Page:Bohemia under Hapsburg misrule (1915).pdf/127

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III

WHY BOHEMIA DESERVES FREEDOM

By Professor B. Šimek of the State University of Iowa[1]

IN the present European crisis several nations hoping for a betterment of their political fortunes. Among these not the least hopeful are the Bohemians in the historic Kingdom of Bohemia, now annexed to the Austrian Empire.

Many who are unfamiliar with the situation will probably ask: Why should the Bohemians seek independence? Are they not more secure as a part of a large empire? It is in anticipation of, and in response to such questions that the following facts are presented.

Bohemia has not received just treatment at the hands of the Austrian Government. Her national spirit has been offended or ignored, her people have been oppressed, her schools are not adequately maintained, and the scant support which they now receive has been wrung from the gov-

  1. The writer is a representative type of the sturdy settler of Bohernian ancestry who helped to build up the Northwest. He sojourned in the birthland of his parents when the war broke out.

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