Paris Peace Conf. 184.01102/245
Professor A. C. Coolidge to the Commission to Negotiate Peace
[Received March 22.]
Sirs: I have the honor to enclose herewith a report from Mr. Walter E. Bundy on the subject of Bolshevism in Vienna and a translation of the recent speech of Dr. Julius Deutsch, Secretary of War (Socialist) to a meeting of the Soldiers Councils of the Volkswehr.21
[Page 280]It is difficult to judge accurately of the internal situation here. To all outward appearances the city is quiet and orderly. Every Sunday there are meetings of one sort or another and the attendance at them is said to be increasing. The language used is often violent, but so far there has been no disorder of any kind. On the other hand the bourgeoisie and upper classes, who it must be remembered are disproportionately numerous owing to the thousands of former officers and officials from all over Austria now gathered here, paint the situation in dark colors. Conditions of life are difficult for them. Until now they have managed to live from the so-called “schleichhandel”, the smuggling of provisions into the city which has taken place on a large scale and which the government has winked at as meaning an increase in the amount of food here however illegal its importation. Of late, owing to the closing of the borders and also to greater strictness on the part of the authorities, the schleichhandel has much diminished; and the situation of all those who have lived by other means than going into the bread line has become worse. Several of the best known hotel and other restaurants have closed, and others are expected to follow suit at any time. The Volkswehr have recently visited a certain number of restaurants, a well-known club and a few private houses in order to see if the laws against hoarding were observed. This has been done without legal warrant, and though there have been really but a few cases thus far it has alarmed all the restaurant keepers and the upper classes in general, who look on it as being merely the beginning of a period of plunder. The Volkswehr, by the way, for the most part appear as weak and emaciated a body of so-called troops as one can well imagine. The city police on the other hand are large, fine-looking men. The contrast is striking.
The strength of Bolshevism in Vienna is a thing that one hears very variously estimated. The word is used in the vaguest possible manner to cover everything from a red anarchist to people of mild theoretical Socialistic opinions. So far the extremists do not seem to be numerous enough to present any serious danger. The people as a whole bear their misfortunes and hardships with extraordinary patience; one might almost say sweetness. There can be little doubt that an aggravation of the food situation would promptly give much greater strength to the revolutionary elements. The lack of coal too, which is one of the reasons—and perhaps the chief one—for the great number of unemployed, is also politically dangerous. Perhaps the most dangerous of all is the lack of a trust-worthy armed force at the disposal of the Government. People will tell you that a few thousand determined men could easily terrorize and control this whole great city. There is nobody besides the police to oppose them, for the Volkswehr would be on the side of the mob.
[Page 281]In these statements there is doubtless exaggeration, but some truth; and now that under the new ministry the Socialists are going to control the Department of the Interior—and presently the administration of the city—the character of the police may well be changed. It is certain that what society has to trust to here is the peacefulness of the population, not the power of the authorities to repress disorder.
I have [etc.]
- Neither printed.↩