North Carolina Newspapers

M m Ymr kl Advtnoe - "FOR QOD, FOB COUNTRY AMD FOR TRUTH." Slngl. CoplM, 5 Cnta. VOL. XXVII. PLYMOUTH, N. C, FRIDAY, MARCH 9, 1917 - N0. 36. ' i ' " : " ; ' ' ; : PRESIDENT IS NO TO ARM SHIPS MERCHANT SUCCESSFUL FILIBUSTER BY STONE,' LAFOLLETTE AND FEW OTHERS. ARMED NEUTRALITY BILL DEFEATED BY FILIBUSTER Dramatic Scenes Enacted in Senate Chamber at Closing Session Contlnu- ing Throughout 26-Hour Session to Adjournment at Noon Sunday. Washington. President Wilson in formed the country, in a statement, that he may be without power to arm ' merchant ships and take other steps to neet. the German submarine me nace, in the absence of authority from Congress. The President's statement jn full follows: f "The termination of the last session of the Sixty-fourth Congress "by con stitutional limitation discloses a sit uation unparalleled in the history of the country, perhaps unparalleled in the history of any modern Govern ment. In ' the immediate presence of a crisis fraught with more subtle and far-reaching possibilities of National danger than any other the Govern ment has known within the whole history of its international relations, the Congress has been unable to act either to safeguard the country or to vindicate the elementary rights of its citizens. "More than 500 of the 531 mem bers of the two houses were ready and anxious to act; the House of Representtives had acted by an over whelming majority, but the Senate . was unable to act because a littlo group of eleven Senators had deter mined that it should not. "The Senate has no rules by which debate can be limited or brought to an end, no rules by which dilatory tactics of any kind can be prevented. A single member can stand in the way of action, if he have but the phy sical endurance. The result in this case is a complete paralysis alike of the legislative and executive branches of the Government. "This inability of the Senate to act Has rendered some of the most nec essary legislation of the session im possible, at a time when the need for It was most pressing and most evi dent. The bill, which would have per mitted such combinations of capital and of organization in the export and import trade of the country as the cir cumstances of international competi tion have made Imperative a bill which the business judgment of the whole country approved and demand ed has failed. Other Measures Lost. "The opposition of one or two Sen ators has made it impossible to in crease the membership of the Inter state Commerce Commission or to give it the altered organization nec essary for its efficiency. The conser vation bill, which should have releas ed for immediate use the mineral re sources which are still locked up in the public lands, now that their re lease is more imperatively necessary than ever, and the bill which would have made the unused waterpower of the country immediately available for industry have both failed, though they have been under consideration throughout the sessions of two Con gresses and have been twice passed by the House of Representatives. 'The appropriations for the Army have failed, along with the appropria tions for the civil establishment of the Government, the appropriations for the Military Academy at West Point, and the general deficiency bill. "It has proved impossible to extend the powers of the shipping board to meet the special needs of the new situ ation into which our commerce has been forced, or to?tecrease the gold re serve of our nationa&feanking system to meet th unusual circumstances of the existing financial situijion' It would not cure the difficulty t.9-K n i1 CJIWt-fifth Pnn pVp in a-riml rrtii.arv session. The niralysis of M I Senate would remain. The purjHse-t and tne spirit oi aruun are uvf.- men Ing now. The Congress is more defi nitely united ,in thought and purpose at this moment, I venture to say, than it has been within the memory of any man now in its memebership. There , -ft. not only the most united patriotic purpose, but the objects members have In view are perfectly clear and definite "Kit the Senate cannot act unless its leaders can obtain unanimous consent. "Its majority is powerless, helpless. Crisis of Peril. "In the midst of a crisis of extra ordinary peril, when only definite and decided action can make the nation safe or shield it from war itself by the aggression of others, action is im possible. '"Although, as a matter of fact, the Nation and the representatives of the Nation stand back of the Executive with unprecedented unanimity and spirit, the impression made abroad will, of course, be that it is not so, and that other Governments may act as they please without fear that this Government can do anything at all. "We cannot explain. The explana tion is incredible. , . "The Senate of the United States is the only legislative body in the world which cannot act when its majority i3 ready for action. - "A little group of wilful men, rep resenting no opinion but their own, have rendered the great Government of the United States helpless and con temptible. "The remedy? That is but ope remedy. The only remedy is. that .the rules of the Senate shall be so altered that it can act. The country can be relied upon to draw the moral. I -believe that the' Senate can be relied op to supply the means of action and save the country from disaster." TWELVE SENATORS DEFEAT VOTE ON NEUTRALITY BILL PRESIDENT WILSON INFORMS COUNTRY IN A STRONG STATEMENT. "In the Midst of Crisis of Extraordin ary Peril" Few Members of Senate Hold Up Action on Legislation so Needed and Desired by President. Washington. Twelve Senators, led by Senator LaFollette and encouraged by Senator Stone, Democratic chair man of the Foreign Relations Commit tee, in a filibuster denounced by Pres ident Wilson's spokesmen as the most reprehensible in the history of any civilized nation, defied the will of an overwhelming majority in Congress up to the last minute, and denied ti the President a law authorizing hfm to arm American merchant ships to meet the German submarine menace. Unyielding throughout-the 26 hours of continuous session to appeals that their defiance of the President would be humiliating to the country; uncom promising In a crisis described to them as the most serious to the nation since the War Between the States, La Follette and his group of supporters refused a majority of their colleagues an opportunity to vote on the armed neutrality bill, and it died with the Sixty-fourth Congress. To fix respon-: sibility before , the country, 76 Sen ators, 30 Republicans ' and 46 Demo crats, signed a manifesto proclaiming to the world that they favored pas sage of the measure. This declaration, embodied in the record of the Senate, referred to the fact that the House Thursday night had passed a similar bill by a Vote of 403 to 13, and also recited that the Senate rule permitiug unlimited de bate gave a small minority oppor tunity to throttle the .will of the ma jority. Text of Manifesto. The text of the manifesto is as follows: "The majority of United States Senators favored the passage of the Senate bill authorizing the Presi dent of the United States to arm American merchant vessels, a similar bill having already passed the House by a vote of 403 to 13. "Under the rules of the Senate al lowing debate, it appears to be im possible to obtain a vote previous to noon March 4, 1917, when this session of Congress expires. We desire the statement entered on the record to establish the fact that the Senate fav ored the legislation, and would pass it if a vote could be obtained." . Thirteen Senators declined to sign the. declaration, but one Senator, Pen rose, Republican, of Pennsylvania, an nounced that he would have voted for the bill had opportunity been of fered him. The 12 who went on record with the 13 members of the House against granting to President Wilson the authority in the crisis were: Republicans Clapp. Minnesota: fcummins, Iowa; Gronna. North Da tkota; Kenyon, Iowa; LaFollette, Wis consin; Norri3, Nebraska; Works, California 7. Democrats Kirby, Arkansas; Lane, Oregon, O'Gorman, New York; Stone, Missouri; Vardaman, Mississippi 5. 79 Senators Sign Manifesto. The 76 Senators who signed the manifesto were: Democrats Ashurst, Bankhead, Beckham, Broussard, Bryan, Cham berlain, Chilton, Fletcher, Hardwick. LEADER OF SUCCESS FILIBUSTER IN SENATE. , J v ;v y lii, Trm i-ii ii mi... .Mi.i-i li mini - mJ ROBERT M. LAFOLLETTE. Hitchcock, Hollis, Hughes. Husting, James, Johnson, South Dakota; Kern, Lea, Lee, Lewis, Martin, Virginia; Martine. New Jersey; Myers, New lands, Overman, Owen, Phelan. Pitt man, Pomerene, Ransdell,. Reed, Rob inson, Saulsbury, Shafroth, Sheppard, Shields, Simmons", Smith',' Georgia; Smith, Maryland; Smith, South Caro lina; Swanson, Thomas, Thompson, Tillman, Underwood. Walsh and Wil liams. ! Republicans Borah, Brady, Bran degee, Catron, Clark, Colt, Curtis, Dillingham. Dupont, Fall, Fernald, Hardn,j. Jones, Lodge, McCumber, McLean, Nelson, Oliver, Page, Poin dexter, Sherman, Smith,' Michigan; Smoot, Sterling, Sutherland, Town send, Wadsworth, Warren,' : Watson, and Weeks. : ' ' ' ' Of. the seven Senators not record ed, three, Gallinger and Goff, Repub licans, and Gore, Democrat, were absent on account of sickness. Sen ators Lippitt, Republican, and John son, of Maine, and Smith of Arizona, Democrats, were absent from the city. Senator Culberson,. Democrat, did not reach the Senate in time to be record ed. Dramatic Close. Hours before the end, Senators who fought throughout the night to break down the filibuster conceived a way to "thwart LaFollette's plans to oc cupy the center of the legislative stage at the climax of the bitter figh. Its execution brought the session to a dramatic end, with LaFollette fight ing for a chance to deliver a speech on which he had worked many days. He saw friends of the doomed legis lation inflict the death blow he plan ned. Instead of LaFollette, Senator Hitchcock, leader of the majority in favor of the bill, talked out the wan- l ing hours of the session. He timed his opportunity to the minute Sen ator LaFollette entered the Senate chamber shortly after 9 o'clock in the ! morning, prepared to take the center of the stage for the last act of the tragedy.- WThen the moment he had chosen arrived, he addressed the chair, but Senator Hitchcock prevented his recognition. The forensic struggle which ; en sued seldom if ever had been equalled in the history of the Senate. Voices were strained to shrieking, .and threatening fists were shakei at the presiding officer while the crowded floor and galieries looked on breath lessly. But the incident soon passed without violence. The chair recog nized Senator Hitchcock and LaFol lette's opportunity was snatched away. Tense Moments. The closing moments of the session were tense and impressive. Ten minu tes before the end Senator Hitchcock had made his last appeal for unani mous consent for a vote on the bill. LaFollette objected. The Nebraska Senator, prefacing his closing remarks with a portion of President Wilson's address to Congress asking for the authority about to be denied, solemnly said: "It is unfortunate and deplorable that 12 men in the Senate of the United States have it in their power to defeat the will of 75 or 80 members by ore of the most reprehensible fili busters ever recorded in the history of any civilized country." Senator Hitchcock paused while his words echoed through the cham ber. LaFollette stolidly glared to ward the Nebraskan, who presently added that perhaps he should apol ogize for the violence of his words. t'You are perfectly safe." LaFol lette returned without rising from hi", chair. "No one can answer you." No one did, for the hour of noon had struck,, and the Sixty-fourth Con gress was ended. ' . ' . THE PRESIDENT RENEWS HIS ALLEGIANCE TO CONSTITUTION CONSECRATES I NAGURATION WITH -MESSAGE OF HOPE FOR PEACE. ' - " . Washington. '. "Woodrow Wilson with the major part of the world at ;war, and America , poised on its verge,- consecrated his second inaguration as President of the United States with a' message of hope for peace. Standing in, the shadows of the Na tion's Capitol, with . his face turned toward the Eastern war-seared skies, the President renewed his oath of al legiance to the Constitution, praying to Almighty God that be might be given wisdom and prudence to do his duty in the true spirit. of the Ameri can people. Washington.. President Wilson's inaugural address was as follows: . "My fellow citizens: The four year's which have elapsed since I stood in this place have . been crowded with counsel and action of the most vital interest and consequence. Perhaps no equal .period in -our history has been so fruitful of important reforms in our economic -and industrial life or so full of significant changes in the spirit and purpose of our political action. We have sought very thoughtfully to set our house in order, correct the gros ser errors and abuses of our indus trial life, liberate and quicken the processes of our national genius and energy, and lift our politics to a broad er view of the people's essential in terests. It is a record of singular variety and singular distinction. But I shall not attempt to review It. It speaks for itself and will be of increas infig influence as the years go by. inis is not the time for retrospect, It is time rather, to speak our thoughts and purposes concerning the present and the immediate future. "Although we have centered counsel and action with such unusual concen tration and success upon the great problems of domestic legislation to which we addressed ourselves four years ago. other matters have more and more forced themselves upon our attention, matters lying outside our own life as a nation and over which we had no control, but which, de spite our wish to keep free of them, have drawn us more, and more irresis tibly into their own current and Influ ence. "It has been impossible to avoid them They : have affected the life of the whole world. They have shak en men everywhere with a passion and an apprehension that they never knew before. It has been hard to preserve calm counsel while the thought of our own people swayed this way and that under their influence. We are a com posite and cosmopolitan people. We are of the blood of all the nations that are at war. The currents of our thoughts as well as the currents of our trade ran quick at all seasons back and forth between us and them. The war inevitably set its mark from the first alike upon our minds, our industries.'our commerce, our policies, arid our social action. To be independ ent of it was out of the question. "And yet all the while we have been conscious that we were not part of it. In that consciousness, despite many divisions, we have drawn, closer to gether. We have been deeply wronged on the seas, but .we-. have not wished to wrong, or injure In return; have re tained throughout the consciousne.-.s of standing in. some sort apart, intent upon an interest that transcended the irrmediate issues of t,h.e war itself. As come of the ir juries- done us have be come intolerable, we have still ba.en clear that we wished, nothing for our selves that ws wore not- ready to de mand for ail mahkirfd fair dealing, justice, the .freedom to live and to be at ease against organized wrong. "It is in this' spirit and with this thought that we have grown more and more aware, more and more certain that the part we wished to play was the part of those who mean to vindi cate and fortify peace. We have been ot'.inod to arm ourselves to make good our claim to a certain minimum of right and of freedom of action. We stand firm in armed neutrality since it seems that in no other way we caa demonstrate what it is we insist upon and can not forego. We may even be drawn on. by circumstances, not by own purpose or desire, to a more active assertion of our rights as we see them and a more immediate asso ciation with the great struggle itself. But nothing will alter our thought or our purpose. They are too clear to be obscured. They are too deeply rotted in the principles of our na tional life to be altered. We desire neither conquest nor advantage.. Wo wish nothing that can be had only at the cost of another people. We have always professed unselfish purpose and we covet the opportunity to prove that our professions are sincere. , "There are many things still to do at home, to clarify our own policies and give new vitality to the industrial processes of our own life, and we shall do them as time and opportunity serve; but we realibe that the greatest things that remain, to be done must be done with the whole world for a stage and in co-operation with the wide and universal forces of mankind, and we are . making our spirits ready for those things. They will follow in the immediate wake of the war itself and wUl set civilization up again. We aro provincials no longer.' The tragical events of the thirty months of vital turmoil through which we have just passed have made us citizens of the world. There can be no turning back. Our own fortunes as a nation are in volved, whether we would have it so or not. "And yet we are not the less Amer icans on that account. We shall be the more Americaii if we but remain true to the principles in which we have been bred. They are not the principles of a province or of a single continent. We have known and boast ed all along that they were the prin ciples of a liberated mankind. These, therefore, are the things we shall stand for, whether in war on in peace. "That all nations are equally inter ested in the peace oY the world and in the political stability of. free peoples, and equally responsible for their main tenance; ' "That the essential principle of peace is the actual equality of na tions in all matters of right or privi lege ; "That peace can not securely or justly rest upon an armed balance of power; ... "sv "That governments derive a.ae!r just powers from the consent; the governed and that no other powers should be supported by the common thought, purpose, or power of the fam ily of nations. "That the seas should be equally free and safe for the use of all peoples, under rules set ud bv common agree- j ment and consent, and that, so far as practicable, they should be accessible to all upon equal terms; J'That national armaments should be limited to the necessities of national order and domestic safety; "That the community of interest an must henczjrr.u tW.. Cl r forth depend imposes upon each ' tion the duty of seeing to it that influences proceeding from its I citizens meant to encourage or A revolution in other states shof sternly and effectually suppress prevented. j "I need not arKue these princy vou, my fellow countrymen your own, part and parce'. own thinking and our own affairs. They spring up nativ us. Upon this as a platft purpose and action, we can gether. . "And it is imperative that we stand together. We are bein into a new unity amidst, the fV now blaze throughout the w their ardent heat we shall, I providence, let us hope faction and division, pun errant humors of party terest, and shall stand for thr come with a new dignity ov Dride and spirit. Let eacr.f to it that' the dedication heart, the high purpose of ti in his own mind, ruler of his. and desire. "I stand here and hav high and solemn oath tc have been audience beca pie of the United States? me for this august deleg er and have by their ft' ment named me leader'! know now what the t3i realize to the full thej wnicn it involves. I prf a arf be given the wisdom to do my duty in the tri great people. I am tFi can succeed only as tV-' guide me by their confi F-r counsel. The thing I s'- the, thing without whic It- sel nor action will aval .of America an America ki ef Hlg, ill )uiiiuae, iiiiu i duty, of opportunity, y We are to beware o who would turn the tasks ,eces- sities of the nation to vate profit or use them tis jtild ing up of private powe (filial 1. 1 . ! lyreak ; no faction or disloyal the harmony or enibar, .1" it of our people; bewar K"v' t crrwr ernment be kept pure i lt in , all its parts. United r, ception of our duty resolve to perform it r men, let us dedicate ov ifl US urui-Hif Ul, tafk to which we4 and. For myself, lV great our hand erance, your countenancvlHd your united aid. The shadows ttiat now ue dark npon our path will soon be dis pelled and we shall walk with the light all about us if. we be but t jiM.oJ ourselves to ourselves aa wished to be known in tj of the world and in the t" those who love liberty the right exalted." f I GRAND PROCESSION AT INAUGURATION OF WOODROW WILSON KHAKI, JUST BRONZED GUARDSMEN, HOME FROM BORDER GUARD LINE. PRESIDENT AND MRS. WILSON RIDE IN AN OPEN CARRIAGE Long Line of Military Organizations, Guardsmen, Sailors, Cadets, Veter ans, Governors, Women and Civil ians Maks Up the Inaugural Parade. Washington. The mighty proces sion which marked President Wilson'-s second inauguration marched with wind-whipped flags over Pennsylvania avenue from the Capitol to the White House between open lines of khaki, bronzed guardsmen from New York, home 'from service on the border. It was the first time since the inaugura tion of Lincoln in 1861 that troops had guarded the line of march. Despite the wind and lowering clouds, which early In the day dark ened the city with threats of a con tinuation of the downpour, almost every foot of vantage space along the mile-long way was occupied, and the great reviewing stands, windows, bal conies and housetops held thousands more. The crowd waited patiently behind the stout steel cables stretching from the White House to the Capitol, hun dreds of early comers being in posi tion at 7 o'clock, four hours before the President and his party left the White House. Ten hours later, when .V v rj lasr. or tne marenerq was nearm '. . t c J. Presidential Party. fyent Wilson and his escort. u B of the Second Cavalry, .3, White House at 11 o'clock. 1ent and Mrs. Wilson ridins !pfPfp( hv mnnntpH nnlira nd flanked by secret nXhe Vice President fol- ver carriage, with his escort of cadets from T nod arm v m yi iarl rrt 0 ... . . i left the Court of ollow square, with ge in the cen- A after 1 o'clock t U), lent and his es- l vTfP 'f(txj&iun nad come out. r I haprae cand sprinkled over the i'ay.fThe line moved slowly between ovo New York regiments the jfwelfth and the Sixty-ninth stand ng at attention. They were the visi le evidence of elaborate steps taken b insure the President's safety. With bands blaring many tunes and flags whipping, the parade got under way a long line of brilliant color. First came the West Point cadets, overcoated, a marching mass of gray and white whose clock-like move- .ments were as of one man. They ,' were followed by the Annapolis ca- r Alets, 1.200 strong, wearing their deep mue overcoais. Military Organizations. Then came the long line of military organizations. . guardsmen, sailor3, coast artillerymen and cadet schools which formed the first and second divisions, under command of Major General Tasker II. Bliss and Brig. Gen. Williams A. Mann. As the head of the line reached the Court of Hon 01 the marchers stopped and remain ed at attention for 20 minutes while the President prepared to take the place in the reviewing stand. A bugle gave the signal, and the n- ivmvarl -strain Tllfl inflllP-ll. AVttfS tint 1 1 i w T V ' - ral parade was on With the Presi- dent standing where Presidents long lidno cnnH nn inn np-iiratinn lav tn to,. view the marchers. For nearly four 4 L. 1 1 .OI-'! hours they filed past sailors, soldiers, 'sV) j guardsmen, cadets, veterans, Gover a11 I nors and their staffs, thousands of tne i civilians in civic and political organi set i zations, Indians here and there, a line of women, and hundreds of brass bands. The crowds in the reviewing stand and on. the streets were chilled by the wind. The paraders marched tArMy in the face of it. In sudden it picked up the sand and "them, swept their colors from Y and sent their hats high "y- v