the contact with Prague which was so necessary for our work in Paris.
My former relations with Albert Thomas made it possible for me at an early date—on October 16th—to get into touch with Professor Roques, his personal secretary at the Ministry of Munitions. At about the same time the members of the “Rovnost” (Equality), a Czech Socialist society in Paris, asked me to give a public lecture for the French Socialist organizations. I agreed; but I wanted a Frenchman also to speak at the same meeting, and I applied to Paul Louis, a Socialist and journalist whom I had known previously as the author of a history of the Labour movement in France. At that time Paul Louis was one of the foreign editors of the Petit Parisien. The lecture was held, and Paul Louis spoke ably on Austria and against Austria. In this way we gained fresh ground.
Paul Louis, who had been surprised by what I reported about the situation in Austria-Hungary, was anxious for me to speak to somebody in the Foreign Ministry. He referred me to M. l’Hermit, an acquaintance of his and then an influential official, who received me on November 16th and discussed Austro-Hungarian affairs with me. This did not immediately lead to any appreciable result, but, considering that I was an unknown foreigner, it was an important beginning, since it opened up a channel which, by systematic work and further connections, became more and more extensive and gradually led to definite political results.
It was about the same time that I met Auguste Gauvain, one of those men who, during the war, rendered valuable services to our cause in France. At the end of September 1915 I had become acquainted with the journalist P. Quirielle, through the painter L. Strimpl, who is now our Minister in Belgium, and Quirielle introduced me to Gauvain on November 10th, shortly before we took open action against Austria-Hungary. I was anxious for Gauvain on this occasion to write something about our cause.
Gauvain, the foreign editor of the Journal des Débats, was one of those French journalists who, from the very beginning of the war, thoroughly realized its significance and meaning. He was well acquainted with Austro-Hungarian politics, and it was no drawback to him that he was on the staff of a Conservative paper with Catholic tendencies. From the beginning to the end his attitude towards Vienna and Budapest was unrelenting,
