The Nationalities of Czechoslovakia. The territory encircling Prague and inhabited by Germans was formerly Austrian territory. The territory east of the semicircular lines, indicated above Hungary and Roumania, was a part of Hungary for the last one thousand years. It consists of 62,937 square kilometers of land and inhabited by 3,676,686 former native Hungarian citizens of Slovak, Ruthenian and Hungarian origin. On the Polish section live 600,000 Poles and on the former Austrian (Sudeten) territory live 3,600,000 Germans. The rest (the minority) of the population of Czechoslovakia are Czechs, Moravians and others.

3

HUNGARY BEFORE THE WORLD WAR

The Paris Peace Conference singled out Hungary as an object of its hatred. With an unprecedented cruelty that Conference mutilated the one thousand-year-old territory of Hungary, condemned her to a national and economic death and then fiendishly compelled her to sign her own death warrant, known as the Treaty of Trianon.

We now briefly examine the history of Hungary with the view of determining whether or not it is true, as the indictment of the Treaty of Trianon alleges, that Hungary had "imposed" the World War upon England, France and Russia and whether or not Hungary was the "aggressor" at the outbreak of the World War. Let history speak the truth.

The territory of pre-war Hungary was settled by the Hungarians in the year 884 A.D. When entered by the Hungarians, more than one thousand years ago, that territory was a devastated land, abounding in swamps and primeval forests. Charlemagne's historiographer tells us that "one might have traveled through the entire land, without meeting a single house, so terrible were the ruins and the destruction." It is to be noted, therefore, that the Hungarians came into the possession of the territory, known as Hungary, and obtained title thereto strictly in accordance with the time-honored principles of international law, which provide that title to occupation of a territory may legally be gained by "occupation as by occupying uninhabited land or land of uncivilized people." And it should be further noted that the Hungarians have held title to their territory by continuous occupation during the last one thousand years. Their title to the entire area of pre-war Hungary, therefore, is legally unassailable and the same is fully protected by the universally accepted and recognized principle of international law, namely, the right to legal title by "prescription, i.e. a long use and occupation." It is an unquestionable fact of history that the right and legal title of Hungary to her pre-war territory has never been challenged by any one during the last one thousand years, until the Paris Peace Conference, with unholy hand and for unblessed purposes, unconscionably mutilated it and condemned the Hungarian people to an economic and national death.

The Hungarians are of Aryan origin, and not Mongolians or Asiatics, as some writers may claim. Professor Arminus Vambery, who had made a careful search into the origin of the Hungarians, has definitely stated on page 312 of his book, "A Magyarság Keletkezése és Gyarapodása" (The Origin and Growth of the Hungarians), published in 1895, that "more than three-fourths of the people living in Hungary are of Aryan origin."

Sometimes the question is asked: "What is the difference between the Magyars and the Hungarians?" The answer is that there is no difference, because the Magyars are the Hungarians. They have been known as "Magyars" from time immemorial and the reason for the name "Hungarians" is that the territory which the Hungarians, i.e. Magyars occupied in 884 A.D. had been inhabited previously by the Huns. The Latin writers referred to the Magyars as "Hungarians," that is to say, the people who inhabited the land formerly occupied by the Huns. It is, therefore, correct to refer to the Magyars as Hungarians or vice versa, just as one may refer to Americans as "Yankees" or to the American people as "Uncle Sam." The Magyars and Hungarians are one and the same people. Magyars is pronounced Modyars.

The land comprising pre-war Hungary was, in time immemorial, the bed of a sea and its area was about 125,000 square miles, or about the size of the States of Ohio, Kentucky and Tennessee. It was surrounded by a natural boundary line, which, no doubt, was originally the shore of the sea and which is known as the Carpathian mountains, ranging from the northwest of the country and beginning on the banks of the Danube River, extending all around and along the northern boundary, making a graceful turn and stretching along the eastern boundary and thence turning in the westerly direction until it reaches again the Danube River, thus encircling most of the country, as if ever anxious Mother Nature had thrown her protecting arms around the entire territory. In the south, the country was bounded by the Danube, Save and Drave Rivers and partly by the Adriatic Sea, where, at Fiume, Hungary had a seaport.

The river system of Hungary is almost as perfect as if human engineers had planned it to serve every conceivable need of the country. The climate of the country is favorable and healthy. In the northern part of the country were the coal and iron deposits, forests and grazing land; in the eastern part, known as Transylvania, the New England of Hungary, were the gold, silver and table salt deposits, natural gas and oil, forests and grazing land; while the heart of the country and the southern part of the same comprised the wheat granary of the entire country.

This distribution of the natural resources and arable land made the country an independent, self-sufficient organism and self-supporting economic unit. In the form it was created by the Creator, indeed Hungary was one of the most beautiful countries in Europe.

It had required continuous hard labor and a never-ending enthusiasm on the part of the Hungarians to develop and build the devastated land they occupied one thousand years ago into a beautiful and flourishing garden spot in Europe. Before the World War broke out in 1914, Hungary was well developed agriculturally, the country was well industrialized and it had modern transportation, telephone and telegraph systems, and her educational system, religious institutions and the culture of her people were second to none in Europe. American, English, French, German, Italian and other visitors to Hungary unanimously testify as to the high and unexcelled intelligence, friendliness, culture and inimitably fine qualities of the Hungarian people. To show the splendid caliber of the Hungarian people, it might be mentioned here that during the World War no American and no Englishman or woman was quarantined in Hungary. The Hungarian people, God bless them, did not fight the American and English people; they merely defended their country, wives and children, their homes and firesides. The American and the English people were never enemies of the Hungarian people and never will be! God be praised for that!

The question is frequently asked: "Are the Hungarians all Catholics or all Protestants?" The answer is that they are not all Catholics and not all Protestants. They are all Christians. About one-half of the Hungarians are Catholics and the other half are Protestants, -- Calvinists (Presbyterians, though they call themselves "Reformed"), Lutherans, Unitarians, Baptists and other Protestant faiths. There have been occasions when, if one religious group had no church of its own, the church of another religious group was used for worship. It has not been infrequent that a Protestant preacher had officiated at the funeral of a Catholic priest and vice versa. The Hungarians consider religion a personal holy privilege and they do not interfere with the religious belief of their fellow men. Incidentally it was in Hungary that the first law in Europe had been enacted, which assured the right to freedom of thought and liberty of conscience to every man, woman and child living on Hungarian soil.

Politically Hungary was a constitutional kingdom for more than one thousand years. Her constitution is only seven years younger than the English Magna Charta. In the year 1000, A.D., Pope Sylvester II presented Stephen, the ruler of Hungary, with a crown and conferred on him the title of "Apostolic King of Hungary," in recognition of the religious, moral, economic, and political value of the Hungarians in Europe and the signal service they had already rendered to religion, culture and general welfare not only in Hungary but elsewhere in Europe. King Stephen has since been canonized by the Roman Catholic Church and he is known in history as "King Saint Stephen."

Unfriendly writers frequently refer to post-war Hungary as a "kingdom without a king," since she has no king at the present time. It will not be amiss, therefore, to state here that pre-war Hungary was a constitutional kingdom during the last one thousand years. Under their constitution, the Hungarians have a right to elect their king, if they want one, and that right had been exercised by the Hungarians until the Austrian Hapsburg dynasty took control of Hungary. At the present time the Hungarians do not want a king but have elected Admiral Nicholas Horthy Governor of Hungary, who, although of the Presbyterian faith, is well loved and idolized by all the Hungarians, Catholics and Protestants alike. His duties are defined and circumscribed by law and, therefore, he is not a dictator, as some hare-brained writers would have you believe.

The form of government of Hungary is a representative democracy. The real ruler of that country is the Parliament which is composed of two Houses, the House of Representatives and the Upper House, resembling the United States Senate. The members of the House of Representatives are elected directly by the people; while the members of the Upper House are appointed by the Governor from among the best and most desirable representatives of the various trades and professions extant in the country. Thus the farmers, for example, have a real farmer of their own kind, the factory workers, the various tradesmen, industrial and commercial groups, the religious groups, and the various professions, each group has its own representative in the Upper House.

The government proper is the Ministry, headed by the Prime Minister. The Ministers, whose functions and duties correspond with those of the members of the Cabinet of the President of the United States of America, are appointed by the Governor with the advice and consent of the Parliament and from the membership of the Parliament. No person is appointed and can hold office as a Minister, unless Parliament sustains him by a majority of votes. If, at any time, the majority of the members of Parliament vote "lack of confidence" in the Ministry, the Ministers must resign and the Governor must appoint new Ministers, in whom the majority of the members of Parliament have confidence. If the majority of the members of Parliament are unable to agree upon the personnel of the Ministry, Parliament is dissolved and a new election held. It would be impossible in Hungary that a government would rule, which does not enjoy the confidence of the majority of the voters of the country. Under this system, the government of the country stands close to the people and it is bound to carry out the wishes and desires of the majority of the voters.

It is evident, therefore, that under this system of government, it would be impossible for any one single group in Hungary to set up an absolute dictatorship. The only way any person could become a dictator in Hungary would be if the voters, by a majority of votes, would elect him a dictator. A person or group of men, who rule by the will of the people, is in no way a dictator.

The Hungarians hold the crown of King Saint Stephen as a sacred symbol of the independence of Hungary, for the reason that Pope Sylvester II (1000 A.D.) presented that crown to Hungary and her ruler, as a symbol of the independence of Hungary. The Pope, at that time, it will be recalled, had the power to grant independence to a country in Europe and to help preserve such independence. The crown to the Hungarians, therefore, has the same significance as the American Declaration of Independence has to the American people. Any attempt to deprive the Hungarians of the possession of the crown of King Saint Stephen would be tantamount to an attempt to deprive Hungary of her independence. That crown is the common property of the Hungarian people, Catholics and Protestants, and for any one to ridicule the crown of King Saint Stephen would be fully as ungraceful and unfriendly as to ridicule the American Declaration of Independence. As long as the crown of King Saint Stephen exists, Hungary will be known as the "Kingdom of Hungary," whether she will have a king or not, because the "Kingdom of Hungary" means Free and Independent Hungary.

Geographically Hungary is the gateway between the East and the West in Europe. If the East would want to invade the West, it would have to travel through Hungary, and vice versa; for this reason Hungary has always been and still is the most important outpost of Western Christian civilization. In the year 1241 a powerful Mongolian army attempted to invade the West by marching through Hungary. The Hungarians fought the invaders and prevented them from passing through Hungary and reaching the West; but the struggle resulted in a great loss of Hungarian life and property. Later a powerful Turkish army made an attempt to pass through Hungary and to invade the West; but the Hungarians again fought and prevented the Turks from realizing their ambition. A terrible struggle lasting through bloody centuries ensued; but the Hungarians in the year of 1456 finally and decisively defeated the Turks and definitely saved Western civilization and Christianity from any further danger of Turkish invasion. In recognition of these services, the Pope of Rome gave the Hungarians the title of "defenders of western civilization and saviors of Christianity." Indeed, had the Hungarians not fought and defeated the Mongols and the Turks, the probability is that there would be no Christian civilization today.

Should you ask the average man on the street today to tell you why the bells in the towers of Christian churches are ringing at the noon hour of every day, the answer you would probably receive is that it is "eating time." That answer would be incorrect, because the fact is that after the Hungarians finally and decisively had defeated the Turks at Nándorfehérvár, on July 22, 1456, at the hour of noon, Pope Calixtus III ordered that the bells in the towers of Christian churches, throughout the Christian world, should ring at the hour of noon of every day in commemoration of the final victory of the Hungarians over the Turks. {Report of Calcaterra, Cardinal of Milano, 1456; Pastor's "Geschichte der Päpste seit dem Ausgange des Mittelalters," 695.1; and the letters of Pope Calixtus III in the Vatican Library.} In the pealing of the church bells at the noon hour of every day, therefore, you may detect the unmistakable feeling and emotion of human gratitude and praise: "Praise God from whom all blessings flow!"

The constant struggle with the Mongolians and later with the Turks sapped the strength of the Hungarians. They had saved western civilization and Christianity, but they did not have enough strength left to defend themselves against the encroachment of the Hapsburg dynasty of Austria. In the year of 1526 Hungary fell into the control of the Hapsburg dynasty of Austria and the Hungarians lost their independence.

The Hungarians, however, never became reconciled to the Hapsburg rule and they frequently tried to regain their independence. Their last struggle to this end was the Hungarian Revolution of 1848-9, in which, led by the immortal Louis Kossuth, they defeated the Hapsburgs; but a Russian army of 100,000 men swooped down upon the Hungarians and forced Hungary back into the control of the Austrian Hapsburgs, the result of which was that Hungary was compelled to become a member of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy. Under this arrangement the old constitution of Hungary was restored and her right to self-government was recognized; but the Emperor of the Austrian Empire was to be also the King of Hungary in one and the same person. The Hungarians were given the right to have a Parliament of their own, the members of which were to be elected by the Hungarian people; and the Ministers, comprising the Hungarian Government, were to hold office at the will of the majority of the members of Parliament. The control of the Hungarian army and the international relations of Hungary were left in the control of the Hapsburg dynasty, the head of which was the Emperor of the Austrian Empire and King of Hungary. In other words, Hungary had no international will of her own; had no right to send her own representatives to any country; had no right and power to declare war on or make peace with any country. In fact, Hungary was in about the same position that Ireland was in relation to England, or somewhat similar to the position of the State, let us say, of Ohio in relation to the United States of America. In brief, Hungary was no more in a position, in 1914, to "impose" war or become an "aggressor" in a war, than was Ireland or the State of Ohio. Neither in fact nor in law can it be said that in 1914 Hungary could, even if she would, have provoked and precipitated a war.

Certainly no sane-minded man would charge that Ireland or the State of Ohio was the "aggressor" in the World War or that either had "imposed" that war upon the enemies of the Allied and Associated Governments. It is equally wrong to say that Hungary was the "aggressor" in the World War and had "imposed" the same upon the Allied and Associated Governments. When the Austrian Empire declared war, the Hungarian army had to take orders from the Emperor of Austria, just the same as the Irish army had to take orders from the government of England and the boys recruited from the State of Ohio had to take orders from the United States Government. If the Allied and Associated Governments had lost the World War, Ireland and the State of Ohio would hardly have been charged with the crime of having provoked and precipitated the World War and their territories should not have been mutilated under such diabolical pretext.

Writers and speakers sometimes refer to the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy as the "Austro-Hungarian Empire." Such reference is incorrect and does not agree with facts and truth. The Austrian Empire consisted of Austria, Bohemia (the Bohemians now call themselves Czechs), Moravia, and Galicia, now part of Poland. As before stated, Hungary was forced to become a part of the Austrian Empire, when neither the Bohemians (now Czechs) nor the Moravians, nor the Galicians helped her to remain independent from that empire, as she had wished. And the official records of the Austrian Empire show, beyond the shadow of any doubt, that Czech and Galician leaders were influential, at the expense of Hungary, with the Hapsburg dynasty. Yet the Allied and Associated Governments did not accuse the Bohemians (now Czechs), the Moravians, and the Galicians to have provoked and precipitated the World War. The fact is, as we shall show further on in this book, that it was the Prime Minister of Hungary, Count Stephen Tisza, who put forth a valiant effort to prevent the outbreak of the World War. Yet the Paris Peace Conference wrote into the Treaty of Trianon that Hungary was the "aggressor" and she had "imposed" the World War upon the world!

In this brief review of the history of Hungary you have learned that it was beyond the power of Hungary to have "imposed" the World War upon the Allied and Associated Governments and that it was physically and legally impossible for Hungary to be the "aggressor" in that war. The aggressor, as we have seen, is he who mobilizes first and forces his opponent into a conflict. Hungary could not and did not aggress, and, while we have not exhausted our examination of the history of Europe, on the basis of what has been shown we must conclude that the charges made against Hungary in the Treaty of Trianon are not true and, therefore, the treaty based upon those charges is a fraud, null, void and of no effect in law.