the Hapsburg monarchy were tottering and that war on the eastern frontiers was bound to arise, unless a total change in the internal policy of the dual empire was effected. He decided to give his support to the imperialistic plans of William, hoping to make the future of the monarchy and of his own family secure by a successful war.
But Berlin knew perfectly well that as long as the old emperor lived, Marie Valerie and her friends had the final word in Vienna. Much care was therefore taken to dispose them favorably to the German designs. Stress was laid on the danger which Serbian national aspirations constituted to the integrity of the empire, and promises were made of complete backing in case of Balkan complications. The Kaiser encouraged the fire-eaters of Vienna and Budapest who constantly talked about smashing the despised nation of swineherds and made preparations for a war with Italy; he was on very friendly terms with Generals Conrad Hoetzendorf and Von Auffenberg, who for a time were most influential about the Vienna court. William’s diplomacy toward his ally was very simple; to be on good terms with whatever faction might be in power in Vienna at the moment he might need Austria’s help. It was all the same to him, whether his ally would be Francis Ferdinand and Sophia Chotek, or Marie Valerie and her generals.
The events of Sarajevo settled that question. In Bohemia, where the heir was well known having resided there long, it was known the day after the double murder that Master of Ordnance Potiorek, governor of Bosnia, had not taken the proper precaution to have his distinguished guests safeguarded. A few days later documents were published in the newspapers which proved that the Vienna police had been expressly warned that an attempt on the archduke’s life would be made during his stay in Bosnia’s capital. On the fatal day of June 28, after the first attempt miscarried and when it was plain that a conspiracy existed including a number of reckless men, General Potiorek, who was resonsible for the archduke’s safety, deliberately advised him to carry out the original arrangements and expose his own and his wife’s persons in the public streets once more. It may be that Potiorek’s advice was given in good faith, but the fact is that when war broke out, Hoetzendorf, Auffenberg and Potiorek were given commands of principal Austrian armies, and their promotion coupled with their well-known enmity to the heir casts a sinister light upon Potiorek’s blunder on the day of the assassination.
The promotion of these three generals was due to the influence of archduchess Marie Valerie. Hoetzendorf and Auffenberg were leaders in the military clique that had long been preparing for war with Serbia on the one side and Italy on the other. To that end they cultivated diligently the good will of the emperor’s all-powerful daughter.
Two years prior to the war Auffenberg became involved in an ugly affair and was saved only through the interposition of Marie Valerie. As the Austro-Hungarian minister of war he sold one million rifles to Roumania, and it became known that he personally benefited by the transaction to the extent of a million crowns. But proof of graft could not seriously hurt an Austrian minister enjoying the favor of the high personage who swayed the emperor’s will. Shortly afterward a more serious scandal was talked about in Vienna. Auffenberg’s wife, it was well known, was greatly interested in politics. During the Balkan wars, when it seemed very likely that Austria would attack Serbia, Frau Von Auffenberg called on her broker after each session of the ministerial council and made great sums speculating in the rise and fall of the state rentes. The indignation of the Vienna public became so great that Auffenberg had to resign.
But even after these scandals Auffenberg retained his army command and cultivated constantly the favor of Marie Valerie. He was playing for the position of commander-in-chief in the war which he knew to be coming. To that end he staged a comedy that proved to be the sensation of the year in Vienna. It both humiliated the family of Ferdinand D’Este and pleased the powerful archduchess.
(To be concluded)
BOHEMIA AND THE CZECHS.
Under this title Aleš Hrdlička, of the U. S. National Museum, the great authority on the American Indian, writes an excellent account of the Bohemian people and their land for the February issue of the National Geographic Magazine. It is splendidly illustrated,. You can order a copy from the National Geographic Society, Washington, D. C., for 25 cents.
