Denver labor bulletin., 1918-08-10

spirit of the men of outraged Serbia
and Rumania, of ravished Belgium
and invaded France, the spirit of
Britain, the spirit of '76 in America,
the men of Garibaldi's blood-these
men will fight and fight on until the
Hun shall be driven from France, from
Belgium, from Serbia and Rumania,
yes, back from Russia into Germany.
(the audience arose unanimously and
applauded the above statement of
President Gompers.)
We must not fail. We will win. If
we should lose, if we could lose, the
lights of freedom would go out over
the whole world. The men and women
of labor of America, combined with
the citizenship of our republic, are
heart and soul in this struggle, MAX
ing common cause with the peoples
of our allied countries. We are in
this fight and we must win. We will
win, no matter how long the contest
may last. And God grant that it may
be done quickly! We have said, and
we repeat, that for the republic of the
United States and her cause, for the
cause of freedom and justice and de-
mocracy all over the world we will
give everything, but for private profit
nothing.
There is no hatred in our hearts for
the people of Germany and Austria;
there is nothing but sympathy or re-
gret, or both sympathy and regret for
them and their course. We know how
they have been miseducated, we know
how their aspirations have been dulled,
we know how their men have suffered
because they have dared to speak, and
we know that the voice of labor of
Germany must be attuned by the key
given by kaiserism or that voice can
not be heard at all. We do hope that
the spirit of America, the spirit of
labor of America, the spirit of the de-
mocracies of the world may permeate
the mind and the heart of the German
people and that they themselves will
crush the tyranny that has oppressed
and misguided them so long. But if
they fail, if they are unable to bring
about that result, then it behooves the
workers and the democracies of the
world to crush that Imperialism and
that autocracy for them.
May l take this opportunity to say
what perhaps l may not have another
opportunity to say-a word in regard
to Russia. 1t is a great pity that the
situation has existed in that unhappy
country as it has within these past
several months. Every thinking man
and woman must be convinced that a
treaty or agreement of any govern
ment with the government of Ger
many is absolutely fruitless and
worthless. From the time that Ger
man autocracy tore asunder the
treaty that guaranteed the neutrality
of Belgium and regarded it as
"scrap of paper" to its promises to
the American government-again re-
garded as a scrap of paper-none of
its promises have been kept. Even
few days ago an agreement secured.
that certain cities should not be bonn
barded by either the allies or the Ger
mans was regarded by the Germans as
"scrap of paper" A treaty of
peace was entered into by the repre-
sentatives of whatever government ex-
listed in Russia humiliating peace,
but nevertheless a treaty of peace
with the imperial governments of Ger
many and Austria, and the ink was
hardly dry upon that treaty before
German armies invaded Russia, just
as tho no treaty of peace had been
concluded. Another scrap of paper!
What hope is there of any agreement
being kept by the government that
now exists in Germany? The people
of Russia are suffering as few people
know. 1t is the duty of the American
people, it is the duty of the people
and the governments of our allied
countries to come to the assistance in
material way of the people of Rus
sia that they may be able to maintain
themselves, to redeem themselves, and
possibly again Great Russia with her
people will stand side by side in spirit
and in fact to fight and defeat and
crush the hated Hun.
Lest / may be tempted, lest l may
be urged on by my own impetuosity
to discuss these great questions at