The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1917-12-28
WHO ARE AND WHO ARE NOT
AUSTRIANS
Communicated

might be created on the Iron
Ranges through the declaration
of war against Austria it might
be interesting to learn just who
and who are not Austrlans ami
what relations the people gener-
ally termed Austrians in North
ern Minnesota have to the coun-
try against which war is about
to be declared.
The Austrian empire is usually
given as including the Kingdoms
of Austria and Hungary and the
provinces of Bosnia and Here
govina. A glance at the map will
show that included in these four
grand divisions are the provinces
of Croatia, Slavonia, Dalmatia,
Carniola, Istria, Syria. Corinthia
on the south and ancient kingdom
of Bohemia and the province of
Moravia on the north. 1t was at
Sarajevo, in Bosnia, that the as
sassination of the Grand Duke
occurred which precipitated the
war. The map will show also
that Bosnia and Slavonia border
on the independent kingdom OF
Servia.
Classification of the so-called
Austrians on the Iron Range will
show that most of them are ma
tives of the above named prov
inces. There are also considerable
number of Serbs and Montene-
grams and a number of Bulgar-
ians. 1t will be found that the
bulk of the laborers called Aus
TRANS are from the Austrian prov
inces that have been named.
Much has been written about
these people since the war began
in Europe but there has been
very little Of this matter given
wide circulation. Racially the IN
habitants of the Austrian prov
inces that have contributed to the
labor army ON the Range are
these South Slavonics. The
regrettable annexation by force
of Bosnia and Herzegovina by
Austria some years ago will be
remembered. These people are
practically of the same parent
race with difference in speech that
is very slight between all OF them
so slight that each can under
stand the other although in one
province the language would be
written in Roman characters and
in another in Russian characters,
the spoken language would be al
most identical. 1t is well known
that Creations and Slovenians, for
instance, can read one another S
language with facility. There is
a difference of religion between
some of them in that the Serbs
are fairly generally Greek Cath
olics and the Croatians and Slov-
enians, Roman Catholics.
Their ancient history, tradi-
tions, etc., are practically iden-
teal, however, and for many gen
eratiOns there has been very
determined effort to make one ma
tion-a great Serbia-out Of the
lot. All Of the people are known
as southern Slavs. The war was
precipitated by just this feeling.
The Grand Duke who was assas-
sinated had been warned not to
go to Sarajevo because of the bit
ter feeling against Austria rul
ing class in the whole of Bosnia.
In all af the various southern
Slav provinces the revolutionary
propaganda has been active for
years and as soon as war was de-
clared wholesale arrests and ex
ecutiOns were ordered. One au-
thority states that twenty per
cent Of the adult population YVES
at one time under arrest. 1t is
estimated that from twenty to
thirty thousand people were ex-
ecuted. In the formation Of the
Austrian armies the regiments
from the southern Slav provinces
were provided with German rein
forcements-or Teutonic Aus
trians-to the proportion vary
ing from fifteen to thirty-five per
cent, the duty of the Germans be-
ing to make the Slavs fight and
to kill the entire lot if they showed
any disposition not to fight.
In London and Paris there is
at the present time a well organ