Page:The Bohemians (Czechs) In The Present Crisis.djvu/24

 If America contributes to permanent and durable peace by saying the word necessary to achieve the liberation of small nationalities it will have earned the undying gratitude of the Czechs living in Europe, as well as all numerically small nations, and it will have contributed a glorious chapter to the history of the world, as well as that of America.

It is a glorious opportunity that confronts America; it is a historical moment of the first magnitude; it is an unusual duty that confronts all of us as individuals. Let us not merely speak of the deeds of great men, let us not be content vdth speaking of the sublime heroism of Hus, Jerome of Prague, the Hussites, the Bohemian volunteers in the present war, and of those who have unflinchingly gone to Austrian gallows, or who have faced unflinchingly the Austrian firing squad; but let us within our own sphere emulate them as far as possible, and let us contribute to the success of the cause for which they died. Only thus can we be real Americans; only thus shall we be true both to American and Czech traditions.

N conclusion may we be permitted to indulge in a dream? It may seem out of place, witnessing as we are the most murderous struggle of the ages, to speak of a future brotherhood of nations. It is entirely possible that many of our most cherished dreams of internationalism have been shattered for a long time to come. Yet, why should it not be possible to indulge in the dream that the Alliance of Russia, England, France, Italy, Belgium, and Serbia, forms the nucleus of the future world federation which all other nations may perhaps join when they have come to their senses, and when they have realized that all dreams of domination of the world by one nation must be given up; that no single nation can dominate for any length of time the whole modern world?