The terms were thorough and severe.  They amounted to Austria’s unconditional surrender, disarmament, demobilization of armies, delivery of the major fleet and all submarines to the United States and allies, restoration to Italy of all the Italian provinces that Austria had taken in older wars, free passage to American and allied forces through Austrian territory, abandonment of land, sea and island fortifications to the Americans and allies, immediate release (without reciprocation) of all American and allied soldiers and sailors held prisoner in Austria, return of all allied merchant ships held at Austrian ports, freedom of navigation on the Danube by American and allied war and merchant ships, internment of all German troops remaining in Austria by November 18th, 1918, and immediate withdrawal of all Austrian troops serving with the German armies anywhere between the Swiss border and the North sea.

The terms were accepted in full by the Vienna government, but between the time it was delivered by General Diaz to General Weber and 3 o’clock of November 4th, the Austrian armies on Italian soil stampeded in a panic so complete that the pursuing Italians had taken 200,000 of them prisoner, making altogether nearly half a million taken since October 24th.  In the same time about 7,000 guns, 12,000 auto cars and over 200,000 horses were captured, and Austrian fatalities ran into numbers almost equal to the largest army Napoleon ever had under command in any one of his great campaigns.

Austria had begun to yield during the last week of October, when Hungary abandoned the empire, released its civil and military officials from their oath of allegiance to the imperial crown, and formed arrangements for an independent government of its own.  Count Tisza, formerly premier of Hungary, and the most reactionary of Hungarian statesmen, was assassinated toward the close of that week.

THE KILLING OF TISZA

An Amsterdam report dated November 3d quoted from the Vossische Zeitung of Berlin an account of that event, from which it appears that about o’clock in the evening three soldiers invaded Count Tisza’s residence and presented themselves in the drawing room.  Count Tisza, with his wife and the Countess Almassy, advanced to meet the intruders, asking what they wanted.  “What have you in your hand?” a soldier demanded of Tisza.  Tisza replied that he held a revolver.  The soldier told him to put it away, but Tisza replied:  “I shall not, because you have not laid aside your rifles.”  The soldiers then requested the women to leave the room, but they declined to do so.  A soldier then addressed Tisza as follows:  “You are responsible for the destruction of millions of people, because you caused the war.”  Then raising their rifles, the soldiers shouted:  “The hour of reckoning has come.”  The soldiers fired three shots and Tisza fell.  His last words were:  “I am dying.  It had to be.”  The soldiers quitted the house, accompanied by gendarmes, who previously were employed to guard the door.