counterbalance the diminution of strength which the Hohenzollern-Habsburg combination would suffer by the liberation of the non-German and non-Magyar peoples whom the present "Central Powers" control.
These are the true lines of a lasting resettlement of Central Europe. In it an independent Bohemia would play a part of which the importance can be gauged only by those who know the history and the potentialities of the Bohemian lands and of the Czecho-Slovak race. As to the Habsburgs, who for so long have "clutched the hair of diverse populations," the words of the famous parody still hold good:—
| They had their chance; for so, in rough All nations had beginnings. But Habsburgs were not wise enough For any solid winning; Or else their task was over tough. |
It is time that the peoples whom they have persistently misgoverned should be allowed to work out their own salvation; and among these peoples the thrifty, industrious and gifted Bohemian race holds a place second to none.
London, June 25th, 1917
