Page:The future of democracy.djvu/9



HAVE come here to-night to address you on "THE FUTURE OF DEMOCRACY." The meeting was fixed for some time before the Eaﬆer week—the week, ordinarily of peace and of thoughts of a great record which has influenced the world's hiﬆory for the world's good. We did, not foresee what Eaﬆer week, 1918, would bring forth. Perhaps if we had we should have poﬆponed this meeting. But I am glad that this meeting has not been poﬆponed. For it has brought us here to teﬆify our living faith in our cause and our belief in the future of democracy. Democracy is threatened, and you working men have a simple queﬆion before you.

"Will you take lying down the aggression of Prussian militarism? Will you consent to and accept humbly such fragments of life and freedom as Prussian militarism chooses to leave you by grace of the Prussian military party?"

Or will you say: "We mean to fight to the laﬆ point of resiﬆance; we will back our Army, and will support it with the laﬆ man and the laﬆ shilling we possess, rather than lie down and ignominously [sic] submit to people who seek to triumph in this fashion over us."

Do not let us lose our heads over this matter. Our nation is resolute, I firmly believe. It has made up its mind. We