Evening star., 1950-05-28
Last Czech Consulate
In u. ). 10 Be Closed
Within Two Weeks

The United States yesterday
gave Communist Czechoslovakia
two weeks to close down its New
York consulate, in the latest of
a series of tit-for-tat crackdowns
on Russian satellite countries.
1t was the third time in recent
weeks that Czech consulate in
this country has been ordered
closed, and it leaves Czechoslo-
vakia with no representation ex-
cept the embassy here.
At the same time the State
Department made public a note
which Ambassador Ellis Briggs
delivered in Prague yesterday to
Czech Foreign Minister Villain
Siroky. In this note, the United
States
/. Reject Czech charges that
American diplomats have engaged
in spying, but yielded to a Prague
order to slash the official United
States Embassy staff to IL Ameri-
cans by June 6. This means with
drawal of IA employees.
2. Declared it's intention of clos
ing the American consulate in
Bratislava within two weeks-in
a move to forestall the obvious
Czech reaction to the closing of
their consulate in New York.
Each Will Have 12-Man- Staff.
The effect Of all these actions
Is that the United States and
Czechoslovakia will have 12-man
diplomatic staffs in each others
capitals. The Czech had already
cut to IL in response to an Ameri-
can order several weeks ago for
a two-thirds slash in their OFF,
cial staff of 33. Czechoslovakia
earlier had compelled a reduction
of the American in Prague from
76 to 26.
Some Washington officials are
hopeful that this leveling off may
end the eye-for-eye stage of United
StateS-Czech relations.
The winner at this point is any,
body's guess. Obviously the United
States has lost many contacts
with the Czech people, as well as
many normal diplomatic ways of
finding out what is going on in
the country. On the other hand,
the loss of their consulates in New
York, Pittsburgh, Cleveland and
Chicago means a blow to the
Czech's trade with the United
States-trade which is undoubt-
edly more important to them than
to this country.
Follows Move Against Romania.
The latest breakdown on the
Czechs came within "a hours of
a State Department order limiting
the Romanian minister and his
staff to a radius of 35 miles from
Washington. This extraordinary
restriction was imposed as an ex-
preston of American official anger
at limitations placed on the free
dom of United States diplomats in
Romania.
Throughout Eastern Europe for
many months, the pattern of tense
United States-Soviet bloc relations
has been largely uniform. The
main exception has been Poland
where United States emissaries
have on the whole Jared very well.
In the other countries Americans
have been ordered out after being
accused of spying, attempting to
overthrow the government or of
other illegal activities.
The situation reached it's most
extreme point early this year when
the United States broke diplomatic
relations with Bulgaria.
Webb Hints of New Breaks.
Undersecretary of State James
Webb limited Friday that if things
get much worse in relations with
Romania and Czechoslovakia, the
United States might have to break
with them. too.
The note which Ambassador
Briggs gave the Czech foreign
minister intimated some such pos
sibility. 1t said the Czech govern
men has made clear that it is
no longer interested in maintain
ing normal diplomatic relations
with the United States" adding:
The United States Government,
therefore. while reserving its rights
and customary privileges. intends
to reduce its official representa-
tina to cnnfnrrn with conditions