Yesterday there was opened a new Sunday and Saturday school at 46 Bunker St., in the building of Matica Skolska (Alma Mater). The new school is for the Bohemian children, especially for children who on week days go to the English public schools. The Alma Mater is conducting the school. The purpose of this school is to teach all children of local Bohemian parents to speak, read and write their mother language. The knowledge of the mother tongue will ennoble every Bohemian child and every adult. We are following the example of the Germans, who are giving close attention to the instruction of their children in good English and in the ancestral language too. The Germans know that this is the only way to preserve the German nationality, thus protecting their children against denationalization. In this regard we must imitate them.

Now we have the most favorable opportunity to do it. The Alma Mater makes for this purpose new sacrifices and our duty should be to see that Bohemian parents take advantage of this opportunity and send their children to this new school. It is absolutely necessary that the American citizen know the English language, but would a Bohemian be a real Bohemian who did not know the mother tongue and the history of his celebrated ancestors? Would we call a real Bohemian a man who would be confused, listening to an educated man speaking of the history of our famed Bohemia? Such a one would be an absolute nonentity in the community. Such a youth would become a so-called "dude"; in his foolish superiority he would not care to speak Bohemian, being ashamed of the language and would not be worthy of the notice by anyone. We have many individuals of this kind among our growing youths. It is the noble task of our schools to stop the increase of this element.

Bohemian parents should take notice; every true Bohemian must care whether his children know their ancestral tongue. We hopefully expect that a large number of children will be registered in the school.

Next Sunday a school for young men will be started in the same building. We urge especially those young men to attend who in previous years had no opportunity to gain some education, and being now occupied through the week, are unable to acquire a spiritual education. And what is a workingman without spiritual education? A mere machine, a slave of his employer, possessing not enough power to act freely toward his own progress.

The Alma Mater is about the only society which has taken extensive care of the Bohemian, being unsparing in its sacrifice to teach Bohemian 4children to speak, read and write their mother tongue so that in the future they may be the real representatives of their ancestral country - likewise, good citizens of our adopted country.

The success of this noble work rests now on the shoulders of Bohemian parents, who should lend a helpful hand and send their children to this school.