stand why the parliament of "the kingdoms and countries" should have been the only one in all the belligerent countries not to have been convened since the beginning of this war, even for as long as five minutes,24 and why all the diets have also disappeared. You will understand why the Austrian army, composed as it is in its majority of non-German elements, has not been found as "reliable" as was at first expected by the Hapsburgs; why numerous revolts have taken place; why commanders and other officers had to be brought in from Germany; and why at the present moment 24 Several weeks after the delivery of this lecture the parliament met on May 31, 1917, for the first time since spring, 1914 (see note 15). Some three weeks afterwards (on June 22, 1917) the special correspondent of the New York Times sent from Berne a description of the revelations made at its first few meetings (New York Times, July 22, 1917, section 4, p. 8, col. 1), of which every word is borne out so fully by the general conditions in the Hapsburg empire and by all the information which, while in England, I gathered from Polish and other Slavic newspapers, talks with politicians, etc., that it seems entirely in point to reprint a few extracts: "... A perusal of the speeches delivered by the Deputies of the various nationalities and parties. . . makes it plain to the dullest mind why the Austrian Court and Government shrank so much and so long from calling Parliament together. . . . At last all the distressful peoples who unwillingly form part of the Austrian Empire have been able, through the mouths of their representatives, to voice their feelings, and they have voiced them quite enough to throw a vivid light on affairs, although frequently when the outside world would have most desired to learn what those feelings were the Austrian censor or newspaper editor has not thought it necessary to do more than barely hint at them. Hideous revelations have nevertheless been made concerning the unspeakable ill-treatment and oppression of which certain Slav nationalities have been the victims since the war began. The hatred felt by the German-speaking Austrians and the Magyars for their Slav fellow-subjects has found vent in veritable orgies of blood during the last three years . . and all behind the closed doors of the House of Hapsburg . All the fine talk and high-sounding newspaper articles and paragraphs about the 'universal patriotic self-sacrifice,' with which all the Austrian nationalities went forth for the defense of the Hapsburg Empire are now seen to be a fairy tale of fairy tales. It was, as is now perfectly clear, the Prussians and Magyars together who forcibly drove the non-Germans and non-Magyar people of Austria-Hungary to the battlefield, and who pointed machine-guns and fired volleys at them if they showed the slightest sign of resistance. gallows, indeed, rules in Austria-Hungary as in the days of Metternich, Marshal Radetsky, and Haynau. In the Reichsrat the Deputy Daszynski (Polish Club) actually said only two or three days ago: "The entrance into Galicia was the entrance of the gallows and of ... The the Austrian territory has to be defended not only by Austro-Hungarian, but by German and Turkish troops, in order to prevent any possibility of the army getting into touch with the population and revolting against a dynasty which is waging a mad war, with a mad ally, and by mad means. The conditions outlined above will also explain to you why Hungary, of which the diet has indeed been in session, but is constituted so as to correspond entirely with Magyar interests and Magyar wishes,25 should have gained so much prominence in the foreign politics of the Dual Monarchy; why the rulers of Hungary who had been able to reconcile the interests of the dynasty with those of the Hungarian nobility, and at the same time to understand that their salvation lies in an alliance with Prussia, should play such an important rôle in Austro-Hungarian foreign affairs. murder. Some say there were 30,000 persons hanged, others say twice as many. These hangings took place without any one having the least idea why, or what was the matter.''' The whole article seems wonderfully illuminating and deserves most careful study. It must be remembered, too, that the parliament convoked in 1917 (elected in 1911 with the most extraordinary abuses on the part of the government) contained no representatives for numerous Polish, Bohemian, and southern Slav districts; many of these had taken refuge abroad at the beginning of the war and have been imploring allied help in order to obtain independence for their countries; others are or have been in Austrian prisons. Even so, parliamentary opposition has proved too strong for the government; after crises, resignations, discussions which the censor has kept carefully from the outside world or of which he has only allowed veiled mention, news came early in May, 1918, that parliament was forbidden to reassemble. Despite one or two promising tendencies Parliament has been unable to find a stable policy. As things are, the resumption of the sittings of Parliament would not facilitate the position but would only sharpen political antagonism and thereby endanger the fulfilment of those economic tasks on the successful solution of which everything depends”—such is the official explanation of the return from masked to open absolutism for the greater glory of the Hapsburgs, their Hohenzollern masters, and the Austro-Germans and Magyars (New York Times, May 5, 1918, p. 1). 66 25 As to the bribery and violence at the last election (1910) resulting in the reduction of the seats of non-Magyar nationalities (apart from deputies from Croatia and Slavonia), which form at least one-half of the population, from 26 to 7, against some 400 Magyar seats, see Annual Register, 1910, p. 319. See also the article in the New York Times, July 22, 1917, mentioned in the preceding note. This, in a few words, is the tale of the misery of AustriaHungary's peoples. I am not here to make forecasts as to the future, but I may be justified in telling you what I think will be the tendency of the peoples of Austria-Hungary if, as a result of this war, they should be asked to express their wishes. This war has turned into one of democracy against autocracy, into a war for liberty all over the world. The demand continually grows louder that dynastic claims shall give way to the wishes of peoples; the government of peoples must rest upon their consent. There is no reason to uphold the autocracy of the Hapsburgs any more than that of the Holstein-Gottorps (Romanovs) or of the Hohenzollerns. I want to call your attention to the following tendencies which so far have become marked. Galicia, which was conquered by Austria by pure force in the eighteenth century, will desire a union with the other parts of Poland; she wishes to be a part of that "united, independent and autonomous" Poland to which President Wilson referred in his speech to the Senate, two or three months ago. Bohemia, Moravia, Silesia and Slovakia will demand freedom as a united and independent Bohemian state. The southern Slavs will demand a union with Serbia. The Italian parts of Tyrol, and the adjoining districts will demand a union with Italy. The Rumanian parts of Austria and of Hungary will request a union with Rumania. Whether the Austro-Germans will desire a union with Germany, whether the Hungarians will desire to become a republic as they wished in 1848-49 remains to be seen. I have said enough to make you realize the very serious problems that are awaiting solution as a result of the present war. I cannot describe to you the sufferings of all those subject races both before and since 1914. Take the situation which exists now. At their home the Poles, the Bohemians, the southern Slavs are compelled to serve in the army of their conquerors, side by side with their German and Turkish oppressors, for ends and aims which are foreign and detestable to them. They have to witness, for instance in the case of Galicia, an unparalleled devastation of the country, calamities of hunger and distress, unspeakable misdeeds on the part of the conquering armies. And yet at the same time, if they have taken refuge abroad, members of the same oppressed races are legally regarded as subjects of the very same Austrian and Hungarian governments which they hate and despise. It is true that this position has been grasped, for example in France and England, and the subject races of Austria-Hungary, such as Poles, Italians, Bohemians, southern Slavs have been treated as friends despite their legally hostile "allegiance." But all this can be thoroughly remedied only by a reconstruction of the governmental conditions throughout central and eastern Europe. This work should be undertaken by all those interested in the progress of civilization. There will be no end to militarism and to war as long as there are subject races kept in bondage against their will by pure force. To help them will be more charitable for you than to go as missionaries among the primitive tribes of Asia or Africa. It is only by freeing those subject races that you can hope to establish a brotherhood of free nations. Let me express the hope that it is this kind of help which we may expect from England, France, Italy, and now America. Let me hope that you will understand in this sense the words of President Wilson which I quoted at the beginning of this lecture, and which I take the liberty of quoting again: "We are glad, now that we see the facts with no veil of false pretense about them, to fight thus for the ultimate peace of the world and for the ultimate liberation of its peoples. for the rights of nations, great and small, and the privilege of men everywhere to choose their way of life and of obedience. The world must be made safe for democracy. Its peace must be planted upon the tested foundations of political liberty." AMERICA TO ENGLAND: 1917 CHARLES MILLS GAYLEY I That day our fathers cried: "Ours the blood and ours the liberties, "Ours the Cross upon the breeze, The faith, the law, the custom.-God decide! Let him send his Hessians overseas! British blood is ours," they cried, "The charters and the ancient liberties."' When our fathers said that word, pledged their lives and drew the sword, It was for these. That day your best replied, Your naked British hearts, Your commons and your nobles, your councillors of state- "By Heaven, they vindicate Our native right! The quarrel theirs, but ours the fate- And God the grace imparts!" Then Yorktown! And the people then: "Then win. But have we won? Your wisdom was too late. They win a world of Englishmen; We lose a world of hearts!'' A still voice testified "Their skies they change but not their hearts who far from England roam, |