And  we,  in  America,  though  always  cherishing  a  platonic
interest  in  Russia,  because  of  the  similarity  of  our  problems,  have
really  known  very  little  about  the  Slavs.  It  was  with  the  coming
of  Slavic  emigrants  that  the  American  first  realized  the  need  of
knowing  more  about  the  Slavs  in  Europe.  And  this  realization,
now  in  existence,  may  ultimately  lead  in  the  course  of  time  to  a
more  accurate  knowledge  of  and  a  more  disinterested  sympathy
for  Slavic  Europe.  From  the  point  of  view  of  the  Western
World,  it  is  vital  that  the  history,  the  political,  economic,  and
social  conditions,  and  the  national  aspirations  of  the  Slavs  be  not
only  sympathetically  understood  but  utilized  for  the  higher
purposes  of  mankind.
Strange  to  say,  we,  in  the  Western  World,  have  arrived  at  this
conclusion  at  a  moment  when  Slavic  Europe  lies  prostrate  at  the
feet  of  the  Germans.  Now,  at  last,  it  is  felt  how  little  is  known
about  that  part  of  the  world,  and  more  important  still,  how  vital
it  is  that  we  should  understand  existing  conditions  in  their  proper
setting  so  that  a  new  Slavic  Europe  may  be  regenerated  and
rebuilt  on  the  basis  of  the  just  national  aspirations  of  the  Slavs.
