The Key West citizen. [volume] (Key West, Fla.) 1879-current, 1953-06-24
By RICHARD ORGAN

BUDAPEST. Hungary RN-Hun-
gary, five years after coup d'etat
brought communism to power, is a
flower among Russia's dreary East
European sateIlites-but a flower
imprisoned and whiting rapidly.
It's jailers are 25,oO0 rarely seen
Russian troops and the all-power.
full Hungarian Communist leaders
who drive huge, curtained black
Zis sedans.
Prisoners are more than 80 per
cent Of nine million HungarianS
who appear to have just enough to
eat, but have neither the time nor
the cash nor the inclination to seek
even the small happinesses of civ
ilized life.
Budapest, once the queen of
Eastern Europe, today is almost as
shabby and depressing as the cities
of postwar Germany. Gone are the
smart Paris.style salons of Vaci
Utica. gone are most Of the leis-
urely sidewalk cafes of the Danube
embankment, and gone are the
groomed Magyar women who gave
Budapest more beauty per square
mile than any city in Europe.
Suppressed, too, are Budapest'S
traditional gaiety, It's carefree love
of life and the wealth and culture
that still In 1S4S had survived the
pre- Communist destruction Of Hun
gary's ancient agricultural feudal.
ism.
In their place, the Communists
have suffered thousands of shops,
ripped off the names of their own
ers, and replaced them with state
stores whose poor quality goods
are out of reach for virtually
every one but the new upper and
middle classes of communism.
Hotels are deserted except for
visiting Communist dignitaries and
the heroes and officials OF the new
state.
And over the entire new society,
Hungarian communism has i'm
posed the grim conformity OF Boil
shevist dress and the dusty, grey
drabness Of industrial overcrowd-
ing.
To American correspondents Wis.
iting Budapest from Vienna, the
Hungarian capital Is depressing.
But it is said to be q dreamland
compared with Prague, Warsaw,
Bucharest and Sofia.
II has the atmosphere Of war,
without the urgency or the spirit.
Uniforms are as numerous and as
varied as New York or London In
1913.
Truckloads Of soldiers, singing
In the Russian style. roar through
the streets at night. Women police,
in untidy blue and white uniforms,
control the women drivers of de-
crepit 1888 Skoda taxis and the
traffic of the state-owned. Russian
built Pobedas and Zis automobiles
Of government officials. engineers
and doctors.
Brown uniforms Of the military
branch of the AVH-the secret
police-mingle with hlue.eiad civil
police. uniforms Of the miiitarily
organized postal officials, and the
uniformed technical students Of the
DISK youth organizations.
There is hurried construction Of
buildings meant to house the instru.
ments OF Communist power, but
cracked streets and sidewalks re.
main unrepaired ard unswept.
OF new developments, outstand.
ing are the two-block.square com.
pick of the Hungarian Defense Min.
istry and the ninestory dazzlingly
white headquarters Of the AVH.
The AVIS uncounted and dread.
ed agents cause hungary's millions
to cast frequent cautious Rlances
over their shoulders and curb their
critical tongues. They are so many,
American correspondents deteetad
them frequently and girls in night
clubs openly admitted they worked
for The police.
The pleasures II . restricted
night life in Budapest are not for
the mass Of Hun9arians. A meal
for two with wine In q restaurant
with music costs an average office
empioys four days work.
II ID equally out Of question for
the average woman TO witt one Of
AAm~