special military agreement instead of the hitherto existing decree issued in December 1917. This decree was no longer in accordance with the juridical state of affairs which had now been arranged, or with the stage which our political and juridical independence had now reached. It was therefore my aim that our army should be dealt with in a manner analogous to the juridical status achieved by our cause as a whole. This, however, was a very delicate matter, and I had to proceed with extreme caution, as otherwise the military circles would have opposed us. I also wanted to take advantage of this opportunity for emphasizing the fact that we ourselves would maintain our army and Government, and that after peace was concluded we would defray all expenses.
The extent of these demands can be grasped by anyone with a sense of politics. They show the logical and systematic manner in which our progress was made. Every fresh set of negotiations, every fresh diplomatic document necessarily denoted progress in the construction of our State. I hasten to point out that I never concealed any of these plans from the Allies, nor did I ever confront them unexpectedly with anything. I quite frankly explained our aims to them and always let them know the real purpose which I had in view.
The wording of the agreement, which complied with all the fundamental points in my demands, provided me yet again with an indication that we were proceeding on the right lines. We had achieved everything which could be achieved and which at that period we needed. Negotiations were completed about September 10, 1918.
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Together with the accord on the text of the agreement, the Quai d’Orsay took due note of my information that at an early date we intended, in a formal and public manner, to announce the establishment of a provisional Government and to appoint diplomatic representatives. This was to be done at the moment which we should consider the most suitable according to the circumstances.
I therefore made the final preparations for this concluding phase of our diplomatic struggle for an independent State. In notifying Masaryk about all the important developments which ensued during my negotiations, I still had to arrange with him in detail for the course of action and the principles
