Independent Bohemia | Page 4

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