Charles Pergler

“ It is the devout desire of all rightminded men that the present terrible European conflagration be followed by a permanent and durable peace. But the peace following this war cannot be durable and cannot be permanent if ancient injustices are perpetuated. ”

“ Eleven million Germans in Austria have five universities, while ten million Czechs, including Slovaks, have but one university; the provisions for other school facilities are no better. This leads to the Germanization of thousands of Bohemian children; the only means of defense the Czechs have against this is an organization which maintains schools in many places for Bohemian children from funds raised by contributions of patriotic Czechs. ”

“ Yet the vitality of the nation was such that it arose from its grave. This modern miracle is largely a triumph of democracy, because it was the vitality of the plain people, as Lincoln always called them, of the peasants especially, that withstood all the assaults of the Germanizing elements. Beginning with the nineteenth century, Czech men of letters begin to appear, and the revolutionary year of 1848 brings a political renaissance. ”

“ The right of any nation to self-government and independence is not and cannot be a debatable question. It would be idle, and a waste of time and words, to endeavor to prove that this or that nationality is entitled to freedom and independence. This is one of the self-evident truths from the force of which debate or discussion would merely detract. This is especially true of a nation concerning which President Woodrow Wilson says in one of his works: “No lapse of time, no defeat of hopes, seems sufficient to reconcile the Czechs of Bohemia to incorporation with Austria ”

“ The days of isolation and self-sufficiency of any country are gone. A conflagration started in the Balkans may cause a war that would spread throughout the world. The neutral powers have a right to protect themselves against such danger. ”

“ It is regrettable that the Magyars, since gaining complete autonomy for themselves, themselves turned oppressors of Slav nationalities, but this does not change the applicability of the sentiment expressed by Daniel Webster, and does not mean the same attitude as against oppressed nationalities should not be taken by American statesmen. Why not Bohemian independence ”

“ With the exception of the Poles, and at present of the Armenians, it is quite doubtful whether there is any other nation in the world that has ever been subjected to the persecution which followed the unfortunate result of the battle of White Mountain in 1620. ”

“ With all this high degree of development, it still cannot be said that the existence of the Czechs as a nationality is secure. The Austrian constitution declares all nationalities to be equal, but in practice this provision means very little. ”