The commonwealth. (Greenwood, Miss.) 1896-1923, 1914-08-07
WAR TO A CLASH OF TONGUES
Professor Dorsey Of Chicago Field Museum Finds Austria's Atti-
tude Sequel to Pan-German Versus Pan-Slav-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.

tGeorge A. Dorsey. Curator of Ethnology.
Field Museum. In the Chicago Herald.)
An orphaned 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 1t and feel
growing pains. Along comes a great
big dog and says:
Put that tail down--and gimme
that bone"
We see this sort Of thing nearly ev-
cry day.
Once upon = 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 k~ingdom-ont half as big as
Illinois In size, with less people than
the city Of New York.
And now the house Of Hapsburg
would wipe little Servia OF the map!
Even though the process involve
more lives and money than any wal
Of any time!
That Ia the life. You or l In the
house Of Hapsburg's shoes would do
the same thing. 1t Is the law Of exist
enca. Nature works today as In the
STONE age or when saber-toother tiger
fought the mastcdon.
Why does Austria-Hungary, the Dual
Monarchy. want poor peasant servia7
Hasn't the Dual Monarchy. with its In
ternAl babel OF confusion, enough
trouble already?
Why Others Are Interested.
Suppose the Dual Monarchy does
want Servia, what Ia It to Russia?
Suppose Russia does object, what ia
It to Germany? Suppose Germany OBJ
jects to Russia's objecting, what bust
less Is 1t to France--or Of England!
Supremacy. ~
Balance of power.
Human nature.
Life.
propose to analyxe 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 1t another way, the desires
which lead to action In eastern Eu.
rope are not based on Christian eth
les OF rational %proceaure, but on cer
tain thoughts.
Things are what We think they are;
and thinking depends on the point Of
view.
illustrating the Point.
anLGermanism vs. Pan-Slavism. II
understand this, we have Travelled
far. First, let me give an illustrat-
ing illustration:
In Prague, an important city Of Aus
tria, l was warned that l would get
along much better In shops and other
wise II employed English first OF
English IL not generally under
stood In that city, but German IL. We
naturally think Of German a. the Ian
guage Of Austria, and proud a. the
ancient capital Of Bohemia wal once, /
to all intents and purposes'a German
city. she now tries to forget, and won't
talk German II she can possibly help It.
Pan means united, AL: the term pam
stands for q 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.
nificance Of these two movements we
must consider the question Of the ma
tionals," or the Races" a. It is some
times called.
In fact, this IL not a question either
Of nations or Of races. but Of tongues.
The classification Of mankind by
tongues II ancient and fundamental.