The public ledger. [volume] (Maysville, Ky.) 1913-1968, 1918-08-13
OUR ALLIES IN THE ENEMY
LINES
(By Elmer Davis)

lHOuSdHuS Oh PERSONS SdJneTeu
outside the city hall, cheering for
President wilson"
Where? Not in New York or Chi
cago, not in London, Paris, or Rome,
but in a city of half a million in
habitants dominated by Austrian sol
diers and Austrian police, a city
which holds a 300-year-old hatred of
Austria and Prussia, very bitter and
very vigorous-the city of Prague,
capital of old Bohemia. Nor was this
an isolated demonstration. Again and
again it has been repeated in Prague.
Cheers for the Stars and Stripes have,
been heard in Zagreb, of Croatia; in
Osjek, of Slavonia; in Ljubljamna, of
Carniola.
The Jugo-Slavs of the Adriatic pro-
vinces, the Czecho-Slovaks of the
north look with intense emotion to
America as the deliverer from Haps-
burg tyranny Twenty-eight million
people, trodden down by German
Magyar minority, are with the Allies
heart and soul against the masters
they serve.
Here is the weak link in the Ger
man chain that was to stretch from
Beryin to Bagdad. In the Dual Mon
archy there are, roughly speaking,
100000 Austrian-Germans and 10,-
100000 Magyars. Opposed to these
ruling races are S,5OO,OOO Czecho-Slo-
walks, 100000 Poles, 100000 Ruth
enians, 100000 Jugo-Slavs, 100000
Roumanians, and nearly 100000
Italians.
For nearly so years the diplomatic
relations between Germany and Aus
tria have been dictated by the Haps-
burg policy of playing off one race
against another to prevent insurrec-
ton. The Kaiser has backed Aus
trials hand, because the freedom of
the oppressed races in the Dual Mon
archy would FGt an end to the whole
Mittel-Europa scheme.
The Roumanians, the Italians, the
Jugo-Slavs, all want to be joined to
the kindred race with which they are
by blood allied Alone of the subject
races. the Czecho-Slovaks have no
free fraction of their own people out
side the Austrian Empire with which
to be united
But the Czecho-Slovaks are irrecon-
cilable-and with a free Bohemia the
dream of central Europe is impossi-
BILE. Many years ago Bismarck said,
"The master of Bohemia is the master
of Europe" Every German and Aus
trian statesman since his time has
kept this before HON as practical
rule of conduct.
If the Jugo-Slav territory were
united Afstria-Hungary would be cut
off from the Adriatic, which would be
fatal to the military plans of Ger
many.
That is why the nationalistic asprr-
atoms for freedom of the Jugo-Slavs
and the Czecho-Slavs are tremendous
ly important to the Allies.
The percentage of illiteracy among
the Czechs is lower than in any other
race In Austria-lower, in fact, than
in the United States, They have in
the last hundred years developed an
art and literature that would be
creditable to any nation. With one
third of the population Of the Austrian
Empire, Bohemia just before the war
paid three-fifths of the taxes. It's aver
age yield of grain per acre was twice
| that of our own country. 1t was the
manufacturing heart of Austria, and
| its coal and iron mines furnished a
great part of the fuel and steel for
| both Austria and Germany. Econom-
ically Bohemia was necessary to Aus
tria, strategically to Germany. So
Hapsburg and Hohenzollern have
stood together to crush the first step
toward freedom of the Czecho-Slo-
walks.
| ny r,rr ANN, NuIEUnn nnmII nj INN