Show EMPEROR FRANCIS JOSEPH IS CALLED CA L LED I 1 RULER WHOSE declaration OF WAR ON SERBIA PLUNGED FOURTEEN NATIONS IN WAR ascended the throne of austria at the age of nineteen upon abdich tion of his uncle and had reigned Sixty eight years vienna emperor francis joseph is dead the aged emperor who had reigned nearly sixty eight years was 86 years of age and his death had been expected for some time emperor francis joseph passed away tuesday morning at 9 while the crowds in front of schoenbrunn castle were talking of the triumphant entry of teutonic troops into craiovan Cra iova lova charles francis who succeeds to the throne has been la in selenna tor for some time like wildfire the news spread through the capital and the bells of all the city churches joining in a solemn chorus amak awakened ened people to the tact fact that the long lone expected had at last come true s one thing was upon lips though few spoke it probably the greatest blessing to his empire was the fact that this stanch old monarch clung as tenaciously as he did to the thin thread that still linked him with life in a world in which he had bad been long iong outgrown had his death cone come two years ago or only one or six months it would have spelled disaster to the internal cohesion of the hapsburg monarchy it Is safe to say and his people have known it throughout these anxious two years that no victory on the battle front no stroke of diplomacy no catastrophe ot of the war could have done for the allied cause what francis josephs death would have done at any time but this like the death of pope plus X the end of the venerable emperor francis joseph Is charged largely against the great war the one man was a helpless spectator shocked at the horror of 0 such a sudden and widespread clash of arms the other the man whose action in avenging the assassination sassi nation of his heir engulfed fourteen nations in combat with francis josephs death in the midst of this great conflict there is a remarkable climax to a long list of tragedies in the hapsburg family a list unparalleled in any other reigning house in europe lac including luding the assassination or violent death at 0 o seven near relatives the fortitude with which the emperor lore bore each blow and in later years withstood the inroads of III health himself was the wonder vonder of the people fears that the shock of the assassination a S sassi nation of his heir the are arc duke francis ferdinand and his consort while on a state visit to bosnia besnia on june 28 1914 would kill the emperor were answered in characteristic manner francis joseph then nearing hearing his eighty tour four birthday recuperated at ischi from a catarrhal affliction which lach each spring had wore heavily upon him mustered strength to return to vienna immediately and take a firm grip on the confused state of affairs with the royal funeral rites observed and the new heir the young archduke carl francis joseph recognized the venerable emperor and his advisers turn turned ed to serbia with demands which startled all europe from tile the ultimatum of july 23 denouncing noun cing the anti austrian propaganda and demanding prompt punishment of 0 the assassins ot of archduke ferdinand according to items supposedly dictated by francis joseph himself practically practical lir dates the war now ravaging europe it is doubtful it in all history there has been an active authenticated reign longer thin than that closed by the death of 0 francis joseph at 19 years of age he ascended the throne of 0 austria upon abdication ra ol his uncle ferdinand 1 I december 2 1848 1948 his bis death ending an active reign of 0 sixty eight years all but the first twenty ot of which he was also apostolic king of hungary francis josephs reign mas as a as eventful as it was long from his imperial vantage 0 point he be saw the french monarchy go down the second empire rise and crumble the commune flare briefly and the republic of 0 today rise on its ashes he saw the black pinions of 0 the prussian eagle stamped on the flag ol of the new german empire later to tower threateningly y over austria itself he be saw th the e papacy shorn of its territorial territorial demesne while about a bickering tam fam ily of petty principalities was wielded into united italy he saw spain once the greatest of colonial powers lose the last of 0 her dependencies in two oceans he saw japan opened to western civilization and later defeat the sprawling colossus of two continents he be saw the most absolute despotisms despotis ms russia turkey and persia con cede representation to the people ho he saw at a dista distance uce the united states cement its federation with the blood of 0 a great internecine war and he saw his own brother prove that monarchy could not take new root on oil american soil in his own country he faced internal dissensions and external aggressions from the moment he ascended the throne by the war of 1859 with france and sardinia he was forced to cede lombardy to italy by force ot of arms and treaty he lost the duchy 0 of holstein Holst eln to prussia and venice to italy and by the revolt ot of kossuth the hungarian patriot he barely escaped having his dual empire cut in two but in human interest his personal sorrows overshadowed all one after another they came upon him in ili 1853 the list of tragic incidents began with an attempt upon his own life in 1867 his brother the archduke maximilian after three years experiment as emperor of Al mexico exico was captured by the larmy army of the patriots and condemned to death by a court martial whose sentence was executed notwithstanding intercession in ia his bis behalf by the governments ern ments of the bulted states england and prussia there followed the burning to death ofa of a niece in vienna a sister met a similar tale fate in paris and a cousin drowned himself in St harenberg lake yet these were but minor tragedies in comparison with that which befell the an ancient clent house of the Haps burgs in 1889 bhea hen rudolf the imperial prince upon whom the austrians Aust lans rians pinned their hopes met death in a mystery which to this day Is not cleared |