On October 14, Dr. E. Benes addressed the following letter to all the
Allied Governments:
"By the declaration of the Government of the United States of September
3, 1918, the Czecho-Slovak National Council, whose seat is in Paris,
has been recognised as a _de facto_ Czecho-Slovak Government. This
recognition has been confirmed by the following Allied Governments: by
Great Britain in her agreement with the National Council of September
3, 1918; by France in her agreement of September 28, 1918, and by Italy
in the declaration of her Premier on October 3,1918. I have the honour
to inform you that in view of these successive recognitions a
Provisional Czecho-Slovak Government has been constituted by the
decision of September 26, 1918, with its provisional seat in Paris and
consisting of the following members:
"_Professor Thomas G. Masaryk_, President of the Provisional
Government and of the Cabinet of Ministers, and Minister of
Finance.
"_Dr. Edward Benes_, Minister for Foreign Affairs and of the
Interior.
"General Milan R. Stefanik, Minister of War.
"The undersigned ministry has subsequently decided to accredit the
following representatives with the Allied Powers:
"_Dr. Stephan Osuský_. Chargé d'Affaires of the Czecho-Slovak
Legation in London, accredited with His Majesty's Government in
Great Britain.
"_Dr. Leo Sychrava_, Chargé d'Affaires of the Czecho-Slovak
Legation in Paris, accredited with the French Government.
"_Dr. Leo Borský_, Chargé d'Affaires of the Czecho-Slovak Legation
in Rome, accredited with the Royal Government of Italy.
"_Dr. Charles Pergler_, Chargé d'Affaires of the Czecho-Slovak
Legation in Washington, accredited with the Government of the
United States.
"_Bohdan Pavlu_, at present at Omsk, is to represent our Government
in Russia.
"Our representatives in Japan and Serbia will be appointed later.
"We have the honour to inform you that we have taken these decisions in
agreement with the political leaders at home. During the past three
years our whole political and military action has been conducted in
complete agreement with them. Finally, on October 2, 1918, the
Czecho-Slovak deputy Stanek, President of the Union of Czech Deputies
to the Parliament in Vienna, solemnly announced that the Czecho-Slovak
National Council in Paris is to be considered as the supreme organ of
the Czecho-Slovak armies and that it is entitled to represent the
Czecho-Slovak nation in the Allied countries and at the Peace
Conference. On October 9, his colleague, deputy Zahradník, speaking in
the name of the same union, declared that the Czecho-Slovaks are
definitely leaving the Parliament in Vienna, thereby breaking for ever
all their ties with Austria-Hungary.
"Following the decision of our nation and of our armies, we are
henceforth taking charge as a Provisional National Government for the
direction of the political destinies of the Czecho-Slovak State, and as
such we are entering officially into relations with the Allied
Governments, relying both upon our mutual agreement with them and upon
their solemn declarations.
"We make this declaration in a specially solemn manner at a moment when
great political events call upon all the nations to take part in
decisions which will perhaps give Europe a new political régime for
centuries to come.
"Assuring you of my devoted sentiments, believe me to remain, in the
name of the Czecho-Slovak Government,
_(Signed)_ "DR. EDWARD BENES,