Omaha daily bee., 1914-11-30
'SOME" PRESS DEPARTMENT
Newspaper Men Form Part Of Aus
trian Army in Galicia.
OVER FIFTY CORRESPONDENTS
To Guard Against Cholera, All Cau-
toned Not 90 Drink UnboiIed
water, None, Boiled or Un-
boiled, ImbIbed.

Correspondence Of Associated Press)
At'STRo HUNGARIAN GENERAL,
FIELD HEADQUARTERS. PRESS DE-
PARTMENT. GALICIAN FRONT. Nov.
7--Dragoons In red trousers and bIus
tunlcs we're IN tho act Of serving soup
to those seated at three long tables In
tho main hall OF the Casino OF a small
'Galiclan town. There was q general hub
hub OF conversation and smell Of roast
ing mutton under the low, beamed cell
ing, mingllng with the odor OF cigarette
smoke and coffee
From the head Of the center table came
sharp raps OF fork against glass.
and simultaneously an officer rose. The
equivalent OF the word order was
shouted In several Of the ten languages
spoken IN Austro- Hungary, and silence
ensued.
No News, Just Communiaues.
Gentlemen" said the officer. as he
pulled typewriter sheet out OF his
breast pocket, there lie no news today.
but ] will read you the various official
communicates. Before doing that I will
say that there may be some news this af-
ternoon and the party OF photographers
and artists now at the front IL expected
back today; should have been here yes
terday. in fact. AS soon as this party
Is back others OF you gentlemen viii go
to the front. The official communicate
from Berlin says"
with the military situation I'm Gsiicia.
Poland. Belgium, France various parts
OF Turkey and other spots on the map
sufficiently clear. tho dragons filled the
last OF the tin plates with soup and the
midday meal OF the press quarters OF
the Austro-Hungarian army In Galicia
was in full progress
Tnken 20 Headuuarterr.
That night there was a similar meal
and noxt morning a breakfast OF coffee
and rolls was served. During the day the
correspondents we're taken 10 the nearby
military headquarters and full twenty
four hours Of life in one OF the modern,
we'll regulated and carefully supervised
press quarters at the front had passed
The press department OF the Austro-
| Hungarian army I'm Gallcia n large
| estA blIshment IL exists for the purpose
of taking care OF about thirty-five Aus
tro-Hungarian newspapermen. WORKING
in about ten languages; several GermanS.
| four Anne: lean correspondents, among
them a woman; one Dane. one italian, a
Swiss and Turk who Is about 70 make
his appearance.
| About a dozen officers and three score
men are in charge OF the institution.
| There are a number OF telcgraphers and
two field post offclals-the department.
| IN fact, is no small matter. To il belongs
about twenty vehicles for the transporta-
ton OF the correspondents and others and
like number of army transport wagons.
Autos Are scarce.
| Automobiles are scarce at present, be-
cause the hard going over the Galician
roads during the recent rainy weather
has made their retirement to the repair
| shop imperative Last, but not least,
there Is the medical STAFF OF the press de-
partment. consisting OF a physician and
several trained attendants.
Long before the press men arrive at a
new station the houses OF the better class
and that really means little in Gslicis--
are divided among them by the quarter
master and his assistants, who merely
notify the landlord OF the coming OF his
guests" and then chalk the following
legend upon the main door OF the house.: .
"one officer. war press department" or
two. as the case may be- The same Is
written on the door OF the room which
the correspondent Is to occupy,
Picturesque Spectacle.
The principal buildings of the town
where the press quarters are now located
are the church and the school There
are dozen or 30 OF indifferently paved
streets thanked by ono-story buildings.
Today. at least. with not cloud in the
sky. the place presents q rather pictur-
esQue, n not attractive, spectacle. The
red tile roofs appear warm in a sun that
h not warm. and the whltewashed ex-
terror forms an excellent BACKGROUND for
tho fie,d-gray or 'pike-green" of the
. Austro-Hungarian uniforms and the
trousers of the press quarter dragons.
The Associated Press correspondent has
been CHARTERED on people who seem to be
we'll TO do. The house is somewhat Mex
lean In Sppearance-low. one-story, and
| has patio. populated by a COW and sew
/ erAi noisy chickens. To one side there
IL hugh stack OF beech wood, eloquent
! testimony OF how cold the Gslician au-
tumn and winter are, There 10 also a
stack OF cabbage in the hallway and
under the various roofs hay and straw
have been stored. On the whole. the
family seems well prepared for severe
winter. and about the war nobody seems
TO worry though the Russians are not
very far away.
Lime Everywhere.
There has been no cholera in the little
town. but as a precaution the Austro-
Hungarian military authorities have seen
to II that plenty OF Stacked lime has been
applied wherever the ground has been
contaminated by those sufferers from the
disease who passed through these parts
on the way TO the hospitals. The rail-
road station. for instance, suggests an
oddly local fall OF snow-lime every
where
II Is thought that with the ground
frozen the disease will disappear. Mean
while everybody Is cautioned against
the drinking OF unboiled water-a pre-
caution which some render more effica-
cious by drinking no water at all.
Cholera germs are known 20 be consti-
tutionally averse to making their habi-
tat in alcoholic beverages. There is no
drunkenness. however