The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1919-11-25
in Austria
MADELEINE z. DOTY
 In London Daily Herald.

we are all done for. It makes no 1 difference whether we sign the eace treaty or not" These are the words uttered on every hand by rich and poor, radical and conservative, in city and coun- | try in Austria. The moment the Swiss frontier is crossed the tragedy is visible There are but two fast trains week. A desperate hungry mob hurries to Switzerland, and is hurriedly shipped back The bi-weekly trains are pack ed, first class as well as third. l sat on my luggage in the train corridor. Hundreds were doing the same. To move in or out was impossible. At P. M, after an all days Journey, we reached Innsbruck.
 Innsbruck was under Italian mill tary control. Yet the Austrians didn't hate the Italians. The Italians brought a little food. The hotel DOT ter said: q don't care who is in control, as long as we have food, and it isn't the PruSsians."
 sa the morning my breakfast con ztsted of imitation coffee and imita- tion 1narmalade. There was no sugar, no bread, no butter, and no other food to be had until noon. At O. clock the way train left for Salzburg- On the way to the station a treasured box of cigarettes was stolen. Every body steals food and tobacco.
 The ''personnen zug'' did not reach Salzburg until in the evening. The plush had been cut off the seats for clothes. The leather straps were gone from the windows. There was no way to open them. Opposite me was man from Germany. He told me con- ditions were worse in Austria than in Germany. "If you lave enough mon ey you can buy anything" he said, but the working people are starv ing"
 The Boy and the Chocolate.
 At the station barerooted children crowded under the train window. They begged, not for pennies, but for bread. "Brot,' "Bitte Brot," was the cry One of the few pieces of Swiss chocolate I was allowed to bring through with me I gave to a small boy. He grabbed 1t quickly, gave a swift look, and hid it furtively in his blouse. He didn't thank me; he did mt look at me; he moved off and tried to appear unconscious, his hand clasped over his shirt front. When he thought no one was looking he put a tiny crumb in pfs mouth. Yes it was the real thing. It was as though I had given him a gold piece instead of a penny, and he feared I would discover my mistake. He gianced at me once out of the cor ner of his eye. He couldn't believe his luck. Then he turned and ran, ran with abandon and recklessn ess, his hand still c1asped over the treas ure.
 At g the train pulled into SaIz- burg. The streets were empty, only a few lights glinmered. A hollow checked concierge greeted me at the hotel. Next morning, early, I threw open the blinds. A thin stream of people were moving across the bridge over the river, children on their way to school, women with little baskets on their arms. Their emaciated lit tie legs moved Hstlessly They smiI- ed at each other and talked in soft low voices The women were shabby and angular. Many were mothers but they had neither hips nor breasts They had given their nourishment tc the children.
 Skeletons at Play.
 I walked out through the streets Thin streams of people moved abou like sick flies. Children released from school tried to play, but rfckety leg wouldn't hold them up. They ran few steps and panted for breath On, small boy climbed a tree. There wa no flesh on him. I could see the shin bones and kneecaps. had the wiert sensation that a skeleton mad escap from a museum. The bones dug int the tree. Other children paused witt > pa1lid faces and racking coughs,
 On the way back to the hotel stopped at a couple of cafes. Sunllen eyed men and women sat huddlt over glasses of water. They ha, crawled out to see life Pitifully the gulped down imitation tea, coffe and chocolate. It eased the insid ache. Then they sat on the little ta bles sipping water. The cool wate bloated the stomach, and for a min Ute there was relief.
 At the hotel the concierge gave m the food allowance. It was one ouflc of bread a, day four ounces of mea week, one pound of sugar a montI But the poor frequently couldn't al ford their rahons. They sold the portion to hotel proprietors, who, i turn, sold to the rich.
 There was no train from SaIzbur that day, but there was an Allied @,