The Oregon daily journal., May 17, 1908, Page 31, Image 31

THE OREGON SUNDAY JOURNAL. PORTLAND. SUNDAY HORNING, HAY 17. I9fo
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Why Suffrage
Expect Much
New Premier
Agitators
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. fTTl HERE have been some interesting
' headlines over, cablegrams from Eng
land published in American news-
' papers since Herbert H. Asquith became the
new premier of the British empire. ,
For instance, "Mr. Asquith Faces Trou
ble to Keep His Party Together; His Cold
Temperoment and Hostility to Radicals and
Home Rulers Make His Task Difficult:'
, s But more interesting are other headlines
reflecting the spirit of other dispatches, such,
for example, as, "Bannerman's Quitting Will
, Mean the Rise of Woman in Politics";
' Womanly i Power Behind the New Premier."
And the strangest feature of the new sit
uation is that the woman suffragists of Eng
land feel more encouraged under the new
government than they have ever felt before,
'notwithstanding the fact that Mr. Asquith,
the new premier, is an avowed opponent of
their aims and purposes.
Why, then, should they hope for success
under the rule of an unfriendly that is, at
present unfriendly prime minister?
The answer s simple: Their hopes cen
ter in the influence of Mrs. Asquith and of
young Mrs. Harold John Tennant, the sister,
tn-law of the premier's wife. They hope and
are. beginning to believe that the hand of
woman zvill at last twist English politics to
their liking.
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Fll
E F'Sffi'T?- PS JSC'
IT ISN'T ne8snry here to t11 of the Ion struggle
for recognition made by the suffragists of Bng
' land, ot their hopes, efforts, near-triumphs and
' final disappointments.
Within the last few months they have created
sweater stirs and more dramatio situations In the
"tight little Island" than ever before; their demonstra
tion have become part of current world history: have
been pictured, caricatured and ridiculed, but have gone
on, nevertheless.
' Under the late premiership of Sir Henry Campbell
S3annerman woman suffragists did not come Into their
own, as they expected.
They made every effort that could be expected of
them, undoubtedly; 'there were demonstrations, pa
rades, arrests, red-hot speeches and all the other ac
cessories of a suffragist campaign as it seems neces
sary to conduct It In England.
But the powers that were could never be brought
to realize what the leaders of the suffragist movement
considered Its pressing, immediate importance. They
refused to be Impressed by delegations, mobs and dem
onstrations. And. there has been no woman closely connected
with ths head of the government In sympathy with
them for many years.
Ho on believes that the new premier, Mr. Asquith.
is In tympathy with them. Indeed, throughout his ca
reer.' lie baa manifested strong opposition.
, V HAS OPINIONS OF HER OWN
' But Mr. Asquith has a wife who has opinions of her
own; also a wife's sister-in-law who is warmly al
lied with the woman suffrage movement
; Ah! There la a possibility.
, It has been said of Mr. Asquith that he regarded
his wife somewhat as he has viewed the opposition In
the House of Commons; that he has kept his eye upon
her, prepared at all times for emergencies.
Not that -ther was conflict between them-the
homelife and connubial association of the Asqulths
have been remarkably happy but Mrs. Asquith, it
seems, baa habit Of expressing her own opinions and
possesses st lacuity ox, mailing a winning light for the
7fre4sfv?rA fame ro77car.
lished In a well-known London Journal. The first:
"The most energetic of all the English women In
politics Is Mrs. Asquith. Before her marriage, when
she was Miss Margot Tennant. she vitalized some of
the seml-politlcal, semi-phllosophlcal societies that
have made great headway in England.
"Clever, volatile, splrltuelle, a friend In her quick
womanly sympathy, she served E. F. Benson as hero
ine for the novel of a season. More strangely still,
she was the confidante of the rising men of both polit
ical parties of Arthur Balfour and of Herbert Glad
stone, of Sir Thomas Gibson Carmlchael and of her
brother-in-law, Lord RIbblesdale.
"Impartially she assisted all In their careers, until
Asquith came along, middle aged as a suitor, young as
a statesman, the man marked out as leader of a new
Liberal party, the natural heir to Lord Rosebery.
"For his advancement Mrs.; Asquith spares no labor,
feels no fatigue. Wife of Henry Asquith, sister-in-law
of George Wyndham, the leader of the most talented
power in Mayfalr, as wife of the next premier she will
wield a tremendous power in English politics."
Here is the word picture given in a London news
paper the other day:
"The culminating touch to a season which Is fore
shadowed as of remarkable brilliancy will be given
by the dominating Influence of Mrs. Asquith as the
prime minister's wife, hostess at bis official resl ,e
and head of all social and political: entertainments.
Not since the days of Lady Sallsburyten years ago,
has there been a lady to preside as the wife of our
first statesman. '
"Beared in an atmosphere of Liberal politics, in her
early youth as Miss Margot Tennant, Mrs. Asquith was
a protegee of Mr. Gladstone, who used to correspond
with her, and was one of the many distinguished men
who attended her wedding with the brilliant states
man then holding the offlee of home secretary.
"She has thrown herself with ardor into the ad
vancement of the party of which her father, the late
Sir Charles Tennant, was a staunch supporter. Not
alone a thoroughgoing politician, Mrs. Asquith is con
versant with every branch of literature and art. and
was at one time a brilliant amateur actress.
ALWAYS STRENUOUS
"Mrs. Asquith has already bad some foretaste of
the duties which await her in her new position. Al
ways a very busy, active woman, giving her activities
unreservedly to her husband's political career, she has,
as the prime minister's wife, entered on a really stren
uous life. v
"To take Thursday as an average day. Her .morn
ing mail appeared as voluminous as her husband's;
messengers and telephone calls Interrupted .her break
fast. Mr. Haldane was one of those who visited her
at 11 A M., callers awaiting her meanwhile on various
urgent matters. Telegrams and replies to her letters
next claimed attention.
"Following her daily custom, she managed to get a
half hour's walk after midday, hurrying home to re
ceive a few friends invited to lunch. More appoint
ments, then out to pay visits or to attend various char
ity functions, the day winding up with a dinner at
which a large circle of friends were entertained."
But It is not entirely through the influence of Mrs.
Asquith that the suffragists of England hope for great
advancement of their cause under the administration
of the new premier. Perhaps they hope more than
through any other agency to benefit by the active aid
and comfort of young Mrs. Harold John Tennant, sister-in-law
of Mrs. Asquith.
Mrs. Tennant is brilliant, scholarly "and 'tactful; she
is devoted, heart and soul, to the cause of equal suf
frage, and has fought many of its battles, although
she has never taken part in public demonstratlona
Mrs. Tennant was one of his majesty's superintend
ing inspectors of factories, a practical, brainy, enthu
siasts young woman, when Harold John Tennant
married her a few years ago. She was Margaret Edith
Abraham, the daughter ot Irish parents, who were well
born but poor, and the girl was educated by one of the
most scholarly English' women of the generation. Lady
Charles dike. ,. ,
Later she became Lady Dllke's private secretary
and dispensed the large sums Lady Dllke spent every
year to build up trades unions for girls, and alBO to
fore the House of Commons to pass laws for the
safety and protection of working women. Lady Dllke
often said that Margaret Abraham had the finest mind
she had ever encountered in a woman, and she took
great pride in her protegee.
It was during her work as a factory Inspector that
she met the youngest son of rich Sir Charles Tennant.
The young man had Just entered Parliament, and had .
been appointed a member of the committee on dan
gerous trades, which, at that time, was endeavoring to
revise the laws hedging the lead industry. Of late
years Mrs. Tennant and Mrs. Asquith have been warm
personal friends.
Said a recent dispatch from London: "Since their
marriage, Mr. and Mrs., Tennant have gone on with
their individual pursuits as enthusiastically as beforo.'
But Tennant's best work in Parliament has been along
the lines of his wife's work.
"He Is Mrs. Asqulth's favorite among the numerous
children of Sir Charles Tennant, and It looks as if the
suffragists ought to get a good deal with such power
ful friends lh the premier's family."
Mr. Asquith is not regarded by the suffragists as a
subject of easy conquest. Mrs. Pankhurst. one of tho
suffragette leaders, remarked shortly after his ap
pointment: "It is no use continuing a policy of per
suasion with Mr. Asquith. He must be compelled to
give women votes." But how? ,
Mr. Asquith is known as a man of strong likes and
dislikes. Will he be Influenced by the women closest
to him to adopt a policy that he does not now, from
all appearances, regard with favor?
The future only, will tell.
Blind RapMamee thai
Ihlnsrs lrrwhlch ahe bellevesr
- bmakisr o(
premier, a friend said recently
breaking of the personality of the new English
t
5.' .xv :a m
No man In English public life has a colder manner
He u wnoiiy lacking In cordlalitv
m uA. . .
tt a kinder Heart.
nor nas ne any trace 01 mat personal magnetism
w hich some consider, and wrongly so, as indispensable
to a political . leader. But be impresses one by his
extraordinary lucidity of utterance and of Intellect."
Mr. Asquith is the first lawyer to become prime
minister of England for nearly a century. Spencer
l'ercevai, who wae assassinated in the lobby of the
House of Commons tn 1812, was the last former mem
ber of the legal profession to, be at the head of the
government. ...'t.-.-.
And few premiers since then have had such force
ful wives to express their opinions of public matters
et the home tea table, or in Caudle lectures., as has
Jiir, Asquith, .----! . ,
Not that Mrs. Asquith Is a shrew, or a disagreeably
domineering person she is a roost charming woman
tind holds the love end admiration of her husband to
v. lan degree, la that rests the hope of the suf.
-frafMNta, .. . ., .... . ,. . ,. ......
Here are two views of Mrs. Asquith, one cabled
fCT"1 London to American newspapers, the ether pub-
A:
LL EUROPE is anxiously awaiting the
next chapter in one of the most remark
able romances of modern times.
Will the . Prince Joachim Albrecht,
millionaire spendthrift and royal scandal maker,
marry the actress Marie ulrer, by whom he has
been entranced, thereby turning: his back forever
upon court favor. or will he accept his latest chas
tisement meekly, and again, seek the favor of his
powerful cousin, the kaiser t
, , here have been few such romances as that
of Joachim and Marie principally, perhaps, be
cause the 'royal suitor's' ardor, has grown cold in
much less t time. Joachim's inf atu.tion has sur-
vived a dreary banishment to southwest Africa,
all the opposition that his family and the kaiser
(ould put forth, and many vigorous methods of
''bringing him to his senses'.
And Jiow, because he refuses to put aside his
devotion to the somewhat elephantine actress, who
is considerably his .senior, he has been, inconti
nently booted from' the German armyj has been
degraded by express command of his cousin, the
kaiser, and is now virtually a wanderer, on the
face of the earth. '
w
rlXILE the prince Is by no means a pauper, he
will lose heavily in money If he marries the
actress who has fascinated him. Instead of
about 17.000.000. which would have been his
Iron the estate of his father, the late regent of Brunei
wick, he will get only half that amount
That, however, is not the principal question that is
agitating the royal bouses of Europe. There are not a
few marriageable maidens remaining amid the royal
families of the continent, and there are too few eligible
men to go around. Then why should handsome young
Prince Joachim, 30 years old and likely to be received
favorably at any court, deliberately throw away his
career for the sake of a plebeian enchantress?
It is true that Marie Sulser has a title she is le
gally the Baroness Llebenburg but her method of ac
quiring she distinction has not brought her into court
favor anywhere.
The most amailng feature of the romance is sug
gested by the query everybody in Berlin is asking,
"What on earth does the prince see in Marie Sulser
that he is so desperately enamored ot her?". Seldom
hae there been a match which better verifies the old
adage about the blindness of love. She is verging on
40 and nearly ten years older than her royal lover.
She Is very tall and her charms are of that ample
type which are supposed to appeal most strongly to
certain benighted heathens of darkest Africa As an
actress, few would .concede to her even seoond rank.
In any other country than Germany she would long
since nave been considered impossible as a soubrette.
She generally appears at the Trianon in French plays
of the character that are anathema to the novelist.
Marie now the Baroness Ltebenberg is the daugh
ter of a house porter who still pursues his humble
calling, as far as known. As a child her playground
was the street before her home: her education was
limited, and, when still in her teens.She became a
ballet dancer in a low-class muslo hall in Berlin.
In time she advanced so that she could play minor
roles In light comedies in cheap theaters, andgradu
ally rose to a position in the ranks of the Trianon
Theater forces. It was there. that she met Prince
Joachim, a light-hearted, dashing young soldier, who
was enamored of the theater and who attempted the
writing of plays. . , i
: HER MOST NOTABLE CAPTURE r
Love quickly succeeded admiration In the heart of
the prince.- Marie was delighted, because this was the
most notable capture of all her career. Her humble
birth, however, offered an obstacle to marriage. To
overcome this difficulty the prince made strenuous en
deavors to have the actress ennobled, but the kaiser
manifested stern opposition. " - r
It was then that a most remarkable expedient was
adopted. The actress had to have a title; not possess- .
ing it, she must buy It. But from whom? That was
new the question. ' ,-
To find the o wner -of -ul table-title-who-might be
willing to place his coronet In the market a matri
monial agent In Berlin was set to scouring Europe.
Of course, it was argued, there were needy noblemen,
any one of whom would consent to lend his name to
the intrigue at a price.
This person was found at last In Baron Llebenber,g,
a poverty-stricken descendant of one of the most dis
tinguished noble houses of Austria. He was endeavor
ing to maintain his high-born position on a miserable
pittance of $230 a year $160 being from a civil list
pension and the remainder the pay of a minor post
as assistant to a magistrate.
-Naturally, he was not averse to helping along a
scheme that meant a Joyous swelling of his depleted
purse.
For 13760 Baron LlebeSiberg agreed to go to Eng
land and there marry Marie Suiter; He was neither to
see her before the marriage nor after. He was. in
fact, immediately after the ceremony, to perpetrate
such acts as would Justify Marie Sulser in obtaining a
divorce.' On' the decree being granted he was to re
ceive an additional 3750, making the total prloe fos
his name 17800 a sum the actress could well afford
to pay. '
So Immense seemed the fortune within his grasp
that the poverty-stricken baron lost no time In hasten
ing to England. The marriage took place according to
agreement; the couple, who hardly exchanged a word,
except for those necessitated by the marriage services,
bade each other a eurt good morning directly after the
ceremony, and went their several and separate ways.
Immediately the actrees. now the possessor of the
. coveted title, returned to Berlin and to the society of
Prince Joachim. The baron who had sold his name
remained in London to complete his part of the agree
ment. But when he-applied to the marriage broker for
the prloe of his honor, the broker refused. It Is said,
to pay over the amount due, and the baron was left
almost penniless.
Ha returned to Austria, to find that his Insignificant
salary although important to hJm had been out off.
Further, he was arrested by the military authorities
because he had not taken part In certain army ma
neuvers to which he had been summoned.
During the summer months that followed he was
hard put , to It to keep body and soul together, and
finally.be was compelled to make representations to
Dr. Markuae, Marie Sulser's lawyer in Berlin. Since
"then he received every fortnight a remittanco of 17
from his titular wife, but this was stopped some time
age. The present condition of te. unfortunate noble
man 4s a matter of conjecture. . ' -
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