in march 1938, matuszewski accurately predicted the outbreak of world war ii and its fatal consequences for poland. on the pages of the "słowo lwowskie" (a vilnus newspaper), the ex-minister of treasury launched a campaign for the increase in the polish military budget and for the formation of three armored divisions. after the germans had captured prague on march 15, 1939, he wrote an article in "polityka gospodarcza" calling for the doubling of the size of the polish army. the anxious government elite had matuszewski's text promptly confiscated, but it still appeared in a slightly changed form in "słowo". he was a pessimist, whom józef beck did not want to listen to. he had worried that the war would be an unprecedented catastrophe for poland. the war émigré władysław studnicki would later confirm the colonel's critical attitude toward beck.