Leave-Taking

Rather than serve the new masters of Czechoslovakia, Jan Masaryk had gone to his death. This week, in his own way, ailing, 64-year-old Eduard Benes made his choice, too. He resigned as President of the republic--just one day before he would have had to approve the new Soviet-style constitution which makes his country another "Peoples' Republic."

The decision had not been easy for Benes. Last year, Czechs believed, he had suffered from a partial stroke; he had largely recovered from that, but he was almost alone, and very tired. In his letter of resignation to Communist Premier Klement Gottwald, Benes thanked the people of Czechoslovakia for "their trust and love." Then he said: "I believe in the good sense of our people, and I believe in a beautiful future for our beloved republic."

Benes' farewell was like a record Czechs had somehow heard before. There was a reason for that: this was his second leavetaking. When the Nazis had forced him out, he had said: "For all our citizens I wish better times in the future, both for them and for our beautiful country." But this time he did not expect to return.

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