammerstein pronounced the idea excellent and ' declared his readiness to engage any talent that pleased him. NEW PLAN FAVORED. The list of patronesses includes such well-known names as Mrs. William Astor, Mr. Rutherford-Stuyvesant, Mrs: J. W. Mackay, Princess Galitzin, Mme. ‘Waddington, Lady Lange, Countess Rene de Coetlogon, Mrs. Clinch-Smith, Mrs. Millington Drake; Mrs. F. Mason, wife of the Consul-General; Mrs. J. A. Taber, Mrs. H. H. Baird, Mrs. Herbert Ward, Miss Delia Gurnee ,and Miss Pomeroy. | hundred. The next step was to hire a theater and the choice fell upon the Theatre Sarah = Bernhardt. “The negotiations were successfully carried through and the building engaged for June 4. The original intention to give three performances was found to be im- practicable for two reasons: First, the heavy expense of -hiring the theater for three nights; secondly, the difficulty of bringing together the leading man- agers and critics in Paris 6n more than one occasion. Their presence, it must be recollected, is an essential part of the scheme. The organization and ar- tistic direction of the undertaking are in the hands of J. H. Duval, a young American artist, who has already made his mark in Rome. He- finding remarkable talent, in ng some. e talent, and it is .um&y expected that some, 1 at least, of the young American prima | with my Imh:r'.t SPECIAL DISPATCH TO THE CALL donne who will make their first ap- | pearance. on -June 4 are destined to rank among the great singers of-the world. The applicants were about one Of these eight have been selected. They have, of course, all| studied or are at present studying in | Paris. The programme will consist of | Gluck’s “Orphee,” in two acts, and of acts of Gounod's, “Romeo et Verdi's Aida” Delibes’ and Meyerbeer's “Hugue- | The best professional orchestra chorus will be engaged and no and pains will be spared to make the stag- | ing-as perfect as that of the Grand | Opera. Miss Esther Taylor of Detroit, who will appear in “Lakme,” is an artist of extraordinary ecapabilities. At the finale of the bell song she will sing the famous cadenza which was special- | ly written for Van Zandt. She takes| A in altissimo with the greatest ease, and, what is rare in such voices, her| notes are clear and velvety through- out. Her velocity in scales and trills is marvelous. | Miss Brooks of Denver, Colo., who | sang for several years with Mr. Sav-| age’s companies, will make her debut |, in Europe on this occasion. She has a majestic presence and her soprano | reminds one forcibly of Mme. Nordica. Qrphee will be taken by Miss Mary Louise Rogers of New York, who is| the fortunate possessor of that rarest | of rare voices, a" genuine contralto. With, every manager eagerly looking | out for contraltos her future should | be a brilliant one. | Miss Ruth Martin, a handsome girl| from Memphis, Tenn., has a very beau- tiful and carefully-trained soprano. | Raoul de Valmar,.who comes from | Toronto, Canada, in spite of the for- eign guise of his stage name, has a rich and flexible tenor voice, with an extremely fine top register. ~He sings | with taste and feeling. MISS ARTA'S ENGAGEMENT. Then there is Miss Mary Gordon of New York, a high soprano, who will sing Cupid Iin “Orphee,” anu Valentin Andreal of New Orleans, who is a most promising barytone. Last, but not least, Miss Regine Arta. This artist's name calls for special mention as her career bids fair to be a brilliant one. Miss Arta, who in private life is known as Miss Loeffler, is a Pittsburg girl. She has been studying for about five years under M. Arteau, a very ex- cellent French teacher and an artist of vast experience. Her voice is a dramatic soprano, big in range and powerful. She will appear in French and Ttalian roles, “Aida,” “Armide" (Gluck), “Les Huguenots,” “La Juive” (Halevy), etc. She will make her de- but in Paris as Valentine in the fourth act of “Les Huguenots.” This young artist had already been selected to sing on June 4 when she heard that Oscar Hammersteint was staying at the Grand | Hotel. She plucked up courage, called | upon him and asked him to hear her sing. The story of her reception by the famous manager is worth telling. “Who are you and who knows you?" was. Hammerstein's disconcerting question. “I'm nobody and nobody knows mie, but I just want you to give me a hear- ing,” was the equally frank reply. Hammerstein, who had come to Eu- rope in quest of the first artists in the world for the new Manhattan Opera- house and ,who had already engaged such singers as Edouard and Jean de Reszke, Melba, Bonei, Ancona, Del- moris, Renaud, Dufrannes and Kruc- nicki, was not very eager to waste his’ valuable time over a humble aspirant to fame whom nobody knew. Still there was something in the girl's ffank courage that pleased him and he final- ly consented to give her a hearing. hall ‘and went down 11 o'clock on the 4 | that Mr. Hammerstein | ished. AR R SN appointed morning. mot daring to hope would keep his promise. But he did. I first sang the grand aria in ‘Oberon. and he looked surprised and pleased. Then I sang again and again and at last he jumped up and said ‘Miss Artal am aston- I must take you to Melba. Melba must really uear you sing."™ And Melba did hear the American girl sing and was as pleased as Ham- merstein. The end of it was that the manager offered Miss Arta a three years’ en- gagement on most favorable terms and that is how it has.come about that this unknown American artist will make her debut by the side of Melba and ti® De Reszkes at the Manhattan Opera-house next Uctober. Miss Arta did not forget to ask Mr. Hammer- stein's permission to sing at the Sarah Bernhardt Theater on June 4 and the American manager not only readily granted the request, but expressed himself strongly in favor of this new departure. Miss Regine Arta Is enthusiastic about this novel project to intreduce American debutantes to the Parisian public. “I think it a splendid idea,” she said. No one who has not experienced it can imagine how difficult it is for us American artists to get a hearing. The pplicant who sits around for hours in a manager's antechamber is generally worn out and discouraged long before his turn comes. And when he is at length called he has to sing in a cold and cheerless place with none of .ne environments, the stage, the scenery and costume So necessary to inspire the artist. I earnestly hope it will be possible to render the scheme a perma-~ nent one.” —_—— BALLOON RAILROAD USED IN CLIMBING MOUNTAINS Big Bag of Gas Attached to Steel Rail and Moved Up and Down Tat WL GENEVA. Juné 2.—An Austrian en- gineer, Herr Balderauer of Salzburg, has “been experimenting with much success in the mountains near Salzburg with a novel balloon railway. It consists of a large captive balloon attached to a single steel rail. which, in turnm, is fixed firmly to the sile of a steep mountain, whose precipitous slopes no other form of raliway could climb without making a series of ser- pentine detours and passing through tunnels. The balloon.remains balanced in the air about ten yards above the rail to which it is attached by a stout wire cable and it is moved 4p und down the ze of the mountain at the will of tife engineer. S G For an ascent the balloon itself fur- nishes the lifting force by meins of hydrogen; for the descent a large reserveir attached to the Galloon is filled with water at the nighest sta- tion and serves as “ballast.” - Under the balloon is a cirenlar ear, seating ten persomns. The-wire cable from the balloon passes through ther floor of the car to z speel regulator underneath, which is controlled by the engineer. Herr Balderauer has made & ascents both alone and with 5 of filled with people and uas navet had an _accident. - The inventor claims that the balloon railway will replace the ‘unleular rail- ° way in thd- l:ture. It is cheap to con- struct and the sensation \whil: vel- In;nll delighttul. e e passengers are whirled sands of feet in a few -«nn:: ';Mfihh:‘ out the test’ jar. The balloon can be instantly released in case it be- y