THE OUTSPEAKING OF A GREAT DEMOCRACY 



365 



from the yoke of a feudal and military 

 caste in order to found peace upon right, 

 is a work of human deliverance and uni- 

 versal good. (Applause.) 



THE IMMORTAL ACT OP A GLORIOUS 



NATION 



In accomplishing, under an adminis- 

 tration henceforth immortal (applause, 

 cheers; all rise and applaud), the great- 

 est act in its annals since the abolition of 

 slavery, the glorious nation whose whole 

 history is but a development of the idea 

 of liberty (applause) remains true to its 

 lofty origin and creates for itself another 

 claim to the gratitude of mankind. (Ap- 

 plause.) 



The French Republic, across the ruins 

 of its cities and its monuments, devas- 



tated without reason or excuse by shame- 

 ful savagery (loud applause), sends to 

 its beloved sister Republic in America 

 the palms of the Marne, the Yser, and of 

 Verdun and the Somme, to which new 

 victories will soon be added. (Prolonged 

 applause, cheers; all the deputies rise.) 



Many voices : We call for the procla- 

 mation ! 



Mr. Coluard : I ask that the two 

 speeches which the Chamber has just 

 heard be issued as proclamations and 

 read in the schools of France. 



Mr. Mauger: I second the motion. 



President oe the Chamber: The 

 proclamation of the speeches which the 

 Chamber has just heard is requested. 

 There is no opposition? The proclama- 

 tion is ordered. 



OUR HERITAGE OF LIBERTY 



An Address Before the United States Senate by M. Viviani, President of the 

 French Commission to the United States, May i, 1917 



Mr. President and Senators : 

 Since I have been granted the 

 supreme honor of speaking be- 

 fore the representatives of the American 

 people, may I ask them first to allow me 

 to thank this magnificent Capital for the 

 welcome it has accorded us ? Accustomed 

 as we are in our own free land to popular 

 manifestations, and though we had been 

 warned by your fellow-countrymen who 

 live in Paris of the enthusiasm burning in 

 your hearts, we are still full of the emo- 

 tion raised by the sights that awaited us. 



I shall never cease to see the proud 

 and stalwart men who saluted our pas- 

 sage; your women, whose grace adds 

 fresh beauty to your city, their arms out- 

 stretched, full of flowers ; and your chil- 

 dren hurrying to meet us as if our com- 

 ing were looked upon as a lesson for 

 them — all with one accord acclaiming in 

 our perishable persons immortal France. 



And I predict there will be a yet 

 grander manifestation on the day when 

 your illustrious President, relieved from 

 the burden of power, will come among 

 us bearing the salute of the Republic of 

 the United States to a free Europe, whose 

 foundations from end to end shall be 

 based on right. 



It is with unspeakable emotion that we 

 crossed the threshold of this legislative 

 palace, where prudence and boldness 

 meet, and that I for the first time in the 

 annals of America, though a foreigner, 

 speak in this hall which only a few days 

 since resounded with the words of virile 

 force. 



A MAGNIFICENT EXAMPLE FOR ALL 

 DEMOCRACIES 



You have set all the democracies of the 

 world the most magnificent example. So 

 soon as the common peril was made mani- 

 fest to you, with simplicity and within a 

 few short days you voted a formidable 

 war credit and proclaimed that a formi- 

 dable army was to be raised. President 

 Wilson's commentary on his acts, which 

 you made yours, remains in the history 

 of free peoples the weightiest of lessons. 



Doubtless you were resolved to avenge 

 the insults offered your flag, which the 

 whole world respected ; doubtless through 

 the thickness of these massive walls the 

 mournful cry of all the victims that crim- 

 inal hands hurled into the depths of the 

 sea has reached and stirred your souls ; 

 but it will be your honor in history that 



