growing not daily, but hourly, not only in extent but also in intensity. When one listens to conversations in the queues in the trams; when one observes the meaning in which all speeches at meetings and political debates are interpreted by the audience, one cannot but become a prey to the same forebodings which tormented us all in August and September, 1917, in Russia. Strikes are becoming frequent, and the political element is by no means relegated to a secondary plan by hunger economics,' the leitmotiv of the entire strike policy being 'all power to the proletariat.' The Czech bourgeoisie is thoughtless and ignorant, while the local German bourgeoisie are not only flirting with Bolshevism but are almost openly patronizing it. The government realizes the danger but being composed of and overrun by Socialists is following the path of Kerensky. Czechoslovakia is on the eve of an outbreak. Will the clouds disperse or will the storm break out in thunder and bloody downpour? "Casual visitors to Czechoslovakia will probably tell you that the peril is exaggerated. They base their arguments on their talks with representatives of the higher intelligentsia; but that which is surging within the dregs beneath remains hidden from their eyes. They may refer you to the Sokol rally' which is supposed to have proved the predominance in Czechoslovakia of national sentiments above all others. This would be an enormous mistake. At present, perhaps, no feeling in Europe generally and in Czechoslovakia in particular, is so acute as the fierce hatred of the lower strata towards the upper. And this feeling exists perfectly well side by side with nationalism and all the other tendencies which, in the opinion of certain observers, form an antidote to Bolshevism." NOTE ON CHAPTER XI Socialism and Labor in the Balkans During the last few months there has been an extraordinary development of Communism throughout Jugoslavia, a condition which the enormous percentage of peasantry among the population would seem to have rendered improbable. In Serbia itself, as well as in Bosnia and Herzogovina, the peasants form 87 per cent of the population. In Croatia and Slavonia, the peasants form 78.8 per cent of the population, and industrial element is as high as 13.4 per cent, as compared with 8.4 in Serbia. The Communist movement seems to have begun, as would seem natural, in Croatia. The movement is entirely distinct from any republican tendency opposed to the royalist constitution. The Communist movement went so far that a group of Jugoslavs and Hungarians attempted an armed insurrection at Subotitsa, which resulted in the overthrow of local authority and a proclamation of a Soviet Republic. The Communist movement is absolutely subject to the Russian movement, and Lenin is the patron saint of it. The local Communists appear to be well supplied with funds. They have started daily papers and even a Communist journal for children. There are Communist book shops full of propaganda. Public meetings have been held frequently in Belgrade by the Communists. In June, 1920, the Communist Jugoslav Party held its second Congress at Bukovar. The program which was then issued stated that the immediate object of the Communist Party was the introduction of Soviet rule immediately into Jugoslavia because it "insures the dominance of the industrial proletariat which has become the ruling class owing to its better organization and greater political development." The resolution declares that the "Soviet Republic of Jugoslavia must enter into a fraternal alliance with all nations for the purpose of establishing a Soviet federation of the Balkan and adjoining states as a component part of the International Federation of Soviet Republics which will insure eternal peace to all nations." The resolution embodies a complete Communist program. For the greater part it corresponds exactly to Russian teachings. The only class of property holders that will not be expropriated and socialized is that of the small land owners who are to be converted to the process of socialization by experi |