Evening star., 1947-12-17
War Talk and Tension
OF U. 5. Missing in
Vienna, Writer Says
By Helene Huntington Smith

VIENNA (By air maiD This is
the furthest outpost of western
democracy. From here on out the
world OF the hammer and sickle
begins Not only is Vienna like
Berlin, an international island in
the middle of Russian zone of oc-
cupation, but Austria itself is sur
rounded on three sides by the Com
munist dominated countries OF
Czechoslovakia. Hungary and Yugo-
slavia. If war should break out
tomorrow this place wouldn't have
a chance.
Yet there was more talk about
war and more tension in the United
States when I left there two weeks
ago than there is in Vienna today.
Nerves are less edgy here and
tempers are easier, than they are
thousands of miles from a Russian
soldier.
The United States Air Force has
a base at Tulin, 20 miles from
Vienna out in the Russian zone
One night short time ago, a flying
officer from the base was driving
back there when two Russian SOL
diers tried to thumb 4 ride. He
didn't stop, fearing that If well
vodkaed-up they might push him
out and take the car, so they fired
at him. Instead OF raising an in
ternational fuss he figured that the
Russians were merely drunk and
trigger-happy, and didn't even
bother to report the incident.
Relations Difficult.
On the official level Russian rela-
tions here are just as difficult, OBJ
structive and all but hopeless as
they are everywhere. But the ten
sion is softened by small daily con-
facts, which add up to feeling
that the individual Russian is a
human being with faults and likable
qualities like anybody else. The
personnel of the four powers pass
freely back and forth into each
others zones throughout the "a
hours all you need is the interzonal
card with the four flags.
In the international zone ut the
heart OF Vienna you meet Russian
soldiers walking about the streets
quiet and well-behaved, wearing
gray fur hats, gray-belted overcoats
Of furry cloth with purple or red
shoulder boards. and black Cossack
boots. They are almost theatrically
good looking and remind an Amer
ican of night club doorman, ex-
cept for their faces, which are young
and Slavic-looking.
One Of the very few points of con-
tact permitted by Soviet policy is
the international Patrol. Snappily
uniformed soldiers of the four ma
tions drive around the city in COM
mapd car with the flags of all four
flying on the radiator. The Amer
ican always drives. The soldier OF
the power presiding over the Inter
allied Commission that month sits
next to him In the front seat.
Cooperation Praised.
II an American gets into trouble
In the Russian zone he Is picked up
by the Russian MPs and taken to
the Kon1mandatura, where the In
ternational Patrol Is sent for. And
vice versa. 1t all works so smoothly
that 1t is the most written-about
institution in Vienna - other ex-
amples of smooth international CO.
operation being hard to find.
There are more fights between
Americans and British than there
are between the soldiers of any
other two nations, because they un-
derstand each others language
which facilitates the exchange OF
insults. But when it comes to trar-
fic accidents and hit-run episodes,
the Russians are miles ahead OF
anybody else Except Austrian ci-
vilians). They have not been mo-
torized very long and are wild
drivers.
You can't prove very much by