The New York herald. [volume] (New York, N.Y.) 1920-1924, 1921-06-12

well as in the interest of Austria
itself that the truth should be made
known"
Special Correspondence to THE NEW YORK
HERALD.
BY w. JOHN LENGLET.
VIENNA. May 2o.-After having been
q year in Austria I have come to the
conclusion that the country spec1alizes
in the art of begging and insulting.
These two faults combined have been
brought to such a height that the
people have lost every sense Of dignity
and their whole character.
This is specially clear to the for
eigner who stays a good deal In
Vienna. The foreigner who merely
passes through brings nothing back
but a remembrance of more or less
gay evenings and of fantastic figures
of worthless currency: but he who
has to live there and take part in the
everyday life Of Vienna, especially If
he take the trouble to look deeply into
the heart of things, is certainly con-
WINGED that side by side with certain
misery in the lower middle classes and
privations among the upper classes,
there exists among the new rich
"schiebers"-an indifference to all the
interests of Austria which is hardly
believable.
The ''schieber" may be the middle
man of business transactions, or even
the business man quite simply. The
"schieber" is also the bucket shop
keeper" who speculates illegally in
exchange. He Is the man who reigns
at the stock exchange, who leads the
freihandel Gree commerce), and it is
he who piles up bundles Of bank notes,
a single one of which he will not
spend unless 1t bring him the equiva-
lent in pleasures or goods. The in
terest Of his country? He laughs at
It as at splendid joke-the starving
children can be looked after by for
eigners. He can eat white bread and
he does so without scruple. He can
drink champagne at 5000 crowns a
bottle. He provides his wife or his
mistress with magnificent furs and
precious Jewels. He knows no duty
but that of spending the money, which
ne has gained by exploiting his coun-
trymen, in pleasures and luxuries.
He is the immoral being who has
sprung from the Austrian soil since
misery spread over the land.
The VaIute All Important.
When the little bourgeois or shop
keeper smells the foreigner, he imme-
diately sizes UP his "Valute." You are
treated in accordance with the value OF
your national currency and the shop
man tries to convince you that IL he
charges you three times as much as
Austrians are charged he Is still render
ing you a great service: WAS macht
das DEM in Ihre valute?" (What does
e matter compared to the value OF your
money?) This becomes as familiar as
tho greeting you get when you go Into
a'shop. II you are good natured you
will simply accept this as part OF the
business.
Worse things exist, for the Austrian
has brought the art Of begging to such
q pitch that he has made the whole
world believe in him, and tho whole
world-England and the United States
at the head-allows itself to be fooled !!
Committees have been formed-Aus-
tria has been helped on every side--her
children have been sent to every coun-
try to be nourished and cared for; and
when they come back from these coun-
tries, dressed In new clothes and Inn
proved morally and physically, their pa
rents say: After all. It is not much.
you see, the clothes are not chic: the
stun is not of the best quality, and the
food, we'll, they do not trouble much
about food over there"
However, when one OF their children
comes back, they do their best to send
another over to the same conditions
that means another less to
bother about!
The man who lives In Vienna and
reads advertisements in the English
papers about starving Vienna cannot
help plying the naivete of the people in
England and other countries who send
money for the children who are sup
posed TO be dying in the streets. These
advertisements are only speculation
on the good faith OF the public; and the
puf.lic who subscribe are robbed twice
over first OF their confidence secondly,
OF their money.
do not suggest that the committees
who insert these advertisements are not
acting In good 5e,th. but that they are
themselves victims to the explorations
of the Austrians and journalists In Aus
trien yxy, VINO are determined to get as
much sympathy for Austria and as much
money as possible out OF the foreigner.
At one time the Austrian was In need
Of material help. This help was given
him so generously that he expects II to
so on forever,
MuIcted by Drivers.
What do some guilders, francs, dollars
or pounds matter to the foreigner? ma,
ia, aber nit ihren valuten !" (Well.
W1th the value OF their money! 4.
and as the value OF outside money IL
better than Austrian currency. why
should not the foreigner help Austria?
At least that is how the Austrian
reasons. He never asks himself who
created this situation in his land.
In all classes you meet the same phe-
nomenon. For instance, II you take a
taxi. when you arrive at your door the
driver asks you smilingly for twice the
amount YOU ought TO pay. IL you pro-