Evening star., 1935-12-01
BY WALTER DURANTY.

VIENNA, November 30-Austria's !
chief trouble is that no one-either !
Austrians or foreigners-seem able to !
realize that Vienna no longer is the
capital of a great European confed- |
eracy.
There are four reasons for this error. |
First, history, whose pages show
Vienna as one Of the great European
centers. Second, geography, which !
gives Vienna potential command OF
the Danube and makes it the gateway
to the Balkans. Third, the fact that
Its people are Of German blood, and
that Hitler, the ruler OF the third
Reich, is himself an Austrian. Last
but not least, the tendency Of poll
ticians. writers and newspaper men to
dramatize situations and speak f1gura-
lively in terms of the past, rather
than view effectively the facts OF the
present.
What I mean to say is that. despite
the beauty, charm and culture OF
Vienna, Austria today Is no more,
from the viewpoint of practical poll
tics, than one of the smaller and
weaker states of a BalkaniZed central
Europe. AuStria's political impor-
tance is less than that Of Cechoslo-
vakia, Yugoslavia. Rumania or Greece,
but. for the aforementioned reasons,
It has retained its sentimental i'm
portance In the popular mind.
Temporal Power Gone.
Tho Austro-Hunparian Empire was
su fond an artificial combination, the
product of the Hapshurg dynasty
which for centuries played so great
role In Europe, and OF the Church
of Rome. The Hapsburgs have ta4len
and the temporal power OF the
church exists no longer. But the ef-
fects of human memory are such that
it is difficult to think of Vienna save
as one Of the keypints in Eurpe.
This fallacy has been buttressed by
the Pan-Teutonism Of the third
Reich and by the imperialism OF
Fascist Italy.
Until recently, Austria was like the
body of Patroclus, which furnished
the occasion for the bloodiest ana
most bitter conflict between Greeks
and Troians in the Homeric legend.
The hero was dead, but the possession
of his body had become symbol OF
victory, which both sides strove 10
win with equal fury and effort. mus
postwar Vienna, which politically Is
no more than a living corpse, became
important as the immediate goal, or
the supposed goal, of Nazi ambitions,
and was generally regarded as one OF
the dangerous open barrels IN the
European powder magazine.
Reached Crisis in 1884.
This aspect of affairs reached a
crisis in the Summer of 1884. after the
murder on July Is of the Austrian
Chancellor DollfusS by group OF con-
spirators who were presumed, PROB
ably with good reason, to be acting IN
the Nah interest. Italy at once rushed
forces to the Austrian border ana
showed every intention OF checklng
German aggression by force OF arms.
Yugoslavia reacted Immediately, and
for a moment it seemed possible that
the struggle for the body Of Patroc-
lus" would begin between these two,
quite irrespective of the third con-
tender, Germany.
But the Naz coup failed. Germany
was in no position to take overt ac-
ton, and the Italians saw the folly OF
risking a struggle with Yugoslavla Tor
a purpose that might be achieved
bloodlessly. They made instead deal
with the semi -dictatorial government
which succeeded Dollfuss, and, by the
Use of financial and political inf1u-
ence, established themselves in no
small measure as a temporary suzer-
ain Of the Austrian state.
When Mussolini drove full-speed
ahead on his Ethiopian adventure,
the chancelleries Of Europe at once
became alive to the danger that Ital-
ian preoccupations in Africa and the
Eastern Mediterranean might revive
German hopes of expansion in Aus
tria. 1t is possible that the Italians
themselves contributed to heighten
this fear, at least in the mind OF
France, by suggesting that it might
be necessary for them to withdraw
troops from Austria's southern border,
the Brenner Pass.
Prefers Cautious Game.
It soon became evident, however.
that Germany has no intention of
acting rashly. Far from intensifying
NaN propaganda in Austria, Germany
prefers to play a cautious game, and
waits to see what will be the issue Of
the Anglo-Italian controversy, whose
intrinsic Importance far transcends
immediate military operations in Ethi-
opia. The position and attitude of
Germany will form the subject Of a
later article, but, for the moment, it
is enough to say that the chancelleries
Of Europe were alarmed unduly and
that, as far as can be seen, there is
little chance Of an explosion in Aus
tria in the near future.
The Austrians themselves want
nothing so much as to be let alone.
They are peaceful, highly civilized
people, and, as have said, the growth
Of the Austro-Hungarian Empire was
due rather to dynastic reasons than
to a counterpart of the national am
bition and energy that built up the
United States, Britain and Germany.
Living conditions in Austria are diff
cult, as elsewhere in Europe, but not
1ntolerable. Thanks to the wisdom
and foresight of the director of the
national bank, who insisted upon GER
tain payments being made to British
creditors, the Austrian currency has
been stabilized and there is no BLACK
bourse" or fictional valuation, such as
efi1icts the German mark. Tourists
are being attracted in large numbers,
and it is the general feeling that
business has improved.
Heavy Drain on Finances.
On the nther hand Austria In de-