The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1922-10-14
Coffee Minor Deprivation of Coffee
House Strike

deprive the people of any big:
American city of their daily news-
papers for a. week, or a month, and
imagine what would happen. Yer
sucI, deprivation is the real sig1ii-
ficance Of what the cofee-iloase'
strike. means to Vienna. says g, bai-
iet;n from the Washington. d. S.s
headquarters Of tire National Geo
graphic Society.
1Jn Iienna's: present cconocaic
plight newspapers not only are eS-
ceedingly costly: but they auc;:-
ate in price from day 10 ;&y With
the syfations OF exchange rate-
While the American citzen has
faced such emergencies as food
rationing, railroad and coal strikes,
he never has had it brought home
to him. by actual deprivation. the
loss he would sustain. BY not being
able TO buy his daily newssa per
for n fixed sum.
The closing of England's tea
houses. or the sudden cessation Of
Partisan sidewalk cafes would be a
shock. yet such caIspaities could
hardly be considered as much OF a
wrench to the daily lives Of the
average citizen as q temporary luli
in the even tenor of Eienese Coz
fee-houses.
Even the city-dwelling Aneri-
can is accustomed TO look upon his
home as his evening headquarters
for rest and recreation. In Vienna
the coffee-house is the social rem
dez~ous for entire groups OF f2iks
wi1o raeard taeir abedes as PLACES
20 sleep Members Of the intcili-
gensia, q formidable segment Of "a
continental citys popuiace of the
literary and artistic set, Of the po-
litical ana industrial agitators, ard
of the young clerks from Office and
hank-aG have their fayoritc eof-
fee-houses.
Coffee, ice cream and buns are
excuses for the ee-hol,ss-vcrS
slight excuses-to the minds OF a
hungry american who SUSPECTS n
coffee-house Of being a pii"s 20 sip-
peasc hunger. It's major fasclna-
ton is conversation and ;.:'ortier
junction is that of library read
ing room Not only the E"Mspa-
pers, which are much in demand
during the high price period. but
current magazines viii be brought
you by your waiter upon request.
If you encounter no friends when
you arrive you read your time
away: Knowing sooner or later
some acquaintance will drop in
"1After dinner. too. the Fiennese
family goes to a coffee-housc. Din-
ner. at home nowadays is an event
in the life OF YicnneSe family:
and to break dinner invitation is
a grave socia, offense. If yoGr
hostess has invited You it is prob.
able that she has made such extra :
ordinary preparations as orderi4:,
IL bit Of meat. or some pastry deli
cacy, which the American takes for
granted. But. in Vienna. a good
meal in an event which the we'll
to-de indulge in once d week ana
which alas. the poorer classes only
dream about and yearn for. FOR
grim starvation itself is Il COM
lnonplace among thousands.
Sitting comfortably in a coffee
house. with a party Of young stu
dents upon your right engaged IN
earnest conversation. and Il group
Of alien visitors saxly chatting to
your left. while in front Of you is q
scholarly Austrian buried deep IN
"a masazine--you experience the
illusion that you are in a city Of
content.
your illusion vanishcs when
you pay the waiter. Your cup Of
coffee cost you 500 kronin. In or
dinary times, you recall. that would
be 500 III American money. Sut
.oday's exchange rates make this
800 !tronin cup OF coffee cost you
Just one cent or less in coin Of the
United States