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| The tiny territory of Javorzina belongs to Czecho-Slovakia, but Poland claims it, because it naturally complements the only water town that this nation possesses. Mr. Benès showed himself very willing to make concessions to a neighboring state and he more or less promised to agree to an agreement. Everything was for the best, when the Polish ministry then in office, which was in need of a boost in prestige, decided to report the annexation of Javorzina as a great diplomatic victory. As a result, and by a natural reflex, Czech public opinion was moved by the idea of having given up a territory that the Poles considered to be of such great value. A fiery campaign was organized against Mr. Benès and everything was called into question. This is how the League of Nations is today seized of the affair of Javorzina, which would have been resolved on its own if a minister had not needed personal success and if we had practiced common sense politics, instead of practicing prestige politics. The Javorzina affair deserves to be pondered not only by Poles and Czechs. |