Prague, but none came. He wanted to come out into the open as soon as possible, particularly at the time of the Austro-Hungarian reverses in Serbia and on the Eastern Front, but the people at home asked him to wait because there was a fear of persecution by the Austrian Government. He was thus compelled to bide his time while political and military events ensued in rapid succession. Seeing how little was known about our cause in the Allied countries, he could not help fearing that we were losing valuable time. It would not be possible to start a real movement for independence until open action had been taken by our responsible political representatives. In the meanwhile, there were disputes among the members of our colonies abroad, and there was a lack of leaders, particularly for managing affairs in Russia.
Professor Masaryk therefore asked me to emphasize in Prague how urgent it was to take public action at all costs. Nobody would give us something for nothing, and it would be a great political error to rely only on the Allies and especially on Russia. He also again urged the necessity of sending journalists and other political helpers abroad. To this he added his fears with regard to Russia and a rather strong criticism of the Allied policy, which was either ignorant of the German plans for Central Europe or else was making very inadequate preparations to deal with them. He drew special attention to the fact that Italy’s entrance into the war was under consideration and that concessions were being negotiated for her to the detriment of the Jugoslavs, who were not united among themselves. At the same time he gave me messages from the Jugoslavs residing abroad and also his own messages for the Jugoslavs in our country, especially for Deputy Lukinić and Dr. Lorković. The latter came to Prague shortly afterwards to see me and other persons, and he then received the message.
Svatkovsky also spoke to me in serious and emphatic, terms. He asked me point-blank to tell Dr. Kramář again from him that the Russians were dissatisfied with us, that we must do something at home, that we must set about things in a more resolute manner, that Dr. Kramář ought to escape from Prague and go to Russia. Svatkovsky, like Professor Masaryk, was dubious about the conditions in Russia. He feared for the success of the offensive against Cracow, and in particular he saw that Petrograd was either completely ignorant of the Austro-Hungarian problem or else was disin-
