Perth Amboy evening news., 1923-11-03
HASKIN'S
LETTER
A NEW AUSTRIA.
BY Frederic j. Haskin.

WASHINGTON, Oct. Silt is a
| difficult question to determine who
| has really won anything out of the
| war. There are many divergent
| schools of thought on this subject
| and when each is. analyzed down to
| a fine point, advantages and disad-
vantages seem to balance fairly
| evenly. There now seems to be
emerging from the tumult of the
| post war-years one victor of a cur
| ious sort-especially curious because
! II at first seemed to be the most
/ thoroughly defeated participant.
That victor is Austria.
What Austria has won is security
| for the future, a prize which almost
any people would regard as inval-
liable. In one sense, every war is a
| war to enforce peace. A nation usu-
ally goes to war because 1t reaches
the conclusion that 1t cannot en-
joy peace until after it's rival has
been whipped. Livy, the great his
torian, observed that Rome conquer
ed the world as an incident to de-
Tending her borders, that is, to the
preservation of her own peace, the
repulsion of invaders. But Aus
tria now seems to have reached an
peace and security are about as cer-
tain as anything human can be and
will continue to be certain without
the necessity of war. The reason is
that there is nothing left to fight
about.
Before 1914 the Austro Hungarian
Empire. although she had suffered
tradition of defeat for centuries,
still was great nation. 1t used to
be said that when Napoleon thought
his army needed maneuvering prac-
tice, instead of merely holding sham
battles and school tactics, he would
go out and drive the Austrian army
around for a few months. The plains
and mountains of Austria have been
battlefield for generations and yet,
In 1914, the empire was great
enough to become the ally of what
then was regarded as the strongest
single military power in the world
Germany. Austria was a menace;
Austria was a prize.
Now the tables are turned. The
The treaty of peace stripped Aus
tria of practically all of her terri
tory. She was conceded to be the
worst beaten of the central powers.
The secession states of Hungary and
| Czecho-Slovakia were set up out of
her former dominions and portions
| were carved off for Poland and for
| the Serb b-Croat-Slovene state while
Italy laid claims to other portions.
Literally, there was little left of Aus
tria but the old capital of Vienna and
its suburbs. The head was left but
the body was cut off and distribut-
ed. In the post war years Austria
was a pitiable spectacle. Her peo-
pie starved and her Industries were
dormant because their supporting
territory was gone.
Now, after hard vicissitudes, Aus
tria is emerging and discovering
that she is to be one of the smallest
states In Europe, but perhaps the
happiest. Her territory is so small
that no one covets it. Her resources
are so slight that no larger power
is willing to bother about getting her
as an ally. Two reasons operate to
keep her at peace. First, she has
| had more than she wants of war
| and, second, she is not strong enough
to attract either allies or enemies.
In these respects she bears some
relation to Switzerland, a comfort
able little nation which has existed
for centuries without war because
she is small and peaceable.
The first postwar years were diff
ficult to endure but now affairs in
Austria are on the upturn and she
is reaping her reward. Her people
are discovering that they are going
to have a comfortable and secure
rss.&N g.I n 1T 4,
in the pleasantest possible manner
What is left of Austria Is only slight
ly less picturesque than Switzerland
itself. The flood of American tour
lists that inundated Europe last sum-
mer discovered that Vienna was
wonderful old city and that the sur
rounding country was delightful.
Austria has become the new tourist
Mecca of Europe. The people mere
ly have to continue to retain their
picturesque landmarks, the old cas-
ties, their broad plazas, their bril-
liant cafes, and American gold will
come rolling to their doors. The
flow has started and there Is every
indication that it will continue.
Perhaps the greatest single assis-
tance which Austria received in get
ting out of the bog in which the war
left her was the League of Nations
loan. A loan of s25,000,000 to run
twenty years was issued last sum-
mer under the guarantee of the
League of Nations. 1t was specific
ally underwritten by several MEM
ber states. Great Britain, France,
and -Slovakia each under
wrote 2415 per cent of the loan;
Italy 20M per cent; Belgium and
Sweden, each 2 per cent. and Dem
mark and Holland each 1 per cent.
Much of this loan was sold success
fully in the United States. When it
seemed that the last vestige of Aus
trian credit was gone, this League of
Nations loan was arranged and now
Austria is being pointed to as an
outstanding example of what may be
done by cooperation.
Industrial activity has begun in
Austria and capital is flowing in for
investment. While the crown still Is
below par, it has shown great in
creased strength. The United States
has contributed to the rehabilitation
of Austria by deferring payment on
the debt due us.
To say that little remains of Aus
tria besides Vienna and her suburbs
is relative. That is what Americans
would think because territories go by
e a. L. II