By the constitution of Germany the Prussian Poles cannot forfeit their rights as citizens of the realm. This circumstance afforded them a chance of laying their grievances before the legislative assemblies. But in spite of their gallant courage, the struggle brought them no particular advantage except the moral satisfaction of knowing that their pleading could reach the ear of Europe. But whenever their voice grew too loud, the mailed fist fell on their lips and struck them dumb. When the German Reichstag passed the Polish Expropriation Law (1886)[7] all Europe was scandalized; but from the point of view of Germanization it was highly successful. Germany disregarded foreign opinion and the law was put in force. It is to be hoped that the conclusion of the present European war will also put an end to the sufferings of these martyrs, and that the whole Polish nation will be granted an opportunity of applying its many admirable qualities for its own welfare and for the union of the Slav race. * * * * * III. The Csechs have always been a strong, tenacious, energetic people, and no sooner did they begin to feel the iron fist of their oppressors than they opened a determined campaign against them and pitted their strength against their tyrants. They have won their present civilization inch by inch from their oppressors. The eminent Csech political economist, Professor Masaryk, admirably forecasts the future of his people. He says—“The humanistic ideal, the ideal of regeneration, bears a deep national and historical significance for us Csechs. A full and sincere grasp of the human ideal will bridge over the spiritual and ethical dreams of centuries, and enable us to advance with the vanguard of human progress. The Csech humanitarian ideal is no romantic fallacy. Without work and effort the humanitarian ideal is but dead; it demands that we shall everywhere and systematically oppose ourselves to all that is bad, to all social _un_humanity—both at home and abroad—with all its clerical, political and national organs. The humanitarian ideal is not sentimentality—it means work, work, and yet again work!” Now all this is by no means a characteristic of the Csech people, but only a forecast of what they shall be. Political tactics must always correspond to the principles of decency and humanity. Masaryk further says—“Our fame, our wars, and our intervention in the past have borne a religious, not a national stamp. Our _national_ ideal is of more recent birth—it only belongs to the last, and more especially to the present century. The history of Bohemia must not be judged from this standpoint.”