The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1919-11-16
VIENNA SUFFERS
AS NEVER BEFORE
People of Once Proud City
Are Now Shabby and
Haggard Looking


Vienna, October 1O-Outwardly Vienna
ually this great city is stricken. Dozens
of theatres and operas are open, cafes
and music halls are crowded, but very
large part of the population is in pow
erty, lacking not only food and clothing
but place to live. The streets are
thronged. shops opened. shop windows
filed with the articles of luxury for
which Vienna is famous. but the better
part of the stock is to be found in the
windows
Virtually everything is priced in hun
dreds of crowns. Austrian money paper
only and unbacked by precious metal
goes steadily down. Even the swarms OF
, beggars that infest the streets look re-
proachfuly at anything les than the pink
piece of paper that indicates two crowns
1t costs 100 crowns to go a few blocks
by carriage, taxicabs being few and al
most prohibtive even in the deprecated
money, while the street porters old men
who act as messengers and carriers. will
not cross the street for less than 20
crowns.
Once the best dressed town In the
world. Vienna is plain to the point of
shabhiness Most of the women wear
unmistakable homemade gowns and the
mems clothing shows the mark of wear,
the cleaner the member and often the
tailors who turn the unwearable inside
out.
1T would cost me four months salary
TO buy a new suit of clothes now re-
marked a foreign office official, as he
smiled at his 5-year-old serge, and |
must eat occasionally
The other day there was great demon
stration of state pensioners before the
1 ,f Do VII md Of q
| cases cited by the deputation to the gov
eminent were pitiful. These pensioners
said they were starving.
| Meantime the press only charges that
| backdoor or illicit trade in food supplies
and other commodities supposedly under
government control is widely prevalent.
! Vienna is suffering from lack of hous-
| ing facilities, The population is esti-
mated at 20o,O 900 to 100000 more than in
normal times. The city government lately
| has taken a few half-hearted steps in
an effort to bring relief A large number
Of so-called hotels of rather evil reputa-
4 ton are to be cleaned out Of there pres
emit occupants and turned over as lodg-
iings for the poor The same order expels
/ from these premises, often nearly pa
latial, and confscates for public housing
purposes, the homes of the rich .demi-
monde. Also it is contemplated to- make
use of some of the splendid and prac-
| tically unoccupled private palaces.
| The papers and the more spirited and
| far-seeing men are sounding the alarm
1 of fuelless winter. The interallied Goa
commission has been trying to provide
at least a modicum of fuel for city utili-
ties, but they admit it will be only a pit
| lance of the normal supply. All around
| the city the beautiful forests are being
cut down for firewood. and fuel is the one
demand.
/ The hotels answer the query of every
guest or prospective guest. mo. we dc
not hope to have heat or hot water. only
| fire for cooking"
All through the months since the peace
conference began the Vienesse high and
low have said with simple faith When
| the peace is signed things will mend.
They cannot explain exactly how or why
| but they have conjured themselves with
the idea that some sort of miracle viii
| happen. But the peace has been signed
and nevertheless the crown goes down
day by day and prices go up. and every
| thing is as bad as ever. Now they say
THE preparations commisson-ah, yes
the commission They will fix things
4