been working very closely at the organization of a national army from 1916 onwards. The Poles did not have our opportunities in Russia, Italy, or even at first in France, and probably for reasons of their own they did not wish to ventilate the question of the prisoners of war to the extent that we had done. They therefore had recourse chiefly to the United States, where their activities were concerned solely with volunteers. Their organization in America was a strong one, partly because of the large number of Polish emigrants there, partly also because of the good feeling which had been shown towards them by the American Government and people ever since the beginning of the war, such as had not been shared in the same degree by other oppressed nations. The position of the Poles in America proved advantageous to us also, just as elsewhere they benefited by the more privileged status which we had secured.
The French Government, having first accepted the Polish scheme and then ours, began to give them practical effect. It was decided to send a special political mission for this purpose to America. This mission was to be headed by M. Franklin-Bouillon, and its aim was expressly stated thus: “To secure the consent of the United States Government for recruiting volunteers from the emigrants in America for the Slav national armies in France.” This referred to the Polish and Czechoslovak armies.
The political importance of this mission was considerable. Franklin-Bouillon was a prominent statesman, and at that time was also a parliamentary deputy. The undertaking had been arranged at a moment when America’s entry into the war had aroused general enthusiasm. Under these circumstances such a step on the part of France was a sign of further progress towards our goal.
At this time Franklin-Bouillon was actively engaged with the Inter-Allied Parliamentary Committee, the purpose of which was to seek for new paths of collaboration in the war, and thus to help towards a speedy victory. The secretary of the French group was E. Fournol, with whom I co-operated very closely.
From 1916 onwards, and more especially since the outbreak of the Russian revolution, this body had been paying very careful attention to Slavonic matters, and to the problems of Central Europe generally. It was, I believe, among the members
