The Washington times., 1922-08-13
By KABL II. Won wIEGAND.
VIENNA. Aug. IL.
<<"HREE hundred professors
of the Vienna University

nOte0 0efmdtOioBibt anu W foSiuchs
Of the University Of Vienna, told
me today In an interview which
revealed the gloomy and disheart-
ening condition of the famous in
stitution.
Color was lent to the picture
drawn by the professor by the
visitor who left DR.. Riehi just as
I entered.
It was an American woman who
had offered the university q sum
Of money with which to establish
warming rooms for poor students
next winter.
REFLECTS CONDITIONS.
"Deplorable as the situation Of
our scientific institution is." con-
tinued the professor. ''it Is but q
reflection of the general state Of
affairs in our country. d
"The fundamental evil II that
Austria has a deprecated cur
rency which loses In purchasing
power every day, that she entire
ly lacks coal. and produces only
one-sixth Of her demand in food
stuffs.
at Is natural that under these
,tr,,,r, sta pnaa nur npiuaraitv
once the flourishing intellectual
center of Austria-Hungary and
the Balkans. should be doomed to
gradual collapse unless there is
a general and drastic change for
the better.
I'VE have $4,000 students at
the university at present. OF
these 5000 take their meals at
the 'mensa academice,' the din
ing club Of the undergraduate
students. where they obtain full
board at a very reasonable price.
NELP FROM AMERICANS.
Tho dining club Of the pro-
fessors. the 'mensa professorum.'
comprises 800 members. We could
not run these dining clubs at all
without the splendid help Of the
American Society of Friends.
which provides them with great
quantities Of food,
Nevertheless, our funds are in
sufficient. and we really do not
know how we can sustain. during
the winter, this institution with
out whose help half Of our stu.
dents would simply starve.
Even now there is no meat
available for the dining clubs. and
II Is typical Of the situation that
the 800 men who are expected to
give our youth intellectual train
ing have gone without meat for
q year.
"The misery at our university
n increased by the fact that, un-
der the peace treaty we are forced
to admit foreign students and to
offer them the same facilities We
give our own.
Now there are countries In the
neighborhood Of Austria where
the number Of university students
Is restricted by law.
INFLUX OF FOREIGNERS.
"The surplus thus excluded
from education at their home uni
versities is pouring into Vienna, and
we must admit them and thereby
make things even worse for the
already suffering Austrian stu
dents.
The Polish university at War
saw, for example, does not admit
students from Galicia, which is an
important part Of Poland.
THE result ID that there are
now 1000 Galician students at
our university, besides 1000 other
foreigners.
"Only half Of our students are
Austrians, and their economic
situation Is growing worse daily
on account Of the steady flow Of
foreign undergraduates to Vienna.
"The condition Of our labora-
tories. university hospitals and
other scientific institutions is, on
the whole. deplorable. -
1T IL almost impossible to In
crease or even keep up to normal
the number of scientific instru-
ments necessary for our re-
searches.
'The Rockefeller Institute did us
good turn by putting the coun-
tefvalue Of 10000, 900 Austrian
kronen at the disposal Of our SCI
entific funds. .s.
THE Society for the Support of
the Vienna University. which I
have helped to organize, gave US
another $4,000, 900 kronen.
But you will realize our plight
when I tell you that a new x-ray
,~~~~~~~~s>~~~~>~
Souls Purified bv