CZECHOSLOVAK INDEPENDENCE
It is clear now, as was clear then to many, that the President intended to show that the peoples of Austria-Hungary must decide their own fate, and that no new form of government would, or could, be imposed from the outside. Also, one must admit the awful and solemn responsibility assumed by the chief of any state once he decides to declare, and does declare, for the dissolution of an Empire which, after all is said, had existed and functioned for centuries. However, to the Czech leaders in this country the speech brought home the fact that much still remained to be done, and that, in the last analysis, when the really critical moment came the fate of the Czechoslovak nation must be decided at home, by those living within its old historical boundaries, and that those active abroad, standing alone, could not bring about the realization of their great ideal. Nevertheless, the Czechoslovak public in this country demanded that their spokesmen do something, as the public always does demand in similar situations. But what to do and how to do it was a delicate question. Finally two measures were adopted.
The director of the Slav Press Bureau, in this capacity and as Vice-President of the Bohemian National Alliance, addressed a letter to the chief
[ 46 ]
