Evening Republican, Volume 21, Number 248, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 22 October 1918 — Millions of Men Under Hapsburg Tyranny Are Longing for Real Freedom [ARTICLE]

Millions of Men Under Hapsburg Tyranny Are Longing for Real Freedom

By ELMER DAVIS

The Jugo-Slavs of the Adriatic provinces and the Czecho-Slovaks of the north look to America as the deliverer from Hapsburg tyranny. Twenty-eight million people trodden down by a German-Magyar minority am with the allies heart and soul. In the dual monarchy there are, roughly speaking, .12,000,000 Aus-tro-Germans and 10,000,000 Magyars. Opposed to these ruling races are 8,500,000 Czecho-Slovaks, 5,000,000 Poles, 4,000*000 Roumanians, 7,000,000 Jugo-Slavs, 3,000,000 Bohemians and nearly 1,000,000 Italians. For nearly fifty years the diplomatic relations between Germany and Austria have been dictated by the Hapsburg polity of playing off one race against another tp prevent insurrection. The kaiser has backed Austria’s hand because the-freedom of the oppressed races in the dual monarchy would put an end to the whole Mittel-Europa scheme. The Roumanians, the Italians, the Jugo-Slavs all want to be joined to the kindred race with which they, are by blood allied. Alone, of the subject races the Czecho-Slovaks have no free fraction of their own peoph outside the Austrian empire with which to be united. But the Czecho-Slovaks are irreconcilable—and with a free Bohemia ’ the dream of central Europe is impossible. Many years ago Bismarck said, “The master of Bohemia is the master of Europe.” Every German and Austrian statesman since his time has kept this before him as a practical rule of conduct. f Iffthe Jugo-Slav territory were united Austria-Hungary would be cut off from the Adriatic, which would be fatal to the military plans of Germany. ‘"yV 4 That is why the nationalistic aspirations for freedom of the JugoSlavs and the Czecho-Slovaks are tremendously important to the Allies.