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Show Austria, Gripped by Hunger-Wolf, Appeals to Americans for Help; Fearful Conditions Are Reported Whole of Country Facing Actual Starvation; Vienna Scene of Unparalleled Suffering and Anguish; Quick Aid Imperative. tty Universal Service. 1 V' I KN'NA, Dec. 27 Austria waits, an humlilc supplicant, at Amer-a Amer-a humble supplicant, at Amor-j Amor-j ore we die.'' I The next two months are reckone. i as the most critical, as the most severe I conditions will be experienced in that period. If all promises are fulfilled, the country is assured of a half ration, which will not be sufficient to support sup-port human existence until the end of Januury. The credits which have been arranged by Chancellor Kenner in Paris may enable, en-able, the nation to carry on a little further. fur-ther. The entente mission is nlideav-firii.f; nlideav-firii.f; to save A-ustria from perishing, but the situation improres momentarily momentar-ily only to collapse again. Experts are c" the opinion Ihat the country can 3iirvive onlv if sufficient credit is (Ii-miied to buy raw materials and resume re-sume manufaetnri'ij.'. In the fashionable quarters of i-enna i-enna the strcetH are crowded with ra Ci , barefoot, hollow-eyed children accosting passers-by pitifully for food or clothing. On the pavements lie invalided in-valided soldiers, bongars exposing the stump of limbs still supperatniff from lack of medical aid. Sucking Lifeblood. Not more than a hundred yards away in the big hotels pit overfed, bloated Schleichendler, filthy ghouls, sucking the last drops of the lifcblood of Austria Aus-tria and sponsible for at least half of the existing misery by reason of their speculation, which keeps the prices of necessities of life beyond the reach of any except the very rich. They eat the best, not counting the cost. "Give us bread," rings through Austria, but bread is not to be had. The cafes are filled with patrons eating eat-ing pastries made from chestnut flour. 1 The greatest suffering is among the middle and lower classes, those who on miserable pittances have to keep up appearances and therefore must ofteu go without food. For their daughters it is either the street or starvation. In Vienna there are 73,000 unemployed unem-ployed tramping the streets looking for work. But few factories are working as a result, of the lack of ;oal. One skilled mechanic, said today: t Sour Cabbage Fare. "I work six hours a day, five days a week, but I haven't tasted meat in two months.' I have lived majnly on sour cabbage. Thank God, my wife is dead and I have no'children. God pity those who are marrieil and have children." In the poorer quarters there are children chil-dren who have not tasted milk in thoir whole lives and many are dying for lack of this important food staple. In some cases shoes are purchased with tins of preserved milk. As winter grips the country wore conditions are coming. i'eopte are faciug death by-freezing. by-freezing. Even the Czechs, sworn enemies en-emies of the Austrians, are relaxing their hostility in view of the sorry plight of the people and sending them some fuel as a New Year's gift. To add to the terrors of cold and famine, an epidemic of typhus and scurvy has broken out. The shadow of death hangs over the cit". and what was once the gayest of European cap- i itals is rapidly being depopulated. j A Sad Festival. j Christmas was a sad festival for the Viennese. Less than f per cent of the people had meat on that day. Sour cabbage and a few crusts of mouldy bread were the mainstays of the remainder. re-mainder. Dogs and cats are disappearing, disap-pearing, being killed and eaten, and horseflesh has come to be esteemed a great delicacy, available only for the wealthy. A general crime wave hft9 added to the horrors of life in the capital. Shops and private houses have been looted despite the activity of the police, and arriving freight trains are now provided pro-vided wish strong guards as a result of many car robberies. Billboards, and in some eases houses, have been torn down by the desperate poor persons to be used as fuc1. |