The West Virginian. [volume] (Fairmont, W. Va.) 1914-1974, 1915-02-05
|City0f Vienna Is
Town. Of Old Time
fBysAseoclated pre.,l

(ByNAssoeiated Press)
WASHlEGTON.ED D. c.. Feb! 4-De-
scribing Vienna and its people. astate-
Iment prepared by the National Geo.
graphic Society today says:
When Petrograd was swamp! and
Berlin was q struggling procession OF
huts in the midst of a hopelessiy mel.
iancholy sand waste, Vienna was an
age.olds defensive out.work OF Western
civilization. Vienna was a yillagelhe:
fore the Christian era; was an outpost.
of Roman civilization. and within Its
walls one OF the noblest of5thet Roman
emperors died-Marcus Aprelius, in
the year 1870, andsthe$passw5rd which.
he gave from his deathb was .Aeuuan.
.imitas.' When Europe, Sreadjusted to
renewed effortsIof Civilization after, an
infusion Of Germanic blood, started
again with freshened strength upon its
destiny. Vienna became the guarantee
of its security toward the East.
Vienna has the charm Of age, of
beautiful. situation, and OF a delightful
folk:character. It lies some two miles
distant from the Blue Danube upon
the river Wien, which gives the city
its name. It Is builded! in two concen.
trio circles: within. the old town, with
Its public buildings and private resi-
|dences, still the a%ristocratic heart OF!
the Empire, and without, the residen.
tial and manufacturing suburbs. Where
the old fortifcations once stood, now
runs one ofithe most impressive boule.
wards to be, found the world over-the
Ringstrasse.
"In massive lengths, there stretches
around this street such an array Of
structures as have probably never been.
equaled upon a single thoronghfare be.
fore. There are yistas OF unsurpassed
architectural splendor along this de.
narration Of old and new Vienna, and
the solid stone and masonry piles are
brought into a friendly relief by the
broad avenues. handsome parks, and.
large, airy squares. "A city with such
avenues as the Ringstrasse must per.
force react upon its people. accustom.
ed to daily associations with its chase
beauty, to inspire in them the elegance
which Is its, own.
"yienna. the city OF pleasure, is.
properly! a city of music and the home
of Incompatible waltz melodies, the
city Of which the last haunting mem.
DRY is that Of some waltz dream. It
has been the home OF Mozart, Beetho-
ven, Wagner. Haydn, Schubert, Brahm,
Suppe andlthe S~trausses. besides whom
there have been countless thousands
Of lesser musicians in each generation.
of Vienese,.
Among the war capitals OF Europe,
Vienna, Franz Josef's Kaiserstadt, the
home Of pleasure and of the most sor.
rowing Of emperors;i product OF the
East and the West, with the one lis.
some and dreamy, with the other hope.
full and sentimental: gray:wise. gra:l
cious. light.hearted. brilliant Vienna
according to the wondering reports Of
the correspondents, Is 1.-THE least inclin-
ed to break with gayety, to sink into
the heavy. lethargy of depression o. the
stern business Of war. The vienese
have spent centuries In practicing un-
der all conditions the arts of happi-
ness. They have learned to mock at
overearnestness, at f%earfulness,; at the
serious counting of dreariness in the
guise of duty.
"Friendliness, sentiment. beauty,
grace and music on every hand con.
spire 10 make Vienna the .Lotus.fower
City OF the earth. There Is only
one Imperial City, the Vienese say,
and that is Vienna
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