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RV 93

aspirations for freedom of the Czechoslovaks and Jugoslavs, German and Austrian officials and sympathizers have sought to misinterpret and distort its manifest interpretation. In order that there may be no misunderstanding concerning the meaning of the statement, the Secretary of State has further announced the position of the United States to be that all the branches of the Slav race should be completely freed from German and Austrian rule.

The declaration of September 3, 1918, recognizing the Czechoslovak National Council as a de facto government, was but a logical culmination of the gradual steps described in this chapter, and it became not only possible, but inevitable, with a definite organization of the Czechoslovak armies in Russia and elsewhere.