Tensas gazette. [volume] (St. Joseph, La.) 1886-current, 1917-10-26
MANY AUSTRIANS
DYING or HUNGER
Medical Records Show That
Deaths Are Caused by Fam
inc Conditions.
fish SUPPLY IS SHCRT
Seafaring Males Are Called to Fight
ard incompetents Fill Boats
Speeches in Parliament Re-
veal Appalling Conditions.

Romc-There is now no further
doubt about the desperate economic
conditions in Austria. where people are
actually dying of hunger. Deaths
from starvation are medically atteSted,
and the certificates of the district med
zeal officers cannot be kept secret. as
they must be produced by the relatives
OF the deceased person to the local
authorities in order to have the body
buried without an inquest and post
norton examination. The Arbeiter
Ieitung recently published n facsimile
OF the certificate Of death of laborer
named Il. Hauptlg, native of Rcichen-
berg In BOhersia, whose body was
found in field.
The district medical officer Of KRAFT
Eau atteSted that the man had died
of hunger. Similar certificates have
from time to time been published in
provincial papers. but aS Il rule the
great majority remain unknown. More
over doctors often use the expression
nervous exhaustion" to explain
deaths from hunger. and thus To GER
tain extent appearances are saved. The
fact remains, however, that people are
starving to death i'm Austria, and evil
dence of the appalling economic con-
ditionS is afforded by two speeches de-
livered in parliament by Deputy Bian-
chini of Dalmatia and the German So
cialist Renner of Vienna.
Oamatians Aroused.
Deputy Banchini, who despite his
italian name is CrOatian and noted
for his loyalty to Austrian rule, openly
accused the military authorities of de-
spelling the DalmatGns of everything
and condCmning them to starvation.
"All our fishermen have been called TO
the colOrs." he said. land if some of
them were sent home and provided
with boats, ropes and nets they would
provide enough fish for the pOpula-
ton. II is useless to send Hungarian
fishermen who know the sea by hear
say and cannot fish. The military au-
thoritipS have even requiSitioncd salt
from Dalmatia. with the result that
even when fish is plentiful it cannot
be salted and kept for the winter. An
other mistake committed by the au-
thOriiicS has been the wholesale requi-
sitioning of oil. Oil is Indispensable
as an article of food to Dalmatians. as
II replaces every kind of fat. Besides.
like salt. oil is needed to preserve fish
and vegetables. The people are suffer
ing fortunes from lack of oil. Denu-
triton has reduced them to skeletons.
and now in many districts of the prov
ince a terrible unknown epidemic is
raging. which the doctors attribute to
lack of oil and fat. This epidemic is
most violent. It's main symptom Is Il
sudden swelling of the feet. which in
most cases is followed by death within
twenty-four hours.
"Live stock has been requSitioned
without any system in Dalmatia.
Horses. mules and oxen have been sent
to Serbia. Montenegro and Albania for
military transport and men over fifty
years old and boys of twelve and four
teen were sent rs drivers. and few Of
them ever returned. The Austrian
army has been fed with beef from Dial
malta to such an extent that the
10000 head of oxen existing before
the war have now fallen to less than
10000.
Bread and Meat Scarce.
BREAD is even more scarce than
meat in Dalmatia. The wheat grown
in the province is hardly sufficient to
feed the population for two months in
0 r-n+ oil H.
been requisltioned and paid for so low
that the farmers lost money besides
being starved. The bread now SUD-
piled is of such an inferior quality that
II cannot be eaten even by starving
people. 4.
AS food is scarce and dear II ls
no pXaCCeration to say that before
long regular famine with all its ter
rible consequences will inevitably fol-
low in Dalmatia."
DEPUTY Renncr denounced the hone
less economic conditions in Austria. 81
do not appeal to the crown. to the gov
eminent and to parliament as national
institutions. hut | speak as man to men
and appeal to your intelligence and to
your hearts," he said. "While we are
talking here people outside are dying
of hunger. We deplore that some prov
inces are worse off than others and
debate as to whether the middle
classes are suffering more than the
lower ones. and yet all the people are
desperate. The bread ration Is insult
ficient. hut what is worse the minimum
fixed for each person often cannot be
had. and more often still the distribu-
ton Of bread is irregular"
All the members of the Austrian
parliament. even those who support
the government and are bent on re-
sistance to the very end. denounced
the hopeless economic situation. and
even when optimistic they admitted
that the war could not be prolonged
more than three months without risk
ing a regular famine.
Decorates Hindenburq.
RarIin Field Marshal Won Hindap