AUSTRIA ONLY WAS LOSER BY THE WAR

Manawatu Times, Volume LIV, Issue 6805, 8 January 1929, Page 8

AUSTRIA ONLY WAS LOSER BY THE WAR

Depressed People DR. .MGRKANE’S VIEWS OX EUROPEAN TOUR SPANISH PROSPERITY'. Per Press Association. CHRISTCHURCH, Last Night, “In my opinion the only country that lost the war was Austria,” said Dr. C. F. Morkanu in the course of an interview on his return from an extensive trip to Europe, Great Britain, and America. Dr. Morkane undertook the trip partly -as a holiday and partly for tho purpose -of studying the latest methods in connection with his profession. lie went to Vienna to study the most modern methods in connection with gynaecology, but at the same time it is evident that he made a keen study of the peoplo and the conditions under which they were living.

Dr. Morkane said that a visit to Austria and Vienna was depressing to him. Austria appeared to be the rnosr poverty-stricken country of Europe, and Vienna was no longer, as in prewar days, the gayest capital of Europo. Austria’s plight was due to the way the country had been cut up after tho war, without much regard to economic considerations. Before the war the Austrian Empire had a population of 52,000,000; to-day its population was six millions, and of these a million and three-quarters lived in Vienna. Working Way to Salvation. Tho wages in Austria wore poor, and tlio standard of living was low. Tho people seemed depressed, not knowing what was going to happen next. There was a great deal of dissatisfaction at the way in which the country had been cut up. The people, however, seemed to bo working hard, and doing their best to get out of tlieir difficulties. In spite of the depression in Austria, said Dr. Morkane, money was found from somewhere to keep the hospitals and medical schools right up to date. The medical school at Vienna was famous, and it attracted students and doctors from all parts of tho world. It was particularly popular with tlio Americans, and in Vienna there was a Medical Association of America. At the University of Vienna there were 10,500 students, and half of them were foreigners. The staff of tho medical school included several professors who were famous as specialinis.

Budapest, the capital of Hungary, which was part of tho Austrian Empire before the war, appeared to bo much more prosperous than Vienna, but at the same time there was a great deal of dissatisfaction over the way the country had been divided up. Although Hungary was a republic, the Prince Regent still occupied a part of the palace, and the majority of the people seemed to ■be Royalists. Out of 250 members of the Hungarian Parliament there were only 14 Socialists —an extraordinarily small number. Developments in Spain.

“The country which impressed mo as being the most prosperous of all that I visited was Spain,” added Dr. Morkane. “In the cities, such as Barcelona, Cor'dova, Scvillo, and Madrid, there is a gread deal of activity, roads and streets are being widened and improved, new railway stations anti post offices are being built. There is a new concrete Toad for motoring running right through Spain. Further, the country has tho most up-to-date telephone system in tho world. General Primo de Rivera called in English and American experts, the old telephones were scrapped, and the automatic system was installed throughout the country. It is possible for a room in an hotel in Madrid to get in telephonic communication with London in three minutes 7 time.”

As further evidence of the prosperity of Spain, Dr. Morkane said that while he was there a contract had been let for the electrification of 1800 miles of railway, and the authortiies were even talking of altering the gauge of the railways to make it conform with the French gauge. There was no lack of money in Spain, though at> the time the cost of living wa3 high. No doubt one reason for the prosperity of Spain was the fact that she had not entered the weir, but he thought that crodit was also due to General de Rivera, who appeared to be working on the lines of Mussolini. On the whole, tho Spaniards seemed to be contented, and he did not see much evidence of antiRoyalist feeling. Dr. Morkane said he did not see a great deal of Italy, but he touched at Naples. What impressed him about Naples since his last visit there was the absence of slums and tho absence of beggars. When ho inquired where tho beggars were the reply was: “Mussolini.” The man in the street appeared to have a great admiraton for Mussolini. Treatment of Cancer. A visit was paid by Dr. Morkane to Stockholm, one of the greatest centres for the radium treatment of cancer. He said that more and more progress was being made with this method of treatment of cancer, and gradually better results were being obtained. No chic hod yet been found for cancer, but he thought that in the future Still further progress would bo made with, the treatment of the disease. Asked if there was anything new in the most modern practice regarding gynaecology, Dr. Morkane replied that advances rind improvements had been made, but they were of such a highly technical character that it would be impossible to express them in language to make them comprehensible to the layman, though the information ho had gained was of great interest to specialists.