Americus times-recorder. [volume] (Americus, Ga.) 1891-current, 1918-09-18
THE JUGOsLAV CLUB

has only 80 members, but in reality
it has some 100000. 1t is the Jugo-
slav club. Its charter members are
the Jugoslav deputies in the Aus
trian Reichsrat, and in Austria all
such national groups of deputies are
known as clubs Thus there are also
Czech and Polish Clubs. And under
peace conditions they might have con-
tinued to exist in a state of merely
academic opposition But the war has
turned at least one of them-it is
rapidly turning all of them-into
something entirely different. The bus
mess of the Jugoslav club no long
er dinners and good fellowship, but
revolution.
AS elected representatives its lead
ers have certain power in the Aus
trian Government, Not long ago one
of them. who was a member of the
Reichsrat budget committee, was
able temporarily to delay the issue
of the new war loan. And DR.. Won
Seydler. the Austrian premier, has
had to invite the president and vice
president of the club to meet him in
order that he might learn the att1-
tude of the Jugoslavs toward the pro-
posed sitting of the Reichsrat But
the clubs So charter members drew
their chief advantage or organizers
of revolution from this Being Reich
srat deputies they enjoy a partial i'm
munity from arrest. They can do
things which for the private citizen
would be treason. And accordingly
their wholse present proceedings
might be pretty accurately described
as the organization of revolution I'M
der camouf1age.
They hold meetings, but meetings
for no seditious purpose. In the
towns they are for the purpose of
encouraging national art, or to pro
mote a national theatre-the SlOyenes
have just shown their racial breadth
by subscribing some 100000 kroner
for a national theatre for the Croats
or they are for choral singing. The
choruses are for the most part old
Jugoslav national songs. But where
is the sedition in that?
In the country districts the meet
ings generally take the form OF re-
ceptions to the clubs president. He,
DR. Anton Korosetz, is a veteran tri-
bune of the people and famous or
ator so why should he not be given
receptions? And accordingly, as he
is almost constantly travelling, his
receptions are all but continuous. In
one sense the reception is rarely held.
For while the people, peasants and
miners and village laborers, some
times 10000 or more, gather in from
miles around, the military police, still
powerful enough where they have
only unarmed civilians to deal with,
can forbid DR.. Korosetz to speak. But
that makes little difference. The peo-
pie understand what they are there
for. They see their own numbers.
Whole new districts begin to know
each other. And if there is no speak
ing from the platform, nothing can
keep them from doing all the speak
ing that is really needed, among
themselves. They sing the Jugoslav
Marseillaise. If they cannot shout
:lr a free Jugoslavia, they can shout
for this Jugoslav club. And the club
ACIDS so many thousands more to its
unofficial membership. Often there
are arrests In one small Syrian
town. Nuremberg, more than 500 such
new club members are now awaiting
trial BIZ; the meetings continue.
Every meeting too, is a means OF
distributing the needed revolutionary
literature. The speakers and their
assistants do not carry it, but it is