The Bourbon news. [volume] (Paris, Ky.) 1895-19??, 1917-04-03
VOLUME XXXVI.
War May Be
Declared By
Congress Today
A Majority of the Members
Assembled Are Openly in
Favor OF Such Action.

WASHINGTON, April 2.-Congress
assembled at noon to-day for a session
generally agreed to be the most mo-
mentous in the history of the republic
President Wilson, ready with his ad-
dress, which it is believed will ask that
n state of war already exists between
the United States and Germany, wait.
ed only for the organization of the
House of Representatives.
Democratic House leaders got word
from the White House to hurry the
organization as soon as possible. All
plans have been made on the expecta-
ton that the President would speak
Tuesday, but the leaders promised to
DO all they could to meet his wish to
speak today.
Congress assembled with a majority
openly in favor of declaration of Z
state Of war, if not actually a declara-
ton of war.
Clark was reelected Speaker of the
House by vote of 217 to 205 over his
Republican opponent, Mann.
AS THE NEWS goes to press Pres
dent Wilson is delivering his address
TO the joint session OF Congress. The
address had been sent TO the Public
Printer early yesterday morning.
BALTIMORE, MD, April IA
mass meeting held here tonight un-
der the auspices of the American
League against militarism ended in 4
riot. A counter demonstration was or
ganized on the pavement of the
Academy of Music, in which DR.. David
Starr Jordan was speaking. Finally
the crowd took the matter into its
own hands and, led by some militant.
broke into the theatre and marched
down the aisle waving the American
flag.
Men socially prominent led the
throng Of 1000 which broke into the
theatre. College professors, students,
bankers and lawyers were there.
Carter G.. Osborne, Jr, banker. was
at the head waving a flag. A police
man dubbed him into Inconsistencies
and the crowd which saw the flag dis
appear from his hands, leaped forward,
swept the police aside and got into
the theatre. Twenty men were club
bed AMI four of them were taken to 2
hospital.
A dozen others were arrested.
WASHINGTON, April 2.-Orders
were placed by the Navy department
today with the American Steel &
Wire Company of Philadelphia for tho
Immediate construction of 10e steel
rope submarine nets. The nets will
cost S1,SS1 each, 1850 feet long, 80
feet wide with a 12-inch mesh. Deliv-
cries will begin within three weeks
and continue at the rate of ten week
thereafter.
ST. THOMAS, VIRGIN ISLANDS,
April 1.-The transfer of the Virgin
Islands from Danish rule to the Unit.
ed States took place simultaneously on
ON the three islands at 4 o'clock Sat
urday afternoon. Commander Pollock,
the ranking American officer at the
islands, oficiated at st. Thomas, while
the commander of the cruiser Olym-
pia acted in a similar capacity at St
Froix Officers and marines OF the
cruiser Hancock and the Danish
cruiser Valkyrien formed guards Of
honor fronting of the military barracks
IT St Thomas, where the ceremonies
we're witnessed by members of the
bocal legislature, officials, consuls and
a large concourse of people.
WASHINGTON, ID. c., April 2.-Dr.
Alfred Zimmerman, Foreighn Secre-
;ary. speaking on the American situa-
ton. said that "the United States can
not deny our rights to seek allies
when it, already, before war has been
declared has set the entire world
against US" Dr. Zimmerman, Justt-
fying the procedure Of seeking 10
make Mexico and Japan her allies, con-
tended that Mexico obviously was ali
ally. and that that antagonism between
America and Japan was stronger than
between Germany and Japan, despite
the fact that a state of war existed
between them.
WASHINGTON, April Am Amer
lean seaman who has arrived at Copen
hagen from Germany says that more
than forty Americans were among the
nearly 600 prisoners taken to Germany
by the commerce raider Moewe. The
Americans, most of whom were capt
sred while on the British horse trans
port Esmeraldas, are reported to be
held as prisoners of war in Germany.
WASHINGTON, April 2.-Oficial
dispatches from Copenhagen confirm
reports that two American seamen had
arrived there from Germany with the
story that some fifty others, taken In
raids by the commerce raider Moewe'
we're held in detention camps. ne
ports from many sources have convinc'