Albuquerque morning journal. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1903-1926, 1919-11-12
POVERTY STALKS
IN VIENNA; CITY
GORELY STRICKEN
Large Part of the Population
Lives in Poverty Prices Are
High, Houses Are Scarce
and People Suffer,


vienna. Nov. II (by the Associated
same as before the war, but actually
this great city is stricken. Dozens Of
fheafers and operas are open, cafes
and music. halls are crowded, but a
yervv large part of the population is in
poverty lacking not only food and
clothing but place to live. The
streets are thronged shops opened
shoD windows filled with the articles
of luxury for which Vienna is famous,
but the better part Of the stock is 70
be found in the windows
Virtually everything is priced in
hundreds of crowns Austrian money
paper only and unbaCked by precious
metal, goes steadily down. Even the
swarms of -beggars that infest the
streets look reproachfully at anything
less than the pink piece of paper that
indicates two crowns. 1t costs nun
dred crowns to go few blocks by car
riage taxicabs being few and almost
prohibitiye even in the deprecated
money, while the street porters, OLD
men who act as messengers and car
| riers. will not cross the street for less
than twenty crowns.
Residents Shabbily Pressed.
once the best dressed town in the
world Vienna is plain to the point of
shabbiness. Most of thei women wear
unmistakable homemade gowns ana
| the mems clothing shows the mark OF
wear, the cleaner the member and Of
ten the tailors who turn the unWeara-
| BILE inside out.
ct would cost me four months sal
airy TO buy a new SUIT OF clolnes now
remarked a foreign office official, as
! no smiled at his fiye-year- serge,
| land | must eat occasionally.
The other day there was great
demonstration of state pensioners pc
| fore the house of parliament and some
| Of the cases cited by the deputauon
| To the governmentw ere pitifuh These
| pensioners said they were starving.
| Meantime the press openly charges
| that backdoor or Illicit trade IN foou
I supplies and other commodities sup
posedly under government control Is
widely prevalent. -, :,
| Vienna is suffering from lack OF
housing facilities The population Is
! estimated at 100000 to 100000 more
! than in normal times. The city gov
| eminent lately has taken few man
! hearted steps in an effort to BRING re-
| lief. A large number of so-calieo no
tells of rather evil reputation are Il
be cleaned out of their present occu
pants and turned over as lodgings Ioi
| the poor. The same order eNpels itol,
| their PREMISES, often nearly palaual
| the homes Of the rich deml-ih
| Also il is contemplated to make USE
of some of the splendid and practl
| cally unoccupied private palaces.
Nrintpn Predicted.
The napers and the more spirited
ana far-seeing men are sounding TN
/ alarm of a fueiess winter. The inter
allied coal commission has been Try
ing TO provide at least modicum o
fuel for city utilities but they ADM
that it will be only d pittance OF Tn
normal supply All around the clV
the beautiful forests are being Gu
down for firewood, and fuel Is IN
one demand.
The hotels answer the query o
every guest or prospective guest. NC
we do not hope to have neat or NO
water, only fire for cooking.
All through the months since IN
peace conference began the Viennese
hieh and low, have said with simpi
faith: "When the peace Is slghe'
things will mend" They cannot ex
Main exactly how or why, but the
have conjured themselves with tn
idea that some sort of miracle WI
occur. But the peace has been slgne
and nevertheless the crown goes dow
day by day and prices go up an
everything is as bad as ever. Now the
saw. "The reparations commission
An, yes, the commission. They Will II
things"