Audubon Republican. [volume] (Audubon, Iowa) 1894-1925, 1914-11-05
BY ALICE ROBE.


Omitted Press Stafr Correspondent
vienna.-Vienna is a city of lost
hope, of gloom, of gray despair.
The once gayest and most beautiful
capital of Europe is today the saddest,
the most distressed. Silent, hopeless
protests against the horrors of war
which have turned this wonderful.
Joyous city into a melancholy sepul-
cher for the living, permeates every
stratum Of society.
i have seen a procession of 1000
mothers, whose husbands have died in
Galicia, carrying In their arms their
fatherless babes. They filed past the
great cold palace Of the ministry Of
war. It was their mute appeal for
peace.
! have seen a procession of little
children, plaintive and futile ennis
saries of life, silently protesting
against needless death.
Dazed by War Horrors.
i have seen trains arriving, every
one crowded to suffocation with the
wounded and dying. From the midst
of these MANNED and mutilated, sick
ened and suffering men, have seen
uncomprehending soldiers, dazed by
the horrors Of war, crazed with joy at
being home again, dragged from their
companions and placed under arrest.
Their crime?-Why, they cried out in
the delirium Of excitement their
curses against the Russians who had
brought such terrible defeat to the
Austrian armies. For no news must
be whispered by the wounded or the
fugitive which reflects the truth Of
Austrian disasters.
And above these visual pictures OF
the melancholy Vienna of today, I
have sensed the touch of those gray
wings of dread which cast their
shadow over the town-the soiled, the
sordid, the horrible wings of cholera.
l have felt with the people, stalking
beside this hideous enemy. the plague
Its sister specter. hunger.
Seventy Thousand Now In Hospitals.
In Vienna today 10000 wounded are
being cared for in hospitals, schools,
universities, hotels, churches. The
Red Cross admits its inability to care
for all the wounded. and the sight of
helpless men, suffering needlessly and
hopelessly, Is one which confronts
the worker In the cause of humanity.
In all Europe there does not exist
today another capital where the pub
lie is treated so inconsiderately In re-
gard to war news. The newspapers
publish nothing save the official state
ments-and their news" can be
guessed at.
Arrests are made hourly of Wen
nese who whisper words of Austrian
defeat. Spies are everywhere.
IN cafe on the Praterstrasse I sat
In a nervous crowd and saw whisper
ing refugees from Galicia passing
their story on, furtively and fearfully.
Suddenly I saw young man whose
pale face told of recent suffering de-
serted by his companion, who went to
the door, whispered to an officer and
departed. In a moment the fugitive
was arrested. He had talked to a
spy.
Talks to Young Mother.
At the same station where the in
coming trains bring new misery for
gay Vienna that was l talked with
young mother whose husband lay dead
on the battlefield. She had fed to
the capital to plead with the govern
ment which had taken her husband
and robbed her children Of father
for means of support and some Of the
necessaries of life. She told In pa
tient, resigned tones Of her sufferings
in bringing her three children from
Galicia, where her home was to be
her haven no longer, and where blood
ran deep In the garden beds which
she had tended so faithfully waiting
the return of her husband.
when we arrived at the frontier"
she said, "the scenes were awful. We
were herded like animals and were
treated worse than we treat our dogs.
! was days In securing place in the
trains because had no money. There
was police officer on the train, and
he demanded our passports, such
money as we had, and when we could
show neither he refused for days to
let US 60 on"
The natural impulse Of these fugi-
tives here is to speak of the evil days
which have befallen them, of their
losses and the carnage-and they can
not understand why they are arrested
for It.
Moves Citizens to Despair.
The sight OF automobiles carrying
wounded soldiers past the brilliant
Hof theater past the opera, past the
gothic splendor of st. Stephens, where
formerly gay cars sped on, bent on
pleasure, is one that moves the VI
ennese to despair.
] talked to one Of these wounded
soldiers as the car in which he was
being carried was stopped in front of
the Burg theater for repairs. He told
me in whispers, while the guards were
busy with the car, of the frightful
ravages made by the Russians and
the Seryians upon the Austrians.
They have buried our dead in
heaps" he said, tears coursing down
HIS face. They were killed like
sheep driven to slaughter yard The
Russian artillery has done unbeliev-
able things. The Russians waste their
ammunition as though 1t were free as