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ular with reference to access to employment by the state, to offices and dignities, or the pursuit of any occupation or profession.

Citizens of the Czechoslovak Republic may, within the limits of general laws, freely employ any language in private or commercial relations, in matters relating to religion, in press or any publications, or in public assemblies of the people.

This shall not affect rights which belong to the organs of the state in accordance with any present or future laws based on considerations of public order, safety of the state and efficient control.

128. The right to use a definite language in public offices is regulated by special law which forms a part of this constitution.

129. In so far as citizens may, in compliance with general laws, establish, direct and administer at their own expense charitable, religious and social institutions, schools and educational institutions, all citizens, regardless of nationality, language, religion and race, shall be equal and may in such institutions freely employ their own language and practice their religion.

130. In cities and districts in which there lives a considerable fraction of Czechoslovak citizens of other than Czechoslovak language, children of such Czechoslovak citizens shall receive in public schools, within the limits of the general law governing education, suitable opportunity to be taught in their own tongue; but instruction in the Czechoslovak language may be made obligatory.

131. Wherever in cities and districts in which there lives a considerable fraction of Czechoslovak citizens, belonging to religious, national and language minorities, definite sums are to be expended on education, religion or charity from public funds on the basis of state, municipal or other public budgets, such minorities are hereby guaranteed, within the limits of general regulations applicable to public administration, a proportionate share in the expenditure of such funds.

132. Principles set forth in section 130 and 131, especially the definition of the expression “considerable fraction”, shall be carried out by special laws.

133. Every form of forcible denationalization is forbidden. Violation of this principle may be declared criminal by law.

Before the year 1919 neither the state nor the municipalities had any legal duties toward public libraries. The state did maintain in connection with the University of Prague, as well as with the former University of Olomouc, scientific libraries which exerted an influence far beyond the schools themselves. All book and newspaper publishers in Bohemia were obliged to furnish a copy of everything they published to the University Library in Prague, while the Olomouc Library enjoyed the same privilege for Moravia. Both these libraries for scholars broadened out their functions and were in reality public libraries open to all readers. The Prague University Library with almost half a million volumes became the fountain of Czech scholarship; for it includes practically the entire Czech printed literature, in addition to many precious manuscripts of the Middle Ages. Under the new republican regime its importance is strengthened by the fact that a copy of everything published in the Czechoslovak Republic must be sent to this central library.

Otherwise Czech literature grew up spontaneously. If we disregard libraries of monasteries in which here and there precious literary treasures of the past are preserved, most of the existing libraries were established by societies. Thus the Society of the Museum of the Kingdom of Bohemia, with a subsidy from the provincial authorities of Bohemia, maintains the second largest scholarly library in Prague which makes a specialty of Slavic literatures. Specialized industrial and historical libraries were created by local societies in smaller cities; of particular interest is the library attached to the Industrial Museum of Vojta Náprstek in Prague which is rich in English (Amer-