Its people are dominantly Germanic
or Hungarian.
The street signs are in German and
Hungarian characters, and now to them
is being added Czech. The old postal
and telephone employees have been re
placed by Czechs and Czech high 1 of
ficer? Installed In the government.
Slovak regiments on duty here have
been replaced by purely Czech soldiers.
In a city us old and conservative and
routine as this, drifting through the
centuries undisturbed in Its social cus
toms, these things have made feeling
run rather high in certain social strata.
Many Are Expelled.
Persons, regardless of sex, who have
not acquired legal residence are being
expelled. One man who told the Asso
ciated Press he had lived and done
business here for forty years was ex
pelled a few days ago. The list of
those cited for expulsion is said to con
tain names of dead persons.
Some Hungarians do not hesitate to
express their resentment over the em
of Czechs In
sitions here formerly occupied by the
Hungarians. Czechs and many Slo
vaks of the educated classes who hold
office under the government say this
feeling is due to Hungarian and Ger
man propaganda, and has no real
strength or extent. Also they admit
the necessity of Czech officialdom, as
Slovakia has little- or no educated class
from which to draw executives of abil
ity.
Hard to Upset Tradition.
It is hard to upset rudely the tradi
tions of ten centuries, and talks with
many persons, both in official and- un
official circles, would indicate that the
antagonism displayed toward the
Czechs is a natural condition of this
period of transition and Is not deeply
rooted. Probably it is stronger here
in Pressburg than in the other parts
of Slovakia, where the change is not
so apparent.
