El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1915-05-01
HATRED
FOR HJH6A2iH5
CENTURIES OLD
Have Long Been Held in
Subsection by Magyars;
Never Assimilated
100000 SLoVAKS ARE
IN UNITED STATES
w WASHINGTON. d. C.. May In
Nv the Carpathian upIands. through
which vast Russian armies ar

w WASHINGTON. d. C., May In
Nv the Carpathian uplands, through
which vast Russian armies are
seeking to force. entrance into Hun
gary, is Slovak land There are
about $500, 600 OF these SIovaks,
and they are among the bitter
est enemies that the Hungarian. or
Magyar, has made for himself Ever
since the invading Magyar wrecked the
brightest political hopes Of the Slow
aks-the kingdom Of Great Moravia OF
the ninth century-On the field Of
Pressburg in 500, there has been deep
III viii between the peoples"
Thus begins statement OF the Ma
t1onal Geographic society concerning
the Sloyaks Of Hungary, whose fate as
a people hangs in the balance today,
and Of whom there are some 100000
In the United States. The statement
continues
Always a Conquered People.
Through all the centuries that have
elapsed since the establishment Of the
Magyar power in Europe, the Slovaks
nave held the position OF a conquered
ana subject people Their conquerors
the Magyars, have looked upon them as
an inferior race and have seldom,
spared their sensibilities- The SIovaks
are a heavy, peaceful pOVerty-duIIed
people, though. true TO their race in
stinets. they have resisted suecessfuIIv
ali attempts OF the ruling nation to-
ward assimilation, and they have re-
NAMED a foreign, despised. and neg
leeted element on the fringe and with
kingdom
The bulk Of this folk pushed
against the northern mountains lies
behind a line drawn from Pressburg
eastward through Zemplin TO the Cali
can DOrder- Practically all Of this re-
g1on is composed OF wooded mountains
and broken hills. and is OF such a ua-
lure that unremitting labor within its
confines brings in competence, but
never the reward OF wealth Thus fha
Slovaks have had little material aid
with which TO carry on their struggle
with the Magyars. Their resistance
has been made in poverty: has been
largely passive but. nevertheless. has
mad a stolid, immObile quality which
has defied misfortune.
The Slovaks occupied the territory
Wnere they are found today between
the sixth and seventh centuries They
were one OF the most helpless Of all
lhe Forward waves Of Slav migration.
IN language, they were most nearly re-
lated 10 the Czechs OF all the Slavs
Czechish was. for a long time, used 3
ne literary language OF the Slovaks-
1empermentallys however, the Czech
and the SlOvak contrast sharply: for
the Czech is fiery. excftable, and oufclz.
where the slovak is dOcile. stolid and
slow
Are a Peasant People.
The SlOvaks are a peasant people
Their aristocracy long ago submitted TO
the power. the wealth and the higher
culture Of the Magyar, and became
thoroughly Magyarized. The peasants.
indifferent In their want, continued in
&. close corporation Of Slavfsm in their
mountain villages Despite the deveI-
opment in recent generations Of a de-
termination on the part OF the ruling
Magyars to force the Slovaks to merge
into the Magyar race at any cost. these
peasants have retained their Slavonic
tongue. Slavonic names. and, even.
have gained keener sense OF racial
integrity
The Magyars have forbidden the
use OF SlOTak in the schools They
have denied these people the right OF
organization native press and a ma
tive pulpit-but in vain For. at the
beginning Of the 18th century, en-
Unused by like movement among Aus
tria's subject CZechs, the Slovak lead
ers wrought a literary language out OF
the tumble OF their native dialects. and
began the work Of more than 100
years Of awakening and intensifying in
their people a racial patriotism This
work has accomplished wonders in the
face of an unrelenting opposition.
Slovak numbers are too few TO encour-
age dreams OF independence. and. so.
Of all the SlavOnic peoples without the
fold Of Russia, the SlOvaks are perhaps
the most whole heartedly in favor OF
the Pan-Slavism program"