Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk

“ The spirit of courage and endurance which had enabled the Czechoslovaks to achieve their independence was now to inspire a further work of no mean significance the consolidation of a free, democratic and enlightened republic in the heart of Europe, the most westerly outpost of the great Slavonic world stretching from the banks of the Elbe and the Danube to the Pacific Ocean, and at the same time a nation bound by ties of gratitude and common interest to the Anglo-Saxon and Latin races. "At home we feel sufficiently confident," said Dr. ”

“ Since the beginning of the war the Czechoslovak nation has resisted the common enemy by every means in its power. The Czechoslovaks have constituted a considerable army, fighting on three different battle-fields and attempting, in Russia and Siberia, to arrest the Germanic invasion. In consideration of their efforts to achieve independence, Great Britain regards the Czechoslovaks as an Allied nation and recognizes the unity of the three Czechoslovak armies as an Allied and belligerent army waging a regular warfare against Austria-Hungary and Germany. ”

“ To make any alteration in its frontiers a constitutional law is required—a law which, as opposed to an ordinary law, has to be passed by a three-fifths majority of Parliament. Russinia (Sub-Carpathian Russia) is granted the widest possible autonomy compatible with the integrity of the Czechoslovak Republic. The Chamber of Deputies is elected for six years, the Senate for eight. Deputies must be at least 26, senators 45 years of age. They possess immunity, but may be handed over to the ordinary courts by resolution of the House to which they belong. Parliament must sit twice a year. ”

“ Rich in natural resources and peopled by an intelligent, experienced and frugal population, the country had every reason to look forward to a prosperous industrial development in the future. Without Slovakia the republic would be mainly an industrial State: with it there is a slight preponderance in favour of agriculture, 41·5% of the entire population being occupied on or in connexion with the land and 38% in industry and commerce.
In special branches of industry Czechoslovakia is prominent among European countries, as for instance in the production of sugar and glass. ”

“ The population of Czechoslovakia is ethnologically of a mixed character. The prevailing element is that of the Czechs (7 millions) , with whom the Slovaks (2 1/2 millions) form one people; indeed as long ago as the 9th century the kingdom of Great Moravia, with frontiers roughly identical with the present boundaries of the Czechoslovak Republic, was the creation of the Slav people, who occupied in common a territory stretching from W. Bohemia to the Carpathians. ”

“ The Army.—The military forces of the republic were organized, immediately on the attainment of independence, on a democratic basis. The army was formed of the legionaries who had fought in Russia, France and Italy on the side of the Allies, and of those Czechoslovak troops who, on the collapse of Austria-Hungary, streamed back from the various fronts. Recruits now serve for two years, and the strength of the army is fixed at 150,000. This force, which is in essence a militia, is designed to be something different from a mere fighting machine. ”

“ Of the non-Czechoslovak races in the republic the Germans are the most numerous, numbering some 35 millions, chiefly dispersed along the W. and N. frontiers of Bohemia and in Moravia and Silesia. Their presence is largely the result, firstly of a colonization which was favoured by the Bohemian kings and princes of the 12th and 13th centuries, and secondly of a policy of Germanization pursued by the Habsburg rulers from the date of the battle of the White Mountain in 1620 (when the Czechs lost their independence) up till the very close of the World War. ”

“ The Social Democrats were well organized among the industrial workers and agricultural labourers. They pursued a Marxist programme aiming at the socialization of the State, the means of production and consumption: they were opposed to a dictatorship of the proletariat, and were for evolutionary as opposed to revolutionary methods. They supported the peace policy of the Czechoslovak Government in foreign affairs, and were strongly opposed to intervention in Russia. They were also in favour of a closer cooperation with the German democratic element in the State. ”

“ Communications.—As a wholly inland nation, Czechoslovakia has to rely in the matter of transport upon its railways and its water-ways, notably the Elbe, which connects the republic with Hamburg and the North Sea, and the Danube, which unites it with the east of Europe and the Balkans. Under the peace treaties Czechoslovakia acquired her own docks and warehouses in the harbour of Hamburg. Before the war the Czechoslovak traffic on the Elbe totalled some 4 million tons annually. ”

“ Difference in religious belief, confession or language, constitute no obstacle to any citizen in regard to entry into the public services or offices, to the attainment to any promotion or dignity, or to the exercise of any trade or calling. In towns and districts in which there lives a considerable section (20% or more) of citizens speaking a language other than Czechoslovak, schools are to be provided, the instruction to be imparted in the language of that minority. ”

“ We shall count upon the devotion of all towards the State and we shall show that not only have we been able to achieve our liberty but that we know how to preserve it and to be really free worthy of our great past, of our traditions and of our sufferings. ”

“ The president of the republic enjoys such executive power as is expressly assigned to him by the constitution, and he has his own office—the president's bureau—presided over by a permanent official, to conduct such matters as fall within his competence and to facilitate communication with the rest of the executive. ”

“ In large industrial centres there are also industrial courts to deal with disputes between employers and workpeople. At Prague there sits also an electoral court which decides upon the validity of disputed elections or forfeiture of seats and other questions relating to parliamentary or elected bodies. A constitutional court decides whether laws promulgated by Parliament are in harmony with the charter of the constitution.
Previous to 1918 the territories now composing the Czechoslovak Republic were of course subject to the Austrian or Hungarian code of laws respectively. ”

“ Czechoslovakia, as already indicated, is not only an industrial State: it possesses at the same time a highly developed agriculture in which over 40% of the entire population is engaged, that is to say, some 5,700,000 persons are workers in some way or other connected with the land. ”

“ We, the Czechoslovak nation, desiring to consolidate the perfect unity of our people, to establish the reign of justice in the Republic, to assure the peaceful development of our native Czechoslovak land, to contribute to the common welfare of all citizens of this State and to secure the blessings of freedom to coming generations, have in our National Assembly this 29th day of February 1920 adopted the following Constitution for the Czechoslovak Republic ”

“ Every act tending to force a citizen to abandon his nationality in other words oppression of a citizen on account of his race is expressly prohibited.
Creation of the Republic.—When in July 1914 Austria commenced hostilities against Serbia, thus bringing about the World War, this act of aggression took place against the will of the Czechs and Slovaks, at that time subject to Austrian and Hungarian rule respectively. ”

“ The demand for the nationalization of the great landed estates was thus not only supported as a social and economic necessity in order to provide the landless population, notably the legionaries, with land, but was, deep in the minds of the people, regarded as a legal rectification of the wrongs suffered through the confiscations which followed the defeat of the White Mountain. ”

“ The idea underlying these councils was to create, as it were, a certain constitution for factories by which the workman who had hitherto been a mere machine should become a creative factor, closely identified with the organization of the undertaking, conscious of responsibility, and thus making of democracy the same reality in economic life as it had already become in political life. ”

“ Suffrage is universal, both men and women who have attained the age of 21 years being able to vote in elections to the House of Deputies. To vote in elections to the Senate the voter must have reached the age of twenty-six.
The president of the republic is elected in a joint session of the two Chambers. ”

“ From the modest and simple art of the patriotic poets and novelists of the first half of the 19th century, whose work nevertheless was an influential factor in the awakening of a national sentiment among the common people, Czech literature, after a period characterized by the romanticism of Mácha and the critical realism of Havlíček, arrived at a school which, while it took its inspiration from the sources of the national spirit, did not shut itself out from foreign influences. ”

“ The Czechs and the Slovaks, or, to give them their united name, the Czechoslovaks, are a branch of the great Slav family of which the Russians are the most numerous and the most important member and to which the Serbo-Croats with the Slovenes, the Poles, the Bulgarians and the Wends of Germany also belong. ”

“ The Czechs at home declined even discussion with the Vienna Government, and declared that the question of Czechoslovakia must be left to the Peace Conference. On the 18th the Provisional Government at Paris issued a declaration of independence, signed by Prof. Masaryk, Dr. Beneš and Gen. Štefánik. On Oct. 27 the Austro-Hungarian Government recognized the rights of the Czechoslovaks, and cabled to President Wilson at Washington a request for an armistice and peace negotiations. ”

“ Agriculture is encouraged by a suitable system of education. Since it came into being the republic had by 1921 founded 13 new agricultural schools, and in all there were 180 agricultural and forestry schools (higher and elementary) , including the so-called "winter schools," while more than 50 periodicals appeared regularly for the technical instruction of those engaged in agriculture. The agricultural interests were also represented directly in the Parliament by a strong Agrarian party.
The foreign trade of Czechoslovakia was in 1921 growing steadily in volume. ”

“ This restriction does not apply to the first president—President Masaryk.
The president of the republic is not answerable at law for his official acts. He may be impeached in one case only namely, for high treason, on the motion of the Chamber of Deputies; and his only punishment, if found guilty, is the loss of his office and disability ever to hold it again. For each and all of his State acts one minister at least is responsible. ”

“ Such a minority has also a right to a proportionate amount of the funds set aside by the State or by the local authorities for purposes of education, religion or philanthropy. The courts of justice and the public offices are also required to pay due regard in respect of language to the desires of a minority which numbers at least 20% of the inhabitants of the locality. ”

“ During their term of service the men are given not only military training but also educational advantages, as well as the opportunity of learning some handicraft. Well-organized continuation schools and systematic courses of lectures aim at providing the young soldier with a complete adult education. The Sokol societies, in collaboration with the army gymnastic clubs and with the Y.M.C.A., devote themselves systematically to the physical and moral welfare of the troops. ”

“ Social Legislation.—The democratic sentiment of the Czechoslovak nation, and its maturity in social matters, resulted in the adoption of a social policy which, while proceeding without undue haste, was characterized by a comparatively rapid course of reform. Social legislation first took the form of accident and sickness insurance. ”

“ Exceptionally fine hops are grown in the Žatec (Saaz) district of Bohemia, and of these no less than 40% are exported. The republic has 676 breweries and 140 malt-houses.
With an area of over 10 million ac. of forest it is only natural that Czechoslovakia exports not merely large quantities of timber but also furniture, bent-wood furniture, toys, musical instruments, etc. Of the bent-wood furniture 90 % is exported and finds a ready market in England and America. Paper is also produced to the extent of some 250,000 tons annually. ”

“ A vast measure of freedom, compared with their position under the Austrian regime, has been granted to women both politically and socially. Politically women are now the equals of men, and there is nothing legally to prevent a woman occupying any position in the various professions or in the administration of the State. In the two Houses of Parliament they were represented in 1921 by 16 members. ”

“ The republic of Czechoslovakia is a new creation in respect of its name and state-form only. Its modern history as an independent entity begins with the dramatic collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy at the close of the World War, and the definitive proclamation of Czechoslovak independence on Oct. ”

“ The yield of iron ore is almost one million tons annually, while gold, silver, tin, graphite and salt are also mined. Iron and steel foundries exist at Kladno near Prague, as well as in Moravia and in Slovakia. Their blast furnaces produce 1,700,000 tons of pig-iron annually. The output of steel amounts to 298,000 tons, iron in bars 400,000 tons, iron girders 130,000 tons and sheet-iron 34,000 tons. Czechoslovakia manufactures and exports agricultural machinery, plant for sugar refineries and distilleries, locomotives, railway carriages and trucks and other rolling-stock, motor-cars, tractors. ”

“ Of porcelain 30,000 tons is produced annually in 68 factories, Karlovy Vary (Carlsbad) being the chief centre of the pottery industry.
Glass manufacture in Bohemia dates from the 15th century. Bohemian glass enjoys a world-wide reputation, which is well deserved: the crystal ware of Bor (Haida) , the imitation jewelry and stones of Jablonec (Gablonz) , the paste and semi-precious stones of Turnov, are exported to every part of the globe. Over 60,000 work-people are employed in the glass industry.
Leather is among the more important manufactures of Czechoslovakia. ”

“ A first step towards democratizing industrial undertakings was taken by an enactment touching mining councils. By this enactment it is made possible, where more than 20 workers are employed, for an elected council to cooperate in securing the welfare of the workers, to see to the due execution of contracts and agreements, to settle disputes, and to take part in the management of philanthropic institutions. ”