The Washington herald., 1920-12-29
VIENNA PRISONS PACKED
WITHFOIK HUNGER-DRIVEN
TO CRIME, SAYS WRITER
Coningsby Dawson Describes Grim Scenes En-
countered in Privileged Tour of Inspection
Men, Women and Children Herded.

who had had all the military decor
ations he had won tattooed on his
breast. They were plain for every
one to behold, as he had only a shirt,
and that torn. Round his neck was
tattooed the iron cross and below
1t, in a long line, all his service
medals, starting with that of 1914.
When he marched away six years
ago to die for his country how well
would he have fought could he have
guessed that this would be his re-
ward? In one cell for six men into
which twenty-six had been crowded,
we stumbled on a pathetic piece of
vanity. The door unlocked SO quick
ly that the prisoners were taken
unawares. We discovered one man
of so with what looked like a terri
BILE wound across his mouth, all
bandaged.
/ turned away to speak to a stunted
boy who looked about II to ask him
why he was there. He had been
arrested for house breaking because
he was hungry. He wasn't IA, he
was nearly 20. When / glanced
back to the prisoner. with the
wounded mouth I found myself face
to face with a replica of Hinden-
burg. The bandage which he had
been wearing had been hastily re-
moved. 1t was a moustache pre-
server with elastics which went be-
hipd the ears to keep contraction in
place. Out of all his fallen fortunes.
the vermin and vice, he had saved
this petty piece of conceit to heel
his wounded pride. And he had
oor far4 ha
most lercels up-pointed moustache
in Austria.
Glimpses Of He'll.
Cell after cell was unlocked. Civ
ing US instant glimpses of he'll. 1t
was famine that had worked this
evil Nine-tenths of these people
would have remained good but for
that.
The atmosphere was so putrid that
ones throat became sore. We lit
cigarettes to conquer the stencil.
Outside the sun was shining and
sky dazzling. This was their day
of rest. What did they do with it?
Nothing. They sat dolefully in
sullen, accomplishing apathy brood
ing and brooding. They have no
books, no way of entertaining
themselves, save in rare cases where
the Society of Friends had visited
them The Society of Friends is
the only institution which does any
thing in the interest of prisons Of
Austria.
One wondered what stories those
walls could tell Of what happened
after nightfall. 1t was in dark
ness, the warder informed US, that
vermin crept out. But other things
besides vermin creep out in hours
of darkness; evil thoughts bred of
idleness taking shape in evil acts.
In all this boys and girls of II
and over are witnesses and partici-
pants The sin which has put them
in jail is not theirs but society's-
their hunger. The price they pay
Is that they leave those walls as
moral degenerates. Civilization, bu
its callousness towards these chill
dreh, Is running up a heavy score
a score which one day will come
up for settlement and which all the
world, willingly or unwillingly, will
have to Join in paying. The bill
win consist of a leprous taint which
will travel in mems bodies down
the ages, a legacy of disease and
idiocy
Memory of the horror. stings ones
eyes and gags ones throat with its
foulness. It stirs ones mind to an
insanity Of anger at the SNUG COM
placency Of. the more fortunate
world which contrives excuses for
Withholding its help. What have
these fathers and mothers done to
be in jaiy? Their children were
dying. It was noble of them to
steal and the little child prisoners,
why should they be here?N During
most of their lives. beginning with
the war. they have known nothing
but cold and privation. They were
taught to pilfer by necessity, which
Is scarcely sufiicient reason for kill
ing their souls.
Kentmere, s1S; Johnny. O'Connell,
And please remember that this
Jail In Vienna il only a sample of
jaiis Of all the stricken countries.
A Hope Shattered.
A narrow studded door was
swung wide. revealing q narrow cell
of no more dimensions than a dou-
BILE bed. It contained two occu-