III
ORIGIN AND ORGANIZATION OF THE “MAFFIA”
(a) My First Journey to Switzerland
9
A few days later Professor Masaryk left for Italy via Vienna. I continued my journeys to Vienna and Dresden, collecting material, working in the office of Cas, supplying my friends privately with information about events, and obtaining money for further work.
We received scanty news about Professor Masaryk’s stay in Italy. There were only a few messages on postcards sent to members of his family. The Austrian authorities in Rome, however, were following his activities and sent full statements about him. In particular, they had ascertained that he was in touch with the Jugoslavs, and informed Vienna about his seditious activities with Supilo and Trumbić. We received news about this from Machar and Kovanda in Vienna and we were much disturbed by it. At last we shared the view of Dr. Šámal that it would be better for Masaryk not to return. Professor Masaryk left Rome for Switzerland and on January 20, 1915, a student named Lavička, reached Prague with messages and inquiries from him as to whether he should return. I sent Lavička back with the reply that he should not, as Baron Macchio, the Austrian Ambassador in Rome, had been reporting very unfavourably on his movements. I also sent him a message to the effect that in view of the changed situation I proposed coming to Switzerland during the half-yearly university vacation at the beginning of February to make arrangements about further action.
After Lavička had left, I suddenly received a postcard from Machar asking me to come to Vienna at once as he had an important manuscript for Naše Doba. When I saw Machar he gave me the text of a telegram from the Austro-Hungarian Embassy in Rome, signed by Baron Macchio. This telegram contained the following passage: “Dragisir, mentioned in my telegrams, informs me that Professor Masaryk intends to
