New-York tribune., 1918-08-06
Have Overcome Centuries
of Obstacles to Attain
Present Status
Free From Bolshevism
Years Of Encroachment bv
Hun Have Left Indelible
Mark
The Neu York Tribune

OretOn Fre3S Bureau
The Czecho-S -Slovaks, who are making
such fine record for themselves in
Siberia, are an extremely hard fighting
lot. A correspondent of The Times,
of London, gives the following d,scrp-
tlon of visit to them when the Rus
sian army was still in existence and
they formed part of that army:
Before leaving Petrograd to join
the armies in the southwest on the
eve Of the last Russian offensive I saw
Professor Masaryk. Be sure to call on
our people, he said. And so at the
earliest opportunity | made my way to
their headquarters, west of Tarnopol
young colonel of the Russian army
was in command He introduced me to
some of his Czech officers, who, like
the men, had come over from the hated
Austrian service earlier in the war and
we're now fighting their oppressors, the
Austro- Germans.
Leaving the Galician hut where the
staff of the brigade was quartered, we
made our way toward the front line
trenches. As the Czecho- -Slovaks wore
IL
undistinguishable from ordinary in
fantrymen, but a marked difference
soon became apparent. These Slavs are
more hard bitten than their eastern
brethren Of Russia. Centuries of re-
slstance to Germanic encroachment had
left an indelible imprint upon them
The characteristic cheeriness and So
ciabilty of the Slav were held in check
by an ingrained respect for duty and
discipline. There was no mistaking the
oordiality and goodwill that marked
the relations of the officers toward the
men. Their commander greeted every
one of his soldiers in the Czech man
ner: Ma Zdar,' meaning good health,
to which the man replied simply, 'Zdar
1t all reminded me very much of my
visits to Australian and Canadian
troops.
I'm the trenches l came face to face
with men who. only few hours ago
had wrested these positions from the
enemy They had had terrible tigh,
to get them, and the name of the place
was a very appropriate one-it was
VI o0tle. meaning a grave for many
thousands had fallen during the fight
The Czecho Slovaks appeared to be
quite unmoved by their terrific ordeal
The men, who had had only snatche,
of sleep for several days and were
subjected to an almost uninterrupte
bonn bardment, showed no trace of ner-
vous strain.
What is more remarkable, they re-
mained free from the faint of Boil
shevism and the committee mania that
was causing such ravages among their
Russian comrades. They were also
undismayed by the still more demoral-
lzing fact that many of their fellow
countrymen had manned the enemy's
trenches. With diabolical cunning the
Austro- Germans had placed a large
number of their Czech troops opposite
the Czecho-Slovak brigade. Unfortu-
nately. the Allied propaganda was then
so defective that the Czechs on the
Austro- German side were in ignorance
of the fact that their countrymen were
attacking them.
THE Czecho- Slovaks in Russia had
to pass through many other ordeals
before they finally came to their own.
Every impediment was raised to the
formation of further units on the
part Of the Bolshevists, and it argues
much for their power of endurance
and their capacity for organization
that they were able to survive the
disruption of the Russian armies. In
this effort, however, they were sus-
tanned by their undertaking purpose of
establishing their claims to national
independence"