The Birmingham age-herald. [volume], September 28, 1913, MAGAZINE SECTION, Image 52

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Esoterie Moscow a Drug-Soaked City
By JULIUS OSTMANN
(Copyright, 1M3, by Curtis Brown.)
MOSCOW. September 27.—(Special^
Esoteric Moscow Is soaked witli
drugs. The whole wealthy Wesl
32nd, which lies between the university
and the Dorogomysch suburb, spends its
days consuming and injecting cocaine
and morphia, and indulging in orgies of
"Sulphurism/’ This sounds somewhat
exaggerated, but it Is the conclusion
drawn fdom recent revelations. From
the evidence given and the reports of doc
tors it would seem that only cabmen,
muzhiks and yard dvoniks escape the gen
eral craze and that the whole ‘Intelll
gentsiya,” covering everyone <vho reads,
writes and has a black coat to pawn, is
, made up of drug maniacs. No w’onder the
harvest of Moscow doctors grows rapidly;
no wonder the annual doubling of the
crop of suicide and crime.
Out of this state of affairs a strange
and sinister woman emerges. In Arbat,
in Kaloshin Dane, lived, till last Decem
ber, the Caucasus princess, Irina Dem
blzzi, who boasted the bizarre title *‘Ser
nistiya Imperatritsa”—the Brimstone. Em
press. The empress was an expert in the
science and practice of drug-taking, and
the use of drugs in society; she cultivated
only drug-maniacs' society, and she com
piled a privately printed book called “Me
moirs of a Morphinist,” which contained
a list of 140 Moscow men and 300 women
of wealth and position, who were given
to drug taking. The princess was wholly
perverse and unnatural. She described
morphinism as “a glorious crime which
feeble man’s laws cannot check”; and
she further revelled In the scandals and
tragedies which newspapers daily report
ns a result of the cocaine and morphia
craze. She kept -track of every suicide
in good society, and set herself to ferret
out the cause, always, said Kozhevni
koff's lawyer, “under the suspicion that
be: goddess, Morphia, was the source of
the tragedy.” And when she found out
that this was indeed so, she went deeply
veiled to the victim's funeral, or sent a
wreath of violets inscribed, “Where thou
has gone we shall soon follow.”
The Drug-Maniacs’ club, founded by
frincess Demblzzi, had 80 members, who
met once a month, and recounted their
individual joys and torments. The more
Important experiences were written down
and analyzed by doctors—of whom there
were nine among the 80 members. The
princess had a fine library on toxicology,
and she paid for books on drug-taking
by Erlenmeyer, Demetrescu, IJiguer, Jen
nings and other medical men, being trans
lated into Russian and circulated among
friends. Her abnormal mind is shown
by the fact that she took no delight, in
surreptitious literature which praised
drug taking (of thil Russia produces vast
quantities); she sought out writers who
exposed the folly and misery of the habit,
and the more they raved and menaced
with ruin in this world and the next, the
more their writings pleased the queer
princess.
The great exploit of the Demblzzi co
N. A. MAKLAKOFF
Russian minister of the interior,
who has started a war on drug taking
among the Czar’s subjects.
terie was the Invention of “Sulphurism."
Sulphurism is the chronic alternate taking
of different drugs. Princess Dembizzi
was a victim, or as she put it, a “trium
phator,” in this business. She described
the torments in the transition stage from
one drug to another as worse than the
pains of giving up the drug habit, but
added that “the reaction was worth the
torment." At Christinas she got melan
cholia because her favorite poodle died,
and she took poison. She left $115,000, the
drug-maniac library, a dozen poems and
tli© weirdest collection of unnatural art
and futniture that ever eye has seen. Her
taste in art was for the shockingly ugly
pictures of the pessimist artist Zhukoff,
who delights to picture humanity being
sucked dry by vampires or crushed un
der Juggernaut wheels, and copies of his
ugliest productions hung over her bed.
She had a smoking room with furniture of
contorted shapes, resembling, says a
friend, “lignifled cripples.” The furni
ture was made by the Kieff art student.
Vaevoled Kachetin, who died at the age
of 23 from voluntary saturnism, that is.
from lead poisoning purposely inflicted,
"in order,” as he said in a crazy will,
“to gain at least one sharp sensation in
the desert of life.”
The case of Nadezhda Egoroff is typi
cal of those who fell under the malign in
fluence of this weird princess. Mile.
Egoroff was the good looking daughter of
tiie leather merchant, Feodor Egoroff.
She fell a year ago under the perverse in
fluence of Princess Dembizzi. In one win
ter she suddenly grew old; her hair turned
l
ART OF A DRUG MANIAC
A favorite possession of the Princess Dembizzi, leader of the Mos
cow “drug maniacs.” It is called “Mankind” and is the work of Zhukoff,
the Russian pessimistic artist.
fray, her teeth fell out, and her power
if speech was deranged. She became an
ild woman. Doctors could do nothing
for her. One ingenious physician was so
nonplussed by her mysterious disease that
ne gave it a new name, and reported on it
is something unexampled to a Moscow
medical congress. The cause was “Sul
phurlsm.'' In February last Mile. Egoroff
drove to a small jeweler’s store in the
Zamoskvaretschd, asked the jeweler the
time, and tried to pilfer a silver chain
worth $2. The salesman detected her. got
with her on a sledge and told,the driver
to make for the nearest police station.
While crossing the Moskva river bridge
COUNT WITTE
Who once tried to enact a law mak
ing the sale of drills a state crime in
Russia with the object of restricting
their use.
the kleptomaniac girl jumped over the
parapet and crushed herself on the ice
beneath. Tn her pocket was found a
wonderful, fantastic recipe for taking dif
ferent drugs in different combinations.
All over West Moscow are so-called
‘•Paradises,” where the drug-maniacs
meet, and where they are attended by
'underground doctors.” Underground
doctors are students who have failed to
get thorough examinations, or doctors de
prived for offences of the right of prac
ticing. In addition many recognized med
ical men take drugs and help drug takers.
Underground doctors are genial inventors
in the bringing of joy and degradation.
Among university students morphinism is
almost universal. Strongest of all is the
movement in the new university of Kazan,
founded by the late P. A. Stolypln. There
Is irony in this, as Stolypin had a horror
of drug-maniacs, and on becoming min
ister of the interior he cleared out of his
chancellory four notorious drug fiends,
and sent them to remote administrative
posts where drugs are hard to get. Tlio
prevalence of drug taking among the
general well-to-do public is shown by
criminlologlcal records. In 1870-1880 crimes
and suicides due to drugs increased 19 per
cent; in 1900-1910 bv 118 per cent. The
sharp increase in recent years Is ascribed
to the depression of post-revolutionary
days. The failure the political move
ment of 1904-G drove many to dissipation,
and -generally had a demoralizing effect
upon educated society.
Opium and morphia taking are more or
less common in the army. A dispute is
proceeding as to the extent of this. M.
Jadrinsky, a Novgored proprietor who
served 10 years ago in the Pavlovsky
guard regiment, says that in his days he
knew in one battalion seven officers who
were given to drugs. He declines to say
which of the three battalions. He adds
that while cocainlsrn Is unknown among
soldiers it is particularly common with
“one-year volunteers.’’ that is soldiers
who ‘51)y virtue of their secondary educa
tion escape with a single year’s service
under privileged conditions. Doctors of
tiie St. Petersburg Military Medical acad
emy deny these charges. Dr. Pavloff, one
of the most authoritative, says that they
are exaggerated. Not one one-year vol
unteer out of 1000 takes drugs, and there
are probably no drug takers at all in the
guards regiments. “The trouble is alco
hol.” Shortly after this denial an offi
cer named KJselin, serving in a Narva
chasseur hattallion, committed suicide.
Inquiry proved that in a state of general
moral perversion, the result of morphin
ism, lie had stolen money from the regi
mental treasury and committed suicide in
despair.
Government circles well realize the ex
tent of the drug plague. The matter was
twice up before the third Duma. When
In years ago M. Witte planned to make
a state monopoly out of drugs and med
icines of all kinds, he was in part actu
ated by a desire to fight morphinism. His
motive here was similar to the motives
which brought about tlie monopolization
of vodka. The government, reasoned
Witte, could make money out of drink
and at the same time it would be able
to combat intemperance. Similarly, if it
monopolized drugs it would secure the
whole retail profit from the sale of mor
phia and cocaine to unc4uullfled persons.
Witte, In one of his annual reports, noted
that in the southwestern provinces Vol
hynia, Tchernigoff and Kieff. the sale of
morphia had increased sevenfold in a few
years. N. A. Maklakoff, late governor of
Tchernigoff and now minister of the inte
rior, was the first bureaucrat to make bold
war on drug-maniacs. As the law gave
him no authority to do this he boldly put
In force a provision of the “reinforced se
curity ordinances’’ under which he had
the right to prohibit social gatherings “of
undesirable political color.” Mnklakofll
forbade meetings of the Tchernigoff club
“Stohastiye,” which was composed of
local high officials and rich men whose
political reliability underlay no doubt.
When threatened with an appeal to the
Senate, Maklakoff explained that he sus
pected the club was an opium den and
that “drug taking even among loyal cit
izens leads to moral perversion, and,
therefore, might easily lead to anti-gov
ernmental propaganda.’’ The opium
fields knew that this reasoning was had
In law, but they feared social exposure
and the appeal was allowed to drop.
In unofficial society the danger men
aced by the drug plague is well under
stood. Attempts have been made to bring
moral influence to bear on students.
Sport Is considered to be the one check /,
to drug taking, and since 1911 there nas '
been an encouraging growth of sport both
with boys and girls. M. Poslqnnikoff of
Tver suggests that popular toxicology he
taught in order to warn people from drug
taking, and elsetvhere it is suggested that
an anti-drug propoganda should begin In
the secondary schools. A provincial mer- i
ehant, Krotoschin, demands that no one b«f
allowed into the universities who has not
taken an anti-drug pledge. He wants to
begin with the new fTnlversite Populaire
which has heed" founded on the millions
of M. Schaniavsky. Krotoschin says he
will pay down $80,000 if this university is
“turned into a pulpit against the drug
fiend, which is undermining our national
health." The students who compete l’or
any of the scholarships founded with the A
$$0,000 must undertake to act as mission-Jr
aries against drugs. Krotoschin is trans-*‘ ,
luting and publishing at his own expense *
various works against morphinism and
coeainism, and is thus—with quite the op
posite intention—copying the malignant
work of the Brimstone Empress, Irina
Deinbizzl.
Curing a Prima Donna
There is an interesting story told of
the manner in which Frederick the Great
could deal, wherff other men had failed,
with a prima donna of the period who
was inclined to set too little store by the
public. This great artist seemed to catch J
a cold, which had the effect of rendering"
her hoarse, and consequently unable to
sing, whenever anybody or anything had
displeased her, says the Chicago Blade.
One day a c ertain opera was to be per
formed at Berlin before the King him
self. At the appointed hour the manager
came forward and said:
“Ladies and gentlemen, we grieve to in
form you that our prima donna has a
sore throat, and that the representation
announced cannot, therefore, take place."
The stolid teutonic audience seemed
not the least surprised, and was moving
out transquilly, when the King rose and
commanded the musicians to keep their
places.
The audience sart down again and wait
ed patiently for events. In less than a
quarter of an hour the manager reap
peured and spoke as follows:
“Ladies and gentlemen, T have the most
unfeigned pleasure of informing you that
our prima donna is completely cured of
her sore throat and will have the honor
to sing before you tonight."
Surely enough, the famous singer soon j
appeared, and never had she sung better. "
Her triumph was complete. The King's
prescription had been a very simple one.
The prima donna, having dismissed the
unhappy manager, was sitting comfort
ably before the lire In her own room,
rather pleased at the Idea of having
spoiled the pleasure of several hundreds
of persons, when the door was violently
thrown open, and there entered an officer,
followed by four dragoons.
“Mademoiselle,” quoth the officer, "the
King, our master, has sent me ter ask
after your health.”
Is Socialism Becoming Tame?
(Copyright, 1913, by Curtis Rrown.)
BERLIN, September 27.—(Special.)
Europe's socialism lias grown
tame. The time is coming when it
ay ill cease Us intransigent opposition to
< restive politics; will form cabinets quite
iike. other parties; go to court; and cheer
kings and emperors. That is the reflec
ion made on the death of August Bebel,
the greatest of socialist stalwarts, and
the main bulwark of tiie intransigent
section which docs nothing but oppose.
The transition from opposition to positive
work lias been visible to observers for
ten years past; it has taken shape in
south Germany; lias been accomplished
in France; and in the smaller states of
northern Europe is an accomplished fact.
One of August Hebei's last remarks
was an admission of this. . His remark
Avas that of the 4,000,000 professing Ger
man socialists who voted at the general
election of 1912, probably only 2,000,000
were stalwarts. Forces so great could
lu* recruited only on the assumption that
they are to do something; and the doc
trine of* the stalwart German socialists
is that nothing is to be done, and that
it is enough to let the enemy make mis
takes and to point them out. But even
the Bebelites saw that as socialism
swelled its ranks, it became everywhere
more inclined for practical politics and
i participation in government. France,
though the most essentially capitalistic
state in Europe,- has had socialist minis
ters like Mlllerand, Briand and Viviani,
and saw the spectacle of the arch-social
ist Briand warring as fiercely with rail
way strikers as the Prussian police min
ister. In Italy half the socialists re
conciled themselves with the Tripoli raid,
and the fiery socialist Blssolati was seen
shaking King Victor Emanuel's hand,
and getting the offer of a portfolio. In
Bavaria and Baden the socialists have
broken the party rule against voting for
budgets. These facts have been inter
preted to mean that when a party grows
sufficiently strong its insuppressible in
stinct is to take a hand in creative poli
tics, and that only weak parties are con
tented with personally opposing.
Rebel began to see that what happened
in France would happen elsewhere. And
during the past weeks the domestic his
tory of Holland and Denmark shows the
same thing. In both countries, the sov
ereigns have been willing and even anx
ious to take socialists as ministers of
state; in both countries ttie most promi
nent socialists have tried to accept the
offer, and have been willing to carry on
the national government in the old, hated
“bourgeois’’ way, maintaining armies,
fleets and police, and reconciling them
selves with the capitalistic constitution
of society. In both countries the pro
ject to make socialist ministers has been
temporarily checked by small majorities
which hang to the old system of unquali
fied opposition.
The opposition in the socialist ranks
to offers to make socialists minfsters. and
otherwise to entrust them with powers,
comes from a source older than modern
socialism. Outside England and France,
all European “Left” or ultra-progressive
parties have always shirked office. Their
theory has been that “Left” parties ex
ist in order to expose and to make odi
o •« reactionary governments; but that
the “Left” parties need not necessarily
ready to supply alternate govern
ments. This tradition is one cause of
the weakness of German liberalism.
Fifty years aeo when Prussian liberals
had a majority in the Diet they reject
ed with ridicule the suggestion that they
might themselves supply ministers. loiter.
In the present Emperor’s reign. this
was repeated. When the Reichstag radi
cals rejected am army bill. Wilhelm TT
was willing tnlt the “Freisinn” lender
Richter should become a minister. This
•was jv strong concession to parlimen
tarism. and the Kaiser has the unquali
fied right to name and dismiss ministers.
Richter and his radicals were willing,
and thereby parlimentary government In
Germany lost Its first and only chance
of becoming a fact.
Outside France socialists, as a rule,
have not had a change to become minis
ters; but now that they are geting the
chance they cannot shake off the old radi
cal tradition that a “Left” nartv exist* to
oppose, and to make trouble, but not to
create. The Dutch socialists have this
month Illustrated this and at the- same
time proved that tdich ’ntranslgean^e Is
slowly passing and that socialism in Hol
land it becoming tlresomeiy tame. The
majority at the socialist congress which
forbade members to become ministers
numbered 375 as against a 320 minority
which wanted the socialist leaders to
enter the cabinet,. This shows a remark
able change of opinion. A few years
ago in Holland there were practically
no socialists at all who would listen to
the suggestion that the party should
play a role in practical politics.
The issue was raised by a general elec
tion. Before the election the Catholics
and various shades of orthodox Calvin
ists, which taken together were called
the “Believers,” bad 59 deputies in the
chamber as against 41 "Unbelievers'’
that is socialists and democrats. The
election reversed this. The “Believers’’
returning with 46 seats; the liberals and
democrats with 37; and the socialists,
who had only seven members in the old
Chamber, with 18. This “Heft” victory
was the fruit of the united electral tactics.
In 47 “second” elections, made necessary
because the first elections were inde
cisive, t lie liberals had a sufficiently
democratic programme, including elec
toral reform and progressive measures of
education, social insuranoe and taxation.
The result was a government resigna
tion. The succeeding cabinet had to be
formed out of tho “Left”’ pjarties, no
one of which taken alone had a majority.
One of the first politicians ,whom Queen
Wilhelmina took counsel with was the
socialist lawyer Troelstra, who has al
ways stood strongly for collaboration in
creative politics. Troelstra, much to the
disgust of the stalwarts, put on a frock
coat and went to court. The first plan
was that the radical leader Ur. Bos
should form a cabinet: and, basing her
decision on what Troelstra said, Queen
•••••••••■••••••••••«•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••<
BY BERNARD ACTON
lb=~—=rs^=T.-=====---==rr-‘i
HERR CHRISTIANSEN
Who is regarded as Denmark’s most
powerful politician.
HERR ZAHLE
Leader of the Danish radicals, who
almost induced fhe socialists to join
him iiy governing .
II .. 'I
DR. D. BOS
Leader of the Dutch radicals, who
tempted the socialists of Holland to
take office under him.
" llhelmlna authorized Dr. Bos to take mission, which revealed disunion In the socialists favored the plan of Bos and
socialists Into Ills cabinet. Ros offered party, Troelstra.was overruled, and Bos' Troelstra, this on the Kround that witli
the socialists three seats. Afyr the dls- offer was rejected. A feud resulted. Many out socialist support the projected uni
Royal Princess Who Has Few Frocks
—-—-— -*
» BY LOUIS HYDE
ONDON, September 27.—(Special.)
The common understanding of the
phrase, “royal raiment” will have
to be considerably modified if the pres
ent generation of royal offsprings, and
especially Princess Mary of England, are
to be accepted as typical of their class.
The most extravagantly attired children
nowadays aro by no means to be found
among the juvenile royallties with the
exception perhaps, of the Czar’s children
whose dress bills are larger than those of
the children of any other monarch.
The Princess Mary of England is one
of tiie most economically attired juvenile
princesses in Europe, aid! her dress bills
are considerably less than those of many
young girls of the prosperous middle
class.
I’p to a couple of years ago the prin
cess rarely or never, had a dress pur
chased for her. All her frocks were made
by Miss Constance Selby, Queen Mary’s
chief dresser, from her majesty’s left off
gowns. It was in the coronation year
that the princess had an evening frock
made for her for the first time by a pro
fessional modiste, the cost of which was
$40; she had had four evening frocks
since, two at the same price and two
made by Miss Selby which as they were
made from Queen Mary's left off evening
go\fiis cost nothing. t
The style in whii h the Princess Mary
is habitually attired is so extremely plain
that even those ladies in the immediate
royal entourage who follow the royal ex
ample in most things will not dress their
daughters in the manner that the Prin
cess Mary is attiied.
When the Princess Mary went to af
ternoon tea in the gardens of the R. Y.
S. C. during Cowes week, she was attired
in a white drill ekirt, a white serge coat,
and a tegal hat, primmed with white silk.
Twenty dollars would about have covered
the cost of her costume. On that par
ticular occasion she wore white kid
gloves, the cost of which Is about fifty
cents per pair. The princess dress bills
certainly have not averaged more than
$150 a year during the past five years.
After her birthday last April the Princess
Mary was given a dress allowance by
her mother of $250 a year, but thp prin
cess must find her pocket money out of
this allowance.
Economically as the princess is attired,
she has in her wardrobe, however, some
frocks and underwear which if purchased
in the ordinary way would cost hundreds
of dollars. These garments are made al
together of, or are heavily trimmed with
old Brussels lace that is wortn at least
$751 a yard. The lace was part of a
large quantity of old lace that was given
to Queen Mary by Queen Victoria on the
marriage of the latter and Queen Mary
has utilized it largely in trimming her
own dresses as well as some of those of
the Princess Mary. The only extrava
gant articles of attire that the Princess
Mary habitually wears are her stock
ings. Her stockings are of the flnest silk
and cost $4 to $5 a pair and a dozen
pairs in the pear are bought for her.
But even in this matter the princess lias
not been allow'ed to be at all as extrava
gant as are many young girls of the
well-to-do classes, who have different
colored silk stockings to go with each
of their frocks. The princess has had
to be content with stockings of two
colors, black and white, wearing black
with her dark frocks and white with her
light frocks.
The Princess Mary’s dress bills are
moreover savqd by the fact that site re
calves a good many articles of attire in
the way of hats, parasols, gloves, etc.,
in the form of presents from different
relatives.
The princess has a beautifully jeweled
handled parasol that was a present to
her from the German Empress and every
birthday Queen Alexandra sends among
other gifts a box containing' a dozen pairs
of gloves.
Up to last year the princess’s wardrobe
was looked after by her mother’s chief
dresser, Miss Selby, but now her royal
highness has a maid of her own.
Two of the most extravagantly clad
young girls in the world are- the two
young Grand Duchesses, Titiana and
Marie of Russia, the younger daughters
of the Czar. An order for frocks for the
two young duchesses was placed a couple
of years ago with a West End firm in
London, which specializes in children's
frocks and caters for the extremely well
to-do only, the price of the froelts aver
aged J75 each. Two of the frocks were
made of real Irish lace and cost tl40
each. *
But not only do the young duchesses
PITY THESE POO R ROYAL CHILDREN
Princess Mary, Princess Helen a and Prince Frederick of Teck, whose
parents are so poor that they wea r dark Holland dresses in the privacy
of their Tiome and are largely dep cndent upon more fortunate relatives
for their best dresses.
habitually wear the most expensive
frorKu but they seldom wear the same
frock more than a dozen times and their
wardrobe is, therefore, continually being
replenished.
Though like all royal children the Czar's
daughters do not wear much jewelry as
outward ornaments, they wear jeweled
garters and Jeweled buckles to thllr
shoes.
Each of the young duchesses has t\e
service of two maids each, and their
wardrobe room Is an Immense apartment.
They change their attire In the ordinary
way four times a day and have thetr
hair specially dressed three times. The
dress bills of each of the young duchesses
of the Russian reigning house is general
ly estimated at $2,000 per annum, each.
It Is, however, curious to note that this
extravagance in dress Is not maintained
among the children of the Russian Im
perial family whep they grow up.
The dress bills of the eidert daughter
of the Czar do not exceed those of her
younger sisters, though her requirements
In the matter of dress are naturally much
greater than her younger sisters.
That their children should be extrava
gantly and splendidly attired Is simply
a tradition that is carefully observed by
the Czar and Czarina.
The most economically attired of all
juvenile princesses are probably the
Princess Mary and Princess Helena of
Teck; they are economically, clad not
merely from choice but from necessity,
for the Tecks are one of. If not actual
ly. the poorest of the royal families.
Tt Is probable that $100 covers the cost
of the princesses’ whole attire In the year
and It Is extremely rare that a frock
Is purchased for either of them. Queen
Mary supplies the material In the shape
of her left ofT gowns for most of thetr
dresses and Queen Alexandra also makes
frequent presents both of frocks and un
derwear. The princesses are, therefore,
well attired, but in the privacy of their
own home they habitually wear dresseB
of dark holland, which are serviceable
and cheap.
The little Princess Beatrice of Spain
Is also extremely economically attired
and this Is the most curious because the
Queen of Spain herself is the most ex
travagantly dressed royalty In Europe.
The Queen of $pain when In London
a few weeks ago purchased half a dozen
frocks for the princess and not on a
single costume did the sum spent on them
uceed $10 and two coat Isas.
versa 1 suffrage bill, which was in the so
cialist Interest, could not be possioly
passed. T?ie result was the summoning
of a general socialist congress at Zwolle.
Here it appeared that the large towns
with the exception of Utrecht were
against socialists under any conditions
becoming ministers, while the small
towns and the country took the oppo
site view'. The intransingeants won by
a small majority. German socialists,
especially Karl Jvautsky, the “brain of
the intranslgeants,” had inlluence la
this decision. The chief thinkers; of th^
Dutch party favored Troelstra’s view;
and the socialist writer Pleger pro
claimed that “A party which rejects the
offer of a little power will never enjoy
gre$t power; and ‘bourgeois' parties will
never be able to work alone.”
The Danish socialists during the past
month have been faced with a similar
problem, and have come to a similar
decision. As in Holland, a general
election put power into the hands of
parties which could not do without social
ist help. The government parties
under Hedd Klaus Bernsten entered
the election with 57 seats and came
out with 44; the “Right” party was
practically wiped out; the radicals
W’ho started with 20 scats won 11 more;
and the socialist party rose in strength
from 24 to 32. As in Holland the cab
inet resigned. King Christian held
counsel both wdth Herr Zahle, the Read
er of^the radicals, and Herr Stauning.
the leader of the socialists. The ad
vice of both was that the Bertsen gov
ernment remain in power; but Herr
Christiansen, who is Denmark's most
powerful politician, advised that the re
sponsibility of governing must be taken
over by the radicals and socialists
This made the socialist Stauning, as
leader of the largest “Left" party, can
didate for the premiership. This is
the first time on record that a socialist
has been offered the premiership In any
monarchical state. Stauning refused the
offer; again advised the King to keep the
Berntsen cabinet, and If that could not
be done, offered socialist support to the
other democratic parties In forming a
coalition cabinet. The radical party ap
proved of the coalition notion, and it ap
peared that the socialists would pledge
themselves to positive work. This plan
was broken up by Herr Christiansen on
behalf of the “Left” party. For a second
time the socialists were given the chance
of forming a wholly socialist cabinet. The
answer of Herr Stauning was to accept
the principle that socialists might become
ministers. He declared, however,, that
until the socialists had an absolute ma
jority 1n the chamber they could not
form a cabinet. The real cause was the
dread of party difference. Angry attacks
were made on Herr Stauning for harbor
ing the idea. In the end Stauning agreed
that the socialists would support a cab
inet under control of the radical leader,
Herr Zahle, but that they would not Join
it. or take responsibility for its acts. To
tliis extent was conceded the new prin
ciple of practical collaboration In political
work.
The taming of the socialists Is well Il
lustrated hy their attitude towards the
creat question of going to court and ob
serving court formalities. Tills Is a burn- |
lng question In Germany, where socialist
congresses have twice condemned and de
da red reprobate any form of going to 1
court or "recognizing the sovereign." M
Breaches of this rule by Badenese. Wurt- B
temberg. and Hessian socialists have led ^
to explosions. In Denmark and'Holland* 1
"recognizing the sovereign" Is now aiy 1
accepted phrt of socialism. Herr Statin- 1
ing negotiated with King Christian on 1
umicable terms; and llerr Troelstra and I
Queen WUhelmina got on admirably.
Troelstra is a strong republican. His
friends admit that lie observed all the
usual court ceremonial, but deny tlie accu
sation that he kissed the Queen's hand,
Botli Staunlng and Troelstra, despite their
lepublfeanlsin, were ready to take the
oath of fealty to their soverigns. This
oath compels them to protect tlie sover
eign person and prerogatives, and they
would thus ha,ve to act in tint opposition
to tlie republican trnfets of Marxian so
cialism.
The nearness of Holland and Denmark
to having socialist ministers and even
prime ministers, convinces observers that
within a few years tlie Bmalter European
states will as often have socialist, gov
ernments as today they have liberal and
radical governments. In tile larger states
iexcept France) this will not be, because
militarism acts as a strong barrier against
soctalazation. Tlie socialist ministers,
however, will not be at all like the present
socialist agitators. When brought into
relations with imperative 'political facts
they will be obliged to do creative work.
This means tlie complete taming of the
old "radical-socialist” school. Tlie "rad- j
ical socialist" school will proltably con-4,
tlnue to oppose. But tlie conciliatory and %
practical section of the patty Is ever t
growing and It Is plain that either all so
cialists will go over to this new camp,
or there will be an open and formal se
cession. in Germany the "revisionists”
that is. the conciliatory groups, grow day
hy day. and most revisionists desired that
the experiment of socialist cabinets In ,
Holland and Denmark should come off.
if only to show that socialism can create
ns well as criticize. "The taming of oor
native socialists." writes the social-dem
ocrat Pleger, "will he tremendously ac
celerated when It is shown that foreign
socialists are successfully governing pros- i
perous states without abandoning any of /
their Marxist principles.”
Drunk on Strawberries
Those who can't resist the temptation
of too many strawberries should not be
surprised if they are attacked with "fruit
drunkness," for it is an extraordinary
fact that the excessive eating of straw
berries often results In many of the sen
sations connected with alcohol poisoning.
These symptoms consist of giddiness,
headache, blurred eight and occasionally
double vision.
For strawberries contain far more add
than most of the other fruits In season
at the Rame time, and this Juice acts
very quickly on the nervous system, es
pecially in the case of stout and full->^
blooded people. Excessive rhubarb eating
can also produce symptoms of Intoxica
tion, owing to the excess of oxalic acid
which lurks In this fruit, says Answers.
But this Is the only one of the macy
ways In which symptoms of drunkenness
cur\/be developed, apart from excess of
alcohol. It Is quite possible to become
temporarily Intoxicated by excess of ,*
emotion, whether It be sorrow, Joy or *
music. '
The explanation Is that deep emotion
deranges the nerve centers, which are
thrown out of unison with each other,
so that such actions as walking and
talking become difficult. An Invalid who
lives ‘on diet for some considerable time,
and then suddenly has a huge meal, can
quite easily get symptoms of drunknese 4
on a chop or Btak. "
Strong cofree on an empty stomach
also produces results similar to alcohol
whilst the fumos of turpentine are very
liable to render you light-headed. Re
cently six men were reduced to a rolling
condition while unloading a cargo of this
spirit from a barge at Bristol.
The Bread Line’s Twin
From the St. Louis Republic.
"Can you Imagine anything worse than
the bread line?” js
“How about waiting for a shave behind m
the fellows that always pick out Satur» *
lay night to get their hair out?”