The Czechoslovak Review/Volume 3/Czechoslovak Republic Consolidated

THE CZECHOSLOVAK REVIEW OFFICIAL ORGAN OF THE AMERICAN CZECHOSLOVAK BOARD
Jaroslav F. Smetanka, Editor. Published Monthly by the Bohemian Review Co., 2324 S. Central Park Ave., Chicago, Ill.
Vol. III, No. 1.	JANUARY, 1919	15 cents a Copy $1.50 per Year

 

Czechoslovak Republic Consolidated

Out of the ruins of the German, Austrian and Russian empires a number of new, democratic states are arising. But so far only one has reached the stage, where it possesses a properly functioning government, as solid, stable and truly democratic as France, England or America. The new Czechoslovak republic has justified all the high expectations of its friends.

In the orderly development which went on in Prague after the revolution of October 28th took place one has to record first of all the opening of the National Assembly on November 14th. Whereas in Germany the small group of men calling themselves the German government was practically self-appointed with a very uncertain tenure of office, while in other parts of the Austrian empire there exist makeshift governments which cannot claim to represent all the people, in Prague the Czechoslovak National Committee which assumed power on October 28th transformed itself in an orderly manner into a constitutional government. There was never any doubt that the National Committee had behind it all classes of the people, but a larger body in the nature of a parliament was felt to be necessary. And since elections would have consummed much precious time, an expedient was resorted to by which was secured a truly representative national government. The various political parties were called upon to nominate deputies in proportion to the strength shown by each party in the last general elections of 1911. Thus on November 14th a National Assembly met in the halls of the ancient Bohemian Diet, composed as follows: to the left sat 46 social democrats, 28 Czech socialists, 4 representatives of the so-called centralist social democrats; the centre was composed of 40 representatives of the democratic party of independence, 6 progressists, 4 Old Czechs; on the right sat 54 agrarians, 28 members of the Catholic party and 40 Slovaks. The socialists claimed that their present strength entitled them to a larger representation, but in the interest of harmony they waived their claim.

The first national parliament of the Czechoslovak State was opened by Dr. Karel Kramář as chairman of the National Committee. The most important part of his address was a report on the conference held at Geneva between the leaders of Prague and the representatives of the recognized Czechoslovak government. After announcing that complete harmony had been reached on all points Kramář submitted for the ratification of the Assembly the proposal of the National Committee that the independent Czechoslovak state should be declared a republic and Masaryk its first president. These proposals were unanimously adopted amid a storm of applause. A government of 16 members was then constituted with Kramář as premier, and Francis Tomasek was elected president of the Assembly.

The new government had to contend with a number of serious difficulties. Naturally the most urgent question was the food supply. An appeal was made to the patriotism of the Czech farmers, and as a result of it was possible to increase the daily rations; while there is still much suffering among the people on account of insufficient nutrition, conditions are better than they were under the Austrian rule, when the fertile Czech districts had to feed the Austrian Army and the barren lands of German Austria. The spirit of the people is kept up by promises that the Allies would soon send food, and especially fats, to the Allied Czechoslovak Republic. In other respects the internal administration was gradually overhauled and some necessary reforms introduced. All parties, including the socialists, were agreed that changes must be made gradually so as not to harm the economic and political future of the new state. A supreme court was established in Prague of which Dr. August Popelka was made presiding judge, and in addition there was also erected an administrative court under the presidency of Dr. Ferdinand Pantuček. Preliminary steps were taken to open universities in Brno and Prespurk, and reconstruction of the public school system in Slovakia was placed in charge of Jaroslav Vlček, who has been for decades the greatest expert among the Czechs and Slovak problems. Titles of nobility were abolished and the eight hour working day was introduced as a measure of social reform. Prompt action was taken against two bolshevik agitators who came to Prague in pursuance of Lenine’s general plan for creating anarchy on the ruins of Germany and Austria. They were at once expelled and at the same time the departure of 56,000 Russian prisoners in Bohemia was expedited. A national loan of one billion crowns was issued and oversubscribed; other steps were taken to introduce order into the financial administration of the republic. It may be mentioned here that nearly all Bohemian banks have largely increased their capital in expectation of the great business which the Czechs hope to carry on under the new order of things in Central and Eastern Europe.

More sensational than these internal questions were the problems of establishing a modus vivendi with the neighboring republics of Austrians, Germans and Magyars. In the Czech lands there is a considerable German minority which according to the biased Austrian census constitutes almost one-third of the population, while in Slovakia the Magyars would not release their hold on even the purely Slovak districts. German deputies from Bohemia, Moravia and Silesia after the successful Czech revolution established in Liberec a National Council for German Bohemia, subordinated to the Vienna government of German Austria. They claimed for their own all those parts of the Bohemian lands which had been under the artificial Austrian system in the hands of German municipal authorities. They even dared to claim cities lying in the very midst of purely Czech territory, such as Brno, Olomouc, Opava and others, which owing to an unfair franchise and the pressure of Austrian authorities were still under German control, as Prague itself had been up to about 50 years ago. But the German politicians found little response from their own people. First the German minorities in Czech cities reconciled themselves to the new state of affairs; then one city and district after another accepted the authority of the Prague Government, until finally Eger and Liberec itself fell into the hands of the Czechoslovak Government without a struggle. Credit is surely due to dr. Kramář’s government for their conservative methods of dealing with the threatened German secession. The Government neither employed arms, although its military strength was overwhelming, nor did it even design to use pressure by withdrawing food supplies from the diseffected districts; its statesmanlike course was justified by the surrender of German population of Bohemia.

It may be stated here that the German question which had seemed so full of complications will undoubtedly solve itself very simply. Already men who under the Austrian regime would never think of calling themselves Czechs now vie with one another in promising loyalty to the new state and using the Czech language in place of German. In cities like Hodonín, Masaryk’s birthplace, where the Germans artificially maintained their rule, German schools are empty, because most of the children attending them have been placed by their parents in Czech schools. The Jewish element of the population claims to be Czech now and speaks Czech in public. And even the new Czechoslovak army German speaking citizens of Bohemia are volunteering in great numbers.

The difficulty with the Magyars was not settled without some bloodshed. During the first days after the Czech revolution many of the districts and cities of Slovakia were abandoned by Magyar officials and gendarmes, and it was necessary for the sake of maintaining order that new officials and civilian guards should take charge in such districts. But in a few days Karolyi’s government thought that there was still a chance to hold on to Slovakia and orders were sent from Budapest to drive out the new Czechoslovak authorities from every part of the old Hungarian kingdom. In this the Magyars were supported on one occasion at least by Mackensen’s soldier who were passing through Hungary to Germany. There was a number of bloody conflicts and the small Czechoslovak guard had to retreat. In places re-occupied by Magyar authorities great cruelties were committed; members of the local Slovak National Councils were murdered and captured Czechoslovak gendarmes were hacked to pieces. The Prague government was forced to call to arms several regiments, but as everybody was anxious to avoid a new war Dr. Kramář in Prague and Dr. Beneš in Paris resorted to diplomatic means to settle the conflict. The result of their intervention was that the French military mission in Budapest served notice on Count Karolyi that the Czecho slovak government as one of the Allied governments was entitled to occupy its own territory, even though it had been formerly a part of Hungary. A provisional line was drawn running along the Danube to the river Ipol, along this river to the city of Rimaszembat, thence in an easterly direction to the river Ung, thence in a northeasterly direction to Mt. Uzsok on the Galician border. Everything north of the line thus drawn was occupied by the Czechoslovaks; Slovakia within those limits measures about 24,000 square miles and constitutes an integral part of the Czechoslovak republic. Some touching stories are told of the welcome with which the long oppressed Slovaks greeted the day of freedom. Thus one correspondent relates that in a Slovak village a peasant speaker began the celebration by saying: “This is the day which the Lord had made.” And all the people responded: “We will rejoice and be glad in it.” Then the people shouted: “Glory be to our noble liberator Wilson,” and with bared heads all sang the national hymn “Hej Slováci.”

The culmination of this first stage in the constitution of the Czechoslovak republic was the arrival of President Masaryk in Prague. After touching at London, Paris and in the Italian war zone Masaryk reached Prague on Sunday December 22nd and was received by the cabinet, the members of the National Assembly, his former colleagues of the university of Prague and hundreds of thousands of citizens. The scenes of this wonderful outpouring of national rejoicing were best described by the Prague correspondent of the London Times, from whose description the following may be quoted:

“The joyous acclaim with which the golden city of Prague welcomed Prof. Masaryk, president of Czechoslovakia, today was a perfect expression of the triumph of the cause of civilization. Perhaps never again in one’ day and place will the true significance of the great war and the sanctity of the allies’ case be so completely evident. Would that the whole allied world might have been on the banks of the Moldau and had it impressed on its heart and brain that one such day is worth the world war.

“So sure are we who viewed it that if all whom the war has bereaved or whom the war has left maimed and broken could have witnessed the joy of this nation redeemed from the bondage through victory of the allies, they would say with the heroes who died to bring it about—“It is enough; it is worth all we paid.”

Masaryk was conducted from the station to the parliament buildings to take the following oat of office. “I promise as president of the Czechoslovak republic, on my honor and conscience, that I will care for the welfare of the republic and its people and respect its laws.” In his inaugural address the great Czechoslovak leader said: “Komenský’s historic prayer has literally been fulfilled and our people, free and independent, advances, respected and supported by universal sympathy.into the community of European nations. Are we living in a fairy tale?”

The first president of the Czechoslovak republic came to Prague with an escort of several companies of Czechoslovak soldiers from the French and Italian fronts. Others had reached Prague before him on December 9th under the command of Col. Husak, and soon all those who fought in the west will come home and be reunited to their families. Only the unlucky Czechoslovaks in Siberia are still cutt off from their liberated fatherland and from their wives and children, whom the majority have not seen for four years.

 

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