Intrigues in Switzerland.
Even in free Switzerland Austria gave us a taste of her quality. Like Germany, she was officially represented there and used her advantage. The police searched the dwellings of our people, and the authorities of the Canton of Geneva forbade anti-Austrian propaganda. In practice, the prohibition was mildly applied. All the same, Dr. Sychrava transferred our Czech paper, the “Československá Samostatnost,” to the French side of the frontier at Annemasse—to which a tramway runs from Geneva. Otherwise things went on as before, though we had to be very careful not to get the Government into difficulties. Later on, in February 1916, Sychrava was expelled from Switzerland; and a number of Czech students who returned home were imprisoned and condemned to death because they had listened to my address on John Hus and had talked to me.
In Switzerland, as elsewhere, German, Austrian and Magyar propaganda was strong and there was a considerable current of pro-Austrian feeling. Professor Lammasch and other Austrians came personally from Vienna and established relations with many subjects of enemy countries. It was not only to us that Switzerland gave asylum but to all others, including pacifist Socialists; and it was thence that Lenin started for Russia with the help of Swiss Socialists. German Switzerland was strongly pro-German, as were the higher officers and heads of the Swiss army.
Austrian spies were always at our heels. One came from Prague straight to my hotel. I had, however, been warned of his coming-a proof that our subterranean communications and the “Maffia” in Prague were working well. I asked him to see me the very next day and put him all sorts of questions, in the most innocent fashion, about Prague and the police. My younger comrades had plenty of fun with him. Some of them won him over to our side and made a double traitor out of him. More interesting was an Austrian officer, a Moravian by birth, who pretended to be a deserter and offered me an invention to enable airmen to hit a given target. I put him into touch with the French at Annemasse, but in Paris they thought his invention worthless and kept him at a distance. He told me a long romantic story which I verified and found false. Then he evaporated. In the spring of 1915 one of my arms began to give trouble. Small abscesses began to appear on my shoulder. My doctor ascribed them to poisoning and our own people
