detail. That, too, is why our movement produced considerable influence on current thought, since it everywhere succeeded in demonstrating the sound theoretical basis from which it was derived.
We formulated our proposals and schemes in various ways on various occasions, but always in a direct and graphic manner so that Western Europe, unacquainted with our trend of thought, and without sufficient practical knowledge of Central Europe, could immediately and easily understand our meaning. It was particularly important for us to devise an effective formulation of the problem, and thus to secure the interest of prominent people who had no time to listen to long explanations. Several of our propagandist publications, leaflets, maps, and memoranda were models of what propaganda should be, for they provided a graphic statement of our case, and at the same time were accurate as to the facts.
All this made Masaryk’s stay in Paris a landmark in the history of our revolutionary movement.
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From the very beginning Štefánik emphasized the necessity for rapidly organizing political headquarters. In particular he was afraid that there might be personal antagonisms, and in this way he wanted to avoid them. I myself was not satisfied with the casual and primitive form of the Foreign Committee. Moreover, there were factors in the political psychology then current which compelled us to settle the matter promptly. The Allies as a whole, including even the French, had no knowledge of us as a nation, or of our aims, plans, and ideals. They had no very high opinion of our colonists and émigrés. While acknowledging that the latter were in the main quite estimable people with excellent intentions, our Allied friends did not conceal from us their fears that it would be easy for enemy agents to conceal themselves among them.
As I have already stated, Masaryk in the spring of 1915 drew up a special circular in which he defined the duties of the colonists, and their relationship to the Czechoslovak political movement. He indicated quite clearly that the colonists would
