New-York tribune., 1917-12-20

a
sections. Such form Of organization would
have never permitted the growth OF .ne
United States Of America. The South, Ne"
England. and the far West. had they been
nations within a nation. would simply have
gone their own way AZ different periods Of
our history. The result would have beeh'
most surely. that we should have become
political replica Of Europe. with the miiiS'oHe
Of militarsm dragging Us down TO rum
Too Many Small Nations?
hi, rboIo matter Of "the rights Of small
nations has another side which ia too httie
ovbibited in our discussions Of the state OF
Europe. II seems 80 charitable 20 indulge III
tho luxury Of plying small nations as we
pitv an abused child. The language, the
literature and what is called the culture o.
some little insular or mountain people Away
axe q strong appeal to the sentlmentallst T.
In some hill canton in Switzerland they hack
at their h's and roll their rs. What pity IL
they should learn 20 speak 50 that the popu-
lation ten miles away could understand them!
Ninety per cent Of this talk Of the rights ana
liberties Of small nations" Is contempuOie
driyel. Give Europe twenty-five more au-
tonomous nations and Europe VIII nave
t,yantv-Gve more causes for twenty-five more
wars.
Ireland wants her freedom" Very well.
r.lstor wants her freedom" from Ireland.
So let IL be. Certain counties in Ulster want
"freedom" from Ulster. What chartaoiy IN
clined person can deny it TO them? Ana so
on and so forth. ad intinitum. Il law Is 20
replace clubbed rifles and gas bombs ~
Furono the members Of these lesser ma
tionalist groups must begin to think IN terms
of modern government They should also IN
dulge more in the study Of history. The small
nations and isolated groups represent the
past. The modern world is rapidly making an
end OF them.
What the small. submerged linguistic
groups of Europe have generally been hgntins
against. without making careful distinction
has been autocratic government GIVE
Ukrainia or Bohemia a decade OF political
freedom within a free state and they will hnd
that they will be quite happy What they
want is not autonomy. but greater liberty.
An Historical Necessity
Sitting in the Office OF that old leader OF
The working class in Vienna, Victor Adler, |
asked him, jocuarly, to give me definition
of Austria-Hungary. His answer was by no
means jocular Austria Hungary sald me-
is a political impossibility. but an historical
necessity" That observation remains IN my
mind as the cleverest statement have heard
+, connection with Austro- Hungarian affairs
When congeres Of peoples, speaking at
least nine different languages, End themselves
intermingled upon an area Of d quarter OF a
million square miles of soil, it behooves them
70 make allowances and not insist too much
on autonomy" or independence It the
people OF Ukrainia find that they still love
I-krainia more than they love Russia they
had better hasten 10 change the primary oo-
iect of their affection or "the goblins will get
'em." In the federated Russia which we hope
may soon be, Ukrainia should not be ad-
mitted as a state, but as at least half dozen
states. each represented in the Federal Leg
islature. Only then can the people Of
Tkrainia take their rightful place IN the al
fairs Of Russia and the world.
Let US make no mistaki about this matter
This Is not only Ukrainias business and Rus
sia's business. IL is cur business and the
worlds business. If Russia is going to be
oivided up like the Balkans during the COM
ing generation. then she being ten times
more important. will cause about ten times
more trouble than the Balkans have caused
during the past generation. J. that Is the
history our Ukrsinian friends wish 70 help
write for Us. all they have 70 do is TO cling
desperately to their poetry and TO their prose,
20 their native customs and their narrow
patriotism. to their hope Of autonomy and
their fear that we who emphasize the need
for larger unity are endangering their new
horn liberty. FRANK BONN.
New York Dec. IS, 1917.