Page:The Czechoslovak Review, vol4, 1920.pdf/283

Of the new republics created by the Treaty of Versailles, Czechoslovakia probably holds the warmest place in the hearts of Americans. This is due not only to the presence in this country of thousands of Czechs, who in the course of years have numbered themselves among our most forwardlooking citizens, but particularly to the fact that it was in the United States that the ideals and plans of the new State of Czechoslovakia were first laid down under the leadership and guidance of President Masaryk. America, therefore, has a sentimental attachment to Czechoslovakia which she will never forget, and it is to be hoped that the ties between the two republics, which have so much in common, will become increasingly interwoven in future years.

The United States Senate has failed to ratify any of the treaties which were set up in Paris by the Supreme Council, so that as a people we have not yet put our seal to any of the documents which have brought into being such states as Czechoslovakia, Poland and Finland. As Mr. Hoover has recently pointed out, the Treaty of Versailles is for these states the charter of independence, and the United States will not long be content, I believe, to withhold its signature and thus delay giving the birth of these democracies its blessing and approval. Until we take such action we have not played our final and determining part in helping to create this new series of republics, which we are so proud to greet.

Of all the new states, Czechoslovakia is far and away in the best economic condition. She has many resources, such as coal and iron, that form the basis of modern commerce and trade, and if normal conditions prevailed in Europe at the present time, there would be bright hope for her future. Unfortunately, Europe is by no means in a normal condition. She is face to face with industrial chaos. Hertransportation systems are disorganized; her railroad lines, locomotives and cars are damaged and destroyed; she has little working capital, and her currency is debased in some countries almost to the point of worthlessness. Moreover, Europe is staggering under a weight of indebtedness practically beyond calculation. Consequently, the dislocation in the rates of exchange has disorganized the markets and destroyed the basis of international trade.

This situation, which is common everywhere in Continental Europe, is the one factor that makes uneasy the friends of Czechoslovakia. For example, a large part of the cotton mills of Czechoslovakia are shut down because of the lack of raw cotton. The port of Rotterdam is choked with cotton which cannot find purchasers, because although Czechoslovakia and other countries are desperate for this raw material, the unbalanced exchange makes it impossible for them to pay for it.

This condition is at present giving the League of Nations a great deal of concern, and it is hoped that in the Financial Conference called for Brussels the last of July, some solution may be found, or at least some approach to a solution may be made, which in time will develop a larger degree of hope. Czechoslovakia is a member of the League of Nations, and is in a position to exert a great deal of influence not only upon this question, but upon many other questions which are now pressing for answer. If once the economic situation is ironed out, Czechoslovakia will become one of the great nations of Central Europe. The