Grand Forks herald., 1917-03-05
TWELVE SENATOR'S HEADED BY ,
LAFOLLEITf PREVENTED VOTE
ON ARMED NEUTRALITY BILL
flbuster Against Measure Successful the
jorty of Senate Sign Manifesto Fixing Blame and
Prevent Wisconsin Man From Speaking

washington, March 5-Twelve sem
ators. led by Senator La Toilette and
encouraged by Senator Stone, Demo-
cratic chairman Of the foreign rela-
ions committee. in q ilibuster de-
nounced by President Wilson's
SPOKESMAN 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 yesterday and denied to the
president law authorizing him to
arm American merchant ships to
meet the German submarine menace.
Unyielding throughout 2e hours Of
CONTINUOUS session to appeals that
their defiance of the president would
be humiliating to the country: un-
compromising in a crisis described to
them as tho most serious to the ma
-tion since the civil war, La Toilette
ana his small group Of supporters re-
fused majority Of their colleagues
an opportunity to vote on the armed
neutrality bill and it died with the
sixty-fourth congress at noon.
To fix responsibility before the
country seventy-six senator's, thirty
Republicans and forty Democrats
signed q manifesto to proclaim to the
the measure.
NARAAACcUO x98U6O,
This declaration embodied in the
record Of the senate referred to the
TACT that the house Thursday night
had passed a similar bill by q vote
OF 40S to Is and also recited that the
senate rule permitting unlimited de-
bate gave small minority opportu-
nifty to throttle the will of the major
ity.
The text Of the manifesto follows:
The majority Of United States sem
ators favored the passage of the sem
ate bill authorizing the president of
the United States to arm American
merchant vessels, q similar bill hav-
ing already passed the house by a
vote OF 403 to 13. Under the rules
OF the senate allowing unlimited de-
bate. it appears to be impossible to
obtain q vote previous to noon March
4, 1917, when this session of congress
expires. We desire the statement en-
tered on the record to establish that
the senate favored the legislation and
would pass it If a. vote could be OBJ
Thirteen Refuse.
Thirteen senators declined to sign
the declaration, but one of them, SEN
ator Penrose, Republican of Pennsyl-
vanta. ANNOUNCED that he would have
voted for the bill had opportunity
been afforded him. The twelve who
went on record with the thirteen
members of the house against grant,
ing to President Wilson the authority
he asked from congress in the crisis
were: Republicans: Clapp (Minne-
sota); Cummins. Iowa; Gronna, North
Dakota; Kenyon. Iowa; La Toilette.
Wisconsin; Norris, Nebraska; Works,
California;.
Democrats: Kirby. Arkansas;
Lane. Oregon; O'Gorman, New York;
Stone, Missouri; Vardamann, Missis-
sippi-5.
The Representatives.
Associated with them in opposition
to the armed neutrality bill were the
following representatives who voted
against the house bill Thursday night:
Republicans: Benedict. California;
Cary, wisconsin; Cooper, Wisconsin: !:
Davis, Minnesota: Helegesen, North
Dakota; Lindbergh, Minnesota; Nell
son, Wisconsin; Stafford, Wisconsin; !;
Wilson, Illinois,.
Democrats: Decker, Missouri: