Page:The Bohemian Review, vol2, 1918.djvu/43

 their conversations with the Slavs to reiterate that the Entente gives no thought to the Czechoslovaks and the Austrian Slavs in general, and that England in particular has completely given up the plan of breaking up Austria. Czernin is known to have said many a time that Austria will get out of it safe, that some fortunate turn of the wheel will save her at the last moment. He counts, as stated, principally on Russia, and also on the disorder and demoralisation in Italy and France. He places very high hopes in Italian, French and neutral socialists. For that reason Czernin lends his countenance to every enterprise that tends to bring together socialists of both sides. Despite the opposition of official and military Germany Czernin has worked for the Stockholm meeting with all his power. During the weeks preceding the departure of Austrian delegates for Stockholm an unbelievably pacifist attitude was created in Vienna. The evening papers which do not pass out of Austria published sensational reports.

In short it is well to be prepared for new manœuvres of Count Czernin, who will do his utmost to bring on the end of war before next spring, when the situation will be desperate.

As for the American intervention, Czernin and the members of the Austrian govrnmentgovernment [sic] pretend to regard it with such a height of indifference that it must be a disquise for very grave fears. Czernin says that peace will be made before the United States can develop their military power, but in reality America worries him.

Hunger will be a terrible reality by spring. The food dictator, General Hoefer, declared at the end of November before the Food Board (Ernaehrungsrat) that they must figure on a deficit of six million quintals (about 220 lbs. each) of flour; that is to say, with all the restrictions there will be that much lacking to carry the population to the next harvest. That is approximately one month’s supplies. In reality, the situation is far more serious, and the deficiency will be, according to the calculations of agrarians, nearly three times as great. The truth is that the amount of provisions upon which Hoefer based his calculations has been estimated with too much optimism and cannot possibly be realized. There is also an utter lack of brass and horses. And if it were not for Russian prisoners, the peasants could not cultivate their fields.

Whereas the average crop of breadstuffs is about 130 million quintals, last year it amounted to some 70 or at most 80 million. The Hungarian harvest was quite poor, while Roumanian harvest was just fair. The amount of potatoes harvested is less than last year.

During the past year famine would have broken out in April, if it had not been for the Roumanian supplies. Austria’s share was 50,000 carloads. In spite of that the distress was very great. The disorders in Bohemia (in Prague, Prostejov, Trutnov, Plzen, Brno, Moravska Ostrava) are well known.

The real prices of foods reached fabulous heights. In Vienna a kilogram of coffee costs 80 crowns; in Bohemia a kilogram of flour is from 16 to 30 crowns; a kilogram of potatoes 1, 2 and even 4 crowns.

In Prague the population has organized excursions of adventure into the country to hunt for potatoes which the purchaser must dig out himself. Of course the official maximum prices are not as high as those just mentioned. But the trouble is that you cannot buy anything at the official prices.

Money has lost all value. Banknotes are called in Prague “úplavice” (dysentery).

The coal crisis will also be extremely serious this winter. Figures given to the deputies by Homann, acting minister of public commnicationscommunications [sic], are sufficiently depressing, and yet are still far from reality. In any case, while the transportation difficulties have been slightly improved by the construction of new cars, lack of rail road employees is as urgent as ever. Coal output has been decreased fully fifty per cent owing to the lack of miners.

To sum up, one may expect serious troubles and riots; but not a revolution, at least not until some great defeat occurs in the field.

Austria is now starting to apply a method that has worked excellently in Germany, namely to divide the population into two distinct groups—soldiers at the front and in the rear, as well as workmen of all trades producing supplies for the army on one hand, and all the rest of the civil population on the other hand. The first group