Page:The heart of Europe; an address delivered by Charles Pergler in Washington, December 11, 1916, at a conference of oppressed or dependent nationalities (IA heartofeuropeadd00pergrich).pdf/20

the whole Bohemian programme. I do not lose sight of the fact that under favorable conditions the principle of nationality may find realization in a federal state, and, as you have noticed in the excerpt from our manifesto, Czechs and Slovaks at one time sought to make of Austria such a federal state, where the various nationalities embraced within its boundaries would be treated with fairness and even-handed justice. The hope in the possibility of a federal Austria is so persistent that it is worth while to endeavor to lay this ghost once and forever, and especially to demonstrate that there is no legitimate comparison between Austria and our own federal government. This is especially desirable because even the printed statement of the aims of this conference, formulated by the committee, holds: “That a federal form of government offers the most satisfactory method of giving local self-government in a country great in territory or complex in population.” Let us remember that the American federal state, to some extent at least, is made possible by the underlying uniformity of Anglo-Saxon traditions and culture, and by uniformity of language, the English language. Whether we like this or not, we must accept the fact that the profoundest influences in American life are Anglo-Saxon traditions and Anglo-Saxon culture. As a nation we are different from the English, of course, but only different. The mainsprings of our national thought fundamentally are quite similar. Even those of us who are not of Anglo-Saxon descent unconsciously use Anglo-Saxon methods of thought and build upon Anglo-Saxon traditions. This uniform-