YoungstownskeÌ SlovenskeÌ noviny = Youngstown Slovak news. (Youngstown, Ohio) 1910-1940, 1931-05-29
2105 Market st. Phone 1912

claimed unanimously the readiness Of
the Croatian nation to join united
state of the South-Slavs.
Among the Serbs, Jugoslav idea
was not popular, their nationalism
was exclusively Serbian. The politi
cal ideal of the people and the desire
of their leaders was an enlarged Ser
bia, in which the orthodox Serbs
would constitute a clear majority of
population.
Although for political and strategic
reasons the idea of a union with the
rest of the South-Slavs was during
the war several times accepted Off
cially, the point of view of the Ser
bian leaders remained pan-Serbian
even as late as the fall of 1918. Up
to that time Serbian Government un-
der Premier Pasich had not only re-
fused to help along the activities of
the Jugoslav Committee for the es-
tablishment of Jugoslavia, but it did
its best to thwart that Committees
campaign.
i Mr.. u. Mitrany reported this fact in
following words: ''Old NJ. PaSich is dead,
but Jugoslavia is subject to tho
domination of his friends and of the military
clique than Serbia ever was IN. Y Times
Magazine. Sept. IA, 1929
In spite of this, however, Jugoslav
Committee succeeded in winning for
it's programme the sympathy of Pres.
Wilson and most of the British states
men, and for time it seemed as if
Jugoslavia, as conceived by the sin
cere proponents of the idea of union,
based on equality of the component
parts, would finally become fact.
1t did not. at the critical time
Pasich and the rest of the Serbian
politicians made a complete change Of
front, and became very active on be-
| half of "unification." Due to the ter
rible mistake of Zagreb politicians.
namely, who were taking no valid
precautions that the self-government
of Croats and Serbs would be pre-
served in the union, and that their
interests would be of equal weight
with those of the Serbs, Serbian lead
ers were given an opportunity to
manipulate the unification in such a
way, that in the new, united state,
Serbs would remain dominant and
the control of the country would be
retained by the same group of poll
ticians, militarists and Belgrade
plutocrats, which ruled the old King
dom of Serbia.
This is exactly what happened
Under slightly different name, the
result Of this unification was in
reality Greater Serbia.
AS consequence, the twelve-hun-
dred years old state of Croatia was
wiped off the map. Croatian inter-
ests were constantly subordinated to
those of Serbia and of her rulers.
Croats were subjected to a reign of
terror which surpassed anything that
they went through while Croatia was
part of the Austro-Hungarian Mon
archy.
All this was naturally resented by
the Croats who in a short time de-
veloped a strong resistance to this
regime of oppression. In order to
break this resistance, some of the
most prominent of the Croatian lead
ers were murdered in the Belgrade
Parliament, and, when this crime
proved a failure in SO far as the
weakening of the Croatian opposition
to the Serb hegemony was concerned,
as last resort, the constitution was
suspended and dictatorship proclaim
ed by King Alexander.
Although changing the name of the
country to Jugoslavia and doing "a
few little things to improve the ad-
ministration of the country, this die
tatorship has proved to be only a
worse edition of the previous reign of
Nikola Pasich and his successors. It's
chief goal seems to be annihilation of
Croatian national individuality. and
its favorite method, cruel prosecutions
of the Croatian patriots.
i But the spirit of the Croatian peo-
pie is not broken. Now, more than
ever before, they demand the re-
establishment of the free State of
Croatia, in which they will be the
masters of their own destiny. If this
is not done in the near future, any
thing may happen. The situation is
fraught with danger to the peace,
and for that reason it certainly de-
serves attention not only from the
foreign offices of the different gov
ernments, but from everybody who is
interested in preserving that peace.
And that, we believe, is the great
| majority of men and women through
o4e '4e "oiu' (The endl