"'(Signed) American Legion of Liberty,
"'Norman E. Coles, Secretary.'"
When Sullivan finished reading, he began one of the most stirring addresses made before the convention:
"Now let's not be afraid to put the cards on the table and say to the Congress of the United States that we are not afraid to trample on the toes of the diplomats of these alleged neutral countries who do not want legislation of this kind to pass," Sullivan plead. "We have the interest of the man who donned the khaki and the blue and when the ships bring the boys from over there, they must take back these alien slackers. We would be derelict in our duty to the boys who gave their all when they went over the top; we would be untrue to ourselves and the institutions and principles for which we fought if we did not see to it that these people were sent back.
"I was born in the State of Massachusetts and I was taught that citizenship meant something. As a boy I went out West where I learned that American citizenship meant something to the people of the West.
"To-day we are here from all parts of the country. We are not from any section alone, because we are all Americans, This is an organization of Americans. This should be a country of Americans and if our citizenship means something, the swine who come from other countries should be taught that it means something like what McCrae said:
'"When from failing hands we throw the torch to you,
Be yours to hold it high;
If ye break faith with us who die,
We shall not sleep though poppies grow in Flanders' field.'
"Let's make this unanimous and do it now and say to the boys in Siberia and France that we are going to see to it when they get back here that those damned alien slackers are not going to be here, or if they are, they are going to be on the dock at Hoboken to go back to their own countries because they don't belong here and we are not going to allow them to remain."
“Jack” Sullivan of Seattle
First Vice-Chairman of the St. Louis Caucus