The Days of a Man 



People's Council was widely condemned as "pro- 

 German" and revolutionary. Official intervention, 

 followed by mcb disturbances, now prevented any 

 gathering in the state of Minnesota, and the leading 

 spirits retreated to Chicago, where, in private meet- 

 ing, an election of officers took place. But not long 

 afterward, grown more and more incongruous, the 

 society disbanded. 



in San One more incident may perhaps need mention. 



Francisco ar ]y ' m tne summer I promised to speak at a meeting 

 of the Council in San Francisco. In the end, rather 

 than break my word, I went, but only on condition 

 that no extremist should appear on the program. 

 This pledge was imperfectly carried out. It was, 

 moreover, again evident that the interest of a large 

 part of the audience lay not so much in international 

 peace as in sympathy with Ireland and in opposition 

 to what they called "capitalism." 



To avoid misquotation I wrote out in advance my 

 address, entitled "What of Democracy?" and after- 

 ward printed in full in The Public, at the request of 

 the editor, Stoughton Cooley. 



A plain "We are in the war and we can neither back out 

 nor sidestep," I said; "all our energies, therefore, 

 must be bent on the support of the cause espoused 

 by the nation." From an army officer at the Presidio 

 of San Francisco I quoted with approval: "If the 

 war should end tomorrow with the future of democ- 

 racy assured, we should all rejoice." 



From New York I returned home by way of 

 Washington, where I had been asked to spend a 

 couple of days to consider with certain Congressmen 

 the possibility of an official statement as to the 



C 740 3 



statement 



