The labor standard., 1919-05-15
People of Central Europe AffliCt- ed With All Kinds of Nerv-
 ous Diseases.
JUVENILE CRIME IS RAMPANT
General Decentralization Caused by Physical Weakness, Combined With Overwrought Nerves
 Religion Seems to Have
 Lost All Influence.
By JULIAN GRANDE.
(In the New York Times.)

several I1IueS Ill EnSlanQ, FTduce duI
 Italy, but since the armistice I have
 been obliged to remain here, in the heart of Europe. Consequently I can not say how the war seems to have af fected the people either in my own country or in those of our allies or in the United States. If, however, were asked how it has affected people on the continent generally, I should say that it has made them more nervous, and some of them even nervous wrecks.
 Perhaps nowhere was this more nO- ticeable than at the meetings of the In- ternationa1 Socialist Labor congress, attended by delegates from 27 coun- tries. have spoken to delegates from most of these lands, and there was not single one who did not show signs of extreme nervousness. Either he was constantly clasping and unclasping his fingers, or he was fdgeting in his chair, or constantly blinking his eyes. Moreover, if asked one or other to jot down something for me on paper, I noticed that his hand positively trem- bled as he wrote; and when a delegate addressed the congress he usually ex- hibited still more marked signs of Overstrained nerves. Several delegates to whom I spoke volunteered the in- formation that they slept very bady at night, and this testimony was quite independent, for not one knew what the others had been saying to me. To some I suggested that perhaps they were doing too much mental work. "No,'' was the reply, 'even the laboring classes in our country are not sleeping we'll just now"
 Sobbing Sickness.
 In Austria, for instance, the people are suffering from what may be called a sobbing sickness, which is the result primarily of nervousness, Both men and women suddenly begin to sob, and very often continue sobbing even in their sleep. Some doctors seem to think this malady is due to unwhole- some food, which causes stomach dila- tion; others attribute it to nervous ness alone. In some cases this nerv- ousness has become so acute that peo- pie have attacks in the night not un-
 
 gins by feeling a choking sensation, then cries out, and finally becomes quite unconscious, very often remain ing so for 20 minutes or even half an hour, after which he falls into a deep sleep. Afterward he remembers noth- ing whatever about what has happened to him. The result of this sobbing sickness and these attacks is, of course, still further to weaken a peo- pie already very greatly enfeebled.
 Another effect of the prevailing nervousness is naturally to make peo- pie far more irritable than usual; and the physical weakness combined with the overwrought state of their nerves also makes them disinclined for effort or exertion. Religion, it is significant, seems to have lost all influence over them Not only have adults become as is proved by the grave in. creases of certain diseases, with which the medical authorities no longer know how to cope, but the condition of the children in the cities and towns, par ticularly of Austria, is distressing be- yond words. For example, the number of offenses against the law committed by children and young persons under in Vienna alone was, in 1913, 1885, but in 1917, 14,029-a nearly 7s per cent increase. And now it is scarce ly possible to keep count of the num- Der of thefts and other misdemeanors of which even young children are guilty.
 Again, the children often cannot be made to attend school, and the youths cannot be induced to do any work. The children play truant for days and weeks together, and the youths leave their work for any trivial reason or none.
 Children and young people are con- stantly Quarreling until they come to blows; they have no respect for their teachers, parents or elders; they insult and abuse older persons and even spit 1t them sometimes and threaten them with violence. Thieving, however, is he commonest offense.
 Few Children Survive.
 In Poland nervousness and nervous l have become so appalling | hat very few mothers give birth to children capable of surviving. Thus, 1t the maternity. hospital of Lemberg l n two months only one infant sur lived out of 91 born and people are l iai1y perishing from hunger This in | eresting old city with its cathedrals md universities has now become for orn and desolate, and what is true of f iS trI1a of tho rest of Poland and Austria
 To add to the scourges of nervous less and sobbing sickness, infantiie 'curvy, caused by bad milk, is greatly increasing among young children in Austria. ~s