By that test there are no better Americans than those who trace their parentage to Bohemia.
We are engaged in war against a far reaching plot to dominate the world by Prussianism. The forces are the same which have crushed freedom in Bohemia and Moravia. There can be no secure peace until these forces are utterly defeated and secure guarantees are had which will prevent a renewal of the attack.
It must be made impossible for Prussian power to hold the road to Constantiople and Bagdad. One of the most effective bars would be a Czecho-Slovak state and that free state, I confidently hope, will emerge from the contest.
The ancient glories of the Bohemian people will flower anew in a free democracy which will always be found in close ties of friendship with our Republic on this side of the Ocean.
Hail to that day!
BOHEMIA IN THE AMERICAN PRESS.
A few months ago, when the Bohemian Review was born, an editorial on Bohemia in an American daily paper was an event; today it is an every day occurrence. Before the war is over, probably every one of the hundred and ten million Americans will know what the Czechs demand and why the United States should support that one of the war aims of the Allies which is stated in their historical peace terms note to be “the liberation of Czecho-Slovaks from foreign domination.”
It will probably be of some interest to our readers to catalogue here such of the editorial articles as came under the notice of the editor of the Review during the month of July. They are as follows:
Brooklyn Eagle: Why the Czechs Desert from Austrian Army.
Flint (Mich.) Journal: Bohemia.
Cedar Rapids (Ia). Times: In Slavic Austria.
Pasadena (Cal.) Star: Bohemia.
Long Beach (Cal). Press: Woes and Hopes of Bohemia.
El Centro (Cal). Press. Bohemia.
Monrovia (Cal.) News: Bohemia and Ireland.
Grand Rapids Press: Oppressed Bohemia.
New Bedford Standard: The Czecho-Slovaks.
Norfolk (Neb.) News. Czechs and Austrians.
Detroit News: Austria’s Dilemma.
Syracuse Standard: The Czech Revolt.
Hays (Kans) Press: The Czechs.
Leavenworth (Kans). Post: Tschekhoslovatski.
Chicago Journal: The Austrian Muddle.
Providence Journal: Czechs Fighting for Russia.
Indianapolis Star: Czechs and Slavs at the Front.
Madison (Wis). Democrat: Czech Revolt Bearing Fruit.
Hutchinson (Kans). News. The Slovaks.
Schenectady Gazette: Applies to the Present.
Seattle Post Intelligencer: Czecho-Slovak Liberty, and Death Troops.
Cedar Rapids Republican: Bohemians in Russia’s Drive.
Boston Herald: The Peace Cry in Austria.
Helena Independent: A Wrong that needs Righting.
Albany Argus: Czechs and Slovaks.
It is impossible to indicate the number of news items of Bohemia of the Czech struggles that appeared in the papers during the last months. There were hundreds of them. But one cannot omit mentioning a feature article by Isaac Don Levine in the New York Tribune, entitled: The Birth of New Nations—Bohemian, and published also in the Milwaukee Journal; further a lengthy article in the Detroit News Tribune by Geo. B. Catlin: Germans Persecute Slavs and Czechs in Dual Empire. Also a long cable in the St. Louis Republic by Norman Hapgood in which he gives credit for his detailed information on conditions in Austria to the “excellent Bohemian organizations in Paris and London.”
This list does not include editorial articles dealing with the Austrian situation and discussing as a part of it the Bohemian problem.
NEW BOOKS
The Battle of the Somme. By JOHN BUCHAN. Geo. H. Doran Co., New York.
John Buchan has been known to hundreds of thousands as a novelist; here he appears in the role of a strategist. The battle of the Somme, the bloodiest struggle so far in all history, has in him an excellent chronicler. He brings to the description of the minute and highly technical details of the long drawn-out contest his skill of an accomplished master of English and the professional knowledge of a staff officer. The book is copiously illustrated by photographs and maps.
It will interest every one who is interested in the outcome of the great war. The story is an eloquent testimonial to the gigantic energy of the British general staff.
The Land of Deepening Shadow. By D. THOMAS CURTIN. Geo. H. Doran Co., New York.
Experiences of an American reporter in Germany from 1915 to end of 1916. An extremely fascinating book describing the gradual exhaustion of Germany under the strain of war. A reader who has lived in Germany and Austria and knows the working of the two governments feels convinced that Mr. Curtin has indeed caught the very spirit of the Teutonic regime. To readers of Bohemian descent the most interesting chapter will be the one on Police Rule in Bohemia, which is reprinted in this issue of the Review by permission of the publishers. But the whole book is based on first hand information and reveals the growing weakness of German militarism.
