The big meeting held last Sunday at the National Hall in Chicago with the purpose of protest against the tyranny in Croatia, was characteristic in every way. The attendance was more numerous than expected. The meeting was very instructive. Instructive, in so far, as it pointed out clearly the contradictory comprehension and interpretation of the political situation in the old homeland; the disorderliness, naivety and superficiality of our so-called "patriots", on the otherhand the fundamental and matter of fact discussion by our Socialist Speakers.

Dr. Ante Biankini resided at the meeting. The recorder was D. Miskatovic. Of the many speakers, the first was attorney P. Perich, who spoke about the settlement between Croatia and Hungary, and Hungary's violations of that settlement.

Anyone who expected to hear from Attorney Perich, a speech to clear the situation, must have been disappointed; there was only heard a tedious recitation of year numbers, of names of governors, and a few catch phrases about the merits and heroism of our ancestors whose blood "did run on the battlefields from the river Rhine to Belgrade, from the Baltic to the Adriatic." For that reason we have to be worthy of our Croatian name. The speech was just like a poem learned by heart without fire, without enthusiasm and without capacity to impress the hearers.

Not much better fared was the next speaker, Attorney Ratkovich. He spoke about politics in Croatia and concluded with the statement that the salvation of Croatia consists in breaking up the Hungaro-Croatian settlement of 1866.

A somewhat disagreeable situation arose, disagreeable for the Committee of Arrangements when Todor Bozovich, as speaker, was called to the platform. Instead a letter from him was read, announcing that he is not 3able to be speaker because to this meeting, presumably of Croats and Serbians, the Serbian Societies were not invited by the Committee of Arrangements. The Committee did have ready as speaker, Dusan Popovich. His merit was to be short in his talk. In one or two minutes he was able to say all possible regarding the unity of the Serbs and Croats.

The next speaker was Max Relich, a Croat Priest, who spoke about immigration. Before he spoke about that theme, he walloped the Magjars, to answer Hungarian newspapermen with more chauvinistic aggressions from his side. "A people," he said, "must not forget offenses." As if there are offenses by one people committed against another people. But by overexalted men on both sides just like Rev. Relich himself. What about immigration? Here is what he said, "Officials, the clergy, the better classes, in general, betray the people, the people in turn suffers from poverty and misery. But why? For the reason, that the Croat people, just out for fun, leave their homes. If the Croat peasant would not so easily leave his home, the authorities could not find men to serve them.

But the way it goes, we not only lose our lands but even our beautiful language, in our homeland penetrate any strangers and foreigners." That is what Rev. Relich said.

That is Max Relich, Evangel, that is his logic. He does not ask for the cause of poverty. What are the reasons for emigration? The people emigrate out of foolhardiness, of pure silliness. That is the way he solves the important problem. It is very seldom that anyone did make in that way fun out of the Croatian, Proletarian, who is obliged, for his daily bread, to wander all over the United States.

In spite of all that, the president of the meeting, Dr. Biankini, expressed his thanks to Rev. Relich for his "beautiful" oration, which fact shall be recorded.

Now, our Socialist comrades, T. Besenich and B. Savich took the platform. Their statements were in accord with each other.

The source of all our misery is that we find in the capitalistic system of the world the same cause that we find in Croatia in the nationalistic oppression of the Croats as well in the economic life of the people. (Relich did protest this statement because in Croatia, capitalism has not developed greatly.) Though industrial capitalism is not developed there is, especially in Slavonia, capital belonging to the big landowners, who in unison with the Hungarian Feudal aristocracy are the bosses in both countries, Hungary and Croatia. The big landowners have the peasants pay all the taxes, keep them illustrated, so that the people are not able to liberate themselves. Though Croatia and Slavonia, as well as Bosnis and Herzegovina, are not developed in a capitalistic sense, on account of their natural resources they are able to be developed, and that fact induces capitalists, in this case the Hungarian and Austrian, develop capitalism and exhaust the land. They do it in full measure and they put the national oppression of Jugo-slavs in their service. The governments 6in Austria and Hungary are representatives of Hungarian and Austrian capitalists, and in their hands rests the government of Croatia also. The national oppression has the purpose to crush home capitalism and to protect foreign capitalists from home competition.

The Austro-Hungarian capitalism does not want to be limited just to our lands. It wants to cross the border in to the Balkans, because that is the only direction possible for expansion.

The newest political oppression in the south of the Austro-Hungarian monarchy it seems has the purpose to prepare the road and to make way for the capitalists to invade the Balkans. According to that, a struggle is necessary against the immediate absolutistic oppressors in the homeland, but at the same time an organized fight is necessary by all the outlawed and extorted against the perpetrators of all those evils, which are the consequences of the capitalistic order. Only by destruction of the capitalistic order, will it be possible to eliminate the abuses of one class by the other, as well the oppression of the weaker and more backward nations.

The meeting was closed by Dr. Biankini, by pointing out that for the struggle in the homeland, material help is needed. A collection was taken up for that purpose; $350 were collected. Where to send the money will be decided by a committee. The same committee will work out a resolution after two others which were submitted at the meeting.