“ In Bohemia it has brought into being a state of mind which affects all alike—the rich and the poor, conservative and radical, young and old, men and women. It manifests itself in a fire of patriotism the intensity of which no American, patriotic though he be, can comprehend. It is the patriotism of a small nation in which each member counts, a nation that had once played a noble part in Europe, a nation with a history of which each Czech is passionately proud, a nation with a strong individuality jealously preserved, a nation determined to be once more independent. ”

“ No promise of autonomy has the power to create such determination. Only freedom in its full sense, freedom as a nation, political independence can and does inspire a nationally conscious people to unheard of heights of heroism.
Perhaps America will understand now, why the promise of freest autonomy from the Allies has been such a disappointment to the Bohemians. Not merely because Bohemians know that autonomy under the Hapsburgs, autonomy under the same roof with Germans and Magyars would be illusory. ”

“ Bohemians have no desire to embarrass their friends by asking too much at an in convenient time. But it surely is not too much to ask that the Allies speak not of autonomy, but of self-determination, for the peoples of Austria-Hungary. All that the Bohemian nation asks is that it be allowed to determine for itself under what government it shall live. ”