Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1918-08-07

/ lament. according to the demand of
the workingmen's council. This inn
| portant concession on the part of the
young monarch did more to induce
| the committee to order the strikers to
resume work than Baron Burian's
hypocritical pacifism, which nobody
who knows the intimate relations ex.
isting between the Austrian Foreign
Minister and the rulers at Berlin can
for an instant take seriously. .
These negotiations between the dele
gates of the workmens council and
the Government lasted several days,
during which the strike movement ex.
tended to Hungary. In Hungary
bread rations had not been reduced
but the workers in great number of
| industries are "mlitarized" and sub
jected to particularly calling military
discipline, and the strikes seem to
have broken out chiefly in protest
against this form of modern slavery
freshly introduced from Germany. The
| Hungarian workmen were also greatly
excited by rumors of particularly
heavy losses sustained by the Hun.
garian troops in the retreat in italy.
workman in a munition factory
| near Budapest was summoned for
some trif1ing offense to appear before
| lI.
| He refused to obey, and the command
ant sent a squad of "gendarmes." or
military policemen. who are stationed
in all the "miitarized" factories in
Hungary to fetch him. The gendarmes
and their prisoner were accompanied
to the commandant's house by crowd
Of about a thousand angry workmen,
who demanded the release of their
conrade. The commandant. a major
named Iojonke. ordered them to dis
perse and return to their work at
once. and the gendarmes attempted to
drive them back with their sabers
fight ensued in which four work
men were killed and thirteen wounded
by shots fired by the ma jor's body.
guard.
Tragedy Causes Strike
This was only one Of many strikes in
muntion plants, for few DAYS later
Herr Wekerle. the Hungarian Prime
Minister, was forced to admit in the
Parliament al Budapest in reply to an
attack by Count karolyi that not only
the workers of several hundred mill
tariZed' munition factories were
striking, but that the miners of the
PetrSlzeny district. near Budapest had
joined the strike movement, cutting off
the Hungarian capitals coal supply.
and that even the subordinate post
Office and telegraph officials were
showing dangerous signs of agitation
All the strikers demanded higher
wages and shorter hours.
This strike in Hungary is sisnir.
cant because il concerns worliingmcn
placed under military control and con-
Sidered by the aut horitics as soldiers
and whose refusal to work was conse.
quently in reality a vast mutiny. 1t
illustrates the slight respect the Aus.
tro-HunGarian workers entertain for
the military authorities a fact which,
will greatly contribute TO the success
Of the inevitable revolution in the
Danube monarchy.
The Councils Of worliingmen" at
Vienna and Budapest-the "sOviets'
OF Austria Hungary filed witt, 4
deep hatred Of the German Govern.
ment. I'm the midst of the bread fam
inc in Austria the Wiener Arbeiterzei-
tuuS. which is edited by Herr Aus
teritz, one of the most prominent
q committee leaders, published a state
ment that the Berlin Government was
, bound by an official contract to sup.
= ply Austria with -four in the event OF
y a shortage. This statement was cor
, kuehmann had resolved to treat this
. contract like another scrap of paper
: Germany being herself short of floul
. and necessity knowing no law" as
:, the celebrated Teuton phrase runs
= The German newspapers, characters,
, tically headed by the socialistiC Nor
waerts. denied Vehemently that such
:. an agreement existed. and when Doc
n tor Paul, the Austrian food controller
arrived at Berlin to remind the Ger
mans of their promise the of1cia
Wolff Bureau cooly declared. THE
q expectation of -four from Germany Il
~ Austria is out Of the question" Herr
. Pauls mission was unsuccessful ant
:, Emperor Charles was forced to i'm
= plore aid in personal letter to the
Kaiser before the German Govern
= ment could he induced to send a few
:, carloads of -four to Vienna.
r This episode has intensified popular
4 irritation in Austria against Germany
a and as the Germans are also at pres
= ent filled with contempt for the Aus
. trians on account OF their defeat Of
f. tile Piave, the relations between tn
h. two nations are certainly NOR
8 strained today than they ever wer
n before. though Herr Won Seydler. BarOl
d Burian and Count Tisza, to say moth
$. ing of the subsidized AustrO- Hungar
t, ian press. will continue to remain ii,
te dendOrff's faithful vassaIs to the last
he Germany is now about to organic
food distribution in Austria: her pla
is evidently not to share supplies witt
Austria, but to force Hungary to Civ
es of her comparative plenty" Thi
" will. unless | am much mistaken. ne
pr help Austria much, but il will prob
,s ably i'm time reduce the Hungarian
III also to starvation, and it will infalli
h. bly, increase Hungarian hatred of hot
ie Germans and Austrians. Althoug
OF the now crops will soon afford Austri
i" temporary relief from the terrible pr
II. vations she is at present enduring tn
H. food situation will still be very crit
r. cal and it seems quite unlikely ths