Page:The Czechoslovak Review, vol3, 1919.djvu/73



It is now three months, since the states men of the Allied countries met in Paris to formulate terms of peace. Today peace is still far away, and gui-sses as to the date on which even the preliminary peace may be signed vary by many weeks and even months. It is difficult to restrain oneself from criticism. To be sure the peace conference has to settle the affairs of the whole world, and there is only so much that a man can do in a day. And yet every day’s delay increases the danger of a new conflagration in Central Europe and imposes terrible hardships on the newly liberated countries.

The most pressing need of the Czechoslovak Republic is an early peace. As long as the state of war exists, Bohemia is separated from her allies and from the entire outside world by a belt of enemy countries. In the meantime the internal situation of the country is growing more desperate every day. America loaned the Czechoslovaks money with which they bought food from Mr. Hoover, but all Mr. Hoover could do was to unload his food in Trieste, and there it lies in the warehouses, because the Italians have closed their frontier against the Jugoslavs and because there is fear that German Austria will take for its own use Bohemian railroad cars sent into its territory. According to most recent reports food conditions in Prague are really desperate, for insufficient nutrition is killing thousands of the weaker people, especially children. Lack of food and warm clothing is bound to result in a decrease of energy and lack of will to work, and while in Bohemia exultation over victory and gaining of independence still constitutes a tremendous driving force, its momentum is being dissipated and return to normal economic life is demanded more and more loudly.

Resumption of productive work is also hampered by lack of cotton, copper, steel alloys, tools and machinery; coal, too, is scarce. A still greater problem is regulation of currency and the disposition which is to be made of the Austro-Hungarian war debts. There are 36 billion crowns in paper with a gold reserve of just one-half of one percent; the crown is quoted in Switzerland at less than 30 per cent of its normal value. The total debt of Austria-Hungary on December 1st at the close of fighting amounted to nearly 127 billion crowns of which sum 101 billion crowns was incurred during the war. Who will pay that tremendous sum which amounts to practically one-half of the entire wealth of the former monarchy? The Czechs refuse to pay more than the amount held by their own citizens, and naturally they are eager to close the frontiers of their republic at the earliest possible moment water-tight, until all the bank notes and all the war bonds in their territory are checked up and identified or exchanged for new securities. That is the only way they can prevent an unfair measure of the obligations of Austria and Hungary from being dumped on them. But before that can be done, they must know what their boundaries will be, and that depends on the peace conference.