Evening star., 1948-03-08
Compromising with Communism
Czechosovaka Is the Latest Example of the Inevitable
Result Which Follows Such Policy
Rv Gmnen D. Horner
By Garnett D. Horner
(First of tu,o articles J

fFnSt OF Lto0 nfttcteSJ
Czechoslovakia presents tragic example Of
what happens to democracy that tries to
compromise with communism.
Until the Communist seizure of power week
before last, under what the American, British
and French governments condemned as dis
guised dictatorship" Communist-democratic
cooperation apparently was working In
Czechoslovakia.
The country was the "showplace" of East
ern Europe for democratic freedoms. With
the largest electoral following of any single
party, the Communists had a strong position
in the government. Czechoslovak foreign
policy was being forced more and more into
the Soviet line. But such aspects OF
democracy as free press and representative
government persisted within the country in
sharp contrast to its neighbors completely
within the Soviet orbit.
Under the pressure of Soviet expansionism,
a change in Communist tactics became notice.
able around the first of the year. The show
down came on the, question of excessive
Communist police appointments Then it was
too late to stop the Communists from taking
over the government on their own terms.
Cooperation With Russia.
The pattern of growing Communist power
in Czechoslovakia can be traced back to 1s43
when President Eduard Benes concluded a
treaty of friendship and mutual assistance
with the Soviet Union. The hope throughout
the Western world then was for postwar CO.
operation with Russia. President Benes. con-
sidering his country as traditionaly part
of both of the West and the East, apparently
wanted to help lead the way into such
collaboration.
AS for communism in Czechoslovakia, the
party there was almost as old as the republic
and its members were assumed to be Czecho-
slovaks first and Communists second.
Czechoslovakia. it will be recalled was pro-
claimed an independent republic on october
10, 1918, and confirmed as such by the peace
treaties after World War I. It's population
combined wide variety of peoples, from the
Slav to the Germanic. The Czech constitution
granted full equality before the law to all
minorities in the population, along with full
political freedom.
BY 1921, there were Is Communists In the
Czechoslovak Parliament The Social Demo-
cratic Party had split in 1920, with the left
wing joining the Third International But
until after World War II, the Communist
Party did not participate in the government.
Klement Gottwald, the Czechoslovak Prime
Minister, has been active in the Communist
Party since its beginning in his country. For
years he was head of the Czechoslovak section
of the Comintern and then in 1885 he was
advanced to membership in the comintern's
inner executive.
Fierlinger Came Here in 1925,
Another key personality in the pattern OF
events leading to the recent coup in Prague
is Zdenek Fierlinger, Social Democrat closely
tied up with Moscow He is career diplomat
who was Czechoslovak Minister to Washington
in 1e25-28. Then he was counted friendly to
the United States. But that friendship didn't
survive later service in Moscow.
He represented his country in Moscow before
the Nazi absorption Of most of Czechoslovakia
and went back there as the envoy of the Czech
government in exile after the German attack
on Russia. At one time, his government ap-
parently considered he was going too far with