Austro-Hungarian Empire.
905
ceived prizes for musical compositions. Johanna Leitenberger, of Salzburg, writes:
Several newspapers are devoted to the different phases of the woman's movement in Austria. Some years ago an ex-officer, Captain A. D. Korn, who, if I am not mistaken, had passed some time in England and America, founded the Women's Universal Journal (Allgemeine Frauen Zeitung). This newspaper was wholly devoted to women's interest, but it soon died. The same thing is true of the Women's Journal (Frauenblatter) of Gratz, which appeared for a short time under my editorship, * * * * On October 9, 10, 11, 1872, the third German women's convention (Deutsche Frauenkonferenz) was held at Vienna, under the auspices of the general society for popular education and the amelioration of women's condition. The other two sittings of this society had been held at Leipsic and Stuttgart. The soul of this new movement was Captain Korn, whom I have already mentioned. His study of the woman question in the United States may have prompted him to awaken a similar agitation among the women of the Austrian empire. Addresses were delivered at this convention by ladies from Vienna, Hungary, Bohemia and Styria and all the various interests of women were discussed. * * * * The proceedings of the convention attracted considerable attention, and produced favorable impressions on the audience, which was recruited from the better classes of the population. But the newspapers of Vienna ridiculed the young movement, its friends grew lukewarm, and every trace was soon lost of this first and last Austrian women's rights convention.
In one important particular the Austro-Hungarian empire treats women more fairly than is the case in other European countries. Elise Krásnohorská, the Bohemian author, writes me:
Women have a voice in the municipal, provincial and national elections, though male citizens duly authorized by them cast their vote. With this single reserve—a very important one, it must be confessed—our women are politically the equals of men. At Prague, however, this is not the case. The Bohemian capital preserves an ancient privilege which is in contradiction to the Austrian electoral law, and which excludes us from the elective franchise. Universal suffrage does not exist in the empire, but the payment of a certain amount of taxes confers the right to vote. I do not enter into the details of the electoral law, which is somewhat complicated, which has its exceptions and contradictions, and is in fact an apple of discord in Austria in more than one respect; but, speaking generally, it may be said that a woman who owns property, who is in business, or who pays taxes, may designate a citizen possessing her confidence to represent her at the polls. Our women are satisfied with this system, and prefer it to casting their ballot in person.
It may be said, also, that women are eligible to office, or at least that there is no law against their accepting it, while there are instances of
