The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-04-05
LABOR CONDITIONS GROWING MENACE IN AUSTR|A-HUNGARY Political Troubles Adding to Complications Which
 Threaten to Be
 come Serious

Vienna. April 4.-Labor conditions are beginning to cause serious anxiety in official and social circles in Austria : Hungary. It Is reported that there are
 between three and four hundred thou
 sand unemployed in the cities and man. ufacturing centers and but little pros pect of any immediate improvement in
 the industrial situation. At the same time the farmers are complaining that
 the country districts are almost with out male help. nearly all the able bodied men having emigrated to Ger
 many or America. All attempts to remedy the situation in town and coun- try alike have so far proved unsuc- cessful
 Discomfort is increasing fast. The i growing number of men out of work threatens to lead to grave trouble At Budapest and Lemberg recent meetings;
 of unemployed developed into disorderly bands which pillaged provision stores and bakeries until they were dispersed by the military, It is feared that un-
 less some means Of relief are devised very speedily there will be new dis orders on a still larger scale.
 In Hungary some action has already been taken to help the unemployed, but
  Budapest the city council has agreed to contribute funds with the aid of the labor unions for some systematic form or money payments to the families Of men out of work. The unions have agreed to furnish some 6000 volunteer agents who will make a house to house canvass and report to the city council on the actual needs
 In Austria the main difficulty in the
 way of helping the unemployed at the present juncture lies in the unfortunate internal political dissensions. Obstrue-
 ton in the Imperial Parliament in Vi-
 enna prevents the issue of new loans Tor much needed public works. Many
 new buildings are required, the pres ent telephone system is inadequate and
 new lines are urgently wanted not only in Vienna but throughout the country while the state railways are deplorably short of rolling stock and equipment The government has prepared plans for supplying all these deficiencies but can
 take no active steps until Parliament approves the loans required.
 The social democrats are clamorins
 for national insurance against unem-
 ployment They suggest as a beginning
 that the government should contribute
 funds to the labor unions which already
 dispense considerable sums to relieve
 members out of work. They estimate
 that between five and six hundred thou sand dollars year would be sufficient
 bue the minister of finance declares that the government has no money available for such purpose and can do abso- 1utely nothing. Moreover the govern ment takes the position that the whole question Of insurance against unem- ployment Is one for the municipalities and not for the state to look after. But the local authorities refuse to accept this view and demand that Parliament shall deal with the matter
 The anxiety of the dual monarchy | over it's northeastern frontier and it. lively suspicion of continued attempt. by Russia to undermine Austrian in. f1uence among the already disaffectet people of this district are illustrated again by the trial of four Ruthenians on the charge of treason which has be- gun at Lemberg. The defendants. al educated men, have already been ir prison nearly two years They are q journalist named Bendasiuk, a law student named koldra and two ortho- dox priests, Sandovitz and Hudyma Two officers of the Austrian general staff are attending the trial, since the charges against three of the men in-
 clude that of espionage in favor of Russia
 All the defendants are accused oi having carried on an agitation from 1909 to 1912 in favor of the incorpora- tion of Galicia with Russia. Generally they are charged with having endeav- ored to convince the Ruthenians that
 conditions in Russia are better than in Austria, that the orthodox Greek faith is the faith of their fathers, and that the Galician Ruthenians are right fully part of the Russia2 nation and
 owe only hatred to Austria
 As in the recent trial of some 90 Ru- thenians at Marmaros Sziet for trea son. the activities of Count Bobrinsky
 the Russian agitator, will play an i'm portant part BendasiulS particularly is charged with having been in close relations with Bobrinsky since the lat ter's visit to Galicia in 1909. Benda siul, was Ga1ician correspondent for the No Voc Nremya of St. Petersburg It i. asserted that he spread broadcast Rus sian books and pamphlets, that through his agency number of teachers of tho Russian language were appointed fir Ruthenian educational institutions, ant 1 that he had funds at his disposal fol substituting students. Koldra is charged l with having carried on an agitation il i, favor of Russia and the Greek churci | by means of magic lantern lectures il villages of western Galicia. Hudyma one of the priests. is accused of hay | ing glorified to the common peopl. conditions in Russia, and Sandovits, tn.
 other priest. is charged with having blasphemed the Roman Catholic relig
 ion In public.
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