Evening star., 1939-06-25

Serbia since the Serbs control the
national government.
THE whole thing is ridiculous"
one young man expostulated. III
we, here in Ljubljana, want to build
a public latrine, we have to petit
ton the government at Belgrade.
After months of red tape the Pc
tition might be granted. But then
the process has to begin all over
again to get the necessary money"
Politics is also kept alive by the
very conditions of living at the
university. The university supplies
no living quarters for the students
and gives little financial aid-only
10 scholarships are offered. The
older politicians, realizing the i'm
portance Of students to the future
development of the state, have taken
up the cause. The political parties
and organizations have built dormi-
tories and special restaurants, and
have established agencies to help
needy students.
Thus, at the University of Ljub-
Llama, there is 40 fraternity rush.
ing when the university opens in
October; there is, instead, political
rushing" The parties have been
able to place themselves as the chief
suppliers of everything unacademic
in university life, from living quar-
ters to social life. Before the middle
Of the semester, therefore. each new
boy and girl is pledged" to some
political cause.
That student opinion does reflect
and even leads public opinion in
Slovenia, however, is being proved
at present by the manner in which
interest and action is shifting from
internal matters to international af-
fairs. Slovenia is the vulnerable
spearhead of Yugoslavia, cornered
between Italy to the west, Germany
to the north and Hungary to the
east. 1t is country rich in food
stuffs, timber and other natural
resources and is of strategic i'm
portance In the event of war. Fur
thermore, there are 250.000 Slovenes
in italian territory at the north of
the Adriatic and more than 100, 900
in the province of Carinthia in old
Austria. Slovenes in Yugoslavia are
well aware that these peoples are q
badly oppressed minority. The fact,
too, that Slovenia is flooded with
German and Italian propaganda, on
the heels of Czecho- -Slovakia's ex-
perience, is persuading many Slo-
venes to give up internal strife for
national unity.
National Unity Bloc Formed.
A few months ago all the student
parties in Ljubljana formed a bloc
and declared for national unity.
More than three-quarters of the
men students organized a voluntary
brigade which has been recognized
by the Belgrade government and is
being given special military train
ing which will enable it to partici-
pate In any necessary defense OF
Ljublana.
Last summer the students Or
ganized and financed q series of
camps in the country near the Ger
man border. From them boys and
girls went out to study living condi-
tions among the peasants In sur
rounding neighborhoods and help
them as best they could. Lectures
on hygiene. child care and home
economics were given land well at
tended) the aim being principally
that Of social service. This summer,
however, the students viii make q
concerted study of German propa-
ganda efforts in Slovenia with an
eye to counteracting it. It is sig
nificant that the number of the
camps is to be doubled to 20. Al
though this student work is not
officially recognized, the political
parties and other civic groups are
joining to finance the camps.
Copyright. 1889. BY T. L. Dammann.)