STILL DEMOCRATIC

Wairarapa Times-Age, 14 March 1939, Page 9

STILL DEMOCRATIC

CZECHS BRAVELY FACING MISFORTUNES MAINTENANCE OF CALM COURAGE. IN FACE OF STAGGERING BLOW. While the Munich accord brought almost complete dislocation to Czechoslovakia’s economy, a recent report from Prague states, there has been a significant difference in the manner in which the various elements of the Republic have met the sudden disaster. The Ruthenians of the East, mainly poor peasants, have been kept in a disturbed condition owing to the dispute with Poland and Hungary. The Slovaks, strongly Roman Catholic, have swung toward Fascism. But the Czechs, who had formed the backbone of the Republic, have lost little of their taste for the democratic tradition.

Despite the necessity imposed upon the Government of maintaining good relations with National Socialist Germany, the Czech public has accepted the situation, realising that no other alternative is open to them, surrendering little of the democratic .ideals that they exemplified during the 20 years of the Republic and cherished during the 300 years of subjection to the Hapsburgs The National Labour Party, which forms the Opposition in Parliament, has not yet launched into any outspoken affirmation of its stand as the remaining stronghold of the old democracy, but its continued existence gives a measure of encouragement to the great democracy of the Czech public. GOOD DISCLIPLINE MAINTAINED. Despite the disillusionment ' and the staggering blow inflicted by Munich, the country and its government continued along a deliberate, well-thought-out plan which in itself gave testimony to the inner strength of this people. No windows were broken, no foreigners (not even Frenchmen, against whom the bitterest feelings were entertained in October last) could complain of being molested, and there were no ugly scenes such as occur often in the western democracies, on far less provocation. Those people who thought that this nation might seek an outlet foi’ its disillusionment in bloody revolution or in the persecution of any one section of the population on racial or political lines, were mistaken. Everything remained calm, and, instead both leaders and led turned at once to the important task of reconstruction, in the conviction that here lay their first duty. The result has been that despite the great territorial and economic losses which Czechoslovakia has suffered, there was no run on the bank, no currency panic. This has resulted materially in a maintenance of more or less normal conditions, with retail prices remaining firm and though fuel is somewhat dear, because of transport difficulties, the general standard of living still continues higher than that in the Reich. A REAL SLAV STATE. If the Czech sees a bright spot in recent events it is that now this Republic has become, as nearly as it can ever hope to be under the abnormal racial conditions of Central Europe, a real Slav state. The proportion of non-Slavs here is only 7 per cent and now from the racial viewpoint, Czechs and Slovaks and Ruthenes (as long as Germany allows them to remain in Czechoslovakia) are free to develop their own independent culture, subject to German political and weltenschauliche control. But here lies one of the greatest problems of the future.

The Slovaks have entered upon a political path which may lead far away from the democratic basis upon which federal co-operation is alone possible. Their strong totalitarian tendencies and anti-Jewish activities, coupled with a desire to think only in terms of the “Slovak nation” present a difficult problem to the new unity which the Speaker of the Czechoslovak National Assembly was thinking of when he addressed the newly-elected President in the words: “Mr President, you are elected by a quite exceptional unanimity of this Assembly. The nation has not forgotten recent events. We want to start a new life of national unity!”