The Yugoslav deputy Radič thanked the Czechs, in the name of the Yugoslavs, for unity and solidarity. The Polish deputy Moraczewski expressed his thanks not only for the welcome accorded to the Poles in Prague, but also for the proclamation of the watchword: "For your liberty and ours!"
The main celebrations took place in the Bohemian Museum on May 16. Since the speeches delivered on that occasion were of such significance and are sure to prove of great international importance in the near future, we propose to quote at least the chief passages from them.
The first speaker was Dr. Kramář who declared:
"You know that they are in vain trying to crush us. Every wrong will come back to the authors. That is our firm belief, and therefore you will find no despondency in Bohemia, but only firm determination not only to defend to the last the integrity of our kingdom, but also to accomplish the unity of the whole Czecho-Slovak nation. We firmly believe in the ultimate victory of the right of nations to liberty and self-determination. And we therefore welcome you in our beautiful golden city of Prague, because we know that your presence here to-day is the best proof that our faith is the faith of all nations who have hitherto been clamouring in vain for right and justice.
"Allow me to make a personal remark. We were far away from public life, confined in prison, and only very little news reached us. Various events filled us with anxiety and despondency. Bohemia seemed to be like a large, silent and dead churchyard. And all of a sudden we heard that underneath the shroud with which they tried to cover our nation there still was some life. Czech books were read more than ever, and the life of the national soul expressed itself in the performances in the National Theatre. When we heard about the storm of enthusiasm which greeted the prophecy in Smetana's opera Libusha, we felt suddenly relieved, and we knew that our sufferings were not in vain.
"We placed everything that we want into the prophecy of Libusha--a new life, free, not constrained by disfavour or misunderstanding. We do not want to remain within the limits prescribed to us by Vienna (applause), we want to be entire masters of our national life as a whole. We do not need foreign spirit and foreign advice; our best guide is our past, the great democratic traditions of our nation. We have enough strength and perseverance not to be afraid of anything that threatens us, because we want the full freedom for the whole nation, including the millions of our oppressed brothers beneath the Tatra Mountains. (A stormy applause.)
"That does not depend on any circumstances outside our scope; it depends entirely upon ourselves, upon our will. We must show that we are worthy of liberty and of the great future which we are striving for. It must not be left to the generosity of individuals to support our peoples who under oppressive conditions are awakening national consciousness in their countrymen. We must mobilise our whole nation. All of us will be required to assist in the great tasks which are awaiting us.
"I think we may confidently look into the future. The war has united us internally, and it has taught us that all party politics which for a long time past have poisoned our life, are insignificant in view of the great issues of our national future which are at stake. We have lived long enough to see our whole people united in the demand for an independent Czecho-Slovak State, although the modern times have deepened class differences.
"We recollect our past to-day with a firm hope for a better future. The hearts of all are to-day filled with joyous confidence and expectation that we shall live to see the day when in our National Theatre we shall rejoice over the victory of liberty, justice and self-determination of nations. Our golden Slav Prague will again become a royal city, and our Czech nation will again be free, strong and glorious."
After Dr. Kramář had finished, the aged Czech author Jirásek described the history of the National Theatre during the past fifty years, and concluded: