Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1914-08-06

throne of n united Italy, king OF natloh-
alism more than sovereign of sover-
eighty.
Frederick the Great wrote all his laws
for Prussia In the French language. You
can see the original copies out at Pots
dam. He could write very III I'm his native
language.
Catherine the Great of Russia always
wrote and spoke French. II is only dur
Ing the last few decades that one has
heard in the land of the Car Russia for
the Russians, -" that ladies of birth and
breeding have not been too proud To use
their native tongue among themselves in
stead of rcsorving 1t only for servants
that the Russian theatre has been placed
in the first place of prestige instead of the
French, that Russian authors did not
write first In French ana then translate"
into their own language
1t Is Just 100 years ago that tho Eng
fish people sent over to Hanover for
n king He anne, George l., with re-
luctance and loathing, hut in response
to the call of the divine right of kings"
bringing his German mistrcsses with him
to make his exile not pleasant but on
durable
And 80 German were his descendants
that IT has taken two centuries for Eng
| land to get king from the line who
could speak the language Of his subjects
without German accent
George V. was taught to speak Eng
lands English is a matter of state The
people were FESTIVE and uunpproving IN
| der that German accent. FIFTY years ago
| its continuance would hardly have been
| remarked.
1t is nationalsm in England In dc
handing such petty thing az a ma
tive accent in the king. II Is national
! ism of deeper and moro vital emo
tions among the irish which demands
| home rule.
Tho nationalism Of the United States
| Is the fusion Of great number of
different nationalltics into homogeneous
whole. The separate parts are not
recognized. They all make up the Amcri-
can nation. rhey are united by tho bond
of constitutional freedom In govern
ment which knows nuught of the divine
right of kings" It Is like the chemical
fusion of oxygen and hydrogen into
water one ingredient.
After the Congress Of Vienna the
Austrian Emperors attempted to in
corporate nationalisin into their despotism
with only one religion. one Language
supreme But that was to he the religion
and the language Of the despot OF
Vienna. There was no uniting bond of
| liberty, common TO all and equal among
all. Nationalism in the true sense Of the
word rccoilcd from union which was
! but another word for tyranny. Tho ma
tionalism which is but another word for
patriotism. and which demands the land OF
its nativity for its natives as we'll as
loves it-this has grown by leaps and
bounds IN the Austrian Empire, espc-
c!ally among the Stays.
1t is Pan-Slavism that has made Aus
tria go to war. 1t Is the principle Of con-
stitutional freedom among It's hetero-
geneous subjects which Austria wishes
to crush.
| In the st. Marx cemetery of Vienna
stands a monument marking the resting
place Of John Kollar, the high priest of
Pan-Slavism." He died only in 1852 and
before him this doctrine of the land OF
the Slavs for the Slavs was practically
unknown. In his day there were seventy
nine millions of Slavs In Europe. bu,
almost as many bondsmen, II not in poll
tics then in language. Bohemia, the
|
German The Slavs of Ilyria talked
nothing but Italian. The Hungarian
Slavs were under the dominion OF tn,
Magyars. Servia and Bulgaria We're not
yet born.
The educated Slavs of Poland and Rus.
STA disdained the language of the Savs
At that time the Bulga rians were al
, but unknown A Moscow newspaper o,
the period presents them as n curiosity
and an enigma. a Christian people If
European Turkey speaking tongue
which Is unknown but which resembles
) the Old Church Slavic.
The first clash between the Slav and
the Teuton came when the Germans
yielding to tho popular demand for "Eir
; freies. einiges Naterland." met In Frank.
I, fort In March, 1915 and invited the Aus
, TRAN people to send representatives &c
their Parliament Austria was not Ger.
man, and the Slavs constituting a mai
ity in the empire resented the Idea OF
, being Incorporated in the new "Deutches
; Reich As planned by the Frankfort
Diet of 1s4S Greater Germany was tc
have included bohemia, Silesia, Moravia
and lllyria lands all Inhabited by Slavs
The liapsburgs tried to force them e
send delegates to Frankfort, but the del
egates decided to vote with the Teutons
Later Vienna was trying to get then
to stay at home lest at Frankfort the,
should vote for republic
The Diet In Frankfort was still In SEES
sion when the Austrian Slavs issued
call for congress of all the Slavs 4
meet In Prague that same year. and Pan
Slavsm was born as a political power
, under the inspiration of patriotism Bu
In the midst OF the congress Bohemia
was plunged into the throes OF n revolu
ton and Prague was under martial law
How much the Hapsburgs Of Vienna hac
to do with the upheavai which disperse,
! the Slav congress the record does no
, clearly state But the Hapsburgs hav,
! never looked kindly upon the petitions
!, other congresses Of Savs lave humbl!
1 laid nj their feet
All the Kings ana princes of Europe, II
r less degree because In less danger, ar
as much afraid OF nationalsm as is Aus
8 tria- When the history of these troublou
times is written and the underlying prin
clpIes which control its movements an
4 alyHed nationalsm will loom large upoi
z It's pages, used IN cunning statescraft 4
delude some nations to bind themselve
more firmly under the divine right o
70 kings hut Inevitably emerging in II
true light as the highest patriotism
which seeks the guidance of government
from God instead of from klngs.--Ney
York World