r- 
 
•OR FREEDOM 
 
 A MANIFESTATION OF OPPRESSED SLAVIC 
 NATIONALITIES OF AUSTRIA- HUNGARY IN 
 HONOR OF THE SERBIAN WAR MISSION TO 
 THE UNITED STATES 
 
 PUBLISHED BY THE 
 
 SERBIAN NATIONAL DEFENSE LEAGUE 
 OF AMERICA 
 
 "J 
 
MAY 19 1919 
 
 C 
 
 
PREFACE 
 
 On January 20th of this year an important Slav meeting 
 was held in the big Ball room of the Hotel Astor. Its importance 
 lay not only in the fact that it was arranged jointly ty duly 
 authorized representatives of 7.000.000 Poles, Czechoslovaks and 
 Yugoslavs (Serbs, Croats and Slovenes) living in this country, 
 but also in the fact that it was arranged in honor of the Serbian 
 Royal Mission to the United States because by expressing their 
 admiration for, and solidarity with, Serbia these Austrian Slavs 
 proved to be with their heart and soul for the Allies and against 
 Austria-Hungary. The meeting in general resulted in being an 
 eloquent protest of former Austrian subjects against the un- 
 heard of system of violence and oppression practised in Austria- 
 Hungary, and its fundamental to;ie,,.was: Long live liberty! — 
 Down with Austria! 
 
 At the moment when the Secretary of State desires to an- 
 nounce that, after the recognition of a Free and United Poland, 
 the nationalistic aspirations of the Czechoslovaks and Yugoslavs 
 for freedom, have also the earnest sympathy of the United States' 
 Government, it may be of some interest to give a detailed account 
 on this first joint action of the Poles, Czechoslovaks and Yugo- 
 slavs in America, by publishing the speeches given at the Hotel 
 Astor. Far from having lost anything of their actualitv these 
 speeches are now of even more immediate significance because 
 of the changed position of Austria-Hungary, who, impossible as 
 she already was, has after her recent treaty with Germany be- 
 come a complete vassal of German militarism. 
 
 In the name of the Czechoslovaks, Mr. Gaza H. Mika spoke, 
 in the name of the Poles, Dr. F. Ignatius Drobinski, and in the 
 name of the Yugoslavs, Dr. Hinko Hinkovic. Dr. Milenko R. 
 Vesnic, chief of the Serbian Mission, and General Mihailo Rasic 
 spoke on behalf of Serbia. The chairman of the meeting, General 
 Francis V. Greene, also delivered a cordial speech which was 
 enthusiastically cheered by the audience; it is repeated here in 
 full, as an inseparable part of the whole. 
 
 When this booklet was already in print, Mr. Pierre de Lanux. 
 the well known author of "Young France and New America" and 
 
— 2 — 
 
 of "La Yougoslavie", was kind enough to write an introduction 
 which will be undoubtedly welcomed both by experts and be- 
 ginners in the complicated problem of oppressed nationalities in 
 Austria-Hungary, Being at the same time an old friend of the 
 Slavs and a French official he is quite naturally a link between 
 the Allies and the Austrian Slavs and has proved it on more than 
 one occasion. 
 
 On behalf of the South Slavic National Council, in the name 
 of which I had the honor to open the meeting, I herewith express 
 my heartfelt gratitude to the Chief and the members of the 
 Serbian Royal Mission who accepted our invitation; to the 
 Serbian Minister at Washington, Mr. Lj. Mihailovich who atten- 
 ded the meeting together with the Mission; to all speakers — 
 contributors to this booklet; and, last but not least, to all Ameri- 
 can friends who through their presence added very considerably 
 to the success of the meeting. May I also deeply thank the 
 Czechoslovak singers who, together with the Serbian women in 
 their picturesque national costumes, and the Croatian Sokols in 
 their uniforms made the meeting a vividly representative one of 
 the great purpose of Slavic solidarity. 
 
 New York City, June, 1918. 
 
 M. TRIVOUNATZ, 
 President of the Serbian National Defense League of America, 
 member of the South Slavic National Council at Washington. 
 
INTRO DUCTION 
 
 by 
 PIERRE de LANUX 
 Member of the French High Commission to the United States. 
 
 Once before, I was present at a meeting of delegates from 
 all Slavic nations. It was on the night of the first great battle 
 in the Balkan war of 1912, at Vrania, a little Serbian city near 
 the Turkish front. War correspondents from Bohemia, from 
 Croatia, from Bosnia, from every Slavic province, were assembled 
 together, scarcely knowing each other, cautiously feeling the 
 ground. 
 
 We were awaiting the news from the battle before Skoplie, 
 the capital of Macedonia. At nightfall Mr. Pasic, the Serbian 
 Premier, came in and said, "Skoplie is taken". 
 
 A sudden current of enthusiasm and of pride ran through 
 the gathering, and there I could see, crystallized under my eyes, 
 the first great manifestation where the Western Slavs proved 
 conscious of their common strength. 
 
 Turkey was defeated. But it was Austria and Germany 
 who had received the blow. 
 
 From that night, it was all clear to me, and I wrote to 
 France: "Serbian victories are French victories". 
 
 Since October 1912, there have been long and bitter trials 
 for the Slavs. Every Slavic group has been threatened and 
 shaken and sometimes ruined; still, on January 20th at the 
 Hotel Astor, remembering that first, improvised assembly of 
 Vrania, I felt a strong, decided optimism. In spite of the terrible 
 ordeal, the national problem of the Western Slavs has undoubted- 
 ly advanced, in six years, towards its solution. Why? Because 
 there is today a wide consciousness and a sincere alliance where 
 a few years ago there was provincialism and division. That is 
 what I want to insist upon. 
 
 The Will of the People. 
 
 Here you are, three strong unified groups — Yugoslavs, Cze- 
 choslovaks and Poles. In Austria-Hungary, in defiance of the old 
 policy of division entertained by Vienna, your people have clearly 
 manifested their will. In repeated occasions they have endorsed 
 the bold action of their representatives, who stood in the Parlia- 
 
_4 — 
 
 ment with a program of independence and national unity. These 
 words appear in all their recent declarations. 
 
 A few months ago, the Yugoslavs and Czechs went so far as 
 to amalgamate their political organization. When the Poles 
 proved ready to join in, for the Empire there was no other alter- 
 native to political bankruptcy than the closing of the Parliament. 
 
 These representatives of your people. Professor Masaryk, 
 Dr. Trumbic, Mr. Paderewski, who have founded national 
 councils in the Allied Countries, express themselves more freely 
 — but there is no difference between their declarations and those 
 which are issued at home in the presence of Austro-Prussian 
 bayonets. 
 
 At the meeting of January 20th, we listened to the best autho- 
 rized representatives of the millions of Poles, Czechoslovaks, and 
 Yugoslavs immigrated in the United States. These immigrants, 
 in their turn, are the free spokesmen of their oppressed brothers 
 in Europe. We have to recognize that wherever a voice of yours 
 makes itself heard, the claim is the same and even the words are 
 identical. But not with words only have you expressed your 
 will. Thousands of volunteers have enlisted in the Polish army 
 and in the Czechoslovak army which France recently created 
 under "^he political authority of the National Councils of Poland 
 and of Bohemia in Paris, thus recognizing the political existence 
 of your Nations. President Wilson has formally recognized the 
 Polish National Council. There can be no doubt about your 
 wishes. If one objected that the Slavs in enemy country are 
 perhaps only infuriated by persecution, that the Slavs in allied 
 countries are inflamed by the contagion of our creed, then what 
 about those 5000 Yugoslavs who had chosen to fight with the 
 Russian army, and who after the Russian peace have managed 
 to go to Vladivostok, to sail through the Indian Ocean and the 
 Red Sea and to join our forces in Salonica, where they fight again 
 for their freedom? Who has influenced thenn? 
 
 The Case in full Light. 
 
 It has been long and hard work to expose your case, to 
 defend your claim, before an indifferent, ignorant world which 
 had bad habits of thinking. You have been disappointed, deluded 
 many times. But now results are at hand. Inter-Allied difficulties 
 have been removed, and with the recent Congress of Rome, with 
 the Congress of Paris that will take place very soon, your case 
 is now in full light. 
 
 You deserve freedom, first because each people "great or 
 small" deserves freedom and needs it as we need the air in which 
 to breathe. 
 
— 5 — 
 
 You deserve our help because you, Southern Slavs, have 
 sacrificed yourselves in the Dobrudja and on the Macedonian 
 front; you, Czechoslovaks, in the Carpathians have fought in 
 such a way that "the world ought to fall on its knees before you", 
 as General Brussilov said, and you, Poles, had to fight not only 
 persecution, but also insidious, treacherous attempts to win your 
 consent to your own dismemberment. 
 
 You deserve America's help because you stand strictly for 
 the principles she herself upholds, and because your fight for 
 independence is a striking repetition of the earlier times of Amer- 
 ican Revolution. 
 
 The Present Duty. 
 
 The future of the Western Slavs now depends first upon 
 themselves. They have to sacrifice everything to unity and 
 community of efforts. No longer is this a time for party divi- 
 sions. Nations will not be saved by one party or another, but 
 nations will live or perish according to the unity shown by their 
 members. 
 
 About the disposition of the civilized world concerning the 
 right of self-determination of the people, according to clearly 
 recognizable lines of nationality, there is no more doubt to be 
 entertained. The civilized world knows at last that it will have 
 no permanent peace until this self-determination is put into 
 practice. 
 
 Austria-Hungary's structure is in opposition with that right. 
 Now, if the peoples under that monarchy, faithful to themselves 
 and acting as our allies, contribute to our victory and dissolve 
 the empire into independent nations with democratic constitu- 
 tions and with a renewed vitality, this will be no destructive dis- 
 memberment, it will be a constructive liberation of the enslaved. 
 
 If then Austria-Hungary is at last replaced by something 
 better, the Western World cannot but ardently approve of its 
 disparition. 
 
 What becomes of your nations at the end of the war will 
 be evidence of victory for one side or the other. Whatever the 
 other results will be, Germany keeping her control over subject 
 races is a victorious Germany. Deprived of that control and 
 reduced to her real dimensions, population and boundaries, she 
 is made harmless, and the world can resume its normal life. 
 
— 6 — 
 Address of General Francis V. Greene. 
 Ladies and Gentlemen — 
 
 This meeting is called to welcome Dr. Vesnich and his 
 colleagues of the Serbian Mission and also to give an opportunity 
 for speakers of the different branches of the great Slavic race to 
 give expression to the hopes and aspirations, the intentions and 
 purposes of their respective peoples. 
 
 Dr. Vesnich: It is indeed a high privilege in welcoming to 
 this liberty-loving land your Excellency and your colleagues of the 
 Serbian Mission, Froim the day when Patrick Henry made that 
 soul-stirring speech to the Virginia House of Burgesses which 
 ended with the impassioned appeal "As for me, give me liberty 
 or give me death" — from that day, one hundred and forty three 
 years ago, until this very hour, the American heart has always 
 beat warmly in sympathy for those who in any part of the world 
 were fighting for their liberty, for the right to live their own 
 lives, choose their own form of government and select their own 
 governing officials. And surely, Sir, your gallant compatriots 
 have gained the sympathy and admiration of all Americans, for 
 Serbia has for nearly two centuries been fighting for liberty, 
 first against the hideous cruelty of the unspeakable Turk, and 
 then against the intolerable tyranny of the Austrian despot. In 
 1804 your ancestors first took arms against the Turks; in 1830, 
 with the aid of the most powerful nation of the Slavic race — 
 Russia — Serbia gained its autonomy with a ruling Prince sprung 
 from its own soil; in 1876, in support of your brothers in Bosnia 
 and Herzegovina, you again went to war with the Turk, and 
 although at first defeated by overwhelming numbers, you did in 
 1878, again with the aid of Russia, become an absolutely inde- 
 pendent state; finally, in 1914, the destruction of Serbia in the 
 Southeast as of Belgium in the Northwest was the basis of the 
 Teutonic plan for the conquest of the world, and it was upon 
 Serbia that the first blow fell. But so gallant a defense did your 
 brave country make that three times were the Austrians driven 
 back, and it was only in the second year of the war when Germany 
 and Bulgaria came to the aid of Austria, and all these Empires 
 united to crush a nktion less than one tenth of Austria's size 
 in population and resources, that the Serbian army was forced 
 to retreat into Albania, the Serbian people were overwhelmed with 
 murder and rapine, and the beautiful valleys and hills of Serbia 
 given over to devastation and destruction. But amid the ruins 
 of their homes and their property, the Serbian people have saved 
 their souls untarnished and unconquered. As your people of 
 
— 7 — 
 
 today have received from their ancestors the noble heritage of 
 their struggle for liberty, so in turn you transmit to your 
 descendants the priceless gift of your valiant conduct in this 
 great war for human freedom. 
 
 In the war which resulted from the action of Serbia in 1876 
 it was my good fortune to accompany the Russian Army from 
 the Danube, through Plevna and Shipka, the Balkans and Sofia, 
 Philippopolis and Adrianople to Constantinople; and in that 
 campaign to form an intimate friendship with one of the 
 greatest soldiers of modern times — Skobeleff — and through 
 him to gain some knowledge of the Slavic character and aspira- 
 tions. Russia, which has for so many generations been the leader 
 of the Slavs, the big brother of the less powerful Slavic States, 
 and which came so nobly to their aid in 1829, in 1876, and in 
 1814, is today temporarily incapacitated and can not help you 
 now. Russia has gained her own liberty, but has not yet organized 
 it. She has yet to learn that without the support of law and 
 order liberty cannot survive. All nations have to learn that 
 fundamental lesson, each in its own way. From 1783 when we 
 gained our liberty until 1789 when we established our present 
 form of government, these United States were thirteen separate 
 communities, jealous of each other, quarrelling among them- 
 selves, financially bankrupt, and rapidly drifting toward anarchy. 
 Then, through the practical genius of Washington and Hamilton, 
 a "more perfect Union" was established and a Constitution 
 adopted under which we have made that progress which has 
 astounded the world and placed us in the front rank of nations. 
 Similarly France, which began her revolution in 1789, has run 
 the whole gamut of social and political development, through 
 the reign of terror, the rule of Napoleon, the restoration of 
 the monarchy, the second revolution of 1848, the second Empire, 
 the Commune, and finally the third Republic. At last, after 
 nearly a hundred years of prolonged birth pains, she found her 
 permanent form of government under which she has in this 
 present war for freedom given such an example of heroic spirit 
 as shall be an inspiration for all time to those who seek to gain 
 or maintain their liberty. Russia is now following this same 
 difficult path ; for the time being intoxicated with the first deep 
 draughts of liberty; and in her case the task is greatly compli- 
 cated by the fact that barely ten per cent of her population can 
 read and write, and that her territory is so vast and her means 
 of communication so limited. But a race which has produced 
 Pushkin, Tolstoi and Dostoievsky in literature, Tchaikovsky in 
 music, Verestchagin in painting, and Skobeleff in war — such 
 ^ race will ultimately consolidate its revolution, develop the 
 
form of free government best adapted to its national character 
 and under such government will attain its full measure of happi- 
 ness and prosperity. How long this will take, no man can say; 
 but that it will ultimately be achieved is as certain as the move- 
 ment of the stars in their courses. For the present, however, 
 Russia is not a factor, and the leadership which she has so long 
 excercised in Slavic affairs now passes. Sir, to your devoted 
 country, Serbia. Small by comparison, as your country is in area 
 and population, she is fully competent to take this leadership, 
 and will worthily perform its duties, for Serbia has shown that 
 she possesses those qualities of soul, which far more than size 
 or wealth determine the greatness of nations. 
 
 And now. Ladies and Gentlemen, it is peculiarly agreeable 
 that in this great city of New York we should have an opportu- 
 nity to hear from scions of the Slavic race their own statement 
 of the part which they should take and the dispositions which 
 they should receive in this momentous settlement of the affairs 
 of men and of nations, wliich is now being worked out on the 
 battlefields of Europe. Twenty five years ago no one but a 
 madman would have imagined that we should ever be engaged 
 in a great European War and that we should take part in deciding 
 the future of Belgium, of France, of Poland, of Bohemia and of 
 the Balkan States. Our foreign policy has been guided by two 
 shining beacon lights: first, the Farewell Address of Washing- 
 ton, in which he enjoined us to avoid entangling alliances in 
 Europe; and second, the Monroe Doctrine which we flung out 
 to the world a generation later, and in which we declared that 
 no European State should acquire any additional territory in 
 Europe; and second, the Monroe Doctrine which we flung out 
 to the world a generation later, and in which we declared that 
 no European State should acquire any additional territory in 
 the Western Hemisphere, or interfere in the political administra- 
 tion of any State in that Hemisphere. And strange to say, though 
 we took this step while still a feeble state, almost without an 
 army or a navy, yet so strong is the force of a righteous idea, 
 no nation has seriously questioned that Doctrine, although a 
 century has elapsed since it was promulgated. But out of a 
 clear sky in 1898 we went to war to liberate Cuba — and at its 
 end to our astonishment, found ourselves a World Power with 
 new possessions in the Atlantic and in the Far East, and all the 
 complications and responsibilities inseparable from our new 
 position. Probably no war was ever fought in which the cost 
 in life and treasure was so slight and the political consequences 
 so far reaching. Now we find ourselves engaged in a World 
 War, and in spite of all the delays and mistakes and confusion 
 
— 9 — 
 
 due to our total lack of preparedness, we shall be in it until the 
 end and shall be a mighty factor in determining the terms of the 
 peace with which it will be concluded. Our President has re- 
 cently (January 8th) set forth "The program of the world's 
 peace", and I call your attention to the first of his fourteen 
 articles. I will read his exact words: "1. Open covenants of 
 peace, openly arrived at, after which there shall be no private 
 understandings of any kind, but diplomacy shall proceed always 
 frankly and in the public view". 
 
 Now, what does this mean? It is manifest that the negotia- 
 tions of diplomacy can not be carried on in the market place or 
 by town meetings. But it is equally certain that the public can 
 be advised of what is in process of negotiation and be allowed to 
 express their opinion in regard to it before the negotiation is 
 closed; in other words, that diplomacy shall not be a matter of 
 secret negotiation between high officers of the contracting 
 parties but that it shall be carried on under the guidance of an 
 enlightened public opinion, and that such opinion shall be based 
 upon public knowledge of the essential facts. Such meetings as 
 this of today are just what is needed in order that such an 
 enlightened public opinion can be formed and crystallized. We 
 have a deep sympathy with people struggling to acquire the 
 liberty which we have so long enjoyed, but we have not an 
 intimate knowledge of the facts in regard to their situation. 
 Until the outbreak of the war the very names — Croatia, Istria, 
 Dalmatia, the Morava, the Drave, Lodz, etc. were unknown to 
 the great mass of the American people. Of the social life, the 
 economic resources, the political conditions, the history and tradi- 
 tions, the aspirations and affiliations of the millions of Slavic 
 people in Poland, in Bohemia, and in the Balkan States we have 
 much to learn. And it is essential that we learn it, for we have 
 given the most solemn pledges that we will see justice done to 
 these people. The President has said that "we see very clearly 
 that unless justice be done to others it will not be done to us"; 
 and further that "iii regard to these essential rectifications of 
 wrong and assertions of right we feel ourselves to be intimate 
 partners of all the governments and peoples associated together 
 against the imperialists"; and finally he has given our word 
 that "we stand together until the end". These pledges have 
 been given with practically no dissenting voice in all this broad 
 land. They have been approved with an approach to absolute 
 unanimity almost unknown in our history as a nation. If now 
 we fail to support these pledges with appropriate acts and to 
 carry on the war until they are redeemed, then we shall have 
 
— 10 — 
 
 broken our word and shall stand before the world disgraced and 
 disonored. But rest assured, my friends, we shall not fail. 
 
 In doing our duty we shall be guided not alone by altruistic or 
 emotional motives, but also by an enlightened self-interest. 
 Fortunately for us, the paths of duty and of advantage run side 
 by side and lead to the same goal, for our independance is at 
 stake as well as that of the Slavs. If Germany can and does win 
 this war, she can and will destroy us. If we do not gain your 
 freedom, we shall lose our own. Absorbed as we have been with 
 our own affairs, and ignorant of the real situation in Europe and 
 the actual designs of Germany, it took us nearly three years be- 
 fore we realized that this is our war, that our interest in it 
 is just as acute and vital as that of France, or Great Britain, 
 or Italy, or Belgium. It may take us some time longer before 
 we realize how important is the relation of the Slavic peoples 
 to the outcome of the war and to our success in it. As the map 
 now stands, the destinies of 176,000,000 people are controlled 
 from Berlin, and of these less than 70,000,000 are Germans in 
 race or language or sympathy. If Germany can make peace on 
 that basis, then in the future wars, which she is already planning 
 and one of which would be against us, for every two German 
 soldiers she would have three soldiers of other races whom she 
 would compel to fight against their own brethren as she now 
 compels the Alsatians to fight against their brethren in France. 
 On such a basis as this the project for submitting the world to 
 the domination of Prussian Kultur is no mere idle dream but is 
 well within the domain of actual possibility and even probability. 
 How is such an unspeakable calamity to be prevented? My 
 answer — I speak only for myself but I am confident that be- 
 fore this year 1918 is ended it will be the opinion of the great 
 body of Americans — by surrounding Germany with a number 
 of independent Slavic states: a free Poland extending to the 
 Baltic; a free Bohemia; and Serbia expanded into a great Jugo- 
 slav state extending from the Adriatic to the Aegean; these 
 free and independent States to be not only established but 
 to be supported, so long as is necessary to maintain, 
 their independence not only by our political and military strength 
 but above all by our economic strength ; so that they may be able 
 to develop their own enormous economic resources, which have 
 been so completely suppressed by the aliens who have ruled them, 
 until they gain such strength that they no longer need our 
 support. If such a project is realized, then Mittel-Europa is an 
 idle dream and world domination is impossible. And unless we 
 falter and fail in the task to which the President has pledged 
 that the people of the United States "are ready to devote their 
 
— 11 — 
 
 lives, their honor, and every thing that they possess", then this 
 project will be realized. 
 
 But I fear that I have taken more of your time than belongs 
 to the presiding officer and that you are impatient to hear the 
 speakers who are so well qualified to address you on these 
 stirring and far-reaching subjects, and whom I shall now in- 
 troduce to you, — first, however, standing to hear the noble 
 strains of the Serbian National Hymn as you have already heard 
 the Star Spangled Banner, so beautifully sung by the Czechoslo- 
 vak Singjng Society. 
 
 Address of Gaza H. Mika. 
 
 In introducing Mr. Gaza H. Mika, the Chairman of the meet- 
 ing said: 
 
 "The first speaker is an .-Vinerican citizen, a practising law- 
 yer in New Haven Conn., but he was born and his mother still 
 lives — at least he hopes she does, for it is two years, since he has 
 had news of her — in far away Bohemia, at no great distance 
 from the city of Pressburg. liike many otliers, this speaker has 
 given up his ordinary avocations in order to devote his entire ti- 
 me to activities connected with the war. He will speak to you 
 concerning the Czechoslovaks, as a duly authorized representati- 
 ve of 1,500,000 Czechoslovaks living in this country. 
 
 "t have much pleasure in introducing Mr. Gaza H. Mikn". 
 
 The citizens of New York feel proud of the privilege to wel- 
 come in their midst the distinguished representatives of the 
 Serbian nation. The courageous stand of the Serbian people, 
 when, in the summer of 1914, they were summarily requested to 
 surrender a part of their hard-won liberties has long been a sub- 
 ject of admiration. Their valiant resistance has long ago elicited- 
 the merited praise of her friends and also the acknowledgments 
 of her enemies. Like a gallant "Spartan band" the Serbian 
 Heroes stood their ground till further resistance was useless. 
 Overwhelmed in the end by a superior foe, commanding greater 
 numbers, possessing more instruments of war, and surpassing 
 even Attila and his tribe of Huns in wantonness and cruelty, they 
 were at length forced to yield. 
 
 Nevertheless, the Spirit of Serbia is still alive. When the 
 sufferings of the present war shall have been forgotten, when 
 the crimes that have been committed in the name of Teutonic 
 Kultur shall have passed out of the memory of man, the name 
 of Serbia will still ring true and continue to inspire and thrill 
 the hearts of all who love justice, and are willing to protect and 
 defend her. 
 
— 12 — 
 
 It would be needless to dwell on, Serbia's contributions to 
 humanity and civilization. Let the Germans talk about and 
 advertise their achievements, Serbia needs no press agents. But, 
 even if Serbia had never been heard of before, the courageous 
 resistance of her men, the noble sacrifices of her women, and the 
 bold stand of her armies, when in effect they said to the Teuton 
 hordes "Thus far canst thou go and no farther" would be suffi- 
 cient to immortalize her name. 
 
 If there be a people that can really appreciate and sym- 
 pathize with all that Serbia has accomplished, then it is those 
 who like Serbia of today are suffering beneath the oppressive 
 yoke of the Hapsburgs. The Poles, the Yugoslavs, and the 
 Czechoslovaks know full well what it means to be deprived of 
 their liberty and independence. The Czechoslovaks were deprived 
 of their rights and privileges one after another; even those 
 the imost sacred to the hearts of a people that proudly points to 
 John Hus as their national idol, have been shamefully trodden 
 under foot. To their sorrow they have learned that Austria as 
 a friend, is far more to be feared than Austria as an enemy. 
 
 What Serbia is now going through, and it must be admitted 
 that even the tyrannous hand of the Turk lay not so heavily 
 on the shoulders of the Serbian people as the supposedly cultured 
 and benevolent hand of the Hapsburgs, the Czechoslovaks have 
 had to contend with for centuries. They know what it means to 
 have their mother tongue banished into exile ; to have their men, 
 women and children massacred en masse and deprived of their 
 possessions. 
 
 It is reported that about 20 per cent of the Serbs and 
 Yugoslavs have already been annihilated. At the end of the 
 Thirty Years War hardly a third of the inhabitants of Bohemia 
 was left alive, and since then life has been worse than slavery. 
 Long before the present war began the Czechoslovaks 
 realized that the interests of the Poles, the Yugoslavs and the 
 Czechoslovaks were identical ; that a common danger was 
 threatening the national existence of all. Consequently among 
 the volunteers who rallied to the defense of Serbia, when in 
 previous wars that country sought to insure her position in the 
 Balkans, there was no small percentage of Czechoslovaks. They 
 knew that Whatever advantage would accrue to Serbia would 
 simultaneously redound to their interests. 
 
 The problem that is now facing Serbia, and the Yugoslavs, 
 is the same problem that must be solved before the once glorious 
 Polish state is reconstructed and before the Czechoslovaks can 
 attain national unity and independence. These three nations 
 have a multitude of interests in common ; they have all been the 
 
— 13 — 
 
 A^ictims of a tyrannous autocracy, they have all lost their indepen- 
 dence for a time; they have all had to pass through the same 
 fiery test, and so they must also fight and win together. Realizing 
 the common danger that threatens each individually they shall 
 henceforth cooperate more and more, to the end, that autocracy 
 may be banished from the earth and the world made safe for 
 democracy. The very fact that the Yugoslavs, the Poles and the 
 Czechoslovaks, are jointly welcoming the Serbian Royal Com- 
 mission, is an evidence of their unity of purpose and solidarity 
 of interests. Together with the Allies and America, they must 
 succeed in attaining the common aims of all humanity. 
 
 I was asked to lay before you their complaints and their 
 aspirations. There is no use discussing the past, it is to the future 
 that we look. And in a few words, a mere sentence, I may say 
 that the aims of the Poles, the Yugoslavs, the Czechoslovaks, 
 -and other oppressed nations of Europe, are no other than the 
 aims that forced the Minute Men of 1776 to leave their hearths 
 and strike for liberty. Their aim is the same as that, for the 
 attainment of which, hundreds of thousands of lives were sacri- 
 ficed here in American unity and independence. And, we have 
 full reason to believe that when the war is over their legal and 
 national claims shall have been recognized and approved. 
 
 None of these have any aspirations beyond their own ethnic 
 borderland. Unlike that of the Germans and Magyars, their 
 guiding principle is now, and always has been, that he who is 
 unwilling to grant liberty to others is himself unworthy of it. 
 All they seek is freedom to pursue their own manner of living, 
 unhindered and unthreatened. And just as they are fighting 
 for their own rights, they are willing to respect and even defend 
 the rights of others. Of this they have already given ample 
 proof. 
 
 And so, outside of the Germano-Magyar-Bulgaro-Turkish 
 combination the world stands united in its determination to 
 remove the Teuton menace from the face of the earth, even 
 though the war should have to go on until even "uncondi- 
 tional surrender" would be welcomed by the present enemies 
 of humanity. 
 
 Even the Russian people are in their own way striving for 
 the same aims. We must not judge Russia too harshly, she has 
 already accomplished much and she has suffered even more. 
 It will take time to bring order out of chaos. But the heart of 
 Russia is still sound. With the memories of Czarist absolutism 
 still before them, it is inconceivable that the Russian people or 
 any considerable faction of them should favor Germany or 
 Austria. Have faith in Russia. The time is not distant when 
 
— 14 — 
 
 the present attitude of America towards Russia as outlined by 
 the President shall have been thoroughly vindicated. In their 
 own way, which is not without its effect, the Russians are also 
 exerting their influence for democracy. 
 
 Thus we stand united in purpose, fighting and bleeding for 
 the same cause, having full confidence that right and justice 
 will finally prevail and believing also that just as the fatal treaty 
 of Berlin is frequently spoken of, as one of the leading causes 
 of the present war, so the coming treaty will be the foundation 
 of a lasting peace. We hope and believe that it will be founded on 
 a satisfied nationalism, for this is a prerequisite of all future 
 international agreements, tending to preserve peace and prevent 
 wars. In this common task America, as ever heretofore, will 
 use her influence for good and it is to her that the world now 
 turns for help and guidance. 
 
 Address of Dr. F. Ignatius Drobinski. 
 
 In introducing Dr. Drobinski Ihe Chairman said: 
 
 "In our Revolution two young men left their homes in Eu- 
 rope to join Washington's army. — Lafayette and Kosciusko. 
 Their statues are now in the same public square in the city of 
 Washington. They both rendered distinguished and valuable ser- 
 vice. In the association of these 3 men as comrades in arms — 
 Washington, Lafayette and Kosciusko — we see the first symbol 
 of that association of the three races, the Anglo-Saxon, the La- 
 tin and the Slav, which is to be so potent in the future. These 
 are the races which will decide this war and it is they and not 
 the Teutons and their Kaiser who will hereafter control the desti- 
 nies of the world. 
 
 "Nearly 5.000.000 of his countrymen have come to live in the 
 country and under the government which Kosciusko helped to 
 establish. They are industrious, hardworkinp:, valuable citizens, 
 who have taken an honorable part in its development. 
 
 "He who will speak for them i? a fine tjTpe of his race, an 
 American citizen, a practising physician. 
 
 "I have much pleasure in intr'oducing Dr. P. Ignatius Dro- 
 binski, President of the Polish Department, in which all Polish 
 organizations of this country are united." 
 
 Dr. Drobinsi^i opened his speech with the greetings from 
 Ignace Paderewski, who repretted that he was detained by im- 
 portant business in Washington. 
 
 Your Excellencies of the Serbian Royal Mission, 
 Mr. Chairman, 
 Ladies and Gentlemen, 
 
 It is my very great privilege and honor to have been selected 
 by the Polish group to convey to the Serbian National Com- 
 
— 15 — 
 
 mission our great admiration, for the bravery and fortitude of 
 Serbia, and our deep and sincere sympathies for the tortures and 
 sufferings of the Serbian People. 
 
 Excepting the Yugoslavs, Czechoslovaks and Poles, who 
 from sad experience knew better, the world in general firmly 
 believed in such a thing as Teuton culture. It did not under- 
 stand how armed men could wage war against defenseless women 
 and children, but after the atrocities committed by the Austro- 
 Germanic hordes in Serbia, Belgium, France and Poland the 
 picture was changed. The Teuton stood revealed in his true 
 colors. The world then realized what was in store for mankind 
 if Austro-German scheming and militarism were not defeated, 
 and the world made safe for freemen to live in. 
 
 Being of Slavonic origin, the Poles rejoice that it was a Slav 
 State Serbia who in this war first drew her sword in the defense 
 of her own and the rights of men in general against arrogant 
 dictatorship of the Teutons, while Poles in the United States, 
 citizens of this country by birth or naturalization, attached to 
 the history and traditions of this country by strong bonds of 
 loyalty and fidelity, rejoice doubly that it will be the moral and 
 material power of the United States which will so greatly aid 
 in delivering the death blow to Austro-German scheming and 
 lust for world power . 
 
 At so general a gathering of the Slavs it seems quite natural 
 that each group would voice its grievances against the common 
 enemy. 
 
 We do not wish further to accuse the already criminally 
 convicted States of Austria-Hungary and Germany. Their con- 
 duct and diplomatic duplicity in neutral and formally neutral 
 States; their lack of scruples, their crimes against humanity 
 have so firmly convinced mankind of their true character as to 
 leave little for us to add or detract. 
 
 But we Poles can never forget Austrian ingratitude for her 
 deliverance from the Turk. Her instigations of fratricidal 
 massacres are still fresh in our minds, while her strong economic 
 oppression of Galicia which drove thousands upon thousands of 
 Polish peasants from their homes and fertile farms is of such 
 recent origin that it is well known to all. That is why Poles 
 appreciate and sympathize so greatly with the sufferings of 
 Serbia at the hands of their common source of misfortune. 
 
 As to Germany, much could be said of her oppressive conduct 
 and low standard of morality in regard to Poland but these are 
 historical facts well known to the world and still better proven 
 by German counduct in the World War. 
 
 Polish aims and aspirations for a Free, United, and Inde- 
 
— 16 — 
 
 pendent Poland with an outlet to the sea are perfectly under- 
 stood, and recently have been so strongly brought to the fore- 
 ground in the various war aims speeches of the Entente leaders 
 that we may consider them an almost accomplished fact. But 
 we also hope to see Serbia fulfill her great mission on earth, 
 that of liberating and uniting her people enslaved by Austria- 
 Hungary. That of forming the Yugoslavs into a free and inde- 
 pendent nation with an indivisible territory, a unity of power 
 and free access to the Adriatic Sea. We sincerely hope and wish 
 to see a strong, free and independent Czechoslavia, that great 
 nation of Slavonic democrats. Such a Poland, such a Czecho- 
 slavia, an dsuch a Yugoslavia, a trio of liberty - loving States 
 stretching from the Baltic to the Adriatic are the only possible 
 antidote to the German desires of a German Central Europe. It 
 is the only bulwark that will stop the Teutonic rush to the East. 
 And the sooner that is accomplished, the better will it be for 
 mankind. There cannot be a wt)rld peace without a settlement, 
 and a just settlement of this question. 
 
 Address of Dr. Hinko Hinkovic. 
 
 In introducing Dr. Hinkovic tlio Chairman said: 
 "The next, speaker is fresh from the scene of the conflict. 
 His home is in Croatia, he was a member of the Croatian and 
 also of the Hung'arian Diet. He has been long in public life and 
 also an advocate in the practice of the law. When Austria-Hun- 
 gary seized Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1908, he rendered im- 
 mense service to large numbers cf people in those unfortunate 
 countries who liad been thrown 'into prison for no cause, but 
 were rescued af^er some months ond released as a result of his 
 tireless efforts in their behalf. He will speak in the name of the 
 1-outh-SIavic National Council, in which the Serbian, Croatian and 
 Slovenian organizations of this country are united. 
 
 "I have much pleasure in introducing Dr. Hinko Hinkovi6". 
 
 In Austria-Hungary there are seven and a half million South- 
 em Slavs or Jugoslavs occupying in compact masses the whole 
 South-East of the Monarchy. Although appearing under three 
 denominations — Serbs, Croats and Slovenes — they are of the 
 same race, speaking the same language, having the same customs, 
 traditions, aspirations and economic interests — the same 
 national soul. These Austro-Hungarian Jugoslavs are racially 
 identical with the five millions of Serbs in Serbia and Monte- 
 negro. All these Jugoslavs have the ardent desire of uniting 
 in one independent State. 
 
 The first condition of the creation of a Jugoslav State is, 
 
— 17 — 
 
 of course, the liberation of those Jugoslavs who languish under 
 the Austro-Magyar yoke. The breaking off of the Jugoslav 
 provinces and their union with Serbia and Montenegro would be 
 a notable territorial diminution of the Dual Monarchy and a 
 sensible weakening of her military power. It would be more 
 than that; it would be a real death blow to her. The Eastern 
 Adriatic shore is Jugoslav. By losing it, Austria-Hungary would 
 be cut off from the sea and, by this very fact, cease to be a great 
 Power. 
 
 On the other side, the Jugoslav provinces of Austria-Hunga- 
 ry form with Serbia and Montenegro a continuous territorial and 
 economic block. If Serbia by herself proved a remarkable obstacle 
 to the German scheme of Mittel-Europa, a united Jugoslavia 
 would be an incomparably graver obstruction. Therefore, accord- 
 ing to the Austro-German plan, the Jugoslav movement for union 
 had to be checked at any cost. 
 
 Thus the Austrian ultimatum of July 23, 1914 to Serbia was 
 the inauguration of a war not only against Serbia, but against 
 Austro-Hungary's Jugoslav subjects as well — a war of exter- 
 mination of the whole Jugoslav race. 
 
 As a result of the war, starvation, epidemics of cholera and 
 typhus, and the unspeakable atrocities committed in Serbia and 
 the Jugoslav provinces of Austria-Hungary, more than twenty 
 per cent of our race has already been exterminated. 
 
 Thus, this war began as a tragic conflict between two great 
 ideas: the Pangerman and the Jugoslav idea; in which conflict 
 Serbia as the champion of the latter represents the Right and 
 the sacred principles of Democracy, while the Central Powers 
 stand for brutal force and the most hideous product of Autocracy 
 — Prussian Militarism. 
 
 It would be too pretentious to maintain that the world war 
 is being waged only for, or against Serbia. The struggle goes on 
 for the World Power of Germany v. Liberty of Mankind. But 
 Serbia, was the first stumbling block to be removed by Germany. 
 This role is a great honour for Serbia. By it she ewtered glori- 
 ously into the history of the world. 
 
 Thus it becomes clear how the attack on little Serbia set 
 afire nearly the whole of our planet. 
 
 The real Serbia, as shown by the Balkan war and this war, 
 was a revelation to the world. Her glory spread through all 
 continents. I will not recall the heroic achievements of her 
 army, driving out and defeating twice, she the little David, the 
 Austrian Goliath. Neither will I recall how she repudiated the 
 offer of a separate peace by which she could have saved her 
 territory. In the choice between ruin and honour she did not 
 
— 18 — 
 
 hesitate a moment. By this deed of highest morality, little Serbia 
 became with little Belgium, her martyr-sister, one of the greatest 
 nations that History has ever known. , / . ' / 
 
 Is it necessary to emphasize the notorious services ren- 
 dered to the common cause of the Allies by the Jugoslavs of 
 Austro-Hungary, who, seizing every opportunity, surrendered 
 in the number of 150,000 to the Russians and over 50,000 to the 
 Serbians, fighting afterwards by tens of thousands as volunteers 
 against the Central Powers? Thousands of Jugoslavs who found 
 on the free and hospitable soil of the United States another 
 home, have already sailed to the Salonika front to fight there 
 under the glorious Star Spangled Banner. 
 
 All this would entitle the Yugoslavs to the sympathy of 
 the Allies for their national claims. 
 
 But we do not want our aspirations to be based on favours. 
 Our cause is an eminently just one. 
 
 From time to time, we hear authoritative representatives of 
 the Allied nations promising solemnly to Serbia an integral resto- 
 ration, even an enlargement of her territory with an outlet to 
 the sea. That would mean that the bulk of the Jugoslav race 
 would remain under Austria-Hungary. Such a solution would 
 be disastrous. Serbia has no imperialistic designs at all. She is 
 not waging a war of conquest. She does not struggle for a greater 
 Serbia, i. e., to get more land, but for the deliverance of her sub- 
 dued kinsmen and the union of our whole race. It would be equally 
 false to speak of a great Jugoslavia. She ought not to be greater 
 or smaller, but the Jugoslavia including the whole of our national 
 territory. It is cruel to concede us graciously the outlet to a 
 sea, on the shores of which we have been settled for nearly 
 thirteen centuries! 
 
 Our claims are based on the principle of nationality, that is 
 on the right of a people of the same blood, language, customs and 
 economic interests to constitute one nation. Once it was from 
 the East that the Light came to mankind. Now it is the West 
 v/hich sends the Gospel of Liberty to the small nations of the old 
 Continent. It will be the eternal glory of the great Democracy 
 of the United States of Ajmerica, that it proclaimed this Gospel 
 through their illustrious President. Its first axiom is the equali- 
 ty of rights of small and big nations, and the second, the right 
 of self-determination for every people. 
 
 These two principles are the cornerstones of our future 
 Jugoslav State. In the negative, the Austrians and Magyars have 
 no right to keep our people in slavery; and in the positive, we 
 have the right to throw off their yoke. 
 
 The Jugoslav program is drawn up in the Declaration of 
 
— 19 — 
 
 Corfu, July 20th, 1917. Its authors are the Serbian Government 
 and the Jugoslav Committee in London as representatives, the 
 former of Serbia, and the latter of the Jugoslavs in Austria- 
 Hungary. The Serbs, Croats and Slovenes — proclaims the 
 Declaration — constitute by blood, language and all vital interests 
 one and the same nation. This virtually already united nation 
 desires ardently the liberation of its unfortunate meimbers who 
 languish under the Austro-Magyar domination. All Serbs, 
 Croats and Slovenes wish to form, on the broadest demo- 
 cratic basis, one independent state, embracing the whole Jugo- 
 slav race. 
 
 The Declaration is based on the principe of nationality 
 and the right of self-determination of peoples. 
 
 The Act of Corfu has been communicated to all Allied Pow- 
 ers. Lord Robert Cecil acknowledged recently in the House of 
 Commons the "great interest and sympathy" of the British 
 Government for the Programme of Corfu. Its high importance 
 is obvious. Serbia has endorsed the Jugoslav programme as 
 her war aim. She has officially accepted the role of a Jugoslav 
 Piedmont and has notified her Allies of this fact. She has be- 
 come, the diplomatic spokesman of the Austro-Hungarian Jugo- 
 slavs and the representative of the whole future united Jugoslav 
 State. Potentially, this State is already in existence, and the 
 Corfu Declaration is its birth certificate. 
 
 On the other hand, the Austro-Hungarian Jugoslavs by 
 this Act "officially" became rebels to the Dual Monarchy. 
 Abroad, of course, in the allied Countries, they ceased to be 
 aliens, even friendly aliens. They became one of the immediate 
 allies especially of the Unted States, where they are living in 
 such large numbers. 
 
 Jugoslav unification implies the collapse of Austria-Hunga- 
 ry. Fortunately for us, this is also the indispensable condition 
 of a true victory of the Allies and a future security for the world. 
 Germany has at presen almost accomplished her chief aim in this 
 war: the establishment of communication from the Baltic to the 
 Near East. Pan-German "Central Europe" is realized in its 
 principal points. Germany controls not only Austria-Hungary 
 and the Balkans, but Turkey as well, and the control of these 
 immense territories is a basis for her world domination. 
 
 Mittel-Europa is the foundation of Germany's world power, 
 and of this asset Austria-Hungary is the centre. Without Austria- 
 Hungary there can be no Mittel-Europa, and without thi?., the 
 Pangerman dreatms must dwindle away. By the preservation of 
 Austria-Hungary, Germany would keep the enormous geogra- 
 phical, military and economic advantages which have enabled 
 
— 20 — 
 
 her to prolong this war and which would enable her, if it is- 
 necessary for her plans, to start very soon a new one. If 
 Austria-Hungary survives this war, Germany has won it, what- 
 ever peace conditions she may concede. The Slav and Latin 
 peoples of the Dual Monarchy, all of whom are hostile to Germa- 
 ny, would, through the vassalage of the Hapsburgs, remain under 
 German control. On the contrary, if freed from this control, they 
 will immediately form a strong defensive wall against Germany. 
 
 In his last message to Congress, President Wilson pointed 
 out that the peoples of Austria-Hungary shall be given the full- 
 est opportunity for an autonomous development. But with all 
 respect to the President, we beg him to believe that any demo- 
 cratization of Austria-Hungary is absolutely impossible. 
 
 A real autonomy conceded to all the nationalities would 
 crush the hegemony of the Austrians, Pangermans and the 
 Magyar Junkers upon which the actual construction of the Haps- 
 burg Empire is based. Never, unless they are forced to it, will 
 they give up their dominating position. Besides this, the Haps- 
 burgs themselves would revoke all concessions at the first oppor- 
 tunity. Their constitutional charters are but scraps of paper^ 
 their sworn oaths are but perjuries. Croatia, my native country, 
 has a wide autonomy, but only nominally, and even this autono- 
 my which has never been observed, was in the course of thirty 
 years twice suspended by the Sovereign who, as Apostolic King, 
 had sworn to observe it. 
 
 No autonomy whatever can satisfy us; we want absolute 
 independence. 
 
 Austria-Hungary must be disrupted. Her survival would 
 mean the Kaiser's victory. Only an integral victory of the 
 Allies can crush Austria-Hungary. 
 
 Only an integral victory can bring to the Jugoslavs their 
 deliverance and union, and to the world lasting peace and 
 freedom. An independent Czecho-Slovakia and Poland will be 
 the first line of defense against Pangermanism, and Jugoslavia 
 will be the second. The more complete the State of Jugoslavia, 
 the more efficient will be her resistance. 
 
 Since the Corfu Declaration, all Jugoslavs consider the 
 Serbian Government as their government, and therefore we 
 consider you, gentlemen of the Serbian Mission, as the spokes- 
 men of the whole Jugoslav race and their national aspirations. 
 In the name of the South Slavic National Council as representa- 
 tive of the Austro-Hungarian Jugoslavs in the United States, 
 I am happy to welcome you on this free American soil and thank 
 
21 
 
 you very heartily for your advocating our sacred cause before 
 this greatest Democracy in the World. 
 
 Address of General Rasic. 
 
 General Mihailo Rasic was not scheduled on the program 
 as a speaker, but General Greene, giving voice to the general 
 wish of the audience, persuaded him to give an address. General 
 Rasic is a well-known Serbian army chief, and was in command 
 of the rear-guard during the Serbian retreat of 1915. 
 
 Speaking in Serbian, General Rasic said that what he be- 
 lieved to be just now the foremost duty of every Slav in America 
 was to help win the war. He then dwelt upon the vast importance 
 of America's help to our comimon Allied cause in Europe, and 
 concluded his speech with: "Long live America! Long live Jugo- 
 slavia!" amid enthusiastic cheers from the entire audience. 
 
 Address of Dr. Vesnic. 
 
 Dr. Vesnic, chief of the Serbian Mission, was the next 
 speaker after General Rasic. 
 
 Dr. Vesnic paid a high tribute to the moral spirit of the 
 American people and drew a parallel between the two ideals for 
 which this war is being waged — the Teutonic and the Allied. 
 Speaking particularly of the wrongs inflicted by the Austrian 
 and Hungarian autocrats upon their Slav subjects, he likewise 
 emphasized the need for the realisation of all the aims and ideals 
 of the Serbs, Croats and Slovenes of Austria-Hungary, viz., their 
 liberation and unification in one State together with their broth- 
 ers of Serbia. 
 
 "We are certain that, even as morality must overcome im- 
 morality and freedom overcome slavery, so in time to come Right 
 must end by conquering Might. When that comes to pass, we 
 shall rejoice in the knowledge that the greatest of all despotic 
 rulers has been driven to cover, never again to dictate to an 
 enlightened people what it shall do and what it shall not do. We 
 know there will be an accord of high ideals which weld the 
 civilised countries of the world together in such a bond of 
 friendship that there will be little probability of such a war as 
 is now being fought ever occurring again. 
 
 "We are indeed grateful to your glorious country, to your 
 noble President, and your high ideals. We also glory in the 
 
— 22 — 
 
 sterling American soldiers now at the front aiding our Allies 
 in the great fight for Liberty and Justice" . 
 
 RESOLUTION. 
 
 After Dr. Vesnic had concluded, the Secretary of the meeting 
 submitted to the approval of those present the following decla- 
 ration which was unanimously adopted: — 
 
 "We Jugoslavs, Czecho-Slovaks and Poles, citizens of 
 the U. S. A. and residents in the State of New York, assembled 
 at a meeting in the Hotel Astor on the occasion of a reception 
 to the Mission representing the people of Serbia, do hereby 
 with love and pride welcome and greet in the city of New York 
 the representatives of martyred Serbia, which has so valiantly 
 fought and which has fallen — only temporarily — as the result 
 of the atrocious and barbarous aggression on the part of the 
 invading Teuton. These distinguished representatives are 
 here with us as the spokesmen of those peoples who have 
 undergone untold privations and sufferings and have given 
 their all for the cause of the Allied peoples — the cause of 
 Liberty and Justice. We greet them, not only as the spokes- 
 men of the Serbian people, but also as the spokesmen of the 
 Jugoslavs and the other Slav peoples of Austria-Hungary in 
 their struggle for freedom and independence, and we are — 
 
 Resolved that we, as Americans and Slavs, do express 
 our unequivocal approval of the declaration of war by this our 
 native and adopted country, the United States of America, 
 upon the autocratic and despotic Government of Austria- 
 Hungary, which has for centuries oppressed its Slav subjects; 
 and we commend our great leader President Woodrow Wilson, 
 the champion of Right and Justice, backed by 100,000,000 
 Americans, for pursuing this great struggle with no desire for 
 conquest, but with the sole end and purpose of the annihilation 
 of autocracy and the complete establishment of liberty and 
 freedom for all peoples and nationalities; the attainment of 
 which, however, is not possible except by the dismemberment 
 of Austria-Hungary; and be it further — 
 
 Resolved that, as the aims and aspirations of the Serbs 
 and other Slav peoples coincide with those of the great 
 Republic, it is our fervent hope and wish that the bond of 
 friendship which binds the Slav peoples to the people of the 
 great American Republic may become indissoluble, through the 
 
— 23 — 
 
 attainment of those ideals for which all liberty-loving people 
 have fought, by the establishment of a world democracy; and 
 be it further — 
 
 Resolved that the Secretary of this meeting be directed, 
 as hereby he is, to forward copies of this Resolution to His 
 Excellency Woodrow Wilson, President of the United States, 
 and to the representatives of the various Allied nations." 
 
 Telegrams expressing loyalty and admiration were des- 
 patched to President Wilson, to King Peter of Serbia, to the 
 Prince Regent Alexander (Commander-in-Chief of the Serbian 
 army), to Mr. Nikola Pasic (Serbian Prime Minister), and to 
 the Yugoslav Committee in London. 
 
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