The formation of a new Cabinet in Czechoslovakia practically places the military in charge of the country, and though the majority of the posts filled have experts as their incumbents rather than politicians, the fact remains that General Sirovy, the Inspector-General of the Army, and the military man most generally looked up to in Czechoslovakia, is in the chief position. General Sirovy is the man who would be expected to lead the Czechoslovak armies in the event of war, and the formation of the new Cabinet placing control in the hands of such a man necessarily means that the utmost degree of preparedness against eventualities is still being insisted upon. The addition of a political council to supplement the new Cabinet and provide suitable liaison between it and Parliament, ensuring the representation of all parties as adequately as the circumstances permit, is also a move in the right direction, and while certain political elements may resent their being thrust into abeyance, they will probably realize that this is inevitable in view of the threat of war which has not yet been averted, and will not be until it is known that the latest Anglo-French proposals for a settlement, to which the Czechoslovak government has agreed, are acceptable to Germany. Externally the situation has been seriously effected by the demands of the Hungarians and the Poles for the settlement of the fate of their minorities in the country, but some relief is to be found in that signs of a cleavage between the Czechs and the Slovaks are not so apparent as they were a short time ago. It is probable that the latter fully realize that they must sink or swim with the Czechs, and this may account for the betterment of relations between the two peoples which has been indicated. What is left of Czechoslovakia after the proposed! dismemberment must coalesce if it is to have any future at all, and, if only for self-preservation, the Slovaks seem to be taking the best course, in not pushing their claims more than they have. 3 At the same time the situation has by no means decreased in dangerousness. It is reported that the Czechs have been reoccupying areas which they had already vacated in the Sudeten areas. That has already led to some incidents, while a number of others in different districts has served to show how inflammable the situation is. Added to this is the very natural resentment of the Czechs, and their desire to go down fighting rather than agree to a settlement which they feel is a betrayal of their interests. Dr. Benes has appealed for calm but at the present moment there can.be no denying the fact that the temper of the Czechs is at fever pitch, and it would require very little to set the country ablaze. Indeed the general position appears to be that with all the good intentions in the world with which Herr Hitler may be credited the possibility of the present state of affairs developing into one of overt hostility is something which cannot be disregarded. Should Der Fuehrer counter with new proposals, encouraged by the surrender which has already been made, the very utmost which a free and independent nation should be called upon to make, whatever betterment in the situation has been brought about through Anglo-French endeavours will immediately disappear. The outpourings of the German press suggest that there is at present no end to German demands to be made upon Czechoslovakia, and if ever there were a case in which appetite grows by eating, this is it. It remains to be seen how far the German press represents German policy in this matter, but until anxiety on that score is allayed it will be remembered with no little misgiving that the control of the German press is such that it would not dare to publish material of which the government disapproved. At the same time with a controlled press, endeavours are often made to create a particular atmosphere in which a negotiating government has the opportunity of demonstrating how reasonable it is in face of public opinion. It is consequently difficult to estimate how much of the present outburst is mere window dressing. Possibly none of it is, a contingency which may have to be faced, and if indeed this proves to be the case, then it may be assumed that settlement of the Czechoslovak crisis is still a good distance away.
One of the remarkable features of the whole business up to the present is the silence which has been maintained by the Soviet Government with whom Czechoslovakia has an; alliance. That owing to Soviet machinations the solution of this present trouble has been rendered all the more difficult is only too apparent, but it will come as an important feature of the story of these few weeks that in much of the public discussion whatever role the Soviet may eventually play has never been given any great importance. Apart from the. difficulties which Russia would have to encounter in giving that form of aid to the Czechoslovak Government without which it could not hope to put up anything like a successful resistance to any German inroads, there is all the evidence in the world that for his own sake M. Stalin is none too anxious to become involved in serious warfare. That M. Litvinov gained a diplomatic success over the Japanese in connection with the Changkufeng incident is undeniable, but the reduction of that affair to a mere outpost engagement, to be settled on the spot, was indicative as much of Russian anxiety not to become heavily involved as it was of Japanese. Warfare in which Russia becomes involved, will mean the subordination of much of the civil process of Soviet Government to the demands of the military situation, and even if warfare did not lead to that revolution which some Russian observers so confidently expect, there would be always that possibility that before hostilities came to an end the military leaders would be found in the saddle, and that M. Stalin would be completely dispossessed of much, if not all of the authority which is now his. That, in all probability is why the Soviet has not been taken any too seriously into account in recent developments. If a settlement is eventually reached it will be because of no contribution which Moscow has made, but rather in despite of any. Even if it has displayed readiness to pull its weight with Britain and France in the protection of Czechoslovak interests, the value of its efforts, for the reason given above would have to be seriously discounted, and the conclusion to be reached is that as a result of all these recent purges Russia is at present no very important factor in European politics.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.