The Project Gutenberg eBook of Independent Bohemia In Russia the difficulties with which the National Council had to cope were especially grave, and mainly for two reasons. In the first place, the Czecho-Slovak prisoners who voluntarily surrendered were scattered all over Russia. It was extremely difficult even to get into touch with them. In addition there was a lack of good-will on the part of the old Russian Government. Thus very often these prisoners, who regarded Russia as Bohemia's elder brother and liberator, were sadly disillusioned when they were left under the supervision of some German officers, and thousands of them died from starvation. Nevertheless they never despaired. Eager to fight for the Allies, many of them entered the Yugoslav Division which fought so gallantly in the Dobrudja. Nearly all the Czech officers in this division were decorated with the highest Russian, Serbian and Rumanian orders. Half of them committed suicide, however, during the retreat rather than fall into the hands of the enemy. It was not until after the Russian Revolution, and especially after the arrival of Professor Masaryk in Russia in May, 1917, that the Czecho-Slovak army in Russia became a reality. The Czecho-Slovaks have been mentioned in Russian official communiqués of February 2, 1916, and March 29, 1917. The most glorious part was taken by the Czecho-Slovak Brigade during the last Russian offensive in July, 1917, in which the Czechs showed manifestly the indomitable spirit that animates them. Since every Czech fighting on the side of the Entente is shot, if he is captured by the Austrians, the Czechs everywhere fight to the bitter end, and rather commit suicide than be captured by their enemies. For this reason they are justly feared by the Germans. As in the Hussite wars, the sight of their caps and the sound of their songs struck terror in the hearts of the Germans and Magyars. At the battle of Zborov on July 2, 1917, the Czechs gave the whole world proof of their bravery. Determined to win or fall, they launched an attack almost without ammunition, with bayonets and hand-grenades--and they gained a victory over an enemy vastly superior in numbers. According to the official Russian communiqué : "On July 2, at about three o'clock in the afternoon, after a severe and stubborn battle, the gallant troops of the Czecho-Slovak Brigade occupied the strongly fortified enemy position on the heights to the west and south-west of the village of Zborov and the fortified village of Koroszylow. Three lines of enemy trenches were penetrated. The enemy has retired across the Little Strypa. The Czecho-Slovak Brigade captured sixty-two officers and 3150 soldiers, fifteen guns and many machine guns. Many of the captured guns were turned against the enemy." Finally, however, when the Russians refused to fight, the Czechs had to retire as well. General Brussiloff declared: "The Czecho-Slovaks, perfidiously abandoned at Tarnopol by our infantry, fought in such a way that the world ought to fall on its knees before them." 2. The spontaneous and unanimous political action of the Czecho-Slovaks abroad became co-ordinated when Professor Masaryk escaped from Austria and placed himself at the head of the movement. Professor Masaryk , the distinguished Czech leader and scholar, whose name we have already mentioned in the preceding chapters, went to Italy in December, 1914, and although he desired once more to return to Austria before leaving finally for France, he found it too dangerous, as the reign of terror had already been established in Bohemia. He accordingly went to Switzerland and afterwards on to France and England. In October, 1915, he was appointed lecturer at the newly founded School of Slavonic Studies at King's College, University of London. Mr. Asquith, then Prime Minister, who was prevented through indisposition from presiding at Professor Masaryk's inaugural lecture on October 19, 1915, sent the following message to the meeting: "I congratulate King's College on Professor Masaryk's appointment, and I can assure him that we welcome his advent to London both as a teacher--the influence of whose power and learning is felt throughout the Slav world--and as a man to whose personal qualities of candour, courage and strength we are all glad to pay a tribute. We believe that his presence here will be a link to strengthen the sympathy which unites the people of Russia and Great Britain." "First and foremost the Allies are fighting for the liberties of small nations, to the end that they may be left in future free from the tyranny of their more powerful neighbours to develop their own national life and institutions. Above all, to-day our thoughts and our sympathies are moved towards Serbia, whose undaunted courage wins day by day our unbounded sympathy and admiration." During the lecture on the Problem of Small Nations in the European Crisis, Professor Masaryk outlined his political programme which he has ever since insisted the Allies should adopt, to destroy the German plans of Mitteleuropa. He declared: "Great Britain came into this war to protect little Belgium, and now with her Allies she is faced by the task of protecting Serbia. This evolution of the war is almost logical, for Germany's aim is and was Berlin--Bagdad, the employment of the nations of Austria-Hungary as helpless instruments, and the subjection of the smaller nations which form that peculiar zone between the west and east of Europe. Poland, Bohemia, Serbo-Croatia (the South Slavs) are the natural adversaries of Germany , of her Drang nach Osten ; to liberate and strengthen these smaller nations is the only real check upon Prussia. Free Poland, Bohemia and Serbo-Croatia would be so-called buffer states, their organisation would facilitate and promote the formation of a Magyar state, of Greater Rumania, of Bulgaria, Greece and the rest of the smaller nations. If this horrible war, with its countless victims, has any meaning, it can only be found in the liberation of the small nations who are menaced by Germany's eagerness for conquest and her thirst for the dominion of Asia. The Oriental question is to be solved on the Rhine, Moldau and Vistula, not only on the Danube, Vardar and Maritza." Soon afterwards Professor Masaryk issued a proclamation signed by representatives of all Czecho-Slovaks abroad, the full text of which reads as follows: "We come before the political public at a moment when the retreat of the victorious Russian army is exploited against Russia and her Allies. We take the side of the struggling Slav nations and their Allies without regard to which party will be victorious, simply because the Allies' cause is just. The decision as to which party in this fatal struggle is defending the right, is a question of principle and political morality which to-day cannot be evaded by any honest and clear-thinking politician nor by any self-conscious nation. But we are prompted to step forward also by our vivid sense of Slav solidarity: we express our ardent sympathies to our brother Serbs and Russians, as well as to our brother Poles, so heavily struck by the war. We believe in the ultimate victory of the Slavs and their Allies, and we are convinced that this victory will contribute towards the welfare of the whole of Europe and humanity. The spiteful anti-Slav attitude of Ferdinand the Koburg and his government cannot retard the victory of a just cause. "The Czech nation made an alliance with Hungary and the Austrian Germans by a free election of a Habsburg to the throne of the kingdom of Bohemia in 1526; but the dynasty created through a systematic centralisation and germanisation a unitary absolutist state, thus violating their treaty guaranteeing the independence of the Bohemian State within and without. The Czech nation, exhausted by the European and Habsburg anti-reformation, has only since the Czech regeneration at the end of the eighteenth century been able to resist this violence. It was especially the revolution of 1848 which challenged it. "The revolution was crushed, and the secured rights of nations, especially of the Czechs, were again sacrificed to absolutism which, however, was shattered by the war of 1859, and replaced by an incomplete constitutionalism. Then Vienna gave way to the Magyars. But the Czechs had to content themselves with solemn promises that were never kept. The Czech nation started a struggle of passive opposition. Later on it also took an active part in the new parliament, but whether in parliament or in the diets, it always claimed its historic right of independence and struggled against the German-Magyar dualism. The attempts made to come to an understanding were frustrated by the obstinate spirit of domination of the Germans and Magyars. "The present war has only accentuated the Czecho-Slovak opposition to Austria-Hungary. War was declared without the parliament being consulted: all other states presented the declaration of war to their parliaments for ratification, only the Viennese Government was afraid to consult its peoples, because the majority of them would have declared against the war. The representatives of the Czech nation would have certainly protested with the greatest emphasis. That is why the government did not consult a single Czech deputy or politician with regard to taking so momentous a step. "The Czech nation has always in modern times defended a thoroughly Slav programme. Also during this war, which has found our nation unprepared like all other peaceful nations, the Czechs have since the very beginning expressed their sympathies for Russia, Serbia and their Allies, notwithstanding the unprecedented Austrian terrorism, suppressing every manifestation of the real feelings of the people. The pro-Austrian declarations are enforced by the government. To-day the leading Czech politicians are in prison, the gallows have become the favourite support of the incapable administration, and Czech regiments have been decimated for acting spontaneously up to our national Czech programme. The rights of the Czech language have been ruthlessly violated during the war, and the absolutist military rule has reigned throughout Bohemia and other non-German and non-Magyar parts of the monarchy as in enemy countries. Every declaration in the Czech journals is suppressed, while our national adversaries are not only allowed to make propaganda against the Czech nation, but even the pan-German orgies in the spirit of Lagarde, von Hartmann, Mommsen, and Treitschke are supported by Vienna and Budapest. "Under these circumstances the Czech nation cannot continue to keep silence. That is why the Czech and Slovak emigrants abroad deem it their duty to inform foreign opinion about the true situation of Bohemia, to interpret the aspirations of the Czecho-Slovak nation to the Allied statesmen, politicians and journalists, and to defend the Czecho-Slovak programme. "The Czech parties have hitherto striven for the independence of their nation inside Austria-Hungary. The course which this fratricidal war has taken and the ruthless violence of Vienna make it necessary for all of us to strive for independence without regard to Austria-Hungary . We are struggling for an absolutely independent Czecho-Slovak State . "The Czech nation has come to the conclusion that it must take its destiny into its own hands. Austria was defeated not only by Russia, but also by the small and despised Serbia, and became a dependency of Germany. To-day it has recovered a little under the direction of Berlin, but that desperate strain of forces does not deceive us: it is only a proof of the abdication of Austria-Hungary. We have lost all confidence in the vitality of Austria-Hungary, and we no more recognise its right to existence. Through its incapability and dependence it has proved to the whole world that the assumption of the necessity of Austria has passed, and has through this war been proved to be wrong. Those who have defended the possibility and necessity of Austria-Hungary--and at one time it was Palacký himself--demanded a confederated state of equal nations and lands. But the dualist Austria-Hungary became the oppressor of non-German and non-Magyar nationalities. It is the obstacle to peace in Europe and it has degenerated into a mere tool for Germany's expansion to the East, without a positive mission of its own, unable to create a state organisation of equal nations, free and progressive in civilisation. The dynasty, living in its absolutist traditions, maintains itself a phantom of its former world empire, assisted in government by its undemocratic partners, the barren aristocracy, the anti-national bureaucracy, and the anti-national military staff. "To-day there is no doubt that Austria-Hungary wrongly used the assassination at Sarajevo as a pretext against Serbia. Vienna and Budapest did not hesitate to use forged documents manufactured by their own embassy against the Yugoslavs, and in this policy of deceit Vienna and Budapest have persisted during this war. To this deceit they have now added revengeful spitefulness and cruelty truly barbarian against the non-Germans and non-Magyars. "Germany shares the guilt with Austria-Hungary; it was in Germany's power and it was her duty towards civilisation and humanity to prevent the war and not to take advantage of the imperialist lust of Vienna and Budapest. "Austria-Hungary and Germany are fighting with their Turkish and Bulgarian Allies for a cause which is unjust and doomed." Later on, when Dr. Edward Beneš , lecturer at the Czech University of Prague and author of several well-known studies in sociology, also escaped abroad, the Czecho-Slovak National Council was formed, of which Professor Masaryk became the president, Dr. Štefanik , a distinguished airman and scientist, Hungarian Slovak by birth, the vice-president, and Dr. E. Beneš the general secretary. A French review was started in Paris ( La Nation Tchèque ) in May, 1915, which became the official organ of the Czecho-Slovak movement. Up to May, 1917, it was published under the editorship of Professor Denis, and since then its editor has been Dr. Beneš. A Central Czech organ is also published in Paris called Samostatnost ("Independence"), edited by Dr. Sychrava, an eminent Czech journalist. The undisputed authority enjoyed by Professor Masaryk among all the Czecho-Slovaks is undoubtedly the secret of the great strength and unity of the movement. It is also the reason for the great diplomatic successes achieved by the Czechs. The chief lieutenants of Professor Masaryk were Dr. Beneš, an untiring worker with rare political instinct and perspicacity, and Dr. Milan Štefanik, who entered the French army as a private at the beginning of the war, was gradually promoted, and in May, 1918, rose to the rank of brigadier-general. He rendered valuable service to France as an astronomist before the war, and as an airman during the war. He has rendered still greater service to the Czecho-Slovak cause as a diplomat. These three men, unanimously recognised by the two million Czecho-Slovaks in the Allied countries as their leaders, were finally, in the summer of 1918, recognised also by the Allies as the de facto provisional government of the Czecho-Slovak State, with all rights and powers of a real government. The central seat of the Czecho-Slovak Government is in Paris, and official Czecho-Slovak representatives and legations are in all the Allied capitals. 3. The first political success of the National Council was the Allies' Note to President Wilson of January 10, 1917. The Czechs are especially grateful to France for this first recognition of their claims. In this Note, in which the Allies for the first time stated publicly and explicitly their war aims, the Allies declared that these include: "The reorganisation of Europe guaranteed by a stable settlement, based upon the principle of nationality, upon the right which all peoples, whether small or great, have to the enjoyment of full security and free economic development, and also upon territorial agreements and international arrangements so framed as to guarantee land and sea frontiers against unjust attacks; the restitution of provinces or territories formerly torn from the Allies by force or contrary to the wishes of their inhabitants; the liberation of Italians, Slavs, Rumanians and Czecho-Slovaks from foreign domination ; the liberation of the peoples who now lie beneath the murderous tyranny of the Turks, and the expulsion from Europe of the Ottoman Empire, which has proved itself so radically alien to Western civilisation." The greatest success of the Czecho-Slovak National Council, however, has been the formal recognition by France of the formation of an autonomous Czecho-Slovak army in France with the National Council at its head. By this act France recognised: (1) That the Czecho-Slovaks have a right to form an army of their own, which right appertains only to a sovereign and independent nation; (2) That the Czecho-Slovaks have a right to fight on the side of the Entente, and therefore are to be considered as one of the Allies; (3) That the political direction of the army is reserved to the Czecho-Slovak National Council, which right is usually accorded only to the government of an independent state. The full text of this historic document, signed by the President of the French Republic, M. Poincaré, the French Premier, M. Clémenceau, and the Foreign Secretary, M. Pichon, and dated December 19, 1917, reads as follows: "1. The Czecho-Slovaks organised in an autonomous army and recognising, from the military point of view, the superior authority of the French high command, will fight under their own flag against the Central Powers. "2. This national army is placed, from the political point of view, under the direction of the Czecho-Slovak National Council whose headquarters are in Paris. "3. The formation of the Czecho-Slovak army as well as its further work are assured by the French Government. "4. The Czecho-Slovak army will be subject to the same dispositions as regards organisation, hierarchy, administration and military discipline as those in force in the French army. "5. The Czecho-Slovak army will be recruited from among: ( a ) Czecho-Slovaks at present serving with the French army; ( b ) Czecho-Slovaks from other countries admitted to be transferred into the Czecho-Slovak army or to contract a voluntary engagement with this army for the duration of war. "6. Further ministerial instructions will settle the application of this decree. "7. The President of the War Cabinet, the Secretary of War, and the Foreign Secretary are charged each in his own sphere to bring into effect the present decree, which will be published in the Bulletin des Lois and inserted in the Journal Officiel de la République Française ." In a covering letter, dated December 16, 1917, and addressed to M. Poincaré, the French Premier and the Foreign Secretary declared: "France has always supported by all means in her power the national aspirations of the Czecho-Slovaks. The number of volunteers of this nationality who at the outbreak of the war enlisted to fight under the French flag was considerable; the gaps created in their ranks prove unquestionably the ardour with which they fought against our enemies. "Certain Allied governments, especially the Russian Provisional Government, did not hesitate to authorise the formation on our front of units composed of Czecho-Slovaks who had escaped from the oppression of their enemy. "It is only just that this nationality should be given means of defending, under their own flag and side by side with us, the cause of right and liberty of peoples, and it will be in accord with French traditions to assist the organisation of an autonomous Czecho-Slovak army." Needless to say, the joy over this recognition was very great in Bohemia, while the German papers were furious. The Neue Freie Presse of December 28 devoted its leading article to the Czecho-Slovak army on the Western front, and concluded with the following remarks: "Although the strength of this new army is estimated at 120,000 men, the Czecho-Slovak army will not have a decisive influence on the military operations. Nevertheless, it may do us considerable harm in case we should transfer troops to the Western front. However, the greatest harm is in the moral effect which this act of wholesale treachery of the Czechs will have on the military power of the monarchy. In any case the co-operation of the Czecho-Slovak army on the side of the Entente will only strengthen the Allies' belief that right is on their side." Soon afterwards Italy also generously allowed an expeditionary corps of the Czecho-Slovak army to be formed from the Czecho-Slovak prisoners of war who surrendered to her. On May 23, 1918, the Czecho-Slovak troops welcomed the Prince of Wales to Rome, and soon afterwards they distinguished themselves on the Piave and were mentioned in one of General Diaz's dispatches and also in the official Italian communiqué of September 22, 1918. From the recognition of the Czecho-Slovak army followed the full recognition which the National Council obtained from the Allies. 4. While the general secretariat was actively working for these concessions in the West, Professor Masaryk, after devoting his attention to the education of public opinion in Great Britain on the importance of Bohemia, by means of private memoranda and various articles in the New Europe , Weekly Dispatch and elsewhere, decided in May, 1917, to go to Russia. In Russia, Professor Masaryk succeeded admirably in uniting and strengthening all Czecho-Slovak forces, and in organising a regular army of the many thousands of Czecho-Slovak prisoners there. As we have already pointed out elsewhere, before the Revolution these efforts of the National Council and the Czech prisoners, who were always eager to fight for the Allies, were rendered immensely difficult by the obstacles inherent in the geographic conditions of Russia and by obstacles placed in their way by the old Russian régime. Unfortunately now, when the Czecho-Slovaks had at last succeeded after much work in realising their plans, the Czecho-Slovak army became powerless owing to the collapse of Russia. Without ammunition, without support from anywhere, the Czecho-Slovaks thought they could no more render very effective service to the Allies in the East. They decided, therefore, to go over to join their compatriots in France. The position of our army was as follows: After the offensive of July, 1917, the Czechs retreated to Kieff where they continued to concentrate fresh forces. At that time they numbered about 60,000, and this number had gradually increased to 80,000 by the end of 1917. They always observed strict neutrality in Russia's internal affairs on the advice of their venerable leader, Professor Masaryk. It was necessary to counsel this neutrality for the sake of our army itself, since it contained partisans of different creeds and parties disagreement among whom might have led to its dissolution. On the whole, the Czecho-Slovaks, who are an advanced nation, fully conscious of their national aspirations, remained unaffected by the misleading Bolshevist theories. The Czechs abstained throughout from interfering with Russian affairs, yet they did not wish to leave Russia as long as there was any chance for them to assist her. It was not until the shameful peace of Brest-Litovsk in February, 1918, that Professor Masaryk decided that the Czecho-Slovak army should leave Russia via Siberia and join the Czecho-Slovak army in France. The Bolsheviks granted them free passage to Vladivostok. This journey of some 5000 miles was not, however, an easy task for an army to accomplish. The troops had to move in small échelons or detachments, and concentration at the stations was prohibited. They had to procure their trains and their provisions, and they had constant trouble with the Bolsheviks, because in every district there was a practically independent Soviet Government with whom the Czechs had to negotiate. The first detachments with the generalissimo of the army, General Diderichs, at the head arrived in Vladivostok at the end of April, 1918. But the other detachments were constantly held up by the Bolsheviks and had great trouble in passing through. They moved from Kieff via Kursk, Tambov, Penza and Samara. The two last-named towns lie on the line between Moscow and Tcheliabinsk at the foot of the Urals, whence a direct line runs across Siberia to Vladivostok. As we have already pointed out, the Bolsheviks agreed in principle to allow our troops to leave Russia. Their commander-in-chief, General Muraviev, allowed the Czechs free passage to France on February 16. The same concession had been granted by the Moscow Soviet. On the whole the Czechs were on tolerably good terms with the Bolsheviks. Professor Masaryk rejected every plan directed against the Bolsheviks submitted to him even by such of their political adversaries as could not justly be called counter-revolutionaries. The Czecho-Slovak troops went still further; they actually complied with the request of the Bolsheviks and partially disarmed. The trouble only began in May, 1918, when the Bolsheviks yielded to German intrigues and resolved to destroy our army. Already at the beginning of May the Czechs had begun to feel embittered against the Bolsheviks, because in defiance of the agreement their troops were constantly being held up by local Soviets. At Tambov, for instance, they were held up for a whole month. At Tcheliabinsk the Czechs had a serious scuffle with Magyar ex-prisoners on May 26, and the Bolsheviks sided entirely with the Magyars, even arresting some Czecho-Slovak delegates. The Czechs simply occupied the city, liberated their comrades, and at a congress held by them at Tcheliabinsk on May 28 it was decided to refuse to surrender any more arms and ammunition and to continue transports to Vladivostok, if necessary with arms in their hands. This was a reply to Trotsky's telegram that the Czecho-Slovaks should be completely disarmed, which the Czecho-Slovaks defied as they knew that another order had been issued by Trotsky simultaneously, no doubt on the instigation of Count Mirbach, saying that the Czecho-Slovak troops must be dissolved at all costs and interned as prisoners of war. The Bolsheviks now arrested prominent members of the Moscow branch of the Czecho-Slovak National Council on the ground that they were "anti-revolutionaries." They alleged also that they had no guarantee that ships would be provided for the Czechs to be transported to France, and that the Czechs were holding up food supplies from Siberia. The Bolsheviks deliberately broke their word, and Trotsky issued an order to "all troops fighting against the anti-revolutionary Czecho-Slovak brigades" in which he said: "The concentration of our troops is complete. Our army being aware that the Czecho-Slovaks are direct allies of the anti-revolution and of the capitalists, fights them well. The Czecho-Slovaks are retreating along the railway. Obviously they would like to enter into negotiations with the Soviets. We issued an order that their delegates should be received. We demand in the first place that they should be disarmed. Those who do not do so voluntarily will be shot on the spot. Warlike operations on the railway line hinder food transports. Energetic steps must be taken to do away with this state of affairs." The Czecho-Slovaks were greatly handicapped, since they were not only almost unarmed, but were also dispersed along the trans-Siberian line in small detachments which had considerable difficulty in keeping in touch with each other. Nevertheless the fates were favourable to them. They were victorious almost everywhere, thanks to their wonderful spirit and discipline. The first victories gained by the Czecho-Slovaks over the Bolsheviks were at Penza and Samara. Penza was captured by them after three days' fighting at the end of May. Later the Czecho-Slovaks also took Sysran on the Volga, Kazan with its large arsenal, Simbirsk and Yekaterinburg, connecting Tcheliabinsk with Petrograd, and occupied practically the whole Volga region. In Siberia they defeated a considerable force of German-Magyar ex-prisoners in Krasnoyarsk and Omsk and established themselves firmly in Udinsk. On June 29, 15,000 Czecho-Slovaks under General Diderichs, after handing an ultimatum to the Bolsheviks at Vladivostok, occupied the city without much resistance. Only at one spot fighting took place and some 160 Bolsheviks were killed. The Czecho-Slovaks, assisted by Japanese and Allied troops, then proceeded to the north and north-west, while the Bolsheviks and German prisoners retreated to Chabarovsk. In September the Czech and Allied troops from Vladivostok joined hands with the Czecho-Slovaks from Irkutsk and Western Siberia, and thus gained control over practically the whole trans-Siberian railway. By this means they have done great service to the Allies, especially to Great Britain, by defending the East against the German invaders. Furthermore, it was the Czecho-Slovaks' bold action which induced Japan and America at last to intervene in Russia and for the sake of Russia, and it was their control of the Siberian railway which made such intervention possible. Let us hope that their action will lead to the regeneration and salvation of the Russian nation. The service rendered by Czecho-Slovak troops to the Allied cause was, of course, justly appreciated by the Allies. Mr. Lloyd George sent the following telegram to Professor Masaryk on September 9: "On behalf of the British War Cabinet I send you our heartiest congratulations on the striking successes won by the Czecho-Slovak forces against the armies of German and Austrian troops in Siberia. The story of the adventures and triumphs of this small army is, indeed, one of the greatest epics of history. It has filled us all with admiration for the courage, persistence and self-control of your countrymen, and shows what can be done to triumph over time, distance and lack of material resources by those holding the spirit of freedom in their hearts. Your nation has rendered inestimable service to Russia and to the Allies in their struggle to free the world from despotism. We shall never forget it." The deeds of our army met with equal admiration and gratitude also in Bohemia. This is clearly shown by the speech of the Czech deputy Stříbrný, delivered in the Austrian Reichsrat on July 17, and entirely suppressed in the Austrian and German press. Despite the vigilance on the part of the Austrian authorities, however, we have been able to secure the full text of this remarkable speech which reads as follows: "GENTLEMEN,--Let me first of all emphasise that my speech is not a defence of the Czech nation and of the Czech soldiers. There are no judges in this parliament competent to judge us. "You call us traitors. We accept your declaration as the view of our enemy. Nothing more--nothing less. "You gentlemen on the German benches, you dared, however, to touch the honour of our soldiers--you called them cowards. And in this respect we are not going to keep silent. We shall always protest against such injustice! We shall never permit these heroes to be abused by being called 'cowards.' If there is a single gentleman among you he ought for a moment to reflect on the soul of a Czech soldier--a soldier who has been compelled by force to fight in a war which the German Imperial Chancellor has openly called 'a war of Germans against the Slavs'; a soldier who was compelled under the threat of immediate execution to take up arms against the interests of the Slavs, against the interests of his brothers, against the interests of his own country--Bohemia. Well then, was it cowardice on the part of this soldier when he, exposed to the fire of Austrian and German guns and machine guns from behind, went over to the other side? Was he a coward when, while free to remain in his captivity as a prisoner of war safely waiting until the end of the war, he volunteered to fight again and was ready to risk his life and health once more? Is that Czech soldier a coward who went once more into the trenches, although aware that if he were captured he would not be treated as an ordinary prisoner of war but as a deserter, and hanged accordingly? Is that man a coward who sacrifices his family which he has left behind and his soil and property inherited from his ancestors? Is that man a coward who sacrifices himself, his father and mother, his wife and children for the sake of his nation and country? "Is that Czech soldier not a hero who to-day is voluntarily fighting from the Ural Mountains to Vladivostok, on the Piave and in France? "If there is a single gentleman, a real gentleman among you, let him stand up and answer these questions. "And if there is not such a gentleman among you, remember the words of our bitter enemy the late Minister for Home Defence, Baron Georgi, who related to this House in a secret sitting all that our regiments have accomplished. He could not as a soldier suppress a sigh and say, 'We regret all those treacheries of Czech soldiers, still more because from their deeds committed on the side of our enemy we can realise what a splendid military material we have lost.' And if this is not sufficient, I will remind you of the opinion of those who are in your eyes the best judges--the Prussian officers. In an Austrian officers' canteen where Czech soldiers had been abused the whole evening by being called cowards, the Prussian officers present were asked to give their opinion on this point. They answered, 'We shall only be able to judge as to whether the Czechs are cowards or not when they begin to fight against us.' "You should at least be gentlemanly enough not to slander your enemies who have proved themselves to be greater heroes than any other soldiers, because they are voluntary heroes, whereas the others are heroes under compulsion! "This question of cowardice is therefore, I hope, settled forever. "And now with regard to the title of 'traitors.' We are traitors to Austria --every one of us admits it honestly . Not one of you, however, has the right to reproach us for this. All of you are patriots by order, and it cannot be otherwise in a dynastic state like Austria. "With regard to the patriotism of the Magyars, we have proofs of this dating from 1866. They have done the same as we are doing to-day. They surrendered and organised Klapka's legions against Austria. The fact that they were punished for their treachery by being given their own independence does not speak against us. "Yes, gentlemen, we are traitors as much as you Magyars, or as you Germans were, or would be under similar circumstances. And we want the same as you want , i.e. to be free citizens of our own state . Our own state--that does not mean to have a few officials or one more university. To have a state of our own--that means to be able to decide freely if our soldiers shall go to war again, and if they do, to see that they go only for the interests of their own nation, and not for the interests of their enemies. An independent state--that means for us no longer to die by order of foreigners, and no longer to live under foreign domination. "Let me remind the gentlemen on the German benches of a lesson in history. Up till 1866 Germany was nominally under the sceptre of the Habsburg dynasty--a German dynasty, mind you. Prussia and Northern Germany felt the indignity of the 'foreign' rule of the Habsburgs--and they started the fratricidal war in 1866 in order to get rid of this rule.... "It is for you gentlemen on the German benches to speak! Let him who regrets the blood then spilt stand up and speak. Let him stand up and condemn Bismarck and William I. who started the war in order to deliver Germany from the same yoke from which we are trying to free ourselves to-day. If there is a single man among the Germans who would be prepared to say that the war against Austria should never have happened, let him stand up. That war was carried on to free Germany from the incapable rule of Vienna and it had the same aim in view which you reproach us with to-day and call high treason! "You are silent, gentlemen! We are satisfied with your silence. And now go and continue to stone and abuse us." 5. In the meantime, Professor Masaryk arrived in the United States via Japan in May, 1918. He was accorded a splendid reception at Chicago where some 200,000 Czecho-Slovaks, as well as various Allied representatives, greeted him. His presence in the United States not only stimulated recruiting among Czecho-Slovaks there, but had also political results, especially when the Central Powers launched their peace offensive. At the end of May, Mr. Lansing issued the following statement: "The Secretary of State desires to announce that the proceedings of the Congress of Oppressed Nationalities of Austria-Hungary which was held in Rome in April have been followed with great interest by the Government of the United States, and that the nationalist aspirations of the Czecho-Slovaks and Jugoslavs have the earnest sympathy of this government." This declaration was endorsed by the representatives of Great Britain, France and Italy at Versailles on June 3, 1918. On June 29, Mr. Lansing completed and explained his statement as follows: "Since the issuance by this government on May 29 of a statement regarding the nationalist aspirations for freedom of the Czecho-Slovaks and Jugoslavs, German and Austrian officials have sought to misinterpret and distort its manifest interpretation. In order, therefore, that there may be no misunderstanding concerning the meaning of this statement, the Secretary of State to-day further announces the position of the United States Government to be that all branches of the Slav race should be completely freed from German and Austrian rule ." On the following day, that is on June 30, 1918, President Poincaré presented the Czecho-Slovak army with a flag and delivered an inspiring speech to them. On the occasion of the handing of this flag by President Pioncaré to the Czecho-Slovak army, M. Pichon, the Minister for Foreign Affairs, on behalf of the government of the French Republic, addressed the following letter to Dr. Edouard Beneš, the general secretary of the Czecho-Slovak National Council in Paris: "At the moment when the 21st Regiment of Chasseurs, the first unit of the autonomous Czecho-Slovak army in France, after receiving its flag, is leaving its quarters to take up its position in a sector amongst its French brothers-in-arms, the Republican Government, in recognition of your efforts and your attachment to the Allied cause, considers it just and necessary to proclaim the right of your nation to its independence and to recognise publicly and officially the National Council as the supreme organ of its general interests and the first step towards a future Czecho-Slovak Government . "During many centuries the Czecho-Slovak nation has enjoyed the incomparable benefit of independence. It has been deprived of this independence through the violence of the Habsburgs allied to the German princes. The historic rights of nations are imperishable. It is for the defence of these rights that France, attacked, is fighting to-day together with her Allies. The cause of the Czechs is especially dear to her. "France will never forget the Prague manifestation of December 8, 1870. Neither will she forget the resistance of its population and the refusal of Czech soldiers to fight for Austria-Hungary, for which heroism thousands of these patriots paid with their lives. France has also heard the appeals of the Czech deputies of January 6, April 13, and May 16, 1918. "Faithful to the principles of respect for nationalities and the liberation of oppressed nations, the Government of the Republic considers the claims of the Czecho-Slovak nation as just and well founded, and will, at the right moment, support with all its solicitude the realisation of your aspirations to independence within the historic boundaries of your territories at present suffering under the oppressive yoke of Austria and Hungary. "It is very pleasant for me, Monsieur le Secrétaire Général, to make this declaration. Your sentiments, reflecting those of your compatriots, are for me the measure of the high degree of the future happiness of your country. "In the name of the Government of the French Republic I tender my warmest and most sincere wishes that the Czecho-Slovak State may speedily become, through the common efforts of all the Allies and in close union with Poland and the Jugoslav State, an insurmountable barrier to Teutonic aggression and a factor for peace in a reconstituted Europe in accordance with the principles of justice and rights of nationalities." It is unnecessary to add long comments to this clear and explicit state paper which forms a veritable pledge on the part of France to secure Czecho-Slovak independence. It is a recognition of Bohemia's right to independence and of the National Council as the supreme organ of the Czecho-Slovak nation abroad. At the same time it is also an acceptance of our programme of the reorganisation of Central Europe, necessitating the break-up of Austria, and in this respect it is also a success and a pledge for the Poles and Yugoslavs. 6. If France and Italy showed such deep understanding of the cause of Bohemia's liberty, exhibited in practice by special military conventions concluded with our National Council, Great Britain may be proud of no less generosity. Although having no direct interests in seeing Bohemia independent, Great Britain, true to her traditions as a champion of the liberties of small nations, did not hesitate to give us a declaration which not only fully endorses all pledges of France and Italy, but which goes still further and practically recognises our full national sovereignty. On August 9, 1918, His Majesty's Government issued the following declaration: "Since the beginning of the war the Czecho-Slovak nation has resisted the common enemy by every means in its power. The Czecho-Slovaks have constituted a considerable army, fighting on three different battlefields and attempting, in Russia and Siberia, to arrest the Germanic invasion. " In consideration of their efforts to achieve independence, Great Britain regards the Czecho-Slovaks as an Allied nation and recognises the unity of the three Czecho-Slovak armies as an Allied and belligerent army waging a regular warfare against Austria-Hungary and Germany . "Great Britain also recognises the right of the Czecho-Slovak National Council as the supreme organ of the Czecho-Slovak national interests, and as the present trustee of the future Czecho-Slovak Government to exercise supreme authority over this Allied and belligerent army ." It will be readily seen of what a tremendous significance this declaration is from an international point of view. Apart from the fact that it recognises our efforts towards independence, the declaration says explicitly that the Czecho-Slovaks, abroad and at home, are an Allied nation, which implies that the Allies will treat them henceforward as such, and will allow their government to establish consular service and to send representatives to Allied conferences. The sovereignty both of the Czecho-Slovak army and of the National Council is fully recognised in this declaration which proclaims "the unity of the three Czecho-Slovak armies (in Russia, France and Italy) as an Allied and belligerent army waging regular warfare against Austria." Only a sovereign army is a belligerent army waging regular warfare. Thus the Czecho-Slovaks, according to international law, are no more rebels but regular soldiers whom, when captured, Austria has no more the right to execute. Similarly also the recognition of the National Council as the "trustee" of the Czecho-Slovak Government is clear and explicit; in fact a "trustee" is the word applied to a provisional government of a state. As a matter of fact, the National Council, on the ground of this recognition of full sovereignty, was constituted as a Provisional Government on October 14, 1918, and has the power to exercise all rights appertaining to a sovereign and independent government. Thus implicitly Great Britain considers Czecho-Slovak independence already a fait accompli . It speaks of and considers a Czecho-Slovak State no more as a probability, but as a certainty. As with the Czecho-Slovaks so with Great Britain, Austria exists no more. The recognition is of additional importance because it comes from Great Britain who has always been considered a traditional friend of Austria, and who is known for conservatism in foreign politics. The decision to issue a declaration of such far-reaching importance was surely arrived at only after due and careful deliberation. The step which Great Britain has taken thereby once more proves the deep sense of justice and the far-sightedness of British statesmen. Needless to say that the Czecho-Slovaks will always remain grateful to Great Britain for this bold and generous act. Its immediate effect has been consternation in Vienna and encouragement both to the Czecho-Slovak soldiers fighting on the side of the Entente and to the Czech leaders courageously defending Bohemia's rights in Vienna. As deputy Klofáč put it at a meeting in Laibach on August 15: "Henceforward the Czechs will refuse to hold any negotiations with Vienna, with whom any compromise is now out of the question. The Czecho-Slovaks will firmly continue the struggle for complete national independence, strengthened by the support of other Slavs, and by the knowledge that the British and other Allied governments had formally acknowledged and were working for the establishment of an independent Czecho-Slovak State." This chapter would not be complete if we did not quote the subsequent declarations of the United States of America and Japan, practically endorsing the British declaration. On September 3, Mr. Lansing issued the following statement: "The Czecho-Slovak peoples having taken up arms against the German and Austro-Hungarian empires, and having placed in the field organised armies, which are waging war against those empires under officers of their own nationality and in accordance with the rules and practices of civilised nations, and Czecho-Slovaks having in the prosecution of their independence in the present war confided the supreme political authority to the Czecho-Slovak National Council, the Government of the United States recognises that a state of belligerency exists between the Czecho-Slovaks thus organised and the German and Austro-Hungarian empires. "It also recognises the Czecho-Slovak National Council as a de facto belligerent government , clothed with proper authority to direct the military and political affairs of the Czecho-Slovaks. "The Government of the United States further declares that it is prepared to enter formally into relations with the de facto government thus recognised for the purpose of prosecuting the war against the common enemy, the empires of Germany and Austria-Hungary." A week later the Japanese Government, through the medium of its ambassador in London, communicated the following declaration to the Czecho-Slovak National Council: "The Japanese Government have noted with deep and sympathetic interest the just aspirations of the Czecho-Slovak people for a free and independent national existence. These aspirations have conspicuously been made manifest in their determined and well-organised efforts to arrest the progress of the Germanic aggression. "In these circumstances, the Japanese Government are happy to regard the Czecho-Slovak army as an Allied and belligerent army waging regular warfare against Austria-Hungary and Germany, and to recognise the rights of the Czecho-Slovak National Council to exercise the supreme control over that army. They are further prepared to enter into communication with the duly authorised representatives of the Czecho-Slovak National Council, whenever necessary, on all matters of mutual interest to the Japanese and the Czecho-Slovak forces in Siberia." VII THE CZECHS AT HOME BEGIN TO SPEAK The opening of the Reichsrat in May, 1917, was intended to give Austria the appearance of a "democratic" country in which diverse nationalities live in peace and happiness. Democratic indeed! A parliament, subject to censorship, lacking the freedom of speech and all influence on the government, with 463 members instead of 516, many of whom were still in prison and in exile! And if there was still any person in the Allied countries having any doubts concerning the attitude of the Czechs and Yugoslavs, these doubts were certainly dispelled after the courageous indictment against Austria made by the Slav deputies, representing practically all the Czech and Yugoslav political parties. The declaration of the Poles in favour of a united and independent Poland, the statement of Messrs. Staněk and Korošec in the name of all Czechs and Yugoslavs in favour of a Czecho-Slovak and Yugoslav State, the speech of deputy Kalina denying all responsibility of the Czechs for the war, and expressing Czech sympathies with the Entente Powers, and the terrible story of persecutions which the Czechs had to suffer from Austria during the war, told by deputy Stříbrný, formed a veritable "Mene Tekel," a death sentence pronounced by the Austrian Slavs on their tyrants in Vienna and Budapest. The revelation in the Reichsrat of the hopeless state of decay prevailing in Austria-Hungary was, of course, due to the Russian Revolution. If it was not for the Russian Revolution, the Austrian Emperor and Clam-Martinic would perhaps have continued their reign of absolutism by way of imperial decrees, and they would never have dreamt of convoking the Reichsrat. However, the desperate economic and political situation forced Austria to find some way out of her difficulties, and to plead for peace as she began to realise that otherwise she was doomed. The change of order and the situation in Russia and the uncertain attitude of some Allied statesmen seemed favourable for the Austrian calculations respecting a separate peace. But Austria could not possibly hope to deceive free Russia or the Allies and lure them into concluding a premature peace if the reign of terrorism and absolutism still prevailed in the Dual Monarchy. For this reason Tisza, with his sinister reputation, was forced to go, and the Reichsrat was convened. Austria based her plans on the ignorance of some Allied politicians who really believed in the "new orientation" of the Vienna Government because of the Bohemian names (not sympathies) of Clam-Martinic and Czernin. In the same way Austria wanted to make outsiders believe that a change in the name of the Hungarian Premier meant a change of system, and that the convocation of the Reichsrat meant a new era of "democracy" in Austria. 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. Staněk, 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 Staněk 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. Stránský , 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 Stříbrný , 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. Kramář was hailed like a sovereign when he entered Prague again. He now became the recognised leader of the whole nation. The Národní 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 Rašín 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. Stránský, 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, Zahradník , 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 Staněk 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. Stránský 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. Staněk 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 Modráček 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.