Without a fair trial and without evidence, the editor of the National
Socialist organ _Pokrok_ in Prostejov, Mr. Joseph Kotek, was sentenced to
death on Christmas Eve of 1914. The sentence was passed at noon, confirmed
at half-past four and carried out at half-past six. As no one could be
found to act as hangman, Kotek was shot. The reason given for the verdict
was that the accused editor of the _Pokrok_, which was suppressed as being
dangerous to the State, delivered a speech at a meeting of a co-operative
society in which he said that all Czechs were unanimous that they knew that
Austria was losing the war and that they prayed to God that her downfall
might be soon. He was further alleged to have said that it was doubtful how
Europe would be divided after the war, but that in any case the
Czecho-Slovak countries would be made independent as a wedge between
Germany and Austria, and that if Germany won the Czechs would be
germanised, like the Poles in Germany. The accused admitted that he did
speak about the reorganisation of Europe, but not in the words used by the
prosecution. But, as the _Arbeiter Zeitung_ said, even if he did say what
the prosecution alleged, as a civilian he should never have been sentenced
to death by a military tribunal. According to Czech papers, Kotek was
buried among ordinary criminals outside the cemetery. The grave of the
innocent martyr was not even marked with his name, and his wife was not
allowed to visit it, because the military authorities forbade the sexton of
the church to allow any one to see the graves of those executed for
high treason.

_Dr. Preiss_, the manager of the Czech bank, Zivnostenska Banka, which has
its branches in Galicia, Rumania, Serbia and elsewhere, and four of his
colleagues were imprisoned, because the Czechs would not subscribe to
Austrian war loans and Dr. Preiss had done nothing to induce them to do so.

As regards the horrors of the internment camps, in which over 20,000