The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1918-09-26
AUSTRIAN METHODS
OF MILITARY RULE
Recently Escaped Italian Girl Tells of
Brutalities Occurring in In
vaded Districts.

An Italian girl who recently succeed
ed in escaping from Grions del Tore. in
Friuli, by walking the whole distance, and
narrowly escaping capture, at the hands
of the Austrian sentries, has some very
interesting things to tell of the Austrian
methods of military rule (?) in the in
vaded districts.
After many unsuccessful attempts to
obtain passports to Switzerland, after
even trying to attach herself to some
convoy of exchanged prisoners, she final
| ly decided to take the sure, but dangerous
route to the Italians. And so she hid
by day and walked, ran, crawled. at
night, until she reached the fighting front,
and worming her way right through the
Austrian lines, she swan across the
| Piave
'They used to come into the houses
always preceded by the rife barrel which
! they kept pointed on whoever they were
speaking to. They positively took away
anything they happened to like, and
want. a girl next door to me, 10 years
old, they carried away with them aud
eight days afterwards they allowed her
to come home; she was so changed that
at first ! didn't know her At CividaIe
there was little dressmaker that was
soon to marry; she was Just finishing
her trousseau. when they broke in her
house, and killed her. They did nothing
else took nothing, just walked in, laughed
4 at her frightened expression, and then
killed her. killed her Just for the mere
lust of killing.
II As for the food situation. we were
obliged to live with mush and vegetables
Corn flour costs | 200 crowns for 20O
/ pounds. Sugar 20 crowns for two and a
half pounds. and 80 CROWNS for the same
amount of butter.
The country is invaded by the wives
and families of the high officers. whc
evidently looked upon the territory as tn,
promised land. They toured the countr,
in big, expensive cars arrogantly de
nanding food, and giving gasoline il
exchange for butter and eggs. Gasoline
on farm where there is only enoug.
food to keep the body alive, and NJ
! money.
Church bells, ratings of balconies. doc
handles, farm Implements. and even al
the door handles have been carried ava,
to Austria. During the Italian retreat
in the neighborhood of the castle o
Graigher, several thousand Italian prison
ers were massed in a provisional con
centration camp. Italian airpianes flew
l overhead, Immediately afterwards fol
j lowed by Austrian machines who threv
several bombs that killed abort a thou
Il sand men, who could not put hemselve
4 in safety of the bombs. OF course tn
j Austrian Command issued statemen
! saying that the bombs were dropped b.
\ Italian airplanes. The truth is that Their
4 was not one Italian bombing plane in tn
neighborhood that day They were a
scout planes. and therefore unable t
= carry bombs"
One Of the most interesting parts Q
the narrative is the girls acco mt of tn
visit that the German Empcro made t
! the Italian front. The city wa LITERAL
overlooking with German seer t seryic
: men and every house top and Window Q
the streets through which tho empcro
was 70 pass was under close watch TIL
Emperor seemed very old and LIN
seemed very, very tired.