Polk County news. [volume] (Benton, Tenn.) 191?-1983, 1921-07-07
Austria Specializes in Art
of Begging and Insulting

Dutch and Scandnavians have earned
lot of money. The South Ameri-
cans are rich. And all this shows that
they should come to the help of Aus
tria. The Austrians think that only
fair. They do not expect otherwise.
With the allies, especially those OF
the entente, it is quite another mat
ter. The entente had dared to refuse
the credits requested? What pity
its prisoners were not allowed to
starve during the war; The entente
does not want us to join Germany
Well, we shall do so without its per-
mission. The time will come when we
will ally with Germany to fight the
entente.
That is the reasoning of the Ger
man declared was just good enough
to black the boots of the German
army.
l have experienced moments during
which the Austrian absence of char
acter has been made clearly obvious.
l returned in the company of my
wife and one of her friends one eve
ming from Baden, a little mountain
Gus place, where one goes for week
ends AS my companions were Eng
lish we talked English. The tramcar,
capable of carrying about forty pas
sengers, presently filed up. Once on
the way a man standing up, a typical
German started propaganda against
foreigners, and pointing to us deslg'
mated us as English or Americans,
He mixed himself up in our CONVEX
sation. He insulted us extensively in
German.
The whole compartment, consisting
Of all sorts and conditions of trav'
elers, supported this man. Vulgar
coarseness succeeded to the insults
and jokes. Everything and all were
passed in review, the allied govern
ments and their chiefs, even Presl'
dent Wilson was not forgotten. III
fact, he was spoken of most Of all
because these people took me for an
American. Then they went on to
more personal matters-Ourselves, our
clothes, everything was analysed and
ridiculed. The most revolving things
were said by the best-dressed men,
and women joined in with degraded
delight, The tram conductor laughed
I pretended not to understand. The
only thing to do with these brutes'
I even heard somebody make a sug'
cestion to throw us out of the tram
at the next stopping place.
The starving children of Austria ex.
ist mostly in the imagination Of those
who earn an easy living by begging
As a matter of fact, one does not see
more sickly-looking children in Vienna
than in any other large town. IT
helm were given to the children of the
DOOR of the unemployed, OF the de-
modified soldiers without means OF
subsistence in England, America and
France such charity would be put to
a far better use.
Waste of Coal and Light.
Tn order to save coal France and
England ordered the dancing saloons
and theaters to be closed earlier in the
evening Austria did nothing of the
kind. Everything was Illuminated
In giorno till midnight. It did not
matter If her subjects paid 8 kronen
a kilogram for coal and her factories
were obliged to stop work for lack OF
coal
While in most lands one does ones
best to produce, the slightest Incident
here creates strike. People take
the most futile pretext to have an ex
fra day of rest--and all the same they
have the courage to complain!
Nobody deprives himself of pleas
ure. one Is prepared 20 do without
anything except enjoyment. 1t Is moi
true that the people who go out IN
the evenings are all foreigners. List
on TO the languages spoken In the
dancing saloons and cafes. Vlennese
German and pure German predomi
nate. Look at the lines outside the
theaters where German plays are be
ing produced. Austrlans certainly
form the majority of the frequenters
Look also at the rows Of taxis around
the football field on Sundays, when
two local clubs meet. have seen
more than 500 of them. 1t Is not the
foreigner who pays 1000 kronen OF
more to drive to the place where the
game goes on