The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1918-03-09

cess got orders to be prepar and sick prisoners, who were t to the base.
 When they arrived was struck at once with the contrast between them and the Austrian soldiers had known a year ago, and even a few weeks back. They were no longer confident of victory, and almost without excep- ton they denounced the criminal fol- fly of the Germans, whom they held to be responsible for the prolonga- tian of the war.
 The first prisoner I talked to was a major of about thirty-six years, with over three years of war service, to his credit. I had the surprise of my life when I asked him for his name, for he bore the good old Scottish name of J Keith. Seeing my surprise he offered a few biographical details by way of enlightenment He is descended from a scion of the Kintore family who took service with the Austrians after serving under an illustrious kinsman who won fame with the Swedes in the days of Gustavus Adolphus. Knowing how strict are the orders against troubling patients with political ques- tions, I tried to keep Major Keith off the subject he wanted to speak about, but it was useless. He was bent on talking of what was uppermost in his mind and in the minds of nearly every man among the prisoners have dealt with. He volunteered a remarkable statement.
 } Captured Officers Revelations r To-day Austria has been brought to , the verge of ruin by Germany" he de- clared. '9The people of the Dual Mon } archy would fain have peace. They } would fain get back to the old rela- tions with Britain which prevailed be- fore the Austro-Prussian war of 1886 l 1.-The Emperor Karl is secretly pro l British, but the country is overrun by German secret agents, who are ready
 to make trouble at the least sign o1 an understanding between Austria anG the Entente powers. It is common ] knowledge that on several occasions recently our government have declar. ed their readiness for peace, and have been told that on the day Austria T makes a separate peace with the Al, lies or even opens negotiations for that purpose, a million Germans will marcH on Vienna.
 ''It is this threat that keeps oul
 government allied to Germany. Th' position is rapidly becoming intoler a able. All over the country the people . are crying for peace and bread, ant . our government is not able to giv, . them either, because Prussia want
 
 ''In the great towns discomfort i f spreading, and when I was last il | Budapest there was rioting almos
 daily in front of the Town Hall. Wo :, men and children demonstrated il . favor of peace and food. They wer = attacked by armed police and sho = down. Some of our soldiers took ex
 ception to the brutality of the police
 and a number of the police were sho ', dead For months past the muni :, ton workers have been refusing t n keep up the output; iH consequence # we have been urged by headquarter ~ to economize in shells. The deliver ,+ of shells necessary to keep up reserv stocks has ceased altogether for som ', or our divisions.
 ,+ ''The working-class population hay
 found their rations reduced by abou '. one-half of what they used to be il ', pre-war days and the cost of every | tEing%has gone up so much that il = spite of the reduced quantities al
 lowed it costs twice as much as i
 did before the war to feed a working
 class family. Wages are only slightl,
 higher, and in some trades are eveI , lower.
 !. "In any of our great towns you ma, |, see processions of women and chil
 dren crying for food or crying for tn
 return of husbands and fathers wh'
 have gone to the war, or gone to thei
 death for Germany. The people knoy 7 well that it is for Germany, or, rather 1 for Prussia, that all this sacrifice
 being made, and they are increasing :, ly bitter against the Prussians ant - their Kaiser.
 "The strikes that are taking plac Y, all over the Empire are but the begin
 ming and unless the young Empero
 handles he position with great care h. x, will follow in the wake of the Roman J Cffs. for Austria-Hungary is on tn ,, verge of revolution. l doubt yer, q much, indeed, whether it will be pos S sible to avoid the worst, but if l. comes we shall know that it is to Prus "a sia we owe all our misfortunes, ant
 not to Britain, who has always beel
 our friend
 Even the army is disaffected, ant
 shows it's anger against the Prussial ,s dictators. Just after Christmas a divi o sion which arrived in Italy from th' Russian front was ordered into tn ,+ front line to relieve German dfvi ,+ sion, which was to be rested in winte
 quarters. The men refused to go
 and some of the officers sided witt . them. The Germans brought up ma
 chine guns and threatened to shoo
 the Austrian soldiers if they did no
 lay down their arms. Shots were ex
 changed and lives lost on both sides
 but the quarrel was smoothed over
 and the Germans went back into tn,
 trenches, while our troops were moved
 back to the lines of communication
 where they still are.
 Tragic Letters from Home
 ''The stories which the men in th'
 trenches read in their letters iron
 home are heartrending. Hardy a da!
 passes without someone hearing tha
 children or other loved ones nave diet
 of starvation, and the arrival of let
 ters from home is now one or tn' Amost pathetic incidents or nhe ID lni