Czechoslovakia and Its Germans As was to be expected, Herr
Henlein, the leader of the Sudetendeutsch in Czechoslovakia, has rejected out of hand the important concessions made at the instance of a million German citizens of Czechoslovakia who believe in co- operation with the Government. But Herr Henlein is in a weak position. He claims that the Government should negotiate with him alone as representing the German majority ; he claims to direct the Sudetendeutsch in the Diet without holding a seat there himself ; and he is patently under the direct influence of Berlin. None of this alters the fact that the concessions promised by the Government in the matter of schools, the German language, contracts and official employment will benefit the majority Sudeten- deutsch as much as the minority Activists and remove most or all of their legitimate grievances. Partly, no doubt, because of that, the Czechoslovakian Foreign Minister, Dr. Krofta, was able to give an optimistic survey of the general situation in a speech in the Diet on Tuesday. He made the interesting and important statement that the falsity of the rumours about Russian aerodromes in Czecho- slovakia was now admitted in official circles in Berlin, but he had to express his regret, which all friends of both coun- tries will share, that there is no improvement in relations between Czechoslovakia and Poland. Czechoslovakia has offered repeatedly to submit the points at issue to any kind of impartial arbitrament.
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