THE SUSPENSION-BRIDGE. and are fond of likening its wonderful expansion to that of San Francisco, Chicago, and other American cities. When Kossuth found refuge in America forty years ago, after Hungary's tragical struggle for independence, the sister towns of Buda and Pest, lying on opposite sides of the Danube, together had hardly more than a hundred thousand people. The consolidated municipality has now a population of fully half a million. But remarkable as is the increase of population, it seems to me far less remarkable than the physical and architectural transformations that have accompanied the town's growth in numbers. Budapest is not merely three or more times as populous as it was in the middle of the current century, but it has blossomed out of primitive and forlorn conditions into the full magnificence of a splendidly appointed modern metropolis. Rapidly developing cities usually have the misfortune to grow wrongly, through lack of foresight and wise regulations on the part of the governing authorities. Budapest has not wholly escaped; but it would be hard to find another large town whose development has been kept so well in hand by the authorities, and has been so symmetrical and scientific from the point of view of approved city-making. In many particulars of appointment, as well as in general plan and tout enCopyright, 1892, by THE CENTURY Co. All rights reserved. To the world at large, Budapest, the capital and metropolis of Hungary, is the least known of all the important cities of Europe. No other falls so far short of receiving the appreciation it merits. Several reasons may be assigned for this comparative obscurity; among which are remoteness from the chief thoroughfares of travel and commerce, the isolation of the Magyar language and literature, and the subordination of all things Hungarian to the Austrian name and fame. But the most important reason is the simplest of all: the Budapest of to-day is so new that the world has not had time to make its acquaintance. Its people justly claim for it the most rapid growth in recent years of all the European capitals, semble, American cities might learn not a little from Budapest. Political reasons have quite as much to do as commercial causes with the making and unmaking of European cities. Thus Vienna, which may well contest with Paris the claim to preeminence for beauty and splendor, owes everything to the political events that followed the revolutionary movements of 1848. Vienna became the seat of government of a newly organized empire, and acquired a most liberal municipal constitution. Its prestige grew enormously, and it absorbed wealth and population from all parts of the Austrian dominions. The imperial Government and the municipal authorities vied with one another in projects of necessity as united as those of a single empire; but the delegations from the two parliaments which meet annually to vote the joint budget, and to order the joint services, sit in alternate years at Vienna and Budapest. It is true that the Emperor's ordinary residence is in Vienna, and that Vienna is the seat of administration of the confederated empire; but the Emperor is careful to spend much of his time, with his family and his court, in Hungary. In short, politically the two capitals are as nearly on a par as it is possible to make them. This change in the political wind had a most surprising effect upon Budapest. Hungary was at last free and self-governing, and in possession of liberal institutions. The hopes for the embellishment of the capital, the chief of these projects being the Ringstrasse and its incomparable array of public buildings. Meanwhile Hungary was chafing under the disappointment and humiliation of defeat, and was making little, if any, progress. But the AustroPrussian war of 1866 humiliated in turn the so-called "oppressor" of Hungary. The Hungarians were now in a position to demand a "new deal." To the wise counsel of the Hungarian patriot and sage Francis Deák, one of the great men of modern times, is due the fact that, instead of absolute separation from Austria, Hungary accepted the form of dual monarchy that has existed since 1868. Hungary became a constitutional monarchy of the most liberal sort, having its own parliament, its own cabinet, its own entire administration, with Budapest as capital. The Emperor of Austria became King of Hungary. The two parts of the confederation were absolutely coördinate. Their military and diplomatic services were of 1848 were now to find realization. The whole life of the nation was invigorated, and that life centered in the capital. Ambitious young politicians had no longer to seek a career in Vienna. Home rule gave them full scope in Budapest. Social life was also awakened. The Hungarian nobles, who, with every other element in the population of the empire, had been contributing to the architectural splendor and social brilliancy of Vienna, were now disposed to build their palaces in their own capital; for they had acquired seats in the upper house of the Hungarian parliament, while Vienna was henceforth to be regarded as their capital hardly more than Berlin or Paris. The transformation and embellishment of Vienna as the sole capital of Francis Joseph's dominions had just begun fairly to show results, when the new order of things cut those dominions in two, and made Budapest the rival capital, with slightly the larger of the two territorial divisions. It is true that Hungary had a smaller population, and industrially was far less advanced than the provinces of which Vienna remained the capital; but the curtailment was obviously detrimental to Vienna in many ways. Moreover, Vienna has felt the effects of decentralizing tendencies in the provinces remaining to her; for the Bohemians are developing their beautiful local capital, Prague, and the Austrian Poles are expending their energies upon their own Cracow. In Hungary, on the other hand, Budapest has no rivals; all roads lead to the capital. There is in Hungary a compactness and unity that form a marked contrast with the scattered and discordant provinces which have their political center in Vienna. Budapest is now the capital of a nation of seventeen millions of progressive and ambitious people, and this new political fact is of itself sufficient to account for much of its growth. The commercial conditions also are not to be overlooked. Hungary is an agricultural country, lying for the most part in the rich valley of the Danube and its principal tributaries. Central Hungary is a vast level plain, an uninterrupted stretch of cultivated fields. One rides across it late in June or early in July to find it looking much like Illinois or Iowa, the chief crops being wheat, maize, oats, barley, and hay, growing luxuri- as the eye can reach, with- particular fear of being charged with socialistic activities. Somebody had to take the initiative. The country was poor and without capital. To secure a system of railroads it was necessary to grant heavy subsidies to English, French, and German capitalists, who formed companies and established lines. But the Government found subsequently that it could better afford to take over the roads, and put them under a consolidated public administration, than to pay annual subsidies to a dozen private companies. The results have justified its policy. In every possible way the Government has made the state railway system conduce to the development of Hungarian industries. Under the railway administration there has been established at Budapest a great government manufactory, not only of loco garian plain what Chi- TARSA PENTAD cago is to Illinois and Iowa, or what Minne apolis is to Minnesota and Dakota. It is hard to realize how commercially undeveloped all this Hungarian country was only a few years ago, and what meager facilities it had for reaching the markets of Europe with its surplus foodproducts. The new Hungarian government set itself to work to develop agriculture and trade, without any ENGRAVED BY O. NAYLOR. DOME OF THE CATHEDRAL. |