Omaha daily bee., 1914-08-20


In their meeting in Chicago. and day by day in the
German press the name slav slavic rarely has been
mentioned without the adjective bsrbaric' Asistle
or at least semi-Aslstlc.'
is that fair play?
I'm the rame OF 10000 slavs tBohemaus. Poles.
Russians. slovsks, siovenes, Croatians and Serbs,
living In Chicago. SoooOOo living in the United
States. we protest against this abuse.
1--WE do not want anything else than square deal
and fair play. II the Hungarian government
had given fair play To- all Of citizens and TO It's
weaker neighbors, the world at the present hour
would be spared this awful carnage that Is going
IN our old homes. And abhor the idea that the
spirit OF racial hatreo and intolerance that obsesses
the European peoples could be transferred into this
land Of liberty and equality, which we love and honor.
I'VE have a true respect for our German fellow
citizens and our sympathy with all those who de-
plore what has happened TO the peace Of Europe
and what stll will happen We highly respect their
mRnfestaton of tho love and affection for their faith
erland. But the American slsys. before the
tribunal OF ali American people. impore our German
fellow citizens for favors
"First-For Justices sake, do not assert that the
Austrian and Hungarian Savs have no reason for
disoontentment do call them ingrates against the
fathery government, do not call them traitors against
the venerable emperor
1--WE have thousands of instances to prove that IL
Is the Austrian that s ungrsteful to its
Slavic subjects. who bear the biggest burdens and
which persecutes every national movement Of its
people can be Justly traitor against the welfare
OF It's subjects. This present war has been
started against the viii OF ninetenths OF Ausrias
people Vienna just forgot that there Is also some
Austria beyond the Ingstrasse and started the
flagraton in which Thousands OF young lives will be
sacrificed and millions thrown into misery.
''Yes there is a Pansavistic movement in Austria
but who has created II? The absolute and German
Using Austrian oIgarciy built It up by driving tho
non-Ge .rnah nations to the wall. The Austrian Siavs
have learned that emily by united efforts they will
themselves from the fate OF the Prussan Poles,
who are being exterrrnated-slow but surely. The
fate has been prepared by the Austrian and
Hungarian governments to the millions Of Bohemians.
MoraviAns. slovaks sovenes Croatisns and Serbs.
The things have far that in some places It is
considered II the people allowed to talk in
their mother tongue-in their landi
And servia7 Please do not call Sorvians
grateful to Austria The whole world knows and
Austria has attempted to dsprove It that IL
the Vienna diplomacy that has robbed the servians OF
the most fervently onged for fruit Of their victory
over the Turks-a seaport And il again the
Austrian diplomacy that has wrested from the little
kingdom OF Montenegro the city of Scutari that had
been taken by the Montenegrfns with untold sacr-
fees and sufferhgs and gave same to the newly
created principally OF the savage Albanians. Have
the servlans any to be grateful to Austria?
''second-For history's sake do not call slavs bar
semibarDaftans
hitting the history Of human progress In the face
1--WE do not sanction czarsm. We hate 1t as much
we detest the absolutism OF the Austrian emperor
and the militaTism OF the German kaiser. Today~we
look upon the only rough, sloveny man, who
has another person maltreat boy and makes
himself ready to whip the vioator OF peace.
but to call the great Slavic race barbarlcl Shall
line up before the eyes of the newspapermen and
orators who have made this serious charge the
shadows OF great Comenus the Bohemian, who over
three hundred years ago started reform OF eduoa-
tiona system in England and Germany and showed
the path that is followed today by the greatest Of
edueators7
.'shan we mention copernlcus the Pole, the FORE
goer OF Newton and the real founder OF the modern
astronomical system? or the immortal Bohemian
martyr liberty OF conscience and predecessor OF
Luther, John IIuss? shall recall that the b.
henans in Prague had their university, first in middle
Europe. decades before the first German university
founded?
els It fair TO call barbsrians that has given
10 science such men as lomonosov, Mestorov1ch,
Nicola TeIsa. Purkyne. Pavlik Ales Hrdhcka, the
anshropologis of the Smithsonian Institute? And not
to forget that Prof. Metchnikor in Paris. the
great bacterologist, is Russian and Nine. Currier-
sKIodowska the inventrix of radum is Polish lady
Elm literature the slavs have given to the world
DostojewSky, Turgenieff Pushkin. Tolstoy Tchek-
hoft yrechlioky. sienkiewtcx IL want to mention
only a few of those whose works have been trans
lated into foreign languages
But IL is In the realm OF art that the Slavic
names resound All over the world Ihe composl"
lions OF Dvorak. rchakowssy, Chopin smet-
Moussogorsky. Rimski. Korsakov. in the lighter
class Nedbal Lehar, FTiml furnish a substan-
tial OF progfam, be It classical popular
The scuptors and painters are legion verestehasin.
Brosik. Mucha, svsbinsky, Mysbeks Prince Trubets-
koy. Simon. Preissg. Korbel and last but not least
Kupka and Holarek. whose works often
reproduced in the American publications and who
both Bohenians
Let history its way. Let the events develop
themselves. Let every nation and race prove it's
value The result will be that all win be brothers
of a free world.
THE difference of language and place OF birth is
not ought not be reason to hate and kill each
other When the interests OF the few who
ern the nations OF Europe will yield 20 the interests
OF the people such tragcal happenings the present
war will be impossible"