The Washington herald., 1920-05-02
Especial Cable to The Herala.) J,

Especial Cable To The Heraid.)
Vienna, May ]. - The trend Of
events in Austria follows the direc-
ton prophesied in the earliest sur
veys of the conditions in this un-
fortunate country directly after the
armistice. 1t was and remains clear
that the population. of Austria ~ in
excess of Its agricultural and indus
trial productivity
Austria could develop into a sec
ond Switzerland, but not within a
decade. Under the circumstances,
unless Austria were united to Ba-
Varia, who would care for her as a
mendicant. the population slof the
new republic must dwindle by emil
grafton or death to the point of self
sustainment agriculturally and inl
dustrially. -. =. IT
Population Reduced by O,O8O.
During the past year the popula-
ton OF Vienna has been reduced by
100000. Some have gone to the
country districts, others have emil
grated. There are still in German
Austria nearly 100000 non-Ger-
mans, largely Czechs. Poles, Serbs
and Hungarians.
Naturally. one inquiries at once
why these have not already de-
parted. The answer lies in the
fGct that they are essentials in
the life of the country. the nom
essentials are Germans who were
previously bureaucrats. civil SER
wants and inhabitants whose source
of income lay outside of the ,boun-
darfes of the present republic.
For example. nearly all, the taiIors
and cobblers in Vienna are Czechs
and II these were to leave, the
civil servants of the late Hapsburg
government could not replace them
and make even the diminished num-
Der of pieces of clothing and foot
wear that are required by the citi-
zens of Vienna.
Birth Rate Rising.
Years will be required before the
sifting-out of the non-essential part
of the population will be accom-
plished and until that time arrives
the earning power of the essential
inhabitants will not be sufficient
to maintain such a standard of liv-
ing as will prevent a high death
rate. The birth-rate in Vienna is
already rising again. which means
that the infant death-rate will also
rise.
Those who leave the city for the
country do not. in all probability
increase the productivity of the
country. because the limiting fac.
tors in agriculture are resident in
the soil. and in the scarcity of ma
chinery. fertilizer. seed and work.
animals. The transfer of non-es.
sential inhabitants from city tc
country represents therefore large,
ly a direct rather than an indirect
pSrasitism upon the urban districts
The food conditions in Austria
represent no improvement over d
year ago. The food supply of the
children has been distinctly re.
lieved by the European childs re.
lief committee, but this has beer
more than obliterated in the quaint.
tative sense as applied to the en-
tire population by reduction in tho
total amount. The adults of tn.
cities OF Austria live from hand tc
mouth upon a ration scarcely more
than enough to maintain the ema.
clateo lndlVldualS In resting con-
dition. The horses look better, the
human beings look worse.
Food Accepted ns Pay.
Physical work is almost out OF
question. unless additional food Is
supplied and this has led to the sys.
tenn Of the so-called food-wage, by
which work is paid for in par
through increased rations to the
workers. The employer must be ir
a position to provide increased foot
and have guarantees for his Goa