Stead's Review, Vol. 49: February 9th, 1918 (Classic Reprint)

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Excerpt from Stead's Review, Vol. 49: February 9th, 1918

This line of argument leads us Up to the question of the strikes and general unrest in austro-h-ungary, and enables us to gauge the importance of these to the Allied cause. We are told that the workers have struck for three things: food, political privileges and peace; and we are led to hope, on the advice of editors and other commentators, that this upheaval in the dual Empire is distinctly advantageous to us. It can only be beneficial to us if it causes Austria to drop out of the struggle, and as I have shown that dropping out does not neces sarily harm Germany. N 0 amount of peace treaties would give food to the Austrian workers, nor would peace give them the political concessions they demand. Obvi ously. Though, it is imperative that the Austrian Government persuades the workers to go back to their jobs. That being so, we may expect the granting of a greater mea sure of political freedom, and promises that peace will speedily be made with Rus sia and Roumania which would result be fore long in the easing of the food crisis. The Austrian leaders would have little dith' culty in convincing the strikers that the only place where food could come from was Russia, even if a general peace were made. Lack of shipping and the urgent demands of France. Britain and Italy would pre vent any wheat or meat reaching Trieste or Fiume. That is obvious enough. The only hope for the starving, or allegedly starving. Workers is in Russia and peace with Russia. With the Ukraine, and with Roumania is being made at brest-litowski. Whilst it may well be that Bolsheviki ideas rather than hunger are responsible for the troubles in Austria that does not alter the main fact, namely, that even if Austria is constrained to drop out and make a sepa rate peace it will be of little or no benefit to us.

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