The Cordova daily times., 1918-07-16

] hliN~Id hl'Ii'r li'l l'' lI'tall'li NlI' 'li'''
 sands of Bohemian prisoners in the
 hands of the Serbians and Italians.
 Now. the Tcutonic aympathizcrs
 among the officials oI the old Russian
 regime distrustcd the Czccho- -Slovaks. l In other words. their hatred for tn" 1 Tcuton was too ardent. They were
 not allowed to fight against their an
 cient enemies In fact. they were
 treated almost like ordinary prisoners,
 and great groups of them were sent
 as track workers to Siberia where for
 want of food and clothing thousands
 of them died
 In Thick of Fighting With the revolution, however, they promptly organized their own army
 not until the great Russian offensive of 1916 had been prepared that they
 were placed on the line in East Ga | licia. On July ?, when the attack was
 ordered. Czecho-Slovak brigade swept forward and took the village of PresOvce, the first town captured in Kornilon's drive together with 3.150 men. e officers. l5 cannon and many machine guns Day after day. as the TeutOns rceled backward. the CZccho- SlOvaks were in the thick of it, here a cavalry regiment, there a battery, and always the invincible infantry. War Minister Kerensky publicly com
 plimented them on their valor.
 Then came the great retreat, when the Russian morale, undermined by Bolshevism. gave way utterly. After the fall of Tarnopol three regiments of Czecho-Slovak volunteers, left to their fate by the Russians to the right and left of them. fought until the last, the men plunging into direct shell breaks and the officers finally blowing out their own brains Only three Czech soldiers were captured. These were summarily hanged. A little later Czechs recaptured the position. Three German prisoners were forced to cut down the bodies and were then left dangling from the same rope ends.
 Here are the official words of Gen Brusilon on this action: "Thc Czecho- Slovaks, perfidiously abandoned at Tarnopol by our infantry, fought so that the whole world ought to fall on it's knees before them"
 Yet it was but an oasis of tieroism | in the vast wilderness of cowardice | and flight. The Czecho Slovaks were carried back with the Russians. ker- ensky had promised the independence of Bohemia if Russia could achieve t. As 1t turned out Russia was hc9p- less to maintain her owT The eyes )f the Czecho-Slovaks turned to America as the first stopping place Dn the road to the western front, where they could still fight their old Il ime foes t
 There are 5O.OOO of these veteran II soldiers in Siberia waiting to come Q the United States, where the Bo- lemian National Alliance will care for hem and send them to Franee-1O,- 100 in Vladivostok, 10000 in Irkutsk, md the rest in other centers. There who expect to make the same exodus l little later
 he Czecho-Slovak fighting men are down the battle line. There are 10000 in the French trenches ,2,000 in Italy. and several thousand more at Saloniki In places as un- likely as Australia. AIgiers and Mo rocco they are forming fresh battal- ons. and 60,0OO are said to be in the armies of the United States.
 Over 100000 of them there are, all with genius for inde- | pendence and a single purpose. Out side they are leaning against the mill tary wall that surrounds Austria, hew- ing well into 1t at points of weakness, while from within their compatriots | are pulling down the supports and bastions. stone by stone.
 In the inevitable wreckage the throne of the Hapsburgs will be mere gilded kindling.