VI
THE PROPAGANDIST ACTIVITY OF OUR REVOLUTIONARY MOVEMENT
(a) The Organization of our Propaganda and its Centres in France
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After the publication of the manifesto on November 14, 1915, our work continued to be mainly propagandist, because, for the time being, this was the kind of work of which we stood most in need. Not only the public, but also official circles had so imperfect a knowledge of us that it was necessary to begin from the very ABC of the subject.
The official reception of Masaryk by Briand, however, the establishment and organization of our political headquarters and official national body in Paris, as well as the precise formulation of our programme, provided us with at least a hint of the direction which our further activities should take. The outward indication of this was only a gradual process. On the whole, we continued our work on the same lines as before, but nevertheless from political propagandists we were developing more and more into military organizers and, later on, into diplomats.
Our activity thus begins to assume the following aspects:
(a) Propaganda.
(b) Work connected with prisoners of war and troops.
(c) Political and diplomatic work.
It will perhaps give a clearer idea of our work if I deal with each of these separately.
The development of our movement from propaganda to politics, especially in France, took place in the first half of 1916. In the second half of that year there began an intensive and well-organized activity in connection with prisoners of war and troops generally. From August 1916 onwards I deliberately modified what I had hitherto been doing in my capacity as General Secretary of the National Council. I now
