Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1917-03-15
TAFT SPEAKS TO
Vt. LEGISLATURE
Declares u. s. Will Not SIT BY
and Say 1t Cannot Defend
It's Rights.
UPHOLDS THE PRESIDENT.
Deplores "MissUided. Wilful and On.
patriotic" Course Of II Men who
Blocked Armed ship Bill.

Montpelier. March s.-Declaring that no
would answer with an emphatic No
the question OF whether or not this coun.
Try was going to sit by and say, "If you
are strong enough to make It uncon,-
portable for US to assert our rights, we
VIII not assert them former Presiden,
william Howard Taft, in his address this
| AFTERNOON before the joint assembly Of
senate and House, drew round after round
OF applause from his audience Of nearly
one thousand persons, who filled every
available inch of the floor and gniierv
space of the representatives chamber and
Ioueht Tor standing room at the entrances
Inc speaker also characterized as un-
patriotic. misguided and wilful, the action
OF the twelve senator's who finally de-
iayed the vote on the question Of au.
! thorizing the President to arm our mer-
chant vessels. Lieut. Governor Roger w.
! hulpurd presided at the assembly and
Mr.. Taft was escorted to the chamber
by a committee consisting of Senator
Peck of Chittenden county, Representa-
tives Brooks of Montpelier and Durham
OF Brattleboro. He was the guest OF
Senator Rcdfeld Proctor and Miss Emily
ID. PROCTOR during his stay in Mont.
pelier.
Mr.. Taft said in part: We have been
neutrals in this great war, we have pur.
sued the policy Of neutrais as carefully az
we could under the rule Of international
law. Our national conscience Is void Of
onense and yet we find ourselves on the
brink of hostilities In tho first Mace
every neutral nation. as between beliic.
erents, has the right as against one bellig-
erent TO maintain trade or to permit its
citizens to maintain trade in their COM
1nercial vessels with other belligerents
IN all kinds of merchandise contraband or
otherwise without complaint by belliger-
ent.
The rule is that as between bellieer-
ehts. one belligerent may capture and
confiscate the commercial vessels of an
other. but II the commercial weasel thus
captured makes no resistance. the creu
the passengers and the officers Of the
non-resisting enemy commercial vessel
are entitled to rescue and entitled to a
place of safety. That limitation obtains
IN the three cases which I have de-
scribed. Violating these uncoutest6bIe
rules OF international law. Germany sent
before their Maker without warning At
ieast 2oo citizens of the United States. We
condoned that act. We condoned that
ruthless. brutal killing Of our innocent
ciuzens on the pledge Of Germany that
she would thereafter discontinue that
course. Before the first of February last
she announced that she intended to berin
again the ruthless sinking without warn
ing OF every vessel. commercial or other.
wise. neutral or otherwise. that entered a
zone of the high seas more than 600 miles
long and in places exceeding 100 miles in
width. And when she did so the President
IF the United States notified her that IL
she intended to continue that then We
would have no more diplomatic relations
with her. and we withdrew our ambas,a.
dor in Berlin and we gave passports to
Count Bernstorh. the German ambassa.
dor in Washington.
After that was done Germany re.
iterated her intention to sink every
vessel without warning by submarine
attack every vessel that came into that
zone on the high seas.
The deck OF commercial vessel
Of the United States. under the Amerf.
can flag. on the high seas. complying
with international law. is just as much
soil OF the United States as IL its pas-
sengers stood upon the shores Of the
United States. And an attack upon
them without warning cannot be dis
tinguished in principle under interna-
tional law from the case Of the landing
of a German regiment on the shores Of
the United States and the killing Of Am
erican citizens. Under those conditions
what can we do: II we do not resent
that action. II We yield In order to
avoid war to the course of a ruthless
and brutal military power we have
given up our position before the world:
we have failed to vindicate popular
government as one which knowing its
rights dares to maintain them. Can
there be any doubt. therefore. where
American citizens. through whose veins
American blood flows must stand in re-
spcct to UNFOLDING the hands OF tho
President in QSSoPtinO r{Dhto
though it involves the use OF forcer
(Applause.)
Now. that's the situation my friends,
and the question Is whether wo AuaaR.
leans are going to stand back OF tho Pregi.
dent? He asked for authority from Con.
gress. not-as he said-because he doubt.
ed his power to exercise the authority.
but because he wished their confirming
vote and the House OF Representatives
gave 1t to him by an overwhelming ma.
jority. with a small minority. and then
the Senate would have done tho sans
thing by more than 50 out OF a6 but Tor
the misg uided. wilful and unpatriotto
course of 13 men. I say unpatriotic not
because OF l. men. ] say unpatFtotic mot
their own views as to an issue like this,
but because it is unpatriotic for them -
deny to the 50 mon and to tho country
the lawful expression and the lawful vote
tndC tndt ~ rHcu WOuI0 Hdfe C36I OuL x0F
an unreasonable rule that permits q feV
TO defeat the will OF the people and the
will of the large majority OF a representa-
tive body. (Applause)
Now / have attempted to state In .
brief way what the actual situation is.
If these vessels are armed with United
States sailors aboard and a submarine
attacks, and the submarine Is sunk, that's
the situation.
Then II Germany chooses to declare
war that's the situation. II. on the other
hand. the submarine sinks one OF our vts-
sells and sends to the bottom. without
warning. our crew, our passengers. our
officers aboard that vessel. innocent OF Of
Tense. then the question Is what this
country is going to do! Then the ques-
ton is what are we going 10 say to
of our citizens entitled 10 our
protection by the contract and the ohliga-
ton Of ne Constitution? Are We eoing
to sit by and say. II you are only strong
enough to make 1t uncomfortable for W
to assert our rights we will not aaaeSt