Evening star., 1938-09-29
BY VINCENT SHEEAN.

BY VINCENT SHEEAN.
PRAGUE, Sept. 20 (N.A.N.A).-An
old woman knelt yesterday before the
relics of st. Wenceslas in Prague Ca
thedral. Her face was expressionless
and her body swayed slightly as she
prayed. Over her head she wore
white kerchief, folded in the manner
of a Bohemian peasant woman Her
blue eyes never wavered from the
altar on which were displayed the
skull, crown, helmet and coat of mail
which tradition says once belonged to
Bohemia's warrior saint and king.
The day is st. Wenceslas' Day.
Never since his time has his people
faced such 8 frightful ordeal. The
old woman praying yesterday was
praying for the whole nation-for sons
to be slain and daughters, too; for
grandchildren who may die tomorrow.
This is the end. The Czechoslovak-
ian reply to the German memorandum
and similar moves of diplomatic triv-
iality have ceased to possess any sig
niflcance whatever for the people, who
feel As that old woman in the ca
thedral undoubtedly felt yesterday. The
bigwigs may do as they please. This
nation Is ready for those final I'M
speakable horrors which Hitler prom
ised IN his speech night before last.
Lunatic Screeching Of Hitler.
listened to Hitler's speech in the
kitchen of a Czech house in a little
village Is minutes from Prague. Our
Bohemian host and his wife had in
stalled radio about six months ago
expressly for this purpose-to hear
the lunatic screeching and bowling
OF this subnormal and also supernor-
NAL creature. had never heard Hit
Ter before, but the Czech peasants,
who were accustomed to listening to
his paroxysms, told me this one was
unusually calm. To me, it made an
impression of utter insanity. More
over, the fantastic illiteracy Of this
man. who cannot even speak his own
language correctly, was difficult to
comprehend at once under such con-
dlt1ons-a .darkened, waiting city, q
tense, silent room in which you could
hear the beating of hearts.
Here, we are all prepared for every
thing. My wife and I will go to the
village where we heard Hitler's speech.
Several colleagues of the American
and English press also have rooms
there. We shall remain until the first
bombardment or series of lombard
ments. then leave the country as soon
as possible, probably via Rumania and
Russia. Some other colleagues will 20
with the government before things
reach this stage.
Future Can't Be More Narrowing.
Whatever happens Saturday or even
tonight can hardly be more narrowing
than these hours Of mortal anguish.
The bombardment, when it comes, will
not kill all of us, but the expectation
of the bombardment has laid clammy
hand over the whole city.
In the cathedral, that old woman
prayed from heart Injured to suffer-
ing through life of poverty and
struggle, but all her life's misery can
not really prepare her for what is
now to come. If these people are now
to die, 1t should be said plain and
loud that they die with no will to war
or to aggression, but as their fathers
died IN centuries past-as all men die
IN the end, putting their trust in God.
This is what the prayers and tears
OF the people meant yesterday before
the shrine of their national saint.
tCopyrieht. 1898. by the North Amer,c,
Newspaper Alliance, IncD