We are face to face with a great crisis. The consequences of the
imperialistic policy by means of which an era of competitive preparation
for war has been inaugurated, and which has served to intensify hostile
feeling between nations, have swept down over Europe like a torrent. The
responsibility lies with those who have upheld this policy; we refuse
it. [Applause from the Socialists.] Social Democracy has fought this
disastrous development with all its strength, and even up to the very
last hour, by means of prodigious public demonstrations, particularly in
close co-operation with its brothers in France, [applause from the
Socialists,] it has labored for the maintenance of peace. Its endeavors
have been in vain. We now stand before the brazen facts of actual war;
the horrors of hostile invasion threaten us. It is not for us today to
decide for or against war, but to deliberate on the problem of the
available means of national defense. We have now to think of the
millions of our fellow-countrymen who, through no fault of theirs, have
been drawn into this disaster. [Applause.] They will be the ones to
suffer most heavily from the devastation of this war.
Our warmest sympathy, accorded without reference to party, accompanies
all our brothers who have been called to the front. [Vigorous applause
from all sides of the House.] We are thinking also of the mothers who
must give up their sons, of the women and children robbed of their
mainstay and support, of those whom, to the anxiety of their loved ones,
the pangs of hunger threaten. To these will very soon be added tens of
thousands of wounded and crippled soldiers. To stand by them all, to
ease their misfortune, to alleviate their immeasurable need--this we
consider our compelling duty. [Vigorous applause.]
With a victory of the Russian despotism, which is stained with the blood
of the best of its own people, much, if not all, which concerns our
people and their future in freedom will be at stake. [Storm of
applause.]
It is necessary to ward off the danger in order to render secure the
culture and the independence of our own country. [Vigorous applause.]
Thus do we actualize what we have always claimed--in the hour of danger
we do not desert our Fatherland! [Vigorous demonstrations of approval.]
In this regard we feel ourselves in perfect accord with the
International, which has at all times recognized the right of every
people to natural independence and self-defense, just as we agree with
it in denouncing every war of conquest.
We demand that as soon as this purpose of securing national safety is
achieved, and the combatants shall be disposed toward peace, that an end
be made to the war through a peace which shall facilitate friendship
between neighboring peoples. We demand this not only in the interests of
that international solidarity for which we have continually fought, but
also in the interests of the German people. We hope that the grisly
lessons learned from suffering in this conflict will waken in new
millions of hearts the horror of war, and will win them over to the
ideal of Socialism and peace between nations.
Guided by these principles, we approve the proposed appropriations.
[Vigorous applause.]
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