Page:The Bohemian Review, vol2, 1918.djvu/213

 16th and 17th. Delegates of the district committees of the Alliance held a meeting on the first day and elected Mr. Thomas Čapek, chairman of their convention. Several changes in the constitution of the organization were approved, all looking toward greater democratization of the movement. Of these changes the most important one provides that the president and the secretary of the Alliance shall in the future be elected by the vote of the district committees. Action was taken to have every Czech in the United States make a gift to the cause on Thanksgiving Day in gratitude for the practical accomplishment of the aim which the Bohemian National Alliance has pursued for the last four years, namely the erection of an independent Czechoslovak Republic.

At a joint meeting of the two Czechoslovak organizations Albert Mamatej acted as chairman. Reports were rendered by various bureaus and discussion centered on means to make the central body representing all the Czechoslovaks in America perform its important work more efficient. As a result of the discussion it was decided that the central Czechoslovak body should be composed of twenty members, ten for the Czechs and ten for the Slovaks. The Slovak members are: Albert Mamatej, Jan Janček, Andrew Shustek, Miss Ethel Cablk, Rev. J. Murgaš, Michael Bosak, Rev. L. Karlovský, Jan Pankuch, Milan Getting and Rev. L. Kubášek. The Czech members are: President of the Bohemian National Alliance, ex-officio, Vojta Beneš, Prof. B. Šimek, Thomas Čapek, J. J. Zmrhal, Joseph Martinek, Rev. Innocent Kestl, Rev. Oldřich Zlámal, John Straka and Hynek Dostál. This body afterwards organized itself by electing Prof. Šimek for president, Mr. Mamatej and the Rev. Father Kestl for vice-presidents, Mr. Shustek for treasurer, Mr. Straka for financial secretary and Mr. Beneš for recording secretary. The full body will meet regularly once a year and oftener as emergency may require, while the executive consisting of the six officers will meet once a month in the city of Chicago.

Among other actions taken by the joint convention was the adoption of the Bohemian Review as their official organ under the name of the Czechoslovak Review, and the creation of a committee to gather statistics of Czechoslovaks in America and collect material for a history of the great movement for independence, as far as it has been carried on in this country.

A meeting was held in Pittsburgh on October 30th to make preparations on behalf of the Slovak League to have their case properly presented at the coming peace conference and to take some action with reference to reconstruction in Slovakia after the war. The committee in charge of this work was appointed by the Slovak League and consists of the following gentlemen: Albert Mamatej, president of the League, Jan Janček, secretary of the League, Joseph Hušek, of Middletown, Pa., Milan Getting, of Perth-Amboy, N. J., Ivan Bielek and Paul Sochaň of Pittsburgh, and Joza Žák of Washington.

The most important practical action decided upon by the committee was to organize immediately in this country large supplies of clothing, shoes, agricultural and industrial tools, machinery and other supplies and to export them to Slovakia as soon as practicable after hostilities cease. The goods will be sold to the people at cost price and on easy terms so that even the poorest Slovak farmer or laborer might be enabled to purchase the necessaries of life and of his calling. lt is planned to secure a capital of $15,000,000 and Mr. Ivan Bielek was charged with the organization of this company.

The committee decided further to undertake the publication of popular booklets on agriculture and industry for distribution to the poor people in the old country.

The Million-Dollar Fund which is being collected by the Slovak League for the political fight on behalf of Czecho-slovak independence will soon be completed. For a long time the money was coming slowly by the first big impulse was given by the Slovak Bazaar held in Chicago which netted $30,000. Then came Scranton, where the Slovaks under the leadership of Michael Bosak collected $33,000. Then the Slovaks of Bridgeport. Conn., decided to beat the record of Scranton and in one week they gathered in $60,000; much of the credit for Bridgeport’s great showing is due to S. Ambrose. This put it up to Pittsburgh, which has always been the centre of Slovak life in this country. Mr. Mamatej and Mr. Bielek hope to make Pittsburgh’s contribution to the Million-Dollar Fund a full hundred thousand dollars.

It is wonderful how effective a single article may be. The Saturday Evening Post of October 12th had for its leading story an account of the Czechoslovaks by Charles Downer Hazen. Dr. Hazen has been a teacher of history and a writer of historical works for twenty-five years and is used to scientific exactness. The thing that struck a Czech reader of Dr. Hazen’s account of the Czechoslovaks most strongly is the unusual fact that a lengthy article written by a stranger is correct in every detail, in every fact and every date. In five pages the author manages to give a very complete and faithful account of the Czechoslovak people and their struggle for independence.

An article in the Saturday Evening Post is read by several million people. That this particular story was read by many is evident from this fact alone that the various Czechoslovak organizations were swamped with requests for pamphlets, maps, posters, etc., shortly after the appearance of the article. Bohemian and Slovaks of this country owe a great debt of gratitude to Dr. Hazen for his splendid and sympathetic exposition.