"Since the issuance by this government on May 29 of a statement regarding the nationalist aspirations for freedom of the Czecho-Slovaks and Jugoslavs, German and Austrian officials have sought to misinterpret and distort its manifest interpretation. In order, therefore, that there may be no misunderstanding concerning the meaning of this statement, the Secretary of State to-day further announces the position of the United States Government to be that all branches of the Slav race should be completely freed from German and Austrian rule."
On the following day, that is on June 30, 1918, President Poincaré presented the Czecho-Slovak army with a flag and delivered an inspiring speech to them.
On the occasion of the handing of this flag by President Pioncaré to the Czecho-Slovak army, M. Pichon, the Minister for Foreign Affairs, on behalf of the government of the French Republic, addressed the following letter to Dr. Edouard Beneš, the general secretary of the Czecho-Slovak National Council in Paris:
"At the moment when the 21st Regiment of Chasseurs, the first unit of the autonomous Czecho-Slovak army in France, after receiving its flag, is leaving its quarters to take up its position in a sector amongst its French brothers-in-arms, the Republican Government, in recognition of your efforts and your attachment to the Allied cause, considers it just and necessary to proclaim the right of your nation to its independence and to recognise publicly and officially the National Council as the supreme organ of its general interests and the first step towards a future Czecho-Slovak Government.
"During many centuries the Czecho-Slovak nation has enjoyed the incomparable benefit of independence. It has been deprived of this independence through the violence of the Habsburgs allied to the German princes. The historic rights of nations are imperishable. It is for the defence of these rights that France, attacked, is fighting to-day together with her Allies. The cause of the Czechs is especially dear to her.
"France will never forget the Prague manifestation of December 8, 1870. Neither will she forget the resistance of its population and the refusal of Czech soldiers to fight for Austria-Hungary, for which heroism thousands of these patriots paid with their lives. France has also heard the appeals of the Czech deputies of January 6, April 13, and May 16, 1918.
"Faithful to the principles of respect for nationalities and the liberation of oppressed nations, the Government of the Republic considers the claims of the Czecho-Slovak nation as just and well founded, and will, at the right moment, support with all its solicitude the realisation of your aspirations to independence within the historic boundaries of your territories at present suffering under the oppressive yoke of Austria and Hungary.
"It is very pleasant for me, Monsieur le Secrétaire Général, to make this declaration. Your sentiments, reflecting those of your compatriots, are for me the measure of the high degree of the future happiness of your country.
"In the name of the Government of the French Republic I tender my warmest and most sincere wishes that the Czecho-Slovak State may speedily become, through the common efforts of all the Allies and in close union with Poland and the Jugoslav State, an insurmountable barrier to Teutonic aggression and a factor for peace in a reconstituted Europe in accordance with the principles of justice and rights of nationalities."
It is unnecessary to add long comments to this clear and explicit state paper which forms a veritable pledge on the part of France to secure Czecho-Slovak independence. It is a recognition of Bohemia's right to independence and of the National Council as the supreme organ of the Czecho-Slovak nation abroad. At the same time it is also an acceptance of our programme of the reorganisation of Central Europe, necessitating the break-up of Austria, and in this respect it is also a success and a pledge for the Poles and Yugoslavs.