BOHEMIAN SAVANT WELCOMED

"I shall never forget the courtesy and kindness with which I have been received by the Faculty and students of the University," said Dr. Harry Krepelka, the Bohemian chemist, in an interview yesterday. Arriving in this country for the first time a few weeks ago, Dr. Krepelka seemed genuinely delighted by his reception here.

Due to the fact that he is engaged in research work here, he has not yet had time to inspect the University closely but he expressed himself as much impressed by the living conditions of the students which, he said, are immeasurably superior to those in Europe. The facilities for research at the University he has also found to be better than any on the Continent.

"The first thing to strike an European visitor" Dr. Krepelka continent, "is the excellence of the arrangements made for the comfort of the student body such as dining halls, dormitories, and lecture rooms. In Bohemia, and in fact in all of Europe there is no such care taken of the student.

Czecho-Slovak Mission Here

"In Czecho-Slovakia," he stated, "now that we are free after centuries of oppression, we are trying to bring our educational system to the level of that found in the United States. Our government has sent several noted educators to this country to study conditions in the universities and schools and to report later to a committee formed to further education.

"We hope that soon we will be able to establish a regular system whereby we can exchange both professors and students with the United States, which, I believe, would be of great benefit to both countries. Such an exchange would be less difficult than it seems because most of the Bohemian professors already speak English fluently.

"It is an entirely mistaken notion that the Czecho-Slovaks are an uncultured and barbarian race. As a matter of fact illiteracy is practically unknown in my country, and the American Commissioner of Immigration at Washington in his official bulletin states that of all the races entering this country the Czecho-Slovaks have the lowest percentage of illiteracy.

"From the very beginning of history we have had to struggle against the German tyrant who would have crushed out education had it been possible. When Austria with 12,000,000 people had eight universities, we, with a population of eleven million, were allowed but one. Having attained our freedom, our first thought is to provide sufficient schools and universities to accommodate the coming generations.