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RV 88

gandists against the Central Powers. Their work among the Russians might accomplish important results.

4. It will encourage strikes and parliamentary opposition in Austria-Hungary.

5. To a much greater extent it will encourage passive resistance, refusals to participate in war loans, and attempts to disorganize in every possible way the military and economic plans of the Central Empires.

6. It will increase the activities in support of the war and of the administration among the two to three million Slavs in the United States.

While a declaration by the United States cannot fail to increase the activity of the western and southern Slavs against the Central Empires, in the absence of such a declaration the United States and the Entente run the risk in the near future of losing much of the assistance which they have been receiving from this source; although to the credit of these Slavs it must be said that there has as yet been no such result. The recent events in Russia, however, have left the Czechs, Jugoslavs, etc., in a most terrible plight. They can hardly be expected to keep up their efforts against the Central Empires unless they have encouragement, and especially, if possible, express assurance that their liberty will be a certain result of an Entente victory.

At the present time some are beginning to doubt whether an Entente victory will bring them their liberty. The Germans, Austrians, and Hungarians are endeavoring to persuade them that it will not,