Evening star., 1938-10-02

kindly genius Of the great Comenius
as they read the history Of the Czech
people by Palacky and Masaryk and
as they listened to the inspired music
Of their fellow countrymen, to the
operas of Smetana and to the New
World symphony of Dvorak. If not
colored area on map. Czechoslo-
vakia was a culture, a tradition, hope
to be fulfilled.
The Birth Of Nation.
The establishment Of the Czecho-
slovak Republic in 1918 marked the
end of struggle for national ex-
istence which had gone on for CEN
turies. Look at a map of pre-war
Europe such as you have before you
in today's Star. Buried within the
polyglot state of Austria Hungary
were the peoples which were to be
gathered together in the new Czecho-
slovakia. In the northwest corner
was Bohemia with its cities rich in
industry and tradition: Prague,
Carlsbad. Pilsen. Tabor, Budweis,
Eyer; southeast was Moravia with the
cities of Brunn, OlmutZ and Troppau,
these in the Austrian portion of the
empire Farther east was Slovakia
in the Hungarian part. While these
err part of the empire in extent,
economically they were of the greatest
Importance. 1t has been asserted
that though this area included but
one-flfth of the total area of the
monarchy. it possessed four-ffths Of
the machinery, three-f1fths Of the
iron and nine-tenths of the coal.
Parenthetically it might be said that
Germany today Is not unaware Of the
wealth of Bohemia. On the agri-
cultural side. Czechoslovakia wss then
and is q great producer Of foods.
How the Austrian Empire held to-
gether is not easy to see. While the
Turk was still a menace there was
reason for the smaller groups to
stick together for protection. We
must remember that the Turkish ad-
vance had extended even to Vienna,
which city they besieged in 1888.
Since that time the fortune Of the
Turks in Europe had progressively
declined and no longer could they be
considered a threat.
During the years preceding the
World War the only common tie was
the rule of the Hapsburgs. Beyond
the Hapsburgs, however, was the de-
sire Of Berlin to develop the eastern
expansion Of its political influence.
Austria, the gateway to the southeast,
was an essential link In the chain that
was being forged.
Largest Single Racial Group.
Within the empire concerted action
on the part of the Germans of Austria
and the Magyars Of Hungary prevented
any successful attempt to break the
ties which held the empire together.
Within Austria Hungary the slavs
constituted the largest single racial
group, or about "A per cent Of the total
population. OF these Slavs, half were
in the areas which were to be joined
into the later Czechoslovakia A fifth
of the population was Hungarian and
less than a quarter Germans. OF
these Germans a quarter were in the
fringe around Bohemia, in those areas
where the present tension is greatest.
How did those Germans get there?
What brought them on the Slavic side
of the natural wall formed by the
Erzgebirge, the Sudeten Mountains
and the Bohemian Forest? In the
southwest were the descendants of
Bavarian settlers. In the area of the
Bohemian Forest, as a part Of the
exploitation Of the area, farmers and
woodsmen had been sent In the 18th
century. The mineral riches of the
Erzgebirge region had drawn In
German artisans from neighboring
duchies. In the large movements Of
peoples after the devastating Thirty