ke nothing but Magyar and some words
of German.... However, by taking in this way a few examples of Magyar
methods, one may be accused of having chosen merely those which
illustrate one's theme. It would be hazardous to draw conclusions as
to Magyar officers in general because a certain Lieutenant Chaby, who,
during the War, found himself quartered on a Serbian family of the
name of Stejvovi['c] at Priboj in the Sandjak, behaved differently
from his predecessor, an Austrian colonel. This Austrian had been well
satisfied, but the lieutenant's first night was so disturbed that he
fined his hosts sixty crowns for giving him a bug-ridden bed.
Nevertheless, if large numbers of Austrian colonels and Magyar
lieutenants had acted in a similar fashion we should be justified in
deducing that several characteristics, be they good or bad, are
possessed by the average Magyar subaltern. And the catalogue of Magyar
limitations in the Banat, both prior to and during the War, is so
voluminous that one would have thought them to be not worth
discussing; if one restricts oneself to a few it is in order to avoid
being tedious, and if they are ineffective among the resolute
pro-Magyars of this country, then one must resign oneself to leaving
these gentlemen unconvinced. They will argue that stupidity is
universal, and that the Magyar authorities should not be called in
question for their treatment of the priest of Crvna Crkva, a village
with 1108 inhabitants--1048 Serbs, 34 Slovaks, 17 Germans and 9
Magyars. This intelligent man--he is a noted player of a complicated
card game--was indicted for high treason, because on hearing that the
Emperor William was alleged to have undertaken to slaughter every
Serb, the priest remarked that the Emperor should have added, "if God
wills it." But near the village of Zlatica there was, at the beginning
of the War, one Adam Rada, who was charged with making signals to the
Serbs across the Danube by means of lights, and this although the
situation of Rada's mill made such a thing impossible. Before being
executed he was led ceremoniously through the village, his coffin
being carried in the procession. This coffin was so small that Rada's
feet had to be cut off. The grave was guarded by a soldier, who kept
the family away from it; Rada's servant was in the hands of the
police--after having been thrashed in order to compel him to give
hostile evidence, he was convicted to six years' imprisonment. But the
lac