The Pleasantville press. (Pleasantville, N.J.) 1912-1929, 1918-07-27
Fighting Against Austria, Their
Capture Means Nothing
but Execution.
WON'T leave their DEAD
All Fallen Comrades Carried From the
FieId-These Valorous Warriors
Select Their Own Officers and
Eliminate Weak and Unfit.

pcllOlS ny liC llOoI 1iSiu lColo, alIh
thus they are representative of the
manhood of their nationalities. The
Italian soldiery and people have taken
kindly to them.
The first of the proofs of valor they
gave are admirable, although limited
to modest operations in exploring and
raiding. Whether by themselves or
with Italian troops, these Czech-Slo-
walks, arriving from beyond the ocean,
have kept up the fire of patriotism and
the ardor to fight, and have fought
well.
The repatriates of the Czecho-Slovaki
army have been saluted already with
brotherly love by the population in the
zone of war, especially by the ancient
inhabitants of the Veneto, who have
the most recent and liveliest recollec-
ton of oppression and the %convulsive
struggle for redemption.
The INT of Verona offered them a
battle flag in the Bohemian colors, sur
mounted by a lion. The soldiers recog-
nized the sanctity of the gift and
swore an oath that they would die for
that emblem of liberty. The express
sion was not rhetorical and the oath
super1uous.
Are Killed If Captured.
The fate that awaits these new war;
riors for the ideals of a far-off and
oppressed country is shown by the in
flexible military rules of the Austrian
empire. They are all subjects of the
Emperor Carl and as such death is the
only thing in store for them if cap
tured.
Their word is for that reason sacred.
Neither alive nor dead must they fall
into the hands of the enemy. Even the
dead must be snatched from the op-
pressor. Each one has sworn to carry
off to the Italian lines the body of a
compatriot killed in action.
Recently, during a reconnaissance,
a Bohemian fell close to the enemy
lines. Drawing a hot fire, the explorers
hurried to carry him off, fearing that
in a night sortie the Austrians might
get the body.
These SOLDIERS of death" know that
if an operation fails of success they
must kill themselves. To the igno-
minious death inflicted by the enemy
they prefer suicide. Whether through
death by the enemy or through their
own hands, they have consecrated their
lives to the distant fatherland, from
which they have come to fight in the
greatest cradle of all liberty and all
ideals-Italy.
Eliminate Weak and Unfit.
Rome, the ancient lighthouse of civ
ility and Of liberty, has substituted
these new companions in arms for
those of Russia. These warriors for
the freedom of their country have
found in the ranks of our own combat
ants fraternity and sturdy faith. This
fraternity, more than common ideals
for the redemption of their respective
countries, is cemented by the know
ledge and vision of the real difficulties
and the resolution and irmness of
purpose of the new combatants. From
their own ranks on a spontaneous vote
they have eliminated all about whose
military vigor or enthusiasm there
could be any doubt, SO that the recruits
represent the flower of the soldiery of
the oppressed nationalities. Drawn
from the same country, speaking the
same tongue, in the daily intimacy of
their new military life, they AVE sub
iected each other to voluntary but in
flexible tests. The results are confided
only to their officers.
'Titus does not please me He would
not make a good corporal. We do not
want him." they say. Thus, out of the
ancient military system of Austria
springs elements of criticism which ex-
clude the weak and unfit. The officers
must heed these verdicts, which, like
all collective judgments, arise from a
full consensus of the judges.
Elect Own Officers.
The examination of the political
opinion Is not less exacting for being
carried out by fellow soldiers. A Czech
recruit who spoke his mother tongue
well was challenged by his compat-
riots. "He speaks our language well,
but his heart is not Czech" they said.
1t was learned that during protracted
business transactions in Vienna he had
lost the fierceness and the intrepidity
of the Bohemian character through
daily contact with the Austrian author
tiles.
This control has been fraught with
excellent results. Those who have sur
vived the tests of the assembled judges
have furnished the best war material
! and proved themselves dependable in
military and moral affairs.
The officers are also elected by the
soldiers, who trust their leaders with
blind faith, and give them the most
rigid obedience and discipline. Such
discipline the new soldiers of liberty
are taught, by their remembrance of
imperial oppression, to hold essential
to the triumph of their cause.