"The workers of the whole world will never forget that the Russian
Revolution was the first social revolution on a large scale. And on
this revolutionary movement Germany has directly and Austria-Hungary
indirectly declared war. _Perhaps Austria-Hungary wants to repay the
Romanoffs in_ 1918 _for the aid which they rendered to the Habsburgs
in_ 1848.... Austria-Hungary once before engaged in the European
reaction by crushing revolution in Italy. She gathered the fruits of
this act in 1848, 1859, 1866, and in the present war. Formerly France
and Russia participated in the Holy Alliance, but _to-day the Central
Powers are the only refuge of reaction in Europe_."

_(e) The Constituent Assembly of Prague on January_ 6, 1918

The most important manifestation of Czecho-Slovak national will took place
in Prague on January 6, 1918, when all the Czech deputies assembled in
order to give expression to their deep gratitude for the French recognition
of the constitution of a Czecho-Slovak army on the side of the Entente. At
the same time it was a protest against Austria-Hungary and a demand for
representation at the Peace Conference.

As to the resolution unanimously adopted by this constituent assembly,
there is no doubt about its meaning: in it the Czecho-Slovaks no more act
with Austria but demand full liberty. This even the Austrian Premier, Dr.
Seidler, had to admit, when he declared in the Reichsrat on January 22:

"This resolution, in which we in vain look for a distant echo of
dynastic or state allegiance, adopts to a certain extent an
international standpoint, and shows that this people is ready, at any
rate on the conclusion of peace, to accept international support with a
view to obtaining the recognition of foreign states. Such a standpoint