HUNGARY: Kossuth’s Disciple

Count Albert Apponyi, veteran statesman of Hungary, accompanied by his daughter, Countess Mary, who will act as his secretary, was reported on his way to visit the U. S. His object is to give a series of lectures, the first of which is to be delivered at New York University.

Count Apponyi, 77 years of age, is over six feet high. He is characterized by a prominent nose, deep-set eyes, a resonant voice and a military bearing. He is the son of Count Georges Apponyi, late Chief Justice of Hungary. He speaks fluently Hungarian, German, French, Italian, English, and is conversant with Russian and several Slavic languages.

In politics he is a real follower of Kossuth in liberalism and democracy, and an ardent Royalist. For more than 50 years he was the leader of the Independent Kossuth Party and has been Speaker of the House of Representatives and Minister of Education. Although he belongs to the oldest Hungarian aristocracy, he gave up his seat in the House of Magnates in order to sit in the lower House.

His remarkable rhetorical power and his great diplomatic skill have won for him a high place in the opinion of the world. His great abilities were recognized at the Peace Conference in Paris, where he created a sensation by refusing to sign the Treaty of Trianon. Prior to the War he shared with two others—Lafayette and Kossuth—the honor of being the only foreigners to address the U. S. Congress. This he did in 1911.