sky, known to readers of the “Novoe Vremya” as “Argus,” lived also in London; and I made the acquaintance of Dioneo, a Russian emigrant, and of Prince Kropotkin, besides Professor Vinogradoff, whom I have already mentioned. Milyukoff and other members of the Duma came over from Russia in April 1916 with Protopopoff, and we agreed with Milyukoff upon our anti-Austrian programme. He issued a declaration upon it in Paris after discussing it with Beneš. Presently he came back to lecture at Oxford, where we had an opportunity of going more fully into political and military details. The Russian writer, Amfiteatroff, who went from Italy by way of London to Petrograd at the end of November 1916, should also be mentioned. He was to edit Protopopoff’s daily newspaper, and he promised me to conduct it on liberal lines. I gave him an article in which I explained to the Russians the necessity of destroying Austria—a doctrine that needed to be preached as much in Russia as in the West, because many Russians held to a vague idea of a diminished Austria in which we Czechs should play the leading part.
Thanks to the Russian visitors, to my own messengers and to a number of our own people who came from Russia to London, I was able to keep an eye upon Russian conditions, our colonies there and their leaders. Dr. Pučálka was one of the first to come; and he worked also for our men in Serbia. Then Pavlu, a journalist, turned up, got to know the state of affairs in England and France and saw for himself the relationship of the West to Russia. Messrs. Reiman, Vaněk and Professor Písecký should also be mentioned. Stephen Osuský, the young Slovak lawyer to whom I have already referred, came from America in June 1916. After a time he went on to Beneš in France, and, learning French quickly, became a valuable helper.
The Russian Polish leader, Roman Dmowski, who came to London in 1916, understood that the preservation of Austria was and would be a continual danger to the Poles. On many points we agreed. Little was then said of the Silesian question, which was very subordinate in comparison with our common aims. I negotiated with Dmowski about it afterwards in Washington.
The Southern Slavs and Italy.
I have already said that in London, where they were numerous, the Southern Slavs had organized their Yugoslav
