ITALY AND GERMANY
“Germany will not forget that without the honest, yet perhaps not quite friendly, concern with which Italy declared her neutrality on 2 August 1914, the battle of the Marne would have been impossible, and the Teutonic dream of power and empire would perhaps have been realised. Tenacious in her hates, she will not forget that Italian intervention in May 1915 occurred at the most critical moment for the Entente. She will not forget that it was only Italy’s exit from the Triple Alliance which made Roumania’s attitude possible. The Germans forget nothing, and one of the fundamental characteristics of their race is this community between past, present and future.
“If we leave the war without having guaranteed our future by solid and lasting alliances we shall be risking hours of grave difficulty for our existence. . . . I regard this as our main task at present. I am also sure that the announcement of a long-period alliance between the States now sharing the same dangers and the same hopes, would serve greatly to shorten the duration of the war, by robbing Germany of all hope of future dissensions. . . .
“Italy, by her character and moderation (mitezza), by the very fact that, as a country of ancient civilisation, she is not tempted into coarse violence—Italy will never be a danger in Europe. In the past she was the object of every desire, the theatre of every struggle, the admiration of every predatory race; when she was powerful she made her mark by arts and commerce. The peoples of Central Europe have, for over 1,000 years, had no other thought save the formation of the great Empire which now comes in under new forms. Hence we must have alliances which shall save us from vengeance or reprisal; but no violent or overweening act will ever come from us.”
An Appeal to the Russian Soviet
[The following open letter sent by Professor Masaryk to the Committee of Soldiers’ and Workmen’s Delegates was published by Russkoye Slovo (30 October. It deals with the instructions given by the C.S.W.D, to its representative at the Paris Conference.]
“In the instructions there were laid down the bases for the future constitution of the whole world and, indirectly, of our people also. Consequently, I have the right to speak about them; it is also my duty, as the instructions violate the principle of self-determination of peoples, as accepted by the Russian Revolution, and also are opposed to democracy. The instructions hold to the principle of the self-determination of peoples and even establish the autonomy of Dobrudja (where there are 250,000 Turks), but say nothing about the Czechs and Slovaks who number ten millions. The people of Hus and Komenski, a people not less cultured than its oppressors, is forgotten. The Roumanians of Hungary, who number more than three millions, and almost six millions of Jugoslavs are forgotten, while Bosnia and Herzegovina, which are part of the Jugoslav people, are separated from their own people.
“The principle of self-determination pre-supposes not only the
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