the Russian front had produced an uneasiness which we all still remember. It was important for me to obtain as much interesting political and military news as possible, and I therefore made notes of what Masaryk and Svatkovsky had told me, especially about conditions in the seats of war and the action of our troops in Russia and France. I also bought a large number of military and political books which it would be possible to use at home for propagandist purposes. On my way back, I hid my written notes under the seat of the railway carriage in which I made the journey direct from Zurich to Vienna, and I put the parcel of books in the lavatory among the belongings of the railway employees. In this way I managed to pass successfully through two inspections. My passport had been taken away from me after an unpleasant scene at the Austrian Consulate in Zurich and had been replaced by a new one which entitled me only to return to Prague and would then be no longer valid.
I reached Prague in the middle of February and at once began to carry out our plans. I first delivered all the messages to Dr. Scheiner and Dr. Šámal, the latter of whom agreed to speak to Dr. Kramář and arrange for me to meet him. This meeting took place shortly after my return at Dr. Šámal’s residence, where from that time onwards all the chief meetings of the “Maffia” were held.
It was my first meeting with Dr. Kramář, and the impression it left upon me was an agreeable one. Dr. Kramář received me in that cordial manner which is typical of him, and when I gave him an account of affairs in Switzerland and had delivered the messages from there he expressed complete agreement with Masaryk’s undertaking.
From a political and military point of view the time was fairly favourable. The course of events on the Serbian and Russian fronts looked black for Vienna and Budapest. In Serbia, after the loss of Belgrade, Austria was unable to take any further action at all, while in Galicia the Russians were approaching Cracow. As Dr. Kramář was absolutely certain of a victory for Russia, Svatkovsky’s recommendation, which I had brought with me, gained me his complete confidence. He agreed with the duties I had undertaken and expressed confidence in the course of action proposed by Dr. Šámal. We were to remain in constant personal touch, and whenever necessary we were to meet at Dr. Šámal’s.
