The Miller press. [volume] (Miller, S.D.) 190?-current, 1914-08-06
TRACES WAR TO A Clash OF TONGUES
Professor Dorsey of Chicago Field Museum Finds Austria's Atti-
tude a Sequel to Pan-German Versus P~an-SIav-Con-
test, He Says, Not Economic but Psychologist.
Nations Are Now, as Ever in the Past, Divided by Language
Source of Trouble Is That Political Boundaries Are
Not Coterminous With Linguistic Groups.

George A. Dorsey, Curator of Ethnology,
Field Museum, in the Chicago Herald.)
An orphan mongrel cur having for
the first time in 500 years got enough
spunk up to take his tail from between
his legs, begins to wag it and feel
big dog and says:
Put that tail down-and gimme
that bone"
We see this sort of thing nearly ev-
cry day.
Once upon a time little old Servia
was an empire and very nearly over
came the Byzantine empire, which
probably would have changed the
whole of European history. There
might have been no Turkey in Europe.
That was in the fourteenth century,
under the mighty Dushan.
Explains Austria's Action.
Servia is now a poor, wretched little
peasant kingdom-not half as big as
Illinois in size, with less people than
the city of New York.
ALI lOM lIS hOuoC VI IiopS'NAo
would wipe little Servia off the map!
Even though the process involve
more lives and money than any war
of any time!
That is the life. You or ! in the
house of H~apsburg's shoes would do
the same thing. 1t is the law Of exist
ence. Nature works today as in the
stone age or when saber-toothed tiger
fought with mastodon.
Why does Austria-Hungary, the Dual
Monarchy, want poor peasant Servia?
Hasn't the Dual Monarchy, with its in
trouble already?
Why Others Are Interested.
Suppose the Dual Monarchy does
want Servia, what is it to Russia?
Suppose Russia does object, what is
it to Germany? Suppose Germany OBJ
ject's to Russia's objecting, what bust
ness is it of France-or of England?
Supremacy.
Balance Of power.
Human nature.
Life.
l propose to ~analyze this whole stu
alton. And right here let us clearly
recognize the fact-two facts:
The contest is not economic but psy-
Geological in its fundamental nature;
psychologist laws are not economic
laws.
To put it another way, the desires
-t:.t LID - o,+;op Ia ooctarp Tn
rope are not based on Christian eth
les or rational procedure, but on GER
tain thoughts.
Things are what we think they are;
and thinking depends on the point of
view.
Illustrating the Point
Pan-Germanism VS.. Pan-Slavism. If
we understand this, we have travelled
far. First, let me give an illuminat-
ing illustrations:
In Prague, an important city OF Aus
tria, / was warned hat | would get
along much better in shops and other
wise If / employed English first. OF
course English is not generally under
stood in that city. but German is. We
naturally think Of German as the lam
guage Of Austria, and proud as the
ancient capital of Bohemia was once,
to all intents and purposes a German
city, she now tries TO forget, and won't
talk German if she can possibly help it.
Par means united, all; the term pan
Germanism stands for a movement
which seeks the common welfare of
the Germanic peoples of Europe at the
expense of pan-Slavism or common
veal of Slavs.
Becomes Question Of Tongues.
Before we can understand the sig
~nihcance of these two movements we
must consider the question of the Ma
tionals," or the Races" as it is some
times called.
In fact, this is not a question either
of nations or of races, but OF tongues.
The classification of mankind by
tongues is ancient and fundamental.