The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1917-04-05
Representative Flood Opens Arguments in Behalf of It's Passage With Stirring Indictment of Germany's Repeated Affronts to U. S. Honor.
Pacificists Element is Heard From a Dozen Congress men Will Consume Time Talking Against Measure Great Majority Will Favor Passage.

Washington, April 5-Debate on the war resolution began in the House promptly at 10 o'clock today with Chairman Flood of the foreign affairs committee making the opening statement.
 Passage of the resolution, which will complete the action of Congress in declaring that a state of war exists between and the United States, is eSe pected before night by a heavy majority comparable with that that attended the passage last night in the Senate.
 Representative Cooper of Wisconsin, ranking Republi- can member of the foreign af- fairs committee, was expected to lead the opposition. Less than a dozen members, it WIS predicted, would vote against the war resolution.
 Less than half the members were present when the session opened. Un- der the unanimous consent rule by which the resolution was considered, Representative Flood could move the previous question at any time after one hour and, if sustained, bring the measure to vote. He was disposed, however, to give members every op- portunity to speak throughout the day.
 War is being made on our country and it's people," Representative Flood said in opening. 'Our ships are sunk. Our noncombatant citizens, including men, women and children, are murdered, our merchantmen are denied the. freedom of the seas. There is no choice as to our course. We are compelled by the acts of the Ger man government to enter this most colossal war.
 "The time for argument has passed; the time for action is here.
 We should take our stand by the side of the Allied nations which have been fighting humanity's battles for two and half years, determined that our power shall be so employed that complete victory shall crown their efforts and that Prussian militarism shall be crushed and the. world de- livered from the threat and danger of the Hohenzollern dynasty
 Representative Siegel of New York, Republican, favoring the resolution, said he could not disregard the fact that though we cry peace, Germany answers by warning against us.'
 During this week." he said, inti- nations have come to me that politi- cal expediency required me to cast my vote against this resolution and that contrary action on my part would mean a general effort from now on to end my congressional career. I would be unworthy of American citi- zenship were I to be deterred from acting by such warnings"
 Representative Harrison, Democrat, of Mississippi. assailed pro-German sympathizers and pacificists.
 "I would suggest to them," said he, "that they now employ their talents and eloquence, not in attempting to cause dissension among the Ameri- can people, but in addressing Kaiser Wilhelm, -Hollweg, the Reichstag and the author of that re- markable sample of diplomatic kul- tur,' the Zimmerman note' t
 First expressions of the opposition to the resolution came from Repre- sentatives Cooper and Stafford of Wis consin and Representative Britten of Illinois, while MT. Flood was recount ing German violations of American rights which have led up to the war resolution.
 wouldn't the English mines in the North Sea destroy American lives?" Representative Cooper asked. [ "To date England never has sunk one of our ships or destroyed an American life," MT. Flood said.
 Loud applause greeted the reply. MT. Flood said 16 members had asked for time in which to speak against the resolution.
 Representative Cooper launched in- to a defense of pacificists generally and himself particularly.