are the Germans willing to withdraw from Belgium?" The Chancellor answered: "Yes, but with guarantees." We I said: "What are these guarantees?" He replied: "We must possibly have the forts of Liège and Namur. We must have other forts and garrisons throughout Belgium. We must have possession of the railroad lines. must have possession of the ports and other means of communication. The Belgians will not be allowed to maintain an army, but we must be allowed to retain a large army in Belgium. We must have commercial control of Belgium." I said: "I don't see that you have left much for the Belgians excepting that King Albert will have the right to reside at Brussels with a guard of honor." And the Chancellor answered: "We cannot allow Belgium to be an outpost (Vorwerk) of England." "I do not suppose the English on the other hand wish it to become an outpost of Germany," I returned, "especially as Tirpitz said the coast of Flanders should be retained in order to make war on England and America." I then asked: "How about Northern France?" "We are willing to leave Northern France," the Chancellor responded; "but there must be a rectification of the frontier." "How about the Eastern frontier?" I asked him. "We must have a very substantial rectification of our frontier." "How about Roumania?" "We shall leave Bulgaria to deal with Roumania." "How about Serbia?" "A very small Serbia might be allowed to exist, but that question is for Austria. Austria must be left to do what she wishes to Italy and we must have indemnities from all the countries and all our ships and colonies back." Of course "rectification of the frontier" is a polite term for annexation. The nature of the "guarantees" demanded by Germany appears clear ly from the Chancellor's own words. Before the War Germany had 67,000,000 inhabitants, and the four States of the Central Alliance had together about 150,000,000 people. By attaching to Germany Belgium, Poland, the Baltic Provinces, and certain French territories Germany's population would be increased to about 100,000,000. Austria-Hungary, if victorious, would probably acquire the Ukraine and parts of Roumania and of Serbia which would increase the population of the Dual Monarchy to about 80,000,000. The population of Turkey and Bulgaria combined would, by the territories they claim, be increased to at least 40,000,000. population of the four States would then be increased to at least 220,000,000 and these would be absolutely dominated by Germany. The A greatly aggrandized Germany would not merely control her three vassal States, but would also endeavor to attach to herself the smaller States around the gigantic new composite State, in accordance with the views and desires which have been expressed by many of the most prominent Germans. Holland, Denmark, and Switzerland would be the first to fall under Germany's sway. A victorious war would therefore not merely double the population and wealth at the disposal of Berlin, as did the war of 1866, but would more than treble Germany's subjects and armed strength. The crude system of increasing the number of one's subjects by the annexation of independent States is completely out of date. One can have the identical result by incorporating States which nominally retain their independence. Bismarck's action in 1866 and the German system of Kartells have furnished valuable precedents. In 1866 the Prussian Government doubled the population under its sway while preserving the nominal independence of the minor German States. After a victory in the present War Germany might respect the nominal independence of Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria and Turkey, who now stand in the same relation to Germany in which Bavaria, Württemberg and Baden stand to Prussia, and she might in addition maintain the nominal independence of Belgium and Poland as well. The latter countries would probably be given even less real independence than is enjoyed by the "independent" States of Brunswick and Oldenburg. Germany's present rulers share the view which Bismarck exThe Nineteenth Century and After. pressed in his dispatch of the 9th of July 1866, that the full control of nominally independent States is as valuable as their absolute possession. To all who think clearly it must be obvious that a peace which would reestablish the ante-bellum frontiers would firmly establish a greater Germany of more than 150,000,000 people, while a peace concluded on the basis of a German victory would create a connected State under Germany's control the population of which would be at least 220,000,000. Germany would dominate the world. J. Ellis Barker. VIENNA AS IT IS TODAY. The Austrian capital has always had the reputation of being one of the gayest and most light-hearted cities in Europe, and it has not entirely changed its character even now, but to the keen observer there are many curious and interesting differences which show how deeply the stupendous war has affected it. The question which touches the whole population, from the highest to the lowest, most nearly is that of the food supply. The state of semi-starvation at which the poorer classes have now arrived has come on so gradually, and has been marked by such distinct stages, that they have almost come to regard it as natural, and have ceased to wonder at it. They suffer most severely from lack of fat in every form. Almost every afternoon, outside the large markets, from four o'clock onwards, one can see crowds, consisting chiefly of women and children but with elderly men and boys too, gathering round the entrances; by about ten o'clock in the evening they may be counted by hundreds. These people lie, sit, or stand out on the pavement the whole night, waiting for the lard or bacon which is sold at seven or eight next morning. Each person receives six dekagram (about an eighth of a pound), and, as a rule, the supply is so limited that only the first-comers get any; those who only take up their places after nine in the evening come too late. The bread with which the people are supplied has gone through many stages; there was a time when it was made almost entirely of maize flour; then the maize gave out, and barley was chiefly used; since April of this year it has consisted chiefly of bran, horsechestnuts, and dried beans, with a small percentage of musty flour. Each person gets 18 dekagram (about 6 oz.), and the control is very strict. This amount is quite insufficient for the working classes, since they have nothing else to take its place; potatoes were hardly ever to be seen; dried peas, beans, lentils, rice, and sago have long since disappeared from general consumption; vegetables are scarce and enormously dear, and meat is only to be obtained at high prices and after long waiting. The principal articles of food for the people are a coarse kind of sausage, lights, horseflesh, such odds and ends of vegetables as they can manage to get hold of, and their portion of bread and flour or oatmeal. Coffee is no longer sold. One can only get the "war mixture," which consists of burnt barley, sugar, and a little inferior coffee or chicory. For real coffee, which can sometimes be got irregularly, people pay as much as 80 kronen (about £3. 10s.) a kilogram (2 lb.). Milk is very scarce, and kept chiefly for children and sick persons; butter is strictly rationed-six dekagram a week for each person; eggs are almost unobtainable, and one gladly gives 7d. for one; and ham has disappeared from view since before Easter. Tea costs anything from 40 to 80 kronen a kilogram (a crown is about 10d.), and one can only get 5 dekagram at a time. Boiled sweets, which to some extent take the place of sugar, are sold in small quantities once or twice a week, and people stand in long queues several hours to obtain them. For a tin of salmon which I saw here the other day marked at 1012d. one pays 24 kronen (exactly £1), wine and beer are made only in small quantities, and have become very dear. At the restaurants a very small quantity of beer is sold once a day, either for dinner or supper. As soon as the "Piccolo" (the small boy who brings the drinks and clears the tables) makes his appearance there is a general rush for the coveted refreshments; he is relieved of most of his burden before he can reach the end of the room; the unscrupulous thirsty drink off their portions at one draught, hide the glasses under the table, and demand a second. I have seen as many as five glasses stowed away under a table. Of course liberal tips play an important part in impairing the Piccolo's memory. Business, politics, even the war have almost ceased to be discussed much in public; the great and burning topic in the trams, in the cafés, in the streets, everywhere where people come together, is the price of food, which shops still have supplies of this or that, which restaurants give the largest portions, when and where soap, candles, chocolate, petroleum, or other much-coveted articles can be obtained. Every kind of clothing has become enormously dear, and not only clothing but all the little necessaries of daily life in connection with clothes. Elastic containing real india-rubber is almost unobtainable-for the last piece I bought I paid at the rate of 8s. a meter; a pair of shoe laces costs a shilling, a reel of sewing cotton about the same; all linen goods are so dear that two ladies of my acquaintance have been wearing their own dining-room curtains made up into costumes. They were of good Liberty linen, a little faded by the sun, but after being dyed they were as good as new, and cost less than half the price now asked for linen of very inferior quality. Ladies can only buy one pair of stockings at a time; woolen dress materials cost anything from £1 to £4 a meter; cottons are somewhat cheaper, but the supply is very limited. For men's clothes there are, as yet, no cards as in Germany, but it is difficult to obtain a sufficient supply of anything. Most of the children of the working classes are wearing wooden sandals, for the soling of a pair of shoes costs about £1, and genuine leather can only be obtained from the military authorities. In spite of the high prices, there never was greater luxury in dress in Vienna than during the last two years. Many fortunes have been made, so that the wives and daughters of these nouveaux riches are resplendent in garments of finished elegance, furs, jewels, dainty shoes and stockings, and costly laces; many of them literally carry a Al fortune about on their persons. though soap is so expensive and difficult to get there were never so many white toilettes to be seen as last summer; women, girls, and children even of the simpler classes were exquisitely dressed, mostly in spotless white. There are several reasons given for this intensified luxury in dress; one is that the taxes after the war will be so heavy that the people feel it would be of no use to try and save; money in any form would be taken from them, so they prefer to invest it now in something which will remain in their possession; also, the prices rise so rapidly that everyone is anxious to secure all he can before things become quite unattainable. Another reason is that many persons earn more now than they have ever done before. It is more difficult to travel. France, that country so dear to the hearts of most well-to-do Austrians, is closed to them (although French fashions manage to find their way into Vienna). Therefore money flows freely inside the country. At the beginning of the war there was a great movement in favor of the "simple life"; people resolved to attend theaters and concerts less, and to content themselves with domestic .entertainments. But Vienna is accustomed to amusing itself, and the cry was soon raised, "What is to become of actors and artists generally if there are fewer amusements?" This cry met with a ready response, and with a sigh of relief the city went back to its old habits. The theaters were crowded, concerts as well attended as ever; only the music halls suffered considerably, since they could get few foreign attractions. Mr. Bernard Shaw's plays are still given at the Burg Theater, or were till the present director was appointed, and "Milestones" and "Charley's Aunt" still enjoy great popularity. Artists in general hold themselves aloof from war questions, LIVING AGE, VOL. VIII, No. 420. and take the standpoint that art is international. There are, however, some exceptions, such as the popular director Felix Weingartner. This gentleman has distinguished himself by violent anti-British proclivities, and he is one of the ninety-three "intellectuals" who have signed a compact to give no concerts either in England or America till at least five years after the war. In the "kinos" (kinemas) the special films, taken by permission of the Commander-in-Chief, have familiarized the public with every phase and incident of the great struggle. We have been shown scenes from every front; we saw the men at work in the trenches, the bursting of bombs, the convoys of Russian prisoners, the distribution of food, the diving of submarine boats, the men at work inside them, the mounting of aeroplanes, conflicts in the air, the quartering of troops, the difficulties of transporting guns in the Dolomites, the Emperor decorating his men, the funeral of the old monarch, Franz Josef, the coronation of the present one in Budapest, innumerable pictures of Hindenburg, Mackensen, the Archduke Frederick, and other commanders. No kino performance is ever given without some of these war pictures, and they have done quite as much to keep up the interest of the public in the progress of the war as the newspaper reports. When Roumania joined in the war the Austrian public experienced an unpleasant shock. That it would do so sooner or later was inevitable, but no one imagined the moment was so near. There were curious business complications in consequence of it. A certain insurance company in Vienna had been asked to insure freights of grain to the value of three million kronen. As the sum was so high the company hesitated, and only consented to issue the policy after anxious negotiation with the pany was in daily correspondence with both departments, and received the assurance that the political horizon was clear. Twenty-four hours after the policy had been signed the news of the outbreak of war between Roumania and the Central Powers was published in all the newspapers, and the grain was still in Roumanian waters. The feelings of the insurance company can be imagined! Great indignation was felt at the fact that the Austrian Government had paid for large quantities of wheat which were never delivered. The gold had been sent to Bucharest, but war was declared in the meantime, SO the grain never arrived. The German The Manchester Guardian. Government sent its money only to the frontier and declined to part with it till the corn was actually in its possession. The abuse which had in turn been heaped on the Russian, French, English, and Italian Governments, was mild in comparison with that bestowed upon Roumania, although even that has by now somewhat subsided. The average Austrian is a lukewarm politician, and troubles himself little about the doings of his Government. He admits that the system leaves much to be desired, but has no very strong feeling for political liberty; his chief object in life is to avoid "disagreeables'' of any kind and to have as good a time as possible. WARTIME FINANCE. (The colossal expenditures of the war, and the pressing problems which confront the different Governments and the financiers and business interests of the different countries are of so profound national concern that THE LIVING AGE proposes to print for the present, from week to week, a department specially devoted to their consideration.-Editor of THE LIVING AGE). FINDING THE MONEY. There are increasing indications of a spirit of revolt against the shortsighted finance which pays for so small a portion of the war cost out of revenue and leaves so much to borrowing. As we showed in the Economist of August 4th last, in reviewing the finance of the first three years of the war, the proportion of war cost paid out of revenue has been less than 20 per cent, as compared with 47 per cent in the Napoleonic War. The consequences of this system are evident. As Mr. Herbert Samuel pointed out in the debate following Mr. Bonar Law's recent performance on the Vote of Credit, "each six months the war continues will mean that for many years to come we shall have to raise, for the payment of debt incurred in that period alone, |