Mr. Nigrin has published an article which says in part:

"It is logical that the aim of present Bohemian politics should be nothing more than the autonomy of Bohemia. That is the nearest and the most possible objective. It is the most possible, because our present strength does not seem to be sufficient for anything more, and it would be a mistake to rely upon favorable circumstances and luck. Man, help yourself....' is an old true adage. It is doubly true in regard to nations. Autonomy is also the most possible objective, because Germany would never tolerate having its southern border menaced by a Slavic state, and there is no conclusive proof that Germany will be so badly crushed that it will have to stand for anything. Finally, autonomy is most attainable because the establishment of Bohemian independence would be contrary to the interests of England. The reason for this is that in an independent Bohemia, Russia would have an immense influence and thus would 2extend her sphere of interests into the very center of Europe, which means an impairment of the balance of power and therefore a threat to the interests of England. As we have already indicated, Russia will be interested primarily in the Balkans, and her interest there will be much stronger than it is in us--we who have so far been completely, or very much, an unknown quantity, officially."

If this were an opinion of a private individual, it would not be worth noticing, and the editor would have filed the letter away. Since, however, Mr. Nigrin is an officer of an organization, which has in its program political action, it is necessary to reply to that article. In the first place, Mr. Nigrin, as a member of that body, has no right to decide what is and what is not useful to the Bohemian nation, for the following two reasons:

1. It is too early to judge how situations will develop, and only future events can determine the demands of the Bohemian nation.

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2. These demands will chiefly affect that part of the Bohemian nation living in Bohemia, Moravia, and Silesia, and its representatives will no doubt be able to find means of presenting its just claims for autonomy or full liberation for the Bohemian Crown Lands.

To decide now that all the Bohemians may get is autonomy is therefore premature, and anyway, autonomy is an indefinite concept. For a long time Austria has maintained that the Bohemians have autonomy, that is, autonomy in Bohemia proper. What the Bohemians have been fighting with the Vienna government for is state autonomy, or the recognition of the full rights of the Bohemian Crown Lands, which would establish a relationship between the Bohemians and Vienna very similar to the present relationship between the Hungarians and Vienna.

Such an autonomy as we would be given by Austria and would be permitted to have by Germany would not be a great gift. If that were what we wanted, we could sit down quietly and wait in peace until such an autonomy was granted us by Austria and Germany. What kind of autonomy that would be has already been 4indicated by the Chicago Abendpost which, true enough, praised the Bohemian soldiers for their bravery and was happy to learn that the rumors about the unreliability of the Bohemians were not true, but this worthy paper also says: "After the war, however, a strong German hand will be needed to make good Austrians out of the Bohemians."

What the Germans interpret as a "strong hand" could well be explained by the Polabian Slavs, if they still existed, or the Poles around Poznan who squirm under vile German oppression.

Should it happen, then, that the Germans would have something to say or could make any decisions in the peace negotiations, there would be no need for us to do anything at all, because they would, with the proverbial German Tuechtigkeit (thoroughness, efficiency), "take care" of everything themselves.

Throughout the struggle of the Bohemian nation for its rights, the Germans and Austrians have opposed the Bohemian demands, and it was principally Berlin 5(during Hohenwart's and Potocki's premiership) which crushed all Bohemian hopes for improvement in the status of the Bohemian nation in Bohemia, Moravia, and Silesia.

However it may be, we Bohemians in America can do nothing but keep on acquainting the American public with the point of view and conditions of the Bohemian nation. The Bohemian question, about which nobody seems to have known anything before this, has come up by itself in the storm of the World War, in spite of the fact that the mouths of our leaders in Bohemia must remain closed. When-ever the great American newspapers publish a map of Europe as it may look in the event of a Russian, French, and English victory, there is always an independent Bohemian state. The other alternative always shows only Germany and Austria, both greatly enlarged. In the latter, there is no trace of us at all.

That the Bohemian hopes for independence are by no means vain, as the writer of the above article would like to infer, will be proved by the following facts:

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Three days ago, at the convening of the parliament, Prime Minister Viviani spoke about the liberation of nations from the German yoke and added that France will not sheathe her sword as long as Europe is not completely free. Prior to this, Sir [Edward] Grey stated that this war is being waged for the liberation of small nations. Do these words, uttered by men who will take part in the peace conference, also apply to the Bohemians? Are the Bohemians no nation? Also, the mayor of Moscow, in welcoming the Czar from his trip to the Caucasus, said among other things that their former rights must be restored to the Slavic nations, a statement which was published in all American newspapers. Some Russian newspapers especially singled out the Bohemians when they [the newspaper] declared that this struggle is being fought for the liberation of the Slavs.

Why, then, proclaim and decide, and somehow historically and logically prove, that we shall have to be satisfied with mere autonomy? Why not wait and see how things go and watch for the opportune moment to present our demands for all that was stolen from us after 1620.

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Look at the Hungarians. They have never given a thought to historical logic and philosophy, and today they are an independent nation.

There are definite reasons why none of the organizations that have been formed in this country during these stirring times in order to protect the interests of our nation care to set forth clearly the aims they want to follow. These bodies keep still and follow the developments on the battlefields, getting ready to act when the proper time comes. To act now would be hasty, premature, and improvident. To formulate demands now and to be satisfied with some kind of autonomy would constitute a sellout in a buyers' market.

The admiration which Mr. Nigrin has for the Germans as soldiers and as a nation in general is justified, but he should be admiring the French, the Belgians, and the Russians a bit also.

It was a known fact that the German war machine is the greatest, most modern. 8and the most perfect one in Europe. But the fact that the Belgians would be in a position to hold this machine for two weeks was not known until now. Nor would any admirer of Germany have expected that the great German war machine would have to "run for life" from Paris after its defeat on the Marne. But now we know this to be true. Before the war, if any man would have said that the Germans would be unable to break through the Belgian, French, and English lines, and that they would have to "dig in" along the French and Belgian borders, that man would have been called a fanatic (sic). Now this is a metter of record.

Why not admire the Russians who, within the course of three weeks, have given the Austrian Army such a licking that it had to be reorganized by German generals and re-established by recruiting men from nineteen to forty-five years of age? Why not admire the Russians whom the Germans considered inferior soldiers after their defeat at Jedlova Hora, but who put the Germans to flight on the River Nemen, at Warsaw, and at Ivangorod? Why not admire them for fighting on three fronts--in the Caucasus, in Galicia, and in Poland and Prussia? Who is fighting 9on these three fronts against a half-million Turks, about two million Austrians, and two million Germans (under their famous field marshal, von Hindenburg)?

All nations are brave when they have competent leadership and are fighting for an ideal. The Austrians are fighting only for an emperor, and that explains their results. This will also be the explanation for the most terrible defeat of Austria, over whom the vultures are already hovering. Rumania has returned Silistria to Bulgaria. Was this done without compensation? No. It was done for neutrality. The people in Bucharest are clamoring for a war against Austria and are demanding the incorporation of three million Transylvanian Rumanians who are suffering under the vile Hungarian yoke. In Italy, the people want an Italia irredenta (unredeemed Italy); in other words, they demand Austria's Trentino, Istria, and Trieste. The Hungarian prime minister, Tisza, proclaimed in the parliament that Hungary will recall its troops in order to protect the country against an enemy invasion. In brief, during a most critical moment when Austria is disintegrating into its natural components, should we Bohemians, 10instead of dictating our conditions, be content with some kind of autonomy from Austria's hands? After the separation of Hungary, the loss of Bosnia, Herzegovina, Istria, and southern Tyrol, all that will remain of Austria will be a few puny parts which will be unable to dominate Bohemia and which will either have to be given to Germany or to an independent Bohemian kingdom. This latter may seem fantastic, but in the event of Austria's disintegration and Germany's defeat, it would be only natural, because the Austrian lands, being unproductive and sparsely populated, could not dominate the fertile, rich, and populous Bohemia, Moravia, and Silesia, whose people have a highly developed national consciousness. In addition to this, there are many Slovenes in these parts of Austria who would be happy to shed the German yoke.