Page:The Czechoslovak Review, vol3, 1919.djvu/270

 atives in the ministry, Švehla, Prášek, Staněk and Horáček; Slovaks have two, Šrobár and Houdek. The principal change consists in the departure of Karel Kramář, one of the great men of the nation; even his political adversaries desire to have his great talents used in some manner in the service of the state. Of hardly smaller importance is the loss of dr. Rašín, a great finance minister, bold and original and energetic; however, his successor Cyril Horáček is also a man of large caliber. Dr. Stránský, former minister of commerce, has been for years one of the big Czech figures in the Vienna parliament and will again be heard from. Other changes include the resignation of minister of Railways Zahradník for personal reasons, of Dr. Soukup, minister of justice, also for personal reasons, and of Dr. Hruban, representing the Catholics in the first ministry; they will not be represented in the new cabinet.

Thus the Tusar government is a coalition of the social democrats, national socialists, progressives, agrarians and Slovaks against the natinal democrats and the people’s party. It is not a socialist government, although naturally socialist demands will receive more favorable consideration than from the first cabinet. Tusar himself, for twenty years active in socialist politics, is a man of great common sense and keenly aware of his responsibility. In an interview given by him to the correspondent of the Chicago News, Tusar indicated plainly that he was no theorist and that he would encourage no economic experiments. In his first address to the National Assembly Tusar had this to say about socialism and economic changes: “In socialism which before war was purely critical there are also great constructive forces. The times demand that we make use of those forces and strive toward such an organization of production, as would answer to the ideals of the workingmen, and at the same time secure unbroken continuity of production during the period of rebuilding. The government intends to go in this direction with firmness but also with great circumspection, being fully aware that the organization of production is a very sensitive organism which will not bear forcible or hurried interference.”

On July 4 Prague celebrated Independence Day with more enthusiasm than most American cities. All the newspapers had appropriate articles, the whole city was decorated with American and Allied flags, and in the afternoon the largest hall of the city on the Žofín island was crowded with representatives of the government, university, city, foreign diplomats and legionaries from America. Richard T. Crane, the American minister, and President Masaryk were the principal speakers. Masaryk said: “There are as many democracies, as there are nations and states. For myself I find that the principles of the American democracy appeal to me most and I accept them. At this moment I can declare that those principles have ever been and ever will be the leading principles of my politics and of all my life.”

Two days later the whole nation celebrated, unhindered for the first time, the anniversary of the death of John Hus. The night of July 5 great funeral pyres burned on all hills of the Czechoslovak Republic in memory of the fire at which Hus was martyred: and the following day every city and almost every village had a celebration with a noted speaker as the center of the fete.