Czechoslovakia is proud of being able to offer a refuge to oppressed peoples, Edouard Benes, Minister for Foreign Affairs, declared today in reply to a motion introduced yesterday in the Czechoslovakian National Assembly to restrct the stream of refugees from Germany. The measures introduced by the Agrarian party would prohibit the settlement in Czechoslovakia of all foreigners and would bar them from engaging in occupations in the country.
The Czechoslovakian Foreign Minister stressed “our pride is to offer German refugees a refuge, just as once America, England and France could pride themselves on offering an asylum to the persecuted.”
The Czechoslovakian Republic at the present time is sheltering a large number of political refugees from Germany and Prague is the center of activities for the German Social Democratic party, which is outlawed by the Hitler regime. The presence of the large number of German refugees has been a cause of much concern to many Czechoslovakian leaders, who are disturbed at the effect this migration might have on the economic and employment situations. The fear that the refugees may displace Czechoslovakians in the professions and other occupations is believed the motive underlying today’s action by the Agrarian party members. The party is composed mainly of small landowners and farmers and polls about fifteen percent of the vote in the national elections.
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