Evening star., 1938-09-25
The SOkOl Spirit.

Millions OF Americans during the news
reel era of the past decade have watched
and marveled at the beautiful pictures of
the outdoor gymnastics annually staged
at Prague, showing tens of thousands
Of young Czechoslovak men and women
going through rhythmic bodily exercises
with skill and precision which are truly
the poetry of motion. This great outdoor
spectacle is the famed Sokol Congress, an
institution rooted in tradition for far
more years than Masaryk's republic has
lived its fevered existence. To the
mental and spiritual discipline and
physical prowess inculcated in genera
tions of the Czechoslovak people by the
Sokols are due in large degree the ma
tional self-restraint, the patriotism and
the material preparedness with which
they met and are today meeting the su-
preme crisis of their destiny.
Last July 1920 women and 27500
men-an aggregate of 43,700 persons
were massed in Masaryk Stadium for the
1888 Sokol. An American spectator has
recorded his impressions of the display.
'I timed the complete entry and exit of
the participants" he writes. Without
any sign of haste. marching to good mu-
sic, every one of them was in his place on
the mammoth stage in exactly fifteen
minutes. Having done their exercises,
oH CT in1of oioI fv
columns marching sixty abreast, in
twelve minutes. I doubt whether any
general staff in the world could move
and remove the equivalent of single
army corps onto and off space of forty
five acres in anything like twenty seven
minutes"
Mobilization of the Czechoslovak Army,
As Benes' answer to Hitler's threat to
invade the Sudeten area before Cham
berlain's peace" negotiations are con-
cluded, lends timely interest to the Sokols
and the role they play in the little ma
tons hair-trigger readiness for national
defense. That famed authority on Cen
tral European affairs, Wickham Steed,
former editor of the London Times,
broadcast to the United States the other
day gripping account of how the "Sokol
spirit" manifested itself during the now
historic week end of May 2122, when
Czech mobilization .bluffed the Nazis to
q military standstill. Germany" said
Mr.. Steed, had been gradually massing
troops on two stretches of the Czecho-
slovak border. 1t was being very cleverly
done so as not to attract attention. AS
matter of fact, separate regiments of
battalions were moved to the frontier
from twelve different parts of Germany.
The Czechoslovak general staff, expecting
a surprise attack, wished the government
to order a general mobilization. The
government refused, saying that the
country had to have an act of provoca-
ton, and that only enough Czechoslovak
reserves should be called up to make
quite sure that sudden German attack
could not succeed. So, but a single part
OF the army reserve, about 10000 men,
with the so-called specialists, machine
gunners, aircraft gunners, anti-aircraft
gunners and the like. Mobilization orders
were sent to about 174OOO men in all
the 10000 reservists being given twelve
hours to report and the $4,000 specialists
twenty-four hours. Most of them were
In bed when the orders came at 10 pm
on the night of Friday, May 20. BY
am. on the morning of Saturday,
May 81, most of them were at their
posts. The rest of them were there
before 10 am. All the specialists got
up IN twelve hours or less, instead of
the twenty-four they had been allotted.
Out of the total of 174,000 only eighteen
failed to report themselves, eight Ger
mans, three Czechs, four Slovaks and two
Polaks. And in some of these eighteen
cases the orders were not delivered in
time. BY dawn of May 81, the German
command knew that the sudden attack
1t had planned would not have a ghost
OF chance. On Monday, May %, the
Germans began to withdraw some of
their troops and strenuously denied that
an attack was ever thought Of
1t is with apparently the same celebrity,
calm and circumspection that President
Benes and Gen. Syrovy have just moved
to stand four-square to any menacing
wind that may blow from across the
German border. The sokol spirit still
lives.