The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1918-09-20
CzECHO-SLOvAkS ARE
FIGHTING FOR LIBERTY
Professor Kraiicck Shows Nation Is
Loyal to the Cause of the
Allies.

Professor " Kralicek. a cultured
Czecho- slovak teacher, of Chicago.
explained very clearly at the John
Marshall auditorium last night that
the Czecho- Slovaks were fighting in
the worlds war against the Germans
because the allied cause-that of de-
III ocracy. of liberty and of righteous
ness-~-was that embraced in the cause
OF his people for many centuries, and
| was their ideal of civilization.
The Czecho Slovaks. according to
Mr. kralicck, are home loving, hard
working. ok-loving people In the
homes of the poorest of them. even
though the furniture may be plain
and the fare meagre, the neat, com
modious bookshelf is always filled
with the best.
The Czecho- S!ovak farmer does not
SOW his seed ard then sit beneath the
shade of the tree and depend upon
Providence for his crops. He be-
lieves in the adage that God helps
those who help themselves, and he
tilis the soil and works it up TO its
best, with the result that. although he
worked hard and long on his crop.
he is rewarded in due season.
Even the lowliest of the people
are educated They have their schools
and their Libraries in every village
and hamlet. That is why the German
propaganda and the Russian betray
ers did not gather the Czecho- Slovak
within their nets. And that is, ac-
cordng TO the speaker, the reason his
people are now fighting with he allies
in far-off Siberia, in Italy. in the Bal
kans and in the western front
The Czecho- Slovak is. above all. a
native of Bohemia but he is also from
Moravia and Hungary, and he Is scat
tered among the Slsv nations
throughout Middle Europe. He has
longed for five hundred years for his
liberty that was taken from him by
the Austrians, and this opportunity
to help in the defense Of Siberia
comes just at the time when the souls
of the people are worked up to the
pitch in which they are now found.
The surrender of the Russians to the
demands of Germany did not meet
with the approval of the Bohemians,
and they clearly saw, being far above
the average Russian in intelligence,
that the Germans in demanding the
princely indemnity from Russia. had
the grainfelds OF Siberia in view
This We determined TO prevent"
said the speaker. we knew that the
grain OF Siberia would feed tho world
and that Germany would exact this IN
( demanding the indemnity which IL
had fixed with the countrys betray-
ers. We have now in Siberia more
/ than 10000 soldiers which. with those
of the allies. will hold back the Ger
man hordes. our soldiers are with
the allies on all the fghtinE fronts
and they Will remain with them for
their ideals are those that we have
been following for centuries.
/ There are thousands OF Czecho-
Slovaks in America. MANY of them
are with the American armies. Many
more arc scattered ali over the coun-
! try, doing all they can to head off the
! pro-German propaganda With VIC
/ tory for the allies. which will come
soon. the dream of the C2echo- Slovak
will have come true,
! The audience which greeted Pro
! fessor kralicck was small. but it was
/ apprcctattve. It WIS made up t5fseIp
of local Slavs, and a part Of the adj
1 dress was delivered in the language
| of that race