Page:The Bohemian Review, vol2, 1918.djvu/72

 willingly the young men of that blood have enlisted in the great war in which they must feel a dual interest, first as American citizens and second as descendants of a race that in Europe has been so long ground down under the iron heel of the Hapsburgs.”

Another proof of the devotion to American cause of men of Bohemian blood may be seen in the great work done by the Bohemian Branch of the Foreign Language Division of the Liberty Loan Campaign Committee. This committee, composed of Chicago business men of Bohemian birth or parentage, has been held up as an example to similar committees all over the United States, for in the first two campaigns it has reached every one of the thousand and more Bohemian lodges, building and loan associations, clubs and other organizations in Chicago. For the third campaign the work has been placed on an even more extensive basis, and through the cordial co-operation of the Bohemian National Alliance and its branches the Chicago Committee is extending its campaign to every city and hamlet where there may be as many as a dozen Bohemian families. We shall be proud to cite in the next issue of this periodical the total amount of subscriptions made to the third Liberty Loan through this committee. Of course, it should be noted that loyalty alone, unsupported by other qualities, would not suffice. Here, as in other instances, the Bohemians have demonstrated their great organizing talent and ability to co-operate, as well as the high quality of leadership which they possess. The Liberty Loan work is in charge of Anton J. Čermák as chairman of the committee and Joseph J. Salát as secretary.

To this ambitious program of collecting millions for the prosecution of the war should be added the following honorable mention from the Shreveport (La.) Times:

Whether it be in Chicago, with its 150,000 people of Bohemian blood, or the most remote little settlement of Bohemian farmers on the sandy pine clearings of Louisiana, everywhere you will find the same spirit: The war is a righteous war, and peace must be won by victory.

Clippings referring to Bohemia are getting to be more numerous every month. During March several dispatches, reproduced in practically every American daily, dealt with the violent attacks made by the Czech deputies in the Vienna parliament upon the Austrian government. That, of course, was nothing startling to readers who follow the events in Central Europe, but it helps to impress upon the mind of the average newspaper reader the fact that the Czechs at the very heart of Mittel-Europa continue to struggle against our enemies. In addition to that the, published in full in this issue, has been given out to the press by the Slav Press Bureau and has been quoted at length in all of the important journals of the United States. Another, means of giving publicity to the cause of Bohemia has been the lecture trip of Joseph Martinek who is visiting the larger centers of the Bohemian population to talk of his experiences in Russia, and who takes the opportunity in every case to tell the local papers something of the great accomplishments of Czechoslovak soldiers in Russia.

Among large dailies, approving editorially of the aims of the Bohemian people, are, besides old friends who may always be relied upon to say a good word, newspapers like the Washington Post, Pittsburgh Gazette-Times, N. Y. Evening Sun, Brooklyn Eagle, Grand Rapids Herald and others. In addition, some half a dozen clippings, containing quotations from the Bohemian Review, have come under the editor’s notice during the past month. The March World’s Work contains a very sympathetic discussion of “The Ferment in Bohemia” by Richard Wilmer Rowan.

Your attention is called to the change of address on the first page of this issue. All communications for the Bohemian Review, whether of business nature or intended for the editor, should be addressed to 2324 South Central Park avenue, Chicago. The reason for the change is that the present business manager, Mr. J. J. Fekl, has joined the Czechoslovak Army and is on the way to France. It will be up to the editor to take over this work in addition to the editorial work.

In this connection we may be permitted to draw the attention of our readers to the fact that so far only a small proportion of those whose subscription has expired have sent in a renewal. We do not like to complain or make appeals to the sympathy of our readers. But if this applies to you, please address an envelope at once to 2324 South Central Park avenue, Chicago, and enclose a dollar bill.

For those that like the Bohemian Review and want to see it grow we have two suggestions. Send us names and addresses of people who in your opinion would be interested in the Review, and we will mail them a sample copy. Or better still, send 25 cents in stamps for a three month’s trial subscription for your friends.

The Omaha district of the Bohemian National Alliance| has sent a powerful appeal in behalf of Bohemia to all the representatives in Congress of the plains states. The appeal closes in these words: “Justice demands the establishment of a Czechoslovak State, a free and independent Bohemia; world peace demands it; the interests of this country demand it. The honor of our country and that of our Allies and the ideals of liberty and democracy on which our government rests and which we entered the war to secure and defend, likewise demand that Bohemia again be free and independent.”