Evening star., 1934-08-12
COLLAPSE OF AUSTRIA
SEEMS ALMOST CERTAIN
Torn BY Revolution, Former u. S. Min
lister Sees Breakup of Once
Great Empire.

Ftilly as striking a. the political
disinteEration Is the physical dtsin-
teRratlon OF the City of Vienna,
Travellers for several years have re-
marked on its gloom and lifeleSsness.
Those who knew It before the war are
particularly struck with the difference
between the moribund Vienna Of today
and the gay and active Vienna Of the
old empire Not only Ia there much
less movement in the streets nov than
20 years ago. but the government and
the wealthy mobiles have found II
hard, II not impossible. n repair and
maintain the large public and private
buildings.
AS matter Of fact. II is not extreme
70 draw the parallel between Vienna
Of the last decade and Rome at the
beginning OF its greatest period Of de-
cline. Gibbon explains that when the
Roman state could no longer afford
10 keep UP the public buildings II per-
mitted the proletsriat to live in them.
This Is commonly assigned as one Of
the reasons for the physical decay OF
Rome and for the fact that so many
OF the Roman ruins became buried be-
meath such deep deposits Of dirt and
trash. The process appears to have
been that the public buildings were
stripped OF their marble and usable
stone for other buildings. with the re-
suit that the brick substructure more
easily disintegrated.
ROYAL Palaces Sold.
In addition, the custom OF stsbling
In them goats and other animals with
their owners in an age when cleanli-
ness was far removed from godlineSs.
helped the daily duststorms to fll up
the public buildings The owners of
large villas In Rome found themselves
in the same position as the govern
ment and in many cases turned their
buildings over to the public rather
than pay for the cost Of repairs.
In Vienna. with the advent OF the
republic in 1918, most of the royal
palace was split up into apartments.
The difference is one in kind and
custom rather than In substance be-
tween this and the abandonment of
Rome's public buildings to the pro-
letariat AT the same time the owners
OF the large palaces and houses In
Vienna have been unable to afford
the necessary repairs, with the re-
suit that many of these buildings are
actually In physical decay. The
process is only starting, but unless
checked during the next few decades
will inevitably lead TO the abandon
ment of these buildings.
Worse even than the physical and
political disintegration is the gradual
disappearance Of the Austrian culture.
This was one of the most advanced in
Europe. Vienna was a great center of
the arts ever since the middle of the
eighteenth century, and even in recent
years was outdistanced only by Paris
and London. In music Vienna was,
and probably still is. supreme.
Urbane Type Of Existence.
Furthermore. the yiennese- had de-
veloped an urbane type of existence
almost unequaled elsewhere in Eu-
rope, and while 1t was a city where
the aristocracy had greater privileges
than anywhere else in modern Europe,
it was also a city where people of no
means and of no particular social
stratification could and did enjoy the
amenities of life. The middle class
Austrians were. as rule, conversant
with the literature of two or three
languages besides their own, and
through constant intermingling with
the different racial groups in the en-
pire, had acquired broader viewpoint
than most continentals.
Ever since the breakup of the EN-
pire the class which would normally
have been the transmitters of this
culture has found itself impoverished
in the extreme. Even where it has
been possible to give the younger gen.
Grafton the same kind of education
that would have been given before the
war. the terrible problem has TO be
faced that there is no work for these
young people to do. AS they cannot
emigrate, they are doomed to life of
inactivity and it is almost certain that
they will not be in a position to hand
down to their children the educational
and cultural advantages which they
obtained from their parents.
If Austria were to be annexed TO
Germany her economic future might
be easier, but her spiritual doom
would be complete. Vienna would
become merely an appendage of the
German Reich. Worse still. it would
probably be the ugly duckling, re-
sented and disliked by the other cities
and provinces of Germany. If the
present process of forcing on all Ger
mans an artificial culture based on
myths were applied to Austria, the last
remnants of the old Austrian culture
would be blotted out.
The tragedy Of Austria Is all the
greater, in view Of the fact that the
Austrian peasant stock is one of the
best in Europe Once absorbed in the
German machine, they will carry little
weight, as they are not an aggressive
and arrogant people like the north
Germans, but rather are easy-goine
and tolerant. How they can live by
themselves no one knows. They seem
therefore. TO be the victims Of a politi'
cal disease, the cure for which no doc
for has vet devised