Dziennik Chicagoski. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1890-1971, 1918-10-25
Democracy in restored
Nations.
From the Chicago Daily News"

ASAA VIC OSiilCdSO Dally News.
In its declaration Of Bohemian
independence tho Czscho-Slovak ma
tional council promises the world
that Bohemia shall be organized
with a democratic government. But
this was easy. The Bohemians have
no aristocracy. Centuries ago tho
Germans did tho Bohemians the IA
o Of destroying their aristocracy
with the sword.
The C1echo-SIoyak national coun-
Gil says that it will abolish all pa
tents of nobility. But who own such
patents in Bohensia to-day? Ger
mans, or else false Bohemians who
were social climbers and climbed in
to the German a~ristocracy and were
G~ermanized. The remaining true Boz
hemian race is a race of workers, by
hand and by brain, with virtually
no fcudal landlord class.
1t is the same with the Jugo-
Slavs, in all their branches, in Ser
bia and in Aust-o- Hungary. Their
~aristOcracies were killed off by
either the Germans or the Turks.
United Jugo-Slayia, with it's capital
at Belgrade and with its ports on
the Adriatic and with its $4,000, GOO
inhabitants, will be a considerable
country, and it will be a democratic
country certainly.
Roumania, which did its best for
the entente allies against the Ger
mans, and which is entitled to our
eternal gratitude for doing it, was
cursed, before the war, by a pecu-
liarly medieval class of great land
lords. The condition OF the peasants
in Roumania was deplorable. So was
the condition of the Jews. Roumania
was distinctly a nondemOcratic
country. During the war it has
changed a good deal. Much demo-
cratic legislation has been brought
forward. And we may well be glad
II Europe is TO have peace and if IL
is not to be overrun by wild forms
Of bolshevism, the feudal landlord
| class must do justice to the peas
! ants and must accept democratic in
stitutions everywhere - ut Bukha-
rest in Roumania as well as ut Ber-
lin i'm Germany.
What. then Of Poland? The masses
| of the Polish people are Just as de-
| mocratic as the masses of the Bohc-
milan people OF the Jugo-Slay people.
| But Poland possesses a great ana
powerful a~ristocracy. And this ari.
| tocracy, like every aristOcracy, is in
| clined to be imperialistic. 1t now de-
mands for Poland great stretches OF
territory occupied by Russians anu
Inv Lithuanians. 1t is heavily repre-
| scented i'm the present Polish govern
, ment at Warsaw. 1t is heavily re-
presened, and it's ideas arc heavily
influential, in the Polish central
committee at Paris which speaks for
Poland Ia the allies. In fact, one
NAV say that the allies e to be
making the mistake of recognizing
the aris:ocratic elements and we
monarchicaI clements and the impe-
rialistic elements among n roles
rather than the democratic elements
The Poles of America will surely
assert themselves against this lend
ency. The time has come to speak
frankly about such things. The
! allies are going to set up a NUM-
her of new nations. None Of them
srouses greater enthusiasm and
greater affection in America then
Poland. And the Polish aristocracy
has its rights. But we must be sure
that governmentally we are setting
Nm new ~democracies and not new
imperialisms.
Would it not be a good thing for
the Polish central committee TO Is
she q statement like the statement
Of the Czecho-slovak national coun-
ri, and tell us that in Poland as IN
bohemia the rule of government Is
going to be the will Of the people,
tvczne w - rczydencyach swo--