The Southern Slav Question

Extract

“For my part,” exclaimed Mr. Asquith at the great Guildhall meeting in September, 1914, “I say that sooner than be a silent witness, which means in effect a willing accomplice of this tragic triumph of force over law and of brutality over freedom, I would see this country of ours blotted out of the page of history.” In giving utterance to these remarkable words, the British Premier was thinking not only of the tragic fate of valiant little Belgium, but also of the life and death struggle for liberty and independence of another small state whose history and position are much less understood by Europe, or by the world in general—Servia. “Give a dog a bad name and hang him,” runs the old adage, which applies with peculiar force to the attitude of public opinion in this instance toward the Servian kingdom. For years the press of Austria-Hungary, copied unthinkingly by that of Germany and other European countries, has been at work deliberately giving Servia a “bad name.” Unfortunately there have been too many dark pages in Servian history—pages stained by violence, intrigue and crime—especially in political circles, not to give just cause for grave criticism. Yet it is manifestly unfair to pass a final judgment upon an intelligent and courageous people by looking only at one side of the shield.