Neither of these assumptions was, of course, correct. If the Magyars talk of introducing universal suffrage, they want to extend it to Magyar electors, and on one condition only, viz. that all the candidates shall be of Magyar nationality, or, as the Hungarian Premier, Count Esterhazy, put it, "democracy in Hungary can only be a Magyar democracy"—that is, a system utterly at variance with the principles of justice.

But far from averting the doom of Austria and bringing her peace and consolation, the opening of the Reichsrat only hastened Austria's downfall, for it enabled the Austrian Slavs, who now felt that the moment had come for them to speak, to declare before the whole world their aspirations, and their determination to destroy the monarchy.

(a) The Czech Declaration of May 30, 1917

Before entering the Reichsrat, the Czechs made it clear that they no longer desired any compromise with Austria. In a manifesto signed by 150 Czech authors and subsequently endorsed by professors, teachers and various societies and corporations, the Czech deputies were reminded that the fate of their nation was at stake:

"The doors of the Austrian Parliament are opening and the political representatives of the nations have for the first time the opportunity of speaking and acting freely. Whatever they may say and decide will be heard not only at home, but also throughout Europe and overseas.... The programme of our nation is founded on its history and racial unity, on its modern political life and rights. The present time emphasises the necessity for carrying out this programme completely.... To-day you are forced to develop this programme, to defend it to the last breath before the forum of Europe, and to demand its realisation without limitations.... Democratic Europe, the Europe of free and independent nations, is the Europe of the future. The nation asks you to be equal to this historic occasion, to devote to it all your abilities and to sacrifice to it all other considerations...."

And to this appeal of their nation the Czech, deputies did not turn a deaf ear.

On entering the Reichsrat on May 30, 1917, Mr. Stanek, president of the Union of Czech Deputies, made the following memorable declaration in the name of all the Czech deputies:

"While taking our stand at this historic moment on the natural right of peoples to self-determination and free development—a right which in our case is further strengthened by inalienable historic rights fully recognised by this state—we shall, at the head of our people, work for the union of all branches of the Czecho-Slovak nation in a single democratic Bohemian State, comprising also the Slovak branch of our nation which lives in the lands adjoining our Bohemian Fatherland."

Both the Yugoslav and the Polish press greeted this declaration with undisguised joy and sympathy.

The Glos Naroda welcomed the Czech declaration, and added: "Those who to-day are asking for an independent national existence do not claim anything but the minimum of their rights. Nothing less could satisfy them (i.e. the Czechs and Yugo-slavs), seeing that even smaller and less historic nations claim the same." The Nowa Reforma also said that the Czechs were quite right to ask for full independence. "They are entitled to it by their position in which they can lose nothing more than they have lost already, but gain a great deal. Among the Entente Powers there is nobody who would have an open or disguised interest in opposing even the boldest claims of the Czecho-Slovak nation."

The declaration of deputy Stanek was completed by a statement of deputy Kalina who made it quite clear that the Czechs refuse responsibility for the war, and that their sympathies are with the Entente. Kalina, a prominent leader of the State Right Party, said:

"As deputies elected by the Czech nation, we absolutely reject every responsibility for this war.

"After three years, the government has summoned the Reichsrat, which the Czechs never recognised, and against which, as well as against the so-called constitution, they again make a formal protest. The great Russian Revolution forced the government to a plausible restoration of constitutional life.

"The Czech nation hails with unbounded joy and enthusiasm the liberation of Eastern Europe. The main principles of that memorable Revolution are closely related to our own traditions, i.e. to the principle of liberty, equality and fraternity of all nations. Bohemia is a free country. Never in her history did she accept laws from aliens, not even from her powerful neighbours in Europe. Liberty of individuals, liberty of nations is again our motto which the nation of Hussites is bringing before the world. In these historic moments, when from the blood-deluged battlefields a new Europe is arising, and the idea of the sovereignty of nations and nationalities is triumphantly marching throughout the Continent, the Czech nation solemnly declares before the world its firm will for liberty and independence on the ground of the ancient historic rights of the Bohemian Crown. In demanding independence, the Czech nation asks, in the sense of the new democracy, for the extension of the right of self-determination to the whole Czecho-Slovak nation."

(b) Courageous Speeches delivered by Czech Deputies in the Reichsrat

During the subsequent session of the Reichsrat, various Czech deputies, representing all the Czech parties, made declarations, some of which we will quote in order to show the remarkable unanimity of the Czechs in their opposition to Austria and in their demand for independence. It was chiefly this unanimity of all Czech parties and classes in Bohemia and the absolute harmony between their action and the Czecho-Slovak action abroad which formed the real strength of the movement.

Dr. Strnsk, leader of the Moravian People's Party, delivered a long speech in the Reichsrat on June 12, 1917, from which we quote the following significant passages:

"The Germans say that germanisation is not carried out except where it is in the interests of the state. We do not think that the interests of the state should go first. If the interests of a state are not identical with the liberties and interests of a nation, then such a state has for that nation no right to exist.

"If Clam-Martinic thinks that we will enter the Reichsrat which the Polish deputies would not attend in their present strength, then he is greatly mistaken. We heartily wish the Poles to achieve their national independence, but should we be denied an equal right, then it would mean an end to this Reichsrat. We want to enjoy the same happiness as the rest, we want to be free from all oppression, from all foreign domination. We want to decide for ourselves the form of our political existence. We want to choose our own laws, we want to govern ourselves. We claim the restitution of our political independence and of the supreme historic right of the Czech nation in the lands of the Bohemian Crown. The time is ripe also when the Austrian fortresses of St. Peter and St. Paul will open, and when their prisoners will change places with their persecutors. The state and dynasty have lately taken away the rights and liberties of our nation and trampled them underfoot."

On June 15, the National Socialist deputy Strbrn, openly demanded the creation of a Czecho-Slovak Republic:

"The German annexationist plans are doomed. The Czechs greet with joy the new era of equality and fraternity, an era in which a democratic republic is considered as the best form of government. The Czechs demand the creation of a Bohemia in which they will possess their own independent government. Too long have they been oppressed by Austria, and now they are determined to achieve their national liberty."

On June 26, Dr. Soukup, the leader of the Czecho-Slav Social Democratic Party, made an equally remarkable statement:

"As a Social Democrat I say that we, the Czecho-Slovak nation, have also a right to a place in the sun, and we want to be seen. Do you consider that a nation numbering over ten million and boasting of a highly developed civilisation can continue to breathe under such oppressive conditions, seeing what an important role is being played by four million Bulgars, two million Greeks, two million Danes and other small nations? We welcome the resurrection of the great and united Polish State, we witness the great Yugoslav nation shaping its boundaries along the Adriatic, and we also see Ukrainia arising. At such moments we want to live as well, and we will live!"

(c) After the Amnesty

The political amnesty of July, 1917, intended to appease the Slavs, had just the opposite effect: it only strengthened the Slav resistance which acquired fresh strength and impetus by the return of the old leaders.

Kramr was hailed like a sovereign when he entered Prague again. He now became the recognised leader of the whole nation. The Nrodn Listy became the mouthpiece of all the most eminent leaders of the nation without party distinction. Its issue of October 31, 1917, contained a map of the future independent Czecho-Slovak State and a series of articles. We will quote only a few passages from an article written by deputy Rasn which read as follows:

"The war has brought our problem home not only to us but to the whole world. Nothing could have better expressed our situation than the propaganda of Mitteleuropa. Austria-Hungary and Bulgaria had to form a bridge for the imperialistic march of Germany to the Persian Gulf via Constantinople and Bagdad. The Czechs and Yugoslavs were to be crushed and become the victims of those plans. This was the ideal that the German nation considered as its war aim and as a war aim of Austria-Hungary. They could not have obtained a better reply than was given to them by the Czechs and Yugoslavs in their demand for their own independent states, which would be able to form a permanent bulwark against the Drang nach Osten as planned by the Germans and Magyars. Even if Herr Naumann ceases to promote the idea of Central Europe, in reality a new programme which would do away with the old evils and assign a new mission to Austria-Hungary is inconceivable. All the declarations of the government are only destined to conceal their real intentions. The German-Magyar hegemony is as strong as ever, and the Polish question is to be solved only according to the Pan-German programme. During this war Austria's real face has been unmasked before the whole world by her persecutions, arbitrary decrees and the Pan-German propaganda.

"The Czechs, who in their policy always went hand in hand with the Yugoslavs, saw all this, and consequently the only thing left for them to do is to insist on their attitude, constantly to reveal Austria's insincerity, to reject all pretty phrases without any meaning in them, and all compromises, which we know would never be kept. We also must reject a compromise peace which would lead to fresh wars.

"The policy of the Czechs cannot but aim at the absolute independence of the whole Czecho-Slovak nation, and all our action at home and abroad must tend towards persuading the world that only thus can a stable peace in Europe be achieved."

It was about this time also when Seidler made desperate attempts to induce the Slav leaders to participate in a special commission for the revision of the Austrian Constitution. Dr. Strnsk, speaking in the name of the Czechs, openly refused the proposal, declaring that the Czech problem could not be solved by Austria, but only by the Peace Conference, that is after the victory of the Entente. A joint committee of representatives of the Young Czech, National Socialist, Progressive Independence and Moravian Progressive Parties issued a proclamation protesting against any participation of Czechs in Austrian politics, and declaring that since the Czech question is an international one and can therefore be decided only at the Peace Conference, the duty of the Czech deputies is not to assist in the revision of the Austrian Constitution, but to insist upon the creation of an "independent Czecho-Slovak State with all the attributes of sovereignty."

Simultaneously also the Czech Agrarian deputy, Zahradnk, made the following remarkable declaration in the Reichsrat on September 26:

"In view of the prevailing policy directed against the Czech people, can any one wonder that they have lost all confidence in Vienna and that they refuse to let this parliament decide their fate? It is necessary to secure for all peoples, great or small, the right to decide their own destinies. This applies also to the ten million Czecho-Slovaks who, moreover, cannot rightly be considered merely as a 'small' nation: the Czechs, too, do not desire anything more than peace, but it must not be forgotten that our men did not shed their blood merely for imperialism or for Pan-Germanism. We do not want anything but an honourable peace which would bring equality to all peoples, a peace assuring liberty and equality to all, and not a peace which would leave our fetters unbroken. We regret that the Pope omitted to mention the Czechs in his peace offer although he mentioned the Poles. But we shall obtain our right without alien support. The Czechs will never swerve from their demand for an independent Slovak State with all the attributes of sovereignty. The Czechs are convinced that the question of Bohemia is too great to be solved in Vienna. It must be decided at the Peace Conference."

On November 9, deputy Stanek made it clear that the Czecho-Slovaks expect the resurrection of their independence only from the break-up of Austria:

"We cannot conceive of peace or of the transformation of Europe except when on the ruins of the Dual Monarchy new national states shall arise. The German-Magyar misrule must be destroyed."

And when on November 21 Seidler talked about the peace conditions of the "enemy," Dr. Strnsk interrupted him by exclaiming, "Our enemies are here, in Vienna and in Budapest!"

(d) During Peace Negotiations with Russia

When peace negotiations were opened with the Bolsheviks, the Austro-Hungarian delegations were also summoned, for the first time during the war, on December 3, 1917. During the speech from the throne the Czechs demonstratively left the hall. On the same day the Bohemian Union, the Yugoslav Club and the Ruthenes issued a protest against the government having published a distorted version of the Russian peace offer. In this protest the Slav deputies asked:

"How can the government answer for having purposely distorted such a highly important document as the Russian Note of November 28, and why did the government suppress just the paragraph out of it containing guarantees for national self-determination?"

Their declaration naturally exasperated the Germans and the government. The organ of the Austrian Foreign Office, the Fremdenblatt, expressed regret that the Slav parties in the Reichsrat "place obstacles in the way of peace." It also regretted that "some parties in the Austrian Parliament should take up an attitude incompatible with our state's self-preservation." On the next day, M. Stanek made a declaration in the delegations in the name of Czechs and Yugoslavs, saying:

"We Czech and Yugoslav delegates declare that it is our deep conviction as well as the firm will of our respective nations that a lasting peace is possible only on the ground of the full right of self-determination. The Imperial Government deliberately and wilfully distorted the most important part of the Russian peace offer, viz. the demand for the self-determination of nations. It is still more surprising that the prime ministers in both halves of the monarchy should try to deceive the public opinion of the world by a false interpretation of the right of self-determination. The Austrian Premier, Dr. Seidler, declared that the Viennese Parliament is a forum through which the nations could obtain self-determination, while the Hungarian Premier had the impudence to describe the conditions in Hungary, which are a mockery of all civilisation, as the ideal of national liberty. We, therefore, declare in regard to any peace negotiations: Our national development can only then be secured when the right of self-determination of all nations shall be fully, clearly and unreservedly recognised with binding guarantees of its immediate realisation."

At the same time the Slavs made a proposal in the Austro-Hungarian Delegations, insisting that the peace negotiations with Russia should be conducted by a committee selected from both parliaments on the basis of nationality, and consisting of twelve Germans, ten Magyars, ten Czecho-Slovaks, seven Yugoslavs, five Poles, four Ruthenes, three Rumanians and one Italian.

Finally, on December 5, the Czech Socialist deputy Tusar declared in the Reichsrat:

"We want to be our own masters, and if it is high treason to ask for liberty and independence, then let us say at once that each of us is a traitor, but such high treason is an honour, and not a dishonour. As regards the negotiations with Russia, we declare that Count Czernin does not represent the nations of Austria and has no right to speak in our name; he is merely the plenipotentiary of the dynasty. The old Austria, based on police, bureaucracy, militarism and racial tyranny, cannot survive this war. We also want peace, but it must be a just peace. The Czecho-Slovaks will under all circumstances defend their rights."

In conjunction with this declaration we may quote two other Czech Socialists showing the opinion of the Czechs on the Russian Revolution.

On November 29, deputy Modrcek declared in the Reichsrat:

"The Revolution of the Bolsheviks is a misfortune for the Russian Revolution, the Russian Republic and all the oppressed nations of Europe. So long as the German Social Democracy permits the working masses to be brought to the battlefield in the interests of Imperialism, the action of the Bolsheviks is not the work for Socialism but for German Tsarism. I do not undervalue the significance and the greatness of the Russian Revolution: it is the German Social Democrats who fail to perform their moral duty in this war and do not comprehend the Russian Revolution."

Still more outspoken is the declaration of deputy Winter, who said in the Reichsrat on February 21, 1918:

"The workers of the whole world will never forget that the Russian Revolution was the first social revolution on a large scale. And on this revolutionary movement Germany has directly and Austria-Hungary indirectly declared war. Perhaps Austria-Hungary wants to repay the Romanoffs in 1918 for the aid which they rendered to the Habsburgs in 1848.... Austria-Hungary once before engaged in the European reaction by crushing revolution in Italy. She gathered the fruits of this act in 1848, 1859, 1866, and in the present war. Formerly France and Russia participated in the Holy Alliance, but to-day the Central Powers are the only refuge of reaction in Europe."

(e) The Constituent Assembly of Prague on January 6, 1918

The most important manifestation of Czecho-Slovak national will took place in Prague on January 6, 1918, when all the Czech deputies assembled in order to give expression to their deep gratitude for the French recognition of the constitution of a Czecho-Slovak army on the side of the Entente. At the same time it was a protest against Austria-Hungary and a demand for representation at the Peace Conference.

As to the resolution unanimously adopted by this constituent assembly, there is no doubt about its meaning: in it the Czecho-Slovaks no more act with Austria but demand full liberty. This even the Austrian Premier, Dr. Seidler, had to admit, when he declared in the Reichsrat on January 22:

"This resolution, in which we in vain look for a distant echo of dynastic or state allegiance, adopts to a certain extent an international standpoint, and shows that this people is ready, at any rate on the conclusion of peace, to accept international support with a view to obtaining the recognition of foreign states. Such a standpoint is calculated to encourage our enemies and to prolong the war.

"The resolution demands the right of self-determination in order to dissolve the existing unity of the state, and to assure full independence and sovereignty. The resolution gives the impression of having been conceived in a sense absolutely hostile to the state, and must be indignantly rejected by every Austrian and resisted by every Austrian Government with all the means in its power."

The Czech declaration of January 6, which is the most important of all declarations of the Czechs and which has been suppressed in the Austrian press, reads as follows:

"In the fourth year of this terrible war, which has already cost the nations numberless sacrifices in blood and treasure, the first peace efforts have been inaugurated. We Czech deputies recognise the declarations in the Reichsrat, and deem it our duty emphatically to declare, in the name of the Czech nation and of its oppressed and forcibly-silenced Slovak branch of Hungary, our attitude towards the reconstruction of the international situation.

"When the Czech deputies of our regenerated nation expressed themselves, during the Franco-Prussian War, on the international European problems, they solemnly declared in the memorandum of December 8, 1870, that 'only from the recognition of the equality of all nations and from natural respect of the right of self-determination could come true equality and fraternity, a general peace and true humanity.'

"We, deputies of the Czech nation, true even to-day to these principles of our ancestors, have therefore greeted with joy the fact that all states, based upon democratic principles, whether belligerent or neutral, now accept with us the right of nations to free self-determination as a guarantee of a general and lasting peace.

"The new Russia also accepted the principle of self-determination of nations during its attempts for a general settlement and as a fundamental condition of peace. The nations were freely to determine their fate and decide whether they want to live in an independent state of their own or whether they choose to form one state in common with other nations.

"On the other hand, the Austro-Hungarian delegate declared, in the name of the Quadruple Alliance, that the question of the self-determination of those nations which have not hitherto enjoyed political independence should be solved in a constitutional manner within the existing state. This point of view of the Austro-Hungarian representative is not our point of view, because we know, from our own numberless bitter experiences, that it means nothing but the negation of the principle of self-determination. We indignantly express our regret that our nation was deprived of its political independence and of the right of self-determination, and that by means of artificial electoral statutes we were left to the mercy of the German minority and of the government of the centralised German bureaucracy.

"Our brother Slovaks became the victims of Magyar brutality and of unspeakable violence in a state which, notwithstanding all its apparent constitutional liberties, remains the darkest corner of Europe, and in which the non-Magyars who form the majority of the population are ruthlessly oppressed by the ruling minority, extirpated, and denationalised from childhood, unrepresented in parliament and the civil service, and deprived of public schools as well as of all private educational institutions.

"The constitution to which the Austro-Hungarian representative refers, nullified even the right of general suffrage by an artificial creation of an over-representation of the German minority in the Reichsrat, and its utter uselessness for the liberty of nations was clearly demonstrated during the three years of unscrupulous military absolutism during this war. Every reference to this constitution, therefore, means in reality only a repudiation of the right of self-determination for the non-German nations of Austria who are at the mercy of the Germans: and it means an especially cruel insult and injury to the non-Magyar nations in Hungary, where the constitution is nothing but a means of shameful domination by the oligarchy of a few Magyar aristocratic families, as was again proved by the recent electoral reform proposal.

"Our nation longs with all the democracies of the world for a general and lasting peace. But our nation is fully aware that no peace can be permanent except a peace which will abolish old injustice, brutal force and the predominance of arms, as well as the predominance of states and nations over other nations, which will assure a free development to all nations, great or small, and which will liberate especially those nations which are still suffering under foreign domination. That is why it is necessary that this right of free national development and of self-determination of nations, great or small, to whatever state they may belong, should become the foundation of future international rights, a guarantee of peace, and of a friendly co-operation of nations, as well as a great ideal which will liberate humanity from the terrible horrors of a world war.

"We deputies of the Czech nation declare that a peace which would not bring our nation full liberty could not be and would not mean a peace to us, but would only be the beginning of a new, desperate and continuous struggle for our political independence, in which our nation would strain to the utmost its material and moral forces. And in that uncompromising struggle it would never relax until its aim had been achieved. Our nation asks for independence on the ground of its historic rights, and is imbued with the fervent desire to contribute towards the new development of humanity on the basis of liberty and fraternity in a free competition with other free nations, which our nation hopes to accomplish in a sovereign, equal, democratic and socially just state of its own, built upon the equality of all its citizens within the historic boundaries of the Bohemian lands and of Slovakia, guaranteeing full and equal national rights to all minorities.

"Guided by these principles, we solemnly protest against the rejection of the right of self-determination at the peace negotiations, and demand that, in the sense of this right, all nations, including, therefore, also the Czecho-Slovaks, be guaranteed participation and full freedom of defending their rights at the Peace Conference."

(f) The Oath of the Czecho-Slovak Nation

It will be remembered that Count Czernin delivered a speech to the Vienna Municipal Council on April 2, 1918, which caused his downfall. In this pronouncement he also attacked Czech leaders and blamed them for the failure of his peace efforts. This interesting passage of his speech reads as follows:

"What terrible irony it is that, while our brothers and sons are fighting like lions on the battlefield and millions of men and women at home are heroically bearing their losses and are sending up urgent prayers to the Almighty for the speedy termination of the war, certain leaders of the people and the people's representatives agitate against the German Alliance, which has so splendidly stood the test, pass resolutions which no longer have the slightest connection with the state idea, find no word of blame for the Czech troops which criminally fight against their own country and their brothers-in-arms, would tear parts out of the Hungarian State, under the protection of their parliamentary immunity make speeches which cannot be considered otherwise than as a call to enemy countries to continue the struggle solely in order to support their own political efforts, and ever anew kindle the expiring war spirit in London, Rome and Paris. The wretched and miserable Masaryk is not the only one of his kind. There are also Masaryks within the borders of the monarchy. I would much rather have spoken on this sad matter in the delegations, but, as I have already mentioned, the convoking of the committee has at present proved to be impossible and I cannot wait."

Thereupon he attempted to absolve the Czech "people" from the charge of high treason.

The Czech leaders did not resent his charge that they were "traitors" like Masaryk. Indeed, the Lidov Noviny openly declared: "We are proud to be called traitors." But they resented his subsequent allegation that the Czech people do not stand behind their leaders. In order to refute this allegation and to assure the Czech soldiers fighting on the side of the Entente of their solidarity, the Czechs summoned a meeting at Prague in which some 6000 delegates of all Czech parties and classes took part, as well as twenty-three delegates of the Yugoslavs. The meeting was most solemn and impressive. It was a new manifestation by the whole nation of its unanimity in the struggle for independence. The Czecho-Yugoslav solidarity was again emphasised. Finally, a solemn oath was unanimously taken by the whole assembly. The following are some of its passages:

"To the Czecho-Slovak Nation!

"The terrible world war is approaching its culmination. In awe and sorrow a great number of Czecho-Slovak men and women are standing here.

"The Czecho-Slovak blood has been and is still being shed in torrents.

"Unbroken, united in suffering, our nation believed and believes that the storm of the world war will ultimately result in a better future and that its humanitarian ideals will be sanctioned by a universal peace which will forever guard humanity against a repetition of the present catastrophe.

"We never asked for anything but to be able to live a free life, to govern our own destinies free from foreign domination, and to erect our own state after the manner of all other civilised nations. That is our sacred right. It is the national and international right of a nation which has done great service to civilisation and can proudly range itself among the most civilised and democratic nations of Europe.

"This is the firm and unanimous will of the nation:

"We have assembled here to-day as the legitimate representatives of the Czecho-Slovak nation in order to manifest unmistakably that the whole nation is united as it never was before, and that it stands like a rock behind the memorable and historic declarations of its deputies.

"So we are standing here, firmly convinced of the ultimate victory of Justice, of the victory of Right over Might, of Liberty over Tyranny, of Democracy over Privilege and of Truth over Falsehood and Deceit.

"At the cross-roads of history, we swear by the glorious memory of our ancestors, before the eyes of the sorrow-stricken nation, over the graves of those who have fallen for the cause of liberty, to-day and for all eternity:

"We will hold on and will never give way!

"We will be faithful in all our work, struggles and sufferings, faithful unto death!

"We will hold on unto victory!

"We will hold on until our nation obtains independence.

"Long live the Czecho-Slovak nation!

"Let our nation grow and flourish freely in the great family of nations, for its own welfare as well as for the welfare of the future liberated humanity!"

(g) The Slovaks' Attitude

The appalling terrorism prevailing in Hungary made it impossible for the Slovaks to manifest their feelings as they would have liked to do. The Slovaks abroad, of course, work hand in hand with the Czechs for their common cause.

Nevertheless, even in Hungary the Slovaks showed their unanimity with the Czechs.

According to the Nrodn Listy of July 24, 1917, the Slovak political leaders, especially their two deputies, Father P. Juriga and Dr. P. Blaho, and the veteran leader of the Slovak National Party, M. Dula, have been subjected to all sorts of persuasions and threats on the part of the Magyars who were anxious that the Slovaks should disavow the declaration of the Bohemian Club in favour of the union of all Czechs and Slovaks in an independent state. The Slovak leaders, however, refused to become the dupes of the Magyar Government.

According to the Nrodn Listy of May 5, 1918, a great manifestation was arranged by Slovak Socialists in St. Miklos on May 1 in favour of the union of the Hungarian Slovaks with the Czechs of Bohemia, Moravia and Silesia. Several thousand Slovaks took part in the manifestation despite the obstacles put in the way by the Magyar gendarmerie and police spies. A resolution was carried unanimously demanding amongst other things a just and lasting peace which would prevent the outbreak of fresh conflagrations and assure liberty to all nations in Europe, and "self-determination for all nations, including also that branch of the Czecho-Slovak nation which lives in Hungary." Besides this manifestation, the Slovaks sent representative delegates to the National Theatre celebrations in Prague, with which we deal in our next chapter.

(h) The Czecho-Slovak National Council in Prague

On July 13, 1918, an important event took place in Prague. The Czecho-Slovaks established an inter-party council which may well be described as part of the Provisional Government of Bohemia, whose programme is identical with that of the Czecho-Slovak Provisional Government in Paris.

The inaugural meeting of the council in Prague was opened by the president of the Agrarian Party, Mr. Svehla, who gave a report about the preparatory work and principles which led to the constitution of the council. On the proposal of M. Stanek, president of the Union of Czech Deputies, Dr. Karel Kramr, the leader of the Independent Democratic Party, was elected president of the council, M. Klofc, leader of the National Socialists, and M. Svehla vice-presidents, and Dr. Soukup, leader of the Socialists, secretary. Dr. Kramr greeted the assembly in the name of the presidency. Afterwards deputy Klofc delivered a speech in the name of the Socialists, and the vice-president of the Czech Union, supported by deputy Habermann, proposed that the presidency should itself select members of the council. The proposal was unanimously accepted. Deputy Stanek greeted the National Council in the name of the Czech Union as the supreme representative of the whole Czecho-Slovak nation, of all its classes and parties. Thereupon Dr. Soukup proposed a resolution which was carried unanimously and the chief passages of which read as follows:

"To the Czecho-Slovak Nation!

"On the decision of all political parties, representing the united will of our whole nation, the Czecho-Slovak National Council has been formed to-day. The immense gravity of the present times and our common concern for the future fate of the Czecho-Slovak nation have united us in a national organisation.

"The ultimate aim of the Czecho-Slovak National Council in Prague is postulated by the demand of these times: to enlist for systematic work, to organise and lead the great spiritual, moral and national resources of the nation to that end which is the most sacred and inalienable right of every nation and which cannot and will not be denied also to our nation:

"The right of self-determination in a fully independent Czecho-Slovak State with its own administration within its own borders and under its own sovereignty.

"The Czecho-Slovak National Council wish to interpret this will of the nation and to be the executive organ of all the common declarations of its delegates which culminated in the solemn oath of April 13, 1918.

"Our work will not be easy. We shall have to suffer much more opposition and we shall have to undergo another great test. But no obstacles are able to arrest our nation's progress. In full mutual agreement with our delegates and with the whole cultural and economic Czech world, the Czecho-Slovak National Council will faithfully fulfil its difficult and responsible task, so that it may be truly said before the conscience of the nation that we did everything that was in our human power.

"We know that our whole nation stands behind the Czecho-Slovak National Council as one united rampart. Full of joy at the great political act which the constitution of the National Council represents, and full of confidence in the victory of our common cause, we address to-day to the whole Czecho-Slovak nation an urgent appeal to support our work with all its strength, to obey all orders of common discipline and to follow firmly our common national aim."

It is significant that the presidency of this council is composed of four of the most eminent leaders of the four greatest parties in Bohemia: Dr. Kramr, Klofc, Svehla and Soukup. All of these have been in prison during this war, as well as the following members of the council: Dr. Rasn and Cervinka, friends of Kramr; Cyril Dusek, former editor of Masaryk's organ The Times; Dr. Scheiner, president of the "Sokol" Gymnastic Association; and Machar, the eminent Czech poet. Besides these the members of the council include: the Socialist leaders Bechyne, Habermann, Krejc, Nemec, Stivn, Meissner, Tusar and Vanek; the Clerical leaders Hruban, Srmek and Kordc; the author Jirsek; Agrarians Stanek (president of the Czech Union), Udrzal and Zahradnk, Dr. Herben, of Professor Masaryk's party, and others. All Czech parties are represented on the council without exception, from the Socialists on the extreme Left to the Clericals on the extreme Right.

The council is the supreme organ of the Czecho-Slovak nation, and represents all its classes and parties. It is a national organ and its sole aim is to work for the welfare of Bohemia, without any regard to Austria. It stands above all party politics and is the supreme organ to which all disputes are referred that may arise affecting Czecho-Slovak national interests. Its aim is, in the words of its proclamation, "to enlist for systematic work, to organise and lead the great spiritual, moral and national resources of the Czecho-Slovak nation." Its ultimate object is to realise "the right of self-determination in a fully independent Czecho-Slovak State with its own administration within its own borders and under its own sovereignty." Its aims are obviously identical with those of the Czecho-Slovak Government in Paris, who alone, of course, are able to exercise the executive power as a government, especially to organise armies fighting on the side of the Entente. On the other hand, the National Council in Prague is organising the nation for the final blow which the Slavs will, no doubt at an opportune moment, strike at the Dual Monarchy.

Immediately after this important event most significant declarations were made by Czech deputies in the Reichsrat of Vienna. The Czech deputy Tusar declared that "the war must end with the creation of a Czecho-Slovak State, with the victory of democratic ideas and with the defeat of militarism and despotism. We will obtain freedom, cost what it may." Thereupon the Czech deputies sang the Czech national anthem.

The next day deputy Strbrn delivered a speech which we have quoted in a previous chapter.

The most significant speech, however, was that of Dr. Strnsk in the Austrian Reichsrat on July 23, which surpasses any of those we have quoted hitherto in its frank anti-Austrian spirit and expression:

"We want to expose and show up before the whole world the intolerable state of foreign domination over us. You cannot prevent us, not only before a helpless curtailed parliament, not only before an illusory high court, but before the whole world, raising our voice against the Premier who is a typical representative of that Austria whose mere existence is a constant and automatic prolongation of the war. One of the obstacles to peace is the oppression of nationalities in Austria and their domination by the Germans. In this war the Germans, even if they do not openly admit it, have come to the conclusion that the German hegemony in Central Europe, and especially in Austria, is standing on its last legs. Since they see that their predominance can no longer be maintained, they endeavour to translate all that they have acquired into reality, so as to secure the spoils for themselves. Thus the Germans conceived the idea of establishing a province 'Deutschbhmen' which must be prepared by the establishment of district governments. From this a very interesting conclusion may be drawn—that the Germans themselves lost faith in the further existence of Austria, otherwise they would not be in a hurry to save their province Deutschbhmen in the present Austria. Because they rather wish for no Austria than for an Austria where they would not be able to rule, they are already counting upon the break-up of Austria: since the Germans do not want to accept the solution of a free Danubian confederation of nations, they prepare already their union with the Hohenzollerns.

"But then we must ask the Germans to take nothing with them that does not belong to them. It is more than questionable whether Deutschbhmen really is German.

"There is another reason which speaks against the creation of a Deutschbhmen. I am convinced that if a plebiscite were carried out among German people in Northern Bohemia, they would declare against separation from Bohemia. Why? Because the Germans are too clever not to know that Bohemia forms not only a historical and geographical unity, but that this unity has besides a historical basis, also a practical foundation. The relation between the Czech part of Bohemia and Northern Bohemia is to a large degree the relation of the consumer and the producer. Where do you want to export your articles if not to your Czech hinterland? How could the German manufacturers otherwise exist? When after the war a Czecho-Slovak State is erected, the Germans of Bohemia will much rather remain in Bohemia and live on good terms with the Czech peasant than be identified with Germany, boycotted, opposed and hated by the whole world, especially if we guarantee, not only by promises, but by deeds and laws, full autonomy to the German population within the Bohemian State.

"The real question which puzzles us to-day is: How can Austria exist at all? That is the question. And I again repeat solemnly Palack's word that Austria may exist only so long as her nations wish for it, and that she will cease to exist as soon as her nations do not want her to exist. The Slav nations of Austria declared clearly and emphatically their wishes and desires in their proclamations. If instead of working for the conversion of the ruling factor in favour of these wishes Dr. Seidler shows us Gessler's hat of Austria with a German head and backbone, then let him remember that we shall hate this Austria for all eternity (loud cheers and applause) and we shall fight her, and God willing, we shall in the end smash her to pieces so completely that nothing will remain of her."

The President: "I cannot admit such an expression about this state and I call the deputy to order."

Dr. Strnsk: "Excellency, I really do not deserve such a rebuke. It would be sad if we could not speak freely and with proper emphasis against a state form which has been imposed upon us.

"Let Dr. Seidler remember that we regard Austria, whose integrity according to him must not be questioned, as a centuries-old crime on the liberties of humanity. Let him remember that it is not only our political intention, not only our instinct of self-preservation, but our highest duty and—do not hesitate to say so—our national religion and our greatest moral mission to damage Austria wherever and whenever possible, and that our loyalty to our own nation, to our native country, to our history, to our future and to the Bohemian Crown, prompts us to betray Austria which is backed up by Germany. We are therefore determined faithfully to betray her whenever and wherever we can. I tell you further, gentlemen, that this state, this Austria which Seidler talks about, is not a state at all. It is a hideous, centuries-old dream, a nightmare, a beast, and nothing else. It is a state without a name, it is a constitutional monarchy without a crown and without a constitution. For what kind of a constitution is it if it has not the necessary confirmation by oath and won the general approval of nations because it was found to be untenable? It is a state without patriots and without patriotism, it is a state which arose by the amalgamation of eight irredents—the German one included—it is a state which had no future and in which the dynasty ... (suppressed) ... in a word, it is a state which is no state at all. As a matter of fact, Austria no longer exists, it is an absurdity and an impossibility. If I spoke about Czech regiments which went to embrace their 'enemies,' I must admit that personally I know nothing about them except what I heard from my German colleagues who persist in making complaints against us. We believe every word of what they say to be true, but ... (suppressed by censor). Did you ever hear that a husband conscious of his honour and respectability told the whole world about the infidelity of his wife who left him because he ill-treated her? No, because the husband knows that it is his shame and not hers. And if Czecho-Slovak brigades are to-day fighting against Austria-Hungary it is only a proof that there is something very wrong with Austria, that Austria is more rotten than Shakespeare's Denmark. For what other state has soldiers who ran over voluntarily to the enemy? You keep on saying that England has the Irish problem. Did you ever hear of Irish brigades, did you ever hear that any French legions were fighting for the Central Powers against France, or Russian legions against Russia when we were at war with Russia? Indeed, gentlemen, not even Turkey has any legions fighting with the enemy against her. There must therefore be some deep reason for Czecho-Slovak, Polish and Yugoslav legions fighting on the side of the Entente."

We think that any comments on this explicit declaration, in which a Czech deputy representing his whole nation openly expressed hope for the dismemberment of Austria and praised the Czecho-Slovak troops fighting for the Allies, are superfluous.



VIII

CZECHO-SLOVAK CO-OPERATION WITH OTHER NON-GERMAN NATIONS OF CENTRAL EUROPE

The Czechs have always clearly seen that one of the chief reasons which enable the German-Magyar minority to rule over the Slav majority is the lack of co-operation amongst the subject peoples. Already before the war the Czechs were pioneers of Slav solidarity and reciprocity, wrongly called Pan-Slavism. Thanks to their geographic position, they have no claims conflicting with any nations except the Germans and Magyars who are their only enemies.

In these efforts for promoting Slav solidarity the Czechs met serious obstacles. In the case of some of their Slav friends it was lack of internal unity which prevented co-operation. In other cases it was the quarrels artificially fomented by Austria between her subject nations, notably between the Poles and Ruthenes and between the Yugoslavs and Italians. Finally, the Poles lacked a definite international point of view. They were justly sceptical of Slav solidarity seeing that they were oppressed by a government which claimed to represent a great Slav nation.

All these obstacles, however, have one by one disappeared as the war has gone on. All the subject peoples of Central Europe saw that they were persecuted and driven to be slaughtered by the same enemies in Berlin, Vienna and Budapest. The oppressed races found at last that they have common aspirations and interests, and the collapse of Russia to-day makes even the Poles realise where their real enemies are. The Polish people may to-day have only one orientation: against the Central Powers. It is an inspiriting sign that even some Polish "Realpoliticians" begin to realise that Austria is doomed and that it is bad politics to count upon Vienna, to say nothing of Berlin.

(a) The Congress of Rome

In order to give practical expression to the growing sense of co-operation amongst the oppressed nations of Austria-Hungary, their representatives assembled in Rome at the beginning of April, 1918. In those days the great spirit of Mazzini revived again in Rome, and from that moment Italy definitely became the champion of the movement of the oppressed nations of Austria-Hungary towards independence.

The congress was attended by numerous Italian senators, deputies, ministers and other leading men. The Yugoslav Committee was represented by its president, Dr. Trumbic, the Dalmatian sculptor Mestrovic, the Bosnian deputy Stojanovic and others; the Czecho-Slovak Council by Dr. Benes and Colonel Stefanik; the Poles by the Galician deputy Mr. Zamorski, and by Messrs. Seyda, Skirmunt, Loret and others; the Rumanians by the senators Draghicescu and Minorescu, the deputy Lupu and the Transylvanians Mandrescu and De Luca. The Serbian Skupstina sent a deputation of twelve deputies and a delegation of officers from the Yugoslav division at Salonica. Among the foreign visitors invited to the congress were M. Franklin-Bouillon, President of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the French Chamber of Deputies, the ex-minister M. Albert Thomas, M. Fournol, M. Pierre de Quirielle, Mr. H.W. Steed, Mr. Seton-Watson, and Mr. Nelson Gay.

The congress unanimously adopted the following general resolutions agreed upon between the various nationalities and the special Italo-Yugoslav Convention concluded between Messrs. Torre and Trumbic:

"The representatives of the nationalities subjected in whole or in part to the rule of Austria-Hungary—the Italians, Poles, Rumanians, Czechs and Yugoslavs—join in affirming their principles of common action as follows:

"1. Each of these peoples proclaims its right to constitute its own nationality and state unity or to complete it and to attain full political and economic independence.

"2. Each of these peoples recognises in the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy the instrument of German domination and the fundamental obstacle to the realisation of its aspirations and rights.

"3. The assembly recognises the necessity of a common struggle against the common oppressors, in order that each of these peoples may attain complete liberation and national unity within a free state.

"The representatives of the Italian people and of the Yugoslav people in particular agree as follows:

"1. In the relations between the Italian nation and the nation of the Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes—known also under the name of the Yugoslav nation—the representatives of the two peoples recognise that the unity and independence of the Yugoslav nation is of vital interest to Italy, just as the completion of Italian national unity is of vital interest to the Yugoslav nation, and therefore pledge themselves to employ every effort in order that at the moment of the peace these decisions (finalita) of the two nations may be completely attained.

"2. They declare that the liberation of the Adriatic Sea and its defence against every present and future enemy is of vital interest to the two peoples.

"3. They pledge themselves also in the interest of good and sincere relations between the two peoples in the future, to solve amicably the various territorial controversies on the basis of the principles of nationality and of the right of peoples to decide their own fate, and in such a way as not to injure the vital interests of the two nations, as they shall be defined at the moment of peace.

"4. To such racial groups (nuclei) of one people as it may be found necessary to include within the frontiers of the other there shall be recognised and guaranteed the right of preserving their own language, culture, and moral and economic interests."

The Polish delegates laid before the congress a special memorandum of their own from which we quote the following:

"The Polish question admits of no cut-and-dried solution and of no compromise. Poland will either be saved by the Allies or she will become dependent upon Germany, whether the latter is associated with Austria or not; above all, upon all-powerful Prussia.

"There is only one way of avoiding this latter alternative, and that is by countering the plans of the Central Powers with regard to Poland by the proclamation of the Polish programme, which is that of the Allies. This programme is the restitution to Poland of the mouth of the Vistula, of Dantzig and of the Polish portion of the Baltic coastline. This programme will prevent Lithuania and the Ukraine from becoming instruments of Prusso-German oppression and Austrian intrigue. It is only such a Poland as this which will be able to fulfil its historic mission as a rampart against the Germans.

"Its resistance will be still more effectual when united with that of an independent Czecho-Slovak State, and of a strong Rumania, healed of all the wounds inflicted by the war, and if, at the same time, the Yugoslav peoples achieve their unity and independence. The Poles, in claiming the Polish districts of Austria, declare themselves categorically for the complete liberation of Bohemia, which would otherwise be left at the mercy of the German-Austrians. The independence of neighbouring Bohemia is as necessary to an independent Poland as a great independent Poland is necessary to the very existence of Bohemia. The united forces of the Polish, Czecho-Slovak and Rumanian nations, forming a great belt from the Baltic to the Black Sea, will prove a barrier against the German 'Drang nach Osten.' For, since the collapse of Russia, these are the only real forces upon which the Allies can depend."

On the day following the congress its leaders were officially received by the Italian Premier, Signer Orlando, who conveyed to them the warm greetings of the government:

"We have seen with keen satisfaction this assembly here in Rome, where for centuries the representative spirits of all peoples and races have always found refuge, and where hard facts seem to assume a prophetic form and ideal meaning.

"These neighbouring nationalities are, in their turn, subjected to Austria, and it has only been the traditional astuteness of this state which has unchained the ethnic passions of the oppressed races, inciting one against the other in order more easily to rule them. Hence, it seems natural and necessary to follow the opposite policy from that which has so greatly helped the enemy, and to establish a solidarity sprung from common suffering. There is no substantial reason for a quarrel, if we sincerely examine the conditions of mutual existence, remember the mutual sacrifices and agree in our determination to grant just guarantees to those racial minorities which necessity may assign to one or the other of the different state groups.

"Italy should be able to understand better than any other country the aspirations of the nationalities, since the history of Italy, now completed, is simply your history now awaiting completion.... No other people, before forming itself into a free and independent state, had to undergo so long an apprenticeship, so methodical an oppression, such varied forms of violence. Like generous Poland, Italy was shattered, partitioned by strangers, and treated for centuries as a res nullius. The firm resolve of the Bohemian people to revive the glorious kingdom which has so valiantly stemmed the onset of the Germans is the same resolve which moved our ancestors and our fathers to conspiracy and revolt, that Italy might become a united state. The impetuous and vigorous character of the Southern Slavs and the Rumanians of Transylvania already has led to the making of heroes and martyrs; and here they are met by the endless stream of our heroes and martyrs; who across time and space fraternise on the scaffold erected by their common enemy.

"For your nations 'To be or not to be' is the inexorable choice at this moment. Here cautious subtleties are of no avail, nor the adroit reservations borrowed from diplomacy, nor discussions more or less Byzantine, 'while the Turk is at the gates.' The necessities are Faith and Work; it is thus that nations are formed."

We have already mentioned that the U.S. Government identified themselves with the resolutions adopted by the Rome Conference. As regards Great Britain, Lord Robert Cecil made the following declaration on May 23, 1918:

"Above all I welcome especially the recent congress at Rome, which has done so much to strengthen the Alliance of which Italy is a part. I believe that the congress was valuable for its wisdom and its moderation. I believe that it was valuable for the spirit of brotherhood which it displayed. But above all I welcome it because it showed that the Italian Government, as expressed by the speech of the Italian Prime Minister (Signor Orlando), recognise to the full that the principles on which the kingdom of Italy was founded were not only of local application, but extend to international relations. (Cheers) Italy has shown herself ready to extend to the Poles, to those gallant Czecho-Slovaks, to the Rumanians, and last, but not least, to the Yugoslavs, the principles on which her own 'Risorgimento' was founded, and on which she may still go forward to a greater future than she has ever seen in the past. (Cheers.) That is a great work, and those who have borne any part in it may well be proud of their accomplishment.

"People talk sometimes about the dismemberment of Austria. I have no weakness for Austria; but I venture to think that that is the wrong point of view. The way to regard this problem is not the dismemberment of Austria, but the liberation of the population subject to her rule. We are anxious to see all these peoples in the enjoyment of full liberty and independence; able by some great federation to hold up in Central Europe the principles upon which European policy must be founded, unless we are to face disasters too horrible to contemplate. The old days of arbitrary allotment of this population or that to this sovereignty or that are gone—and, I trust, gone forever. We must look for any future settlement, to a settlement not of courts or cabinets, but of nations and populations. On that alone depends the whole conception of the League of Nations, of which we have heard so much; and unless that can be secured as the foundation for that great idea, I myself despair of its successful establishment."

(b) The May Manifestations in Prague

A direct re-percussion of the Rome Conference was the great meeting which took place in Prague on May 16, on the occasion of the jubilee celebration of the foundation of the Czech National Theatre.

The manifestations took pre-eminently a political character, especially as they were attended by numerous distinguished foreign guests. These included delegates from all parts of the Southern Slav territories, Poles, Rumanians and Italians. The Russians, although invited, could not take part, because of the obstacles placed in the way by the Austrian Government. As regards the Yugoslavs, there were over 100 delegates from the Slovene districts alone, including Dr. Pogacnik, deputies Ravnicar and Rybr, the Mayor of Lublanja, Dr. Tavcar, President of the Chamber of Commerce, J. Knez and others. The Yugoslavs were further represented by Count Vojnovitch and M. Hribar, by delegates of the Croatian Starcevic Party, the Serbian Dissidents, Dr. Budisavljevic, Mr. Val Pribicevic, Dr. Sunaric, Mr. Sola from Bosnia, representatives of the national, cultural, economic institutions, and representatives of the city of Zagreb, with the mayor, Dr. Srpulje, at the head.

There were seventeen Italians with deputies Conci and De Caspari at the head. The Rumanians from Hungary and Bukovina also arrived. The Slovaks of Hungary met with the most hearty welcome. They were led by the poet Hviezdoslav. An inspiring feature was the presence of the Poles, of whom about sixty took part in the manifestations, the majority of them from Galicia, three from Silesia and one from Posen.

The delegation from Galicia included prominent representatives of the Polish Democratic Party, Count Dr. A. Skarbek, deputy and ex-minister Glombnski and deputy Witos, the Socialist leader Moraczewski whose father took part in the Pan-Slav Congress of Prague in 1848, deputy Tetmajer, representatives of the cities of Lvoff and Cracow and of the University of Cracow, members of municipal and county councils, journalists, artists, painters, sculptors, authors and others.

At a meeting arranged in honour of the Slav guests, Dr. Kramr declared that "the Czech nation is stronger to-day than ever before. There is no worse policy than that which gives in before danger. I am sure that our people will not give way. We have suffered so much that there is no horror which could divert us from the path we follow. Happily enough, we see that what we want is also desired by the whole world. We see that we are not alone. To-day the representatives of other nations, which have suffered in the same way as ourselves, have come to us. Of course, they did not come to us only to take part in our festivals, but also to express on the Bohemian soil their determination that their nations want to live freely. We are united by the same interests. Our victory is theirs and theirs is ours."

The Yugoslav deputy Radic thanked the Czechs, in the name of the Yugoslavs, for unity and solidarity. The Polish deputy Moraczewski expressed his thanks not only for the welcome accorded to the Poles in Prague, but also for the proclamation of the watchword: "For your liberty and ours!"

The main celebrations took place in the Bohemian Museum on May 16. Since the speeches delivered on that occasion were of such significance and are sure to prove of great international importance in the near future, we propose to quote at least the chief passages from them.

The first speaker was Dr. Kramr who declared:

"You know that they are in vain trying to crush us. Every wrong will come back to the authors. That is our firm belief, and therefore you will find no despondency in Bohemia, but only firm determination not only to defend to the last the integrity of our kingdom, but also to accomplish the unity of the whole Czecho-Slovak nation. We firmly believe in the ultimate victory of the right of nations to liberty and self-determination. And we therefore welcome you in our beautiful golden city of Prague, because we know that your presence here to-day is the best proof that our faith is the faith of all nations who have hitherto been clamouring in vain for right and justice.

"Allow me to make a personal remark. We were far away from public life, confined in prison, and only very little news reached us. Various events filled us with anxiety and despondency. Bohemia seemed to be like a large, silent and dead churchyard. And all of a sudden we heard that underneath the shroud with which they tried to cover our nation there still was some life. Czech books were read more than ever, and the life of the national soul expressed itself in the performances in the National Theatre. When we heard about the storm of enthusiasm which greeted the prophecy in Smetana's opera Libusha, we felt suddenly relieved, and we knew that our sufferings were not in vain.

"We placed everything that we want into the prophecy of Libusha—a new life, free, not constrained by disfavour or misunderstanding. We do not want to remain within the limits prescribed to us by Vienna (applause), we want to be entire masters of our national life as a whole. We do not need foreign spirit and foreign advice; our best guide is our past, the great democratic traditions of our nation. We have enough strength and perseverance not to be afraid of anything that threatens us, because we want the full freedom for the whole nation, including the millions of our oppressed brothers beneath the Tatra Mountains. (A stormy applause.)

"That does not depend on any circumstances outside our scope; it depends entirely upon ourselves, upon our will. We must show that we are worthy of liberty and of the great future which we are striving for. It must not be left to the generosity of individuals to support our peoples who under oppressive conditions are awakening national consciousness in their countrymen. We must mobilise our whole nation. All of us will be required to assist in the great tasks which are awaiting us.

"I think we may confidently look into the future. The war has united us internally, and it has taught us that all party politics which for a long time past have poisoned our life, are insignificant in view of the great issues of our national future which are at stake. We have lived long enough to see our whole people united in the demand for an independent Czecho-Slovak State, although the modern times have deepened class differences.

"We recollect our past to-day with a firm hope for a better future. The hearts of all are to-day filled with joyous confidence and expectation that we shall live to see the day when in our National Theatre we shall rejoice over the victory of liberty, justice and self-determination of nations. Our golden Slav Prague will again become a royal city, and our Czech nation will again be free, strong and glorious."

After Dr. Kramr had finished, the aged Czech author Jirsek described the history of the National Theatre during the past fifty years, and concluded:

"To-day as fifty years ago our nation is united without party distinction. We form a single front, and follow a single policy. We all demand our natural and historic rights, and strengthened by the co-operation of the Yugoslavs, we firmly believe that as we succeeded in erecting our National Theatre, so shall we also obtain our rights and be able to rejoice with a song of a full and free life."

When the enthusiasm which followed Jirsek's speech subsided, the great Slovak poet Hviezdoslav "conveyed the greeting from that branch of the Czecho-Slovak nation which lives in Hungary," and assured the assembly that after going back he would spread everywhere the news of the enthusiasm animating the Czechs so as to cheer up his sorely suffering fellow-countrymen, the Slovaks of Hungary.

Professor Kasprovicz from Lemberg, who followed, declared in the name of the Poles:

"We are united with you not only by blood affinity, but by our united will, and we can reach the goal only by co-operation and by joint efforts.

"This co-operation is perplexing to our enemies who, therefore, do all in their power to disrupt this union. Their endeavours are in vain. All of us believe that neither the Czech nor the Polish nation will perish, that even a great war cannot bring about their extirpation; that besides the war there is something greater than all human efforts, that the day of justice will also come, and that the Czech and Polish nations not only must be but already are victorious."

A tremendous applause ensued, and the people sang "Jeszcie Polska niezgynela" ("Poland has not perished yet"). And when the chairman announced that the next speaker was to be the Italian Irredentist deputy, Signer Conci, another storm of applause and cries of "Eviva!" burst out. Signor Conci declared:

"I convey to you the expression of the heartiest greetings from all Italians who are participating in this brilliant manifestation, and from all those who, like myself, follow with great sympathy everything that concerns the fate of the noble Czech nation.

"An old verse speaks about 'Socii dolorum' ('Friends in suffering'), and I must say that this consolation for the different nations of this state has been amply provided for. But nothing helps the union and brotherhood better than the common misfortune and common persecutions which strengthen the character of the nation. In defence against this menace, we and you have written on our shield: 'Fanger, non flector' ('I can be broken but not bent').

"When I saw with what indomitable firmness you withstood all unjust persecutions, and with what a fervent devotion and enthusiasm the whole nation supported your best and unjustly persecuted leaders, I realised that this nation cannot die, and that when the time comes its just cause will triumph. And I bring you our sincere wish that this may be as soon as possible. It is a wish from one oppressed nation to another, from a representative of an afflicted nation which has suffered and still is suffering intolerable oppression. May the roaring Bohemian lion soon be able to repose in peace and fully enjoy his own triumph."

Dr. Tavcar, representing the Slovenes, declared:

"We Yugoslavs are deeply feeling how much the Czech culture is helping us and how great is its influence upon us. We are the most faithful allies of our brother Czechs, and at the same time their assiduous and I dare say very gifted pupils. At a moment when our oppressors want to build a German bridge over our bodies to the Slav Adriatic, we come to you as your allies. We shall fall if you fall, but our victory is certain."

Two other Yugoslav leaders, Dr. Srpulje, Mayor of Zagreb, for the Croats, and V. Sola, President of the Bosnian Sabor, for the Serbs, expressed the same sentiments.

After the speech of the Czech author Krejc, M. Stanek, President of the Bohemian Parliamentary Union, concluded the meeting.

Stormy demonstrations then took place in the streets of Prague, where the people loudly cheered Professor Masaryk and the Entente.

On the same day also the Socialists had a meeting in which prominent Czech, Polish and Yugoslav Socialists took part.

The Polish Socialist deputy Moraczewski, from Cracow, declared that "the Poles, like the Czechs, are fighting for self-determination of nations." Comrade Kristan, speaking for the Slovene workers, emphasised the idea of Yugoslav unity. The spokesman of the Social Democrats from Bosnia, comrade Smitran, hailed the Czecho-Yugoslav understanding, and said that, although living under intolerable conditions, his nation hopes for deliverance, and like the Czecho-Slovak nation, demands liberty and independence. After the Polish comrade Stanczyk, the leaders of the two Czech Socialist parties, Dr. Soukup and Klofc, delivered long speeches in which they emphasised the solidarity of the three Western Slav nations, the Poles, Czecho-Slovaks and Yugoslavs, and their identical claims for liberty and independence. Dr. Soukup declared that "Socialism is to-day a great factor not only in Bohemia, but in the whole world." The manifestation was concluded by the Czech Socialist deputy Nemec, and by the singing of the Czech national anthem.

On the day following, fresh manifestations were held in Prague, and a meeting was arranged, described by the Czech press as the Congress of Oppressed Nations of Austria-Hungary. Among those who supported the resolutions were representatives of Czecho-Slovaks, Yugoslavs, Rumanians and Italians, as well as Poles. The resolution carried unanimously by the assembly reads as follows:

"The representatives of Slav and Latin nations who for centuries past have been suffering under foreign oppression, assembled in Prague this seventeenth day of May, 1918, have united in a common desire to do all in their power in order to assure full liberty and independence to their respective nations after this terrible war. They are agreed that a better future for their nations will be founded and assured by the world democracy, by a real and sovereign national people's government, and by a universal League of Nations, endowed with the necessary authorities.

"They reject emphatically all steps of the government taken without the consent of the people. They are convinced that the peace which they, together with all other democratic parties and nations, are striving for, will only be a just and lasting peace if it liberates the world from the predominance of one nation over another and thus enables all nations to defend themselves against aggressive imperialism by means of liberty and equality of nations. All nations represented are determined to help each other, since the victory of one is also the victory of the other, and is not only in the interests of the nations concerned, but in the interests of civilisation, of fraternity and equality of nations, as well as of true humanity."



IX

BOHEMIA AS A BULWARK AGAINST PAN-GERMANISM

From the foregoing chapters it is clear that:

(a) The Austro-Hungarian Government represents only the Habsburgs, and the Austrian Germans and the Magyars, who form a minority of the total population of the monarchy. The majority, consisting of Slavs and Latins, is opposed to the further existence of Austria-Hungary.

(b) The Austrian Germans and Magyars, who exercised their hegemony in Austria and Hungary respectively, will always be bound to look to Germany for the support of their predominance as long as Austria-Hungary in whatever form exists. The collapse of the Habsburg Empire in October, 1918, practically put an end to this possibility.

(c) The Habsburgs, Austro-Germans and Magyars, just like the Bulgars, became the willing and wilful partners of Prussia in this war, while the Austrian Slavs, especially the Czecho-Slovaks, have done all in their power to assist the Allies at the price of tremendous sacrifices. Under these circumstances, the only possible policy for the Allies is to support the claims of those peoples who are heart and soul with them. Any policy which would not satisfy the just Slav aspirations would play into the hands of Germany.

(d) The restoration of the status quo ante bellum of Austria or Hungary is out of the question. The Allies have pledged themselves to unite the Italian and Rumanian territories of Austria with Italy and Rumania respectively. The aim of Serbia is to unite all the Yugoslavs. Deprived of her Italian, Rumanian and Yugoslav provinces, Austria-Hungary would lose some twelve million Slavs and Latins. The problem of Poland also cannot be solved in a satisfactory way without the incorporation in Poland of the Polish territories of Galicia. If the status quo were re-established, the Czecho-Slovaks, whom Great Britain has recognised as an Allied nation, would be placed in a decisive minority and would be powerless in face of the German-Magyar majority. This the Allies in their own interests cannot allow. They must insist upon the restoration of Bohemia's full independence.

(e) The disappearance of Austria-Hungary therefore appears to be the only solution if a permanent peace in Europe is to be achieved. Moreover, as we have already pointed out, her dissolution is a political necessity for Europe, and is to-day already an accomplished fact.

The dismemberment of Austria does not mean a destructive policy. On the contrary, it means only the destruction of oppression and racial tyranny. It is fundamentally different from the dismemberment of Poland, which was a living nation, while Austria is not. The dismemberment of Austria will, on the contrary, unite nations at present dismembered, and will reconstruct Europe so as to prevent further German aggressive attempts towards the East and South-East. A close alliance between Poland, Czecho-Slovak Bohemia, Greater Rumania, Greater Serbia (or Yugoslavia) and Italy would assure a stable peace in Central Europe.

The issue really at stake was: Central Europe either Pan-German or anti-German. If Germany succeeded in preserving Austria-Hungary, the Pan-German plans of Mitteleuropa would be a fait accompli, and Germany would have won the war: the Germans would, with the aid of the Magyars and Bulgars, directly and indirectly control and exploit over one hundred million Slavs in Central Europe. On the other hand, now that Austria has fallen to pieces the German plans have been frustrated. The Germans will not only be unable to use the Austrian Slavs again as cannon-fodder, but even the economic exploitation of Central Europe will be barred to them.

From the international point of view, Bohemia will form the very centre of the anti-German barrier, and with the assistance of a new Poland in the north, and Italy, Yugoslavia and Rumania in the south, she will successfully prevent German penetration to the East, Near East and the Adriatic.

Austria and Hungary, reduced to their proper racial boundaries, will be states of about eight million each. The Magyars, being situated in the Lowlands, which are mainly agricultural, hemmed in between Bohemia, Rumania and Yugoslavia, will be in a hopeless strategic and economic position. They will be unable to attack any of their neighbours, and they will be wholly dependent on them for industrial products. Hungary will thus be forced to come to an understanding with her neighbours. Austria will be in a similar position: deprived of her richest provinces, she will no longer be of any great economic or military value to Germany.

Let us now examine the probable future relations between Bohemia and her neighbours.

1. The formation of a strong Polish-Czech block is the only means of arresting the German expansion towards the East. To-day, when Russia has collapsed, the liberation of the non-Germans of Central Europe can alone save Europe from the hegemony of the German Herrenvolk. The creation of a strong and united Poland with access to the sea at Gdansk (Dantzig) and an independent Czecho-Slovak State has become a necessity for Europe.

The understanding between the Poles and Czechs is of vital interest to both peoples concerned, and to Europe as a whole. It is by no means hypothetical, considering that geographically the Poles and Czechs are neighbours, that they speak almost the same language, and that their national spirit, history and traditions bear a close resemblance. The history of Poland offers many strange parallels to that of Bohemia. It is specially interesting to note that in the fifteenth century, as to-day, the Poles and Czechs together resisted the German "Drang nach Osten." The Czech with their famous leader Zizka participated in the splendid Polish victory over the Teutonic knights at Grnwald in 1410, while on the other hand, there were many Poles in the Hussite regiments who so gloriously defended the Czech religious and national liberties in the fifteenth century. Poland and Bohemia were also united several times under a common dynasty.

After Bohemia lost her independence at the battle of the White Mountain in 1620, she became the prey of Austrian barbarity. The Habsburgs have done their best to extirpate the Czech heretics and abolish and destroy the Bohemian Constitution. With Bohemia's loss of independence her contact with Poland also ceased. And Poland herself became the prey of Prussia, Russia and Austria some 170 years later, notwithstanding the constitution of May 3 and the heroic resistance of Kosciuszko.

The regeneration of the Czechs at the end of the eighteenth century meant the resumption of friendly relations between Czechs and Poles. The Czechs desired to come to an agreement with the Poles because the latter are their nearest kinsmen in race and language, and like themselves have suffered terribly from alien oppression. There were many Polonophils amongst the first Czech regenerators, and the Polish revolutions always evoked sincere sympathy in Bohemia. The modern Czech writers were all sincere friends of the Poles. Thanks to their efforts, Sienkiewicz and Mickiewicz are read in every household in Bohemia, and the dramas of Slowacki, Krasinski, Wyspianski and others are frequently played on the stage of our National Theatre in Prague.

The present interests and aspirations of Poles and Czechs are identical. Like the Czechs, the Poles are threatened by the Pan-German schemes of Mitteleuropa and "Drang nach Osten," to which they are bitterly opposed. These plans can be checked effectively only by the establishment of a strong and united Poland with access to the sea, a strong Czecho-Slovak State, and a united and independent Yugoslavia and Rumania.

It was proved by events that Russian imperialism and oppression was never so dangerous to Europe as Pan-Germanism, since the former was built upon sand and opposed by the Russian people themselves; while Pan-Germanism rests upon effective organisation, and its brutal principles of domination are supported by the bulk of the German people. The Central Powers are to-day Poland's only enemies, and are a danger to her as to all Europe. Poland's interests lie only in one orientation: in absolute opposition to Pan-Germany.

The alliance between Poland and Bohemia will provide the latter with an outlet to the sea (Gdansk). This will draw the two countries still closer together. Economically such an alliance would be to the mutual interests of both countries. Since Bohemia has not, like Poland, been devastated during this war, she could greatly assist Poland in rebuilding her trade and industries, and this would prevent German economic penetration to the East. On the other hand, Poland could supply her with oil and salt from Galicia.

The Czecho-Polish block would prevent German penetration in Russia, which would thus be able to set her own affairs in order. The Czecho-Polish block would also frustrate the German plans of creating a Polish-German-Magyar combination by means of a small Poland, completely dependent on the Central Powers, or by means of the so-called Austro-Polish solution. The Czecho-Slovaks, owing to their geographic position and past traditions, and owing to their advanced civilisation, may be fully relied upon as the pioneers of peace and stability in Central Europe.

2. The Czecho-Slovak State will probably have a common frontier with Rumania. The Rumanians-and Czecho-Slovaks will have common interests, and their mutual political and economic relations will be of great importance. Economically, agricultural Rumania and industrial Bohemia will complete each other. Prague will have direct railway connection with Bukarest and Jassy, while the Danube will connect the Czecho-Slovaks both with the Yugoslavs and the Rumanians, under the protection of the League of Nations.

Politically the alliance between a united Poland, Bohemia and Greater Rumania is of paramount importance, because if Poland and Rumania remain as small as they are at present, and if the Czecho-Slovaks and Yugoslavs are left at the mercy of Vienna and Budapest, the Germans will be masters of Central Europe.

3. The relations between Czechs and Yugoslavs have always been cordial, since both of them have always had the same anti-German and anti-Magyar orientation. By way of the Danube the Czecho-Slovaks would be in direct communication with Belgrade. The Czechs could further also be accorded an international railway connecting Pressburg with the Adriatic. The Czechs, being well developed industrially and commercially, could greatly assist the Yugoslavs in organising a state sufficiently strong to arrest German and Magyar penetration in the Balkans.

The Czechs, being good friends of the Yugoslavs and Italians, will at the same time exert their efforts to prevent all misunderstandings between these two Adriatic nations from which only the Germans would profit. A close alliance between Bohemia, Italy, Yugoslavia and Rumania will form an effective safeguard against German penetration in the Near East. Since Rumania will border both on Bohemia and Yugoslavia, the Germans will be completely encircled by a strong Latin-Slav barrier, of which Bohemia will form the centre, working for stability in Central Europe and safeguarding Europe from a repetition of the German attempts at world domination.

4. The Czecho-Slovak State itself will be strong both strategically and economically. It will number over twelve million, and its territory, comprising Bohemia, Moravia, Austrian-Silesia and Slovakia, will be about 50,000 square miles, that is a territory as large as England (without Scotland, Ireland and Wales).

Surrounded by high mountains, Bohemia forms a veritable fortress in the heart of Europe. Economically, too, she will be strong and self-supporting.

In the past Bohemia was the richest part of the Habsburg Empire, with well-developed agriculture and industries. Bohemia produced 829 lbs. of grain per inhabitant, the rest of Austria 277 lbs. The Bohemian lands are responsible for 93 per cent. of Austria's, production of sugar, most of which has been exported to England. Hops of remarkable quality are produced in Bohemia, and Pilsen beer is known all over the world. Bohemia manufactures over 50 per cent. of all the beer produced in Austria. Bohemia has also abundant wealth in minerals, the only mineral which is not found there being salt. Bohemia produces 60 per cent. of Austria's iron and 83 per cent. (26 million tons) of her coal. As regards trade, almost all the business between Bohemia and Western Europe has always passed through Vienna, which of course greatly profited thereby. This will cease when Bohemia becomes independent.