Albuquerque morning journal. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1903-1926, 1917-03-05

wilson tonight informed the country
in a statement that be may be without
power to arm merchant ships and
take other steps to meet the German
submarine menace, in the absence OF
authority from congress.
An extra session of congress, the
president says, is required to clothe
him with authority, hut it is useless tc
call one while the senate works un-
der the present rules which permit a
small minority to keep an oVerwhelm-
ing majority from acting.
The president proposes. therefore
that the special session of the senate
which he has called to meet tomor-
row, revise the rules Ito supply the
means of action and save the country
from disaster"
"A little group of wlful men" says
the president in his statement, repre-
senting no opinion but their own, have
rendered the government of the Unit
ed States hhelpless and contemplate. -
Cannot Arm Ships.
AT the same time, the president au-
thorized the further statement that
what rendered the situation even
more grave than ii had been supposed
II Aes, ~ag the discover, that, 0it,ie
the president under his general con-
stitutional powers, could do much of
what he had asked the congress to
empower him to do, it had been
found that there We're certain old
statutes as yet unrepealed which
may raise insuperable practical OBJ
stacles and may nullify his power.
The old law referred to by the
president was adopted by congress in
1919 and referred to the resistance of
10 1t I,1
attacks of privateers and pirates, but
excluded from vessels which might be
so attacked "a public armed vessel of
nation in amity with the United
States"
Technically, Germany is not at war
with the United States and subma-
rines are "public armed vessels" of
Germany.
The presidents statement followed
a conference at the White House be-
tween Mr.. Wilson, Secretary MCAdOo,
Postmaster General BurIeson, Col f.
M House, Vance G, Mccormick,
chairman of the democratic national
committee, and Secretary Tunulty.
The Presidents Statement.
The presidents statement in full
follows:
The termination of the last session
of the siXty-fourth congress by con
stitutional limitation disCloses a situ-
alton unparalleled in the history of
the country, perhaps unparalleled in
the history of any modern govern
ment: In the immediate presence of
a crisis fraught with more subtle and
far-reaChing possibilities of national
danger than any other tho govern
ment has known within the whole his,
tory of its international relations, the
congress has been unable to act
either to safeguard the country or to
Vindicate the elementary rights of its
citizens. More than 500 of the 531
members of the two houses were ready
and anxious to act; the house of rep
resentatiVes had acted, by an over
whelming majority, but the senate
was unable TO act because a little
group of eleven senators had deter
mined that II should not.
Paralyzes Government.
The senate has no rules by which |
debate can be limited or brought to an
end, no rules by which dilatory tactics
of any kind can be prevented. A sin
gle member can stand in the way of
action if he have but the physical en- |
durance. The result in this case is a
complete paralysis alike of the legis.
of the government.
This inability of the senate to act
has rendered some of the most neces-
sary legislation of the session impos-
sible, at a time when the need for it
was most pressing and most evident !
The bill which would have permitted
such combinations of capital and of
organization in the export and i'm
port trade of the country as the cir
cumstances of International competi-
ton have made imperative--a bill
which the business judgment of the
whole country approved and demand
ed-has failed.
Other Bills Defeated.
"The opposition of one or two sena-
tors has made it impossible to in
crease the membership of the Inter
state Commerce commission or to give
1t the altered organization necessary
for its efficiency. The conservation
bill which should have released for
use the mineral resources
which are still locked up in the pub
lie lands, now that their release is
more imperatively necessary than
ever, and the bill which would would
have made the unused water power
of the country Immediately available
for industry, have both failed, though
they have been under consideration
the sessions of two con-
crosses and have been twice passed by
the house of representatives
The appropriations for the army
have failed, along with the appropria