Telegraf. [volume] (Baltimore, Md.) 1909-1951, 1947-12-05

SVU", kterou pronesl u prfle-
zitosti pfijfmanf T. j. Sokol
w Washington, D.. c.. do svazku
S. O. dine %. listopadu
p. Josef Hanc, Minister Pleni-
potentiary z Velvyslanectvi
Ceskoslovenske Republiky.
The Sokol group in Washing
ton, which is now being affilia-
ted within the larger all-Ame-
rican association, may not be
numerous, but according to the
old Czech saying "do not look
at numbers, it is the quality
that counts"
| was asked to say a few
words of what the Sokols are
and for what they stand. | need
to explain that Sokol means a
falcon, which is a symbol of
speed, grace and bravery.
might offer you a picture of
nearly one million Sokols in
Czechoslovakia, men, women
and children, a powerful influ-
ence of physical fitness and mo-
raj courage which pervades the
life of our people at home.
might tell you the story of the
Sokols in Czechoslovakia; it
would be the story of a nation
which has refused to perish
But here we are in America
and | am certain that [ do not
exaggerate if I say that the per
petuation of the Sokol idea, of
the Sokol principles and of the
practice belongs to the
most outstanding contributions
you people Of Czechoslovak
descent have made to what is
sometimes called the American
way of life.
What then is the Sokol idea
and what does it mean? To put
it briefly, it means a synthesis
of physical, moral, civic, demo
and progressive train
ing. With physical training we
a healthy body. A body
training, to quote the
Greek philosopher Plato, is like
a mind without education. 1t
has no value. Moral training
is a direct result of physical
training. By developing health
and strength in men, we deve-
Iope his character. The Sokols
train themselves in a democra-
tic way of living It is a non
and non-political or
g%anization Everyone can find
place within it's orbit. The
only thing that he must do, if
he or she wants to be a really
good Sokol, is to subscribe to
he fundamental principles of
he organization, that is to
serve the community as equal
among equals. Acting as an
Individual the Sokol respects
he individuality of his fellow
citizen for the common good
IF all.
To be a good Sokol means to
De imbued with an idealistic
,rame of mind. The mind of
he Sokol must be capable of
enthusiasm for healthy, beau
and useful things. To be
good Sokol in Czechoslovakia
means to be a patriotic Czecho-
'lovak citizen. To be a good.
in America means to be a
patriotic American citizen. The
Sokol idea means the love of
own country. 1t is at the
same time the expression of pa
:riotism and of universal un-
lerstanding. The Sokol move
nent was brought to the United
States by the Czech and Slovak
people yearning for progress.
They came here at a time when
back in Europe they had little
nance of developing their own
culture. Most of them came to
,hese shores long before the
irst world war to escape the
'eligious, political and social
oppression to which they had
,een exposed there by the then
German and Magyar
'verlords. This yearning for
progress, this desire for con-
Improvement is one more
fundamental pillar on which
he Sokol organization stands
md on which it builds.
It is in this spirit that I want
o congratulate you on thel
Establishment of the Washing
on unit and to wish you all
uccess for your future activi-|
les. Let me conclude with one
f the basic notices of the Sol