New Britain herald., 1917-03-03
BRANDEGEE RIPS UP
 RICHEST ELEMENT

Conn. Senator PaYors ''Directing" President to Arm Ships
 MUST WE LIE AND CURL UP? Upper Chamber Re-hears Red-Hot
 War Talk From Nutmeg State Dell egate -:Predicts War and Is Ready to Meet It.
 Washington, March .s.-When de- bate was resumed in the senate today on the armed ships bill., Senator Hitchcock. to. perfect the bilPs parlia- mentary status. had the senate with- draw two slight amendments. substt- tuted after the enacting clause for the house text. One amendment eliminates the provision for arming merchantmen fore and aft" thus re- moving specific direction as to arm- ament. The other prevents United states protection for foreign ships.
 Senator Brandegee. republican of connecticut. called the German pro- ntbited zone ''an ambush where Ger many laid in wait to deal death'' to, any one who entered against her edict creating it. .-
 Shall we sit supinely and allow tne ukase of foreign potentate to clear the ocean of American shipping and blockade our ports?" he asked.
 Are we obliged to wait fur the slaughter to be accomplished before we defend, ourselves? trust that neither congress nor the American people have fallen to such depths of degradation that they are willine to Iurl the American flag and withdraw from the high seas as the misguided band of paciflsts seem to wish.
 There is no use to issue a moral homily or a Salation army tract. or to repeat the Sermon on the Mount to a nation that has gone mad and acts through it's military autocracy like a nomictdal maniac. Must we get off the face of the earth-lie down and curl up? I'm for peace, but I am go- Ing to preserve the liberties of my country. If the pacifists had lived in the time of George Washington we never would have been a country and If they hae their way We will now cease to be 8 country. The peace pTopaganda, in some respects. closely approaches treason"
 Senator Sherman presented today,sl news despatch from Berlin bringing HOreigh Mini4ter Zfn1mermansssad ad- mission of the intrigue with Japan and Mexico.
 Zimmerman Statement Read.
 Senators manifested such keen in terest in the despatches that they were read twice. Senators who had been inclined to denounce the celebrated Zimmerman instructions as a forgery or British plot, showed particular interest.
 Japan has denied re- ceipt of the overtures," said Senator Sutherland. republican of Utah.. "I ask if there is any significance to the fact that our great and good friend General Carranza, in our neighboring griendly country. has not made any denial"
 Senator Stone asked where the des- patches came from and was informed they were from the Wolff Bureau, a German semi-official organization.
 ''These despatches," resumed Sem ator Brandegee, "give us fairly ac- curate idea of the relations that exist at the present time between the Teu- tonic powers and this country. Zim- merman declares Germany's intention to resume unrestricted submarine warfare. the kind that sunk the Lusitania, the kind that Germany had agreed to abandon.
 Germany suspended this warfare while she was rebuilding submarines. Then came announcement of her in tention not only to resume this as- already carried into eff feet, but her intention to also to ar- ray every nation against us that 1 cbuld get at the United States in case we attempted to defend ourselves against these assassins.
 Brandegce Secs War.
 Are we going to lie down on our | backs and let this monstrous FranM | enstein trample over us ruthlessly? I | am not deceived by the effect of this i bill. The effect will be that the next l passenger or freight ship with Ameri- can gunnersy aboard which attempts | to enter a British or neutral port in the zone will be attacked by a Ger i man submarine. That means that ! there will be war if this country Is fit to live. If perchance our defen- l sive gunners should sink submarine that would mean war"
 Senator Brandegee declared with emphasis that a state of war already existed and has existed between the United States and Germany since Feb. 1.
 Germany declared war upon. the | whole world in issuing this proclama- tion,' he asserted. No self-respect- ing nation regards it any other way When she proclaimed slaughter in the barred zone, she declared war Sf fLiS nation ,, '...-.- s-E-