One of the most moving speeches of the day was
that of Mr. Gilmour, who dealt with Mr. Ramsay MacDonald with the gloves off. The Daily Chronicle of Thursday describes how, "standing on a chair, he rapped out sentence after sentence in broad Doric, which went right to the heart of the matter":— "We have heard Mr. MacDonald's speech. But where does he stand ? Where does the I.L.P. stand ? I like straight fighting, and I don't think the I.L.P. is fighting a clean fight. I judge a man by his actions. Mr. MacDonald says he is not assisting Germany ; that may be, but is he—has he ever—lifted a little finger to help his own country ? If we had all done as Mr. MacDonald has done, the Germans would have been on British territory at the present moment. The man who is not for us is against us, and I appeal to this Conference to support the Government, and accept this resolution."
There is the true issue. The war is upon us. Either we or the Germans must win, and those who do not help us to win are helping the Germans. That is a truth from which there is no escape. You can no more stand neutral in regard to the war
or talk about being against the war than you can about being against a thunderstorm or a tempest. Imagine a passenger who would not take his turn at the pumps because he hated hurricanes !
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