The Hawaiian gazette. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1865-1918, 1917-03-06
FiIbuster Led ByiEa Toilette and
Encouraged By Senator Stone
Of Missouri BaIks Legisla-
y ton at the Last Moment
SENSATIONAL STRUGGLE
RACES IN UPPER HOUSE
Action efMutineers DenomcedAs
Contemplate BY Senator
Hitchcock, Who Battled For Ad-
ministration Through II All

NI hCilllNOl oIN, MATCH .
w The sixty-fourth congress
expired without a vote on the
question of armed neutrality be-
ing allowed to come before the
senate Twelve senators led by
La Toilette, and encouraged by
Senator Stone, of Missouri, chair
man Of the foreign affairs commit
tee Of the upper house, and the
man supposed to have been closest
to the President in the present
crisis with Germany, baked every
effort Of the other members to
meet the demands of the moment
and defled the President and the
majority through twenty-six
hours Of humiliating pickering and
rowing. -. e. s..s
Senator Hitchcock, who
throughout the fight had been
backing the administration meas
ure in the senate, issued a state,
ment just before the session was
over, in which he declared that the
Situation Showed a perfectly de-
plorable state Of affairs, BY which
twelve men who represented moth
ing and nobody, except them
selves, were able to defeat the
wishes Of their eighty fellow mem
bers and hold up the machinery
OF the great government Of the
United States" 20. '-' ..5. u
The statement was made on the
floor OF the senate, and as he ,fin-
ished speaking, and the senate
clock licked off the last few sec
onds OF the session, Hitchcock and
La Toilette stood and glared at
each other, neither moving, while
the, packed galleries subsidized and
remained motionless, until the
clock struck twelve and the sixty
fourth congress ended at the very
climax OF session that was de-
seribed by some of the speakers
as the most momentous crisis
that has faced this country since
the outbreak of the Civil War"
Immediately after the close Of the
session seventy'six senators, including
thirty Republicans, signed a manifesto,
addressed to the general public and 10
the world at large, that they had ia,
vored the passage of the measure,
which would have given the President
the authority TO srm American mer.
ehantmen against the attacks Of Ger,
man submarines and the right TO make
use Of other instrumentalities as he
might deem proper. They deplored
the fact that the flibuster, which some
of them described as the most repre-,
hensible in the history of civilized. ma
tions, should have succeeded in baking
Z the passage of the measure, and as.
serted that the action of the filibusters
had thrown stigma of disgrace upon
& the United States government.
The twelve senator's who recorded
their votes against the neutrality
measure were Clapp of Minnesota,
cnmmins Of Iowa, Kenyon of Iowa,
La Toilette of Wisconsin, Norris Of
Nebraska, Works Of California, Kirby
OF Virginia, Lane Of Oregon, o 'GormaD
Of New York, Stone of Missouri and
yardaman of Mississippi, Ea
These men took the stand that the
demand for additional power asked by
the President was unreasonable, and
stood out for an amendment to the pro
posed measure giving him the right to
order the arming OF merchant craft
against the mnrderous attacks Of Ger.
man submarines, which would have
prevented the arming of vessels carry.
ing munitions of war to the belliger-
ent nations. t.gl H. i'%.Ag 1871
b II was on this stand that the fight
was madei Ia Toilette began ID when
the measure was introduced into the
( upper house early last week, but
dropped IL when the naval appropria
tion bin came before the senate. This
he allowed TO pass without flibustering
ngpinst IL, but when the house met
Saturday TO take up the consideration