The Washington herald., 1917-12-05
Demands War On Austris

and duplication avoided az much as
possible.
And here the President has taken
another stand for the better prose-
cution Of the war. Such Congress
sional action would provide q sort Of
board to contral all expenditures.
Efforts were made In the last days
Of the last Congress TO have q super
visory board appointed to control all
war expenditures. This was defeat
ed. Various reports were circulated
that such q scheme would be dis
tasteful to the President. The Pres
ident sets this belief aside in his
In another part Oh his message the
President grasps the fact that there
are hundreds, maybe thousands, OF
persons whose patriotism has been
superseded by unrestrained greed.
He suggests that Congress must go
further In authorizing the govern
ment to set the limit to prices. While
profitsering has been eliminated In
several branches of industry. y still
runs impudently rampant in others"
In this connection q movement Is
on foot in Congress to give the Food
Administrator more power over the
prices OF food that the ultimate con-
sumner has to pay. Just now there Is
no check to the retailer
The President asks for the develop
ment OF the full water power OF the
country and he takes q very strong
position with regard to alien enemies.
.It Is likely that as time goes on
many alien enemies will be willing to
be fed and housed at the expense of
the government N detention camps" !"
says the President, "and 1t would be
the purpose Of the legislation 1 have
suggested to confine offenders among
them In penitentiaries and other SINH
lar institutions where they could be
made to work, as other criminals do. :"
This would provide a large agricul-
tural army for the country and would
help in a great measure to relieve the
food shortage. But none of the alien
enemies could be put to work In mu-
nitions factories. This Is prohibited
by international conventions.
To Packed Galleries.
President Wilson made no reference
to the suffrage constitutional aPend-
ment.
His message was read to packed
galleries. Clad in frock coat. with a
OuNAOhA bAS AopNls anu AoSN
ing in perfect health, the President
extended his arms across the green
baize desk OF Speaker Clark, as II
he were just talking to the audience.
The great room was silent for
some time before the President
made his declaration against Aus
tria. Then a storm OF applause
broke forth. The cheering was not
confined to the galleries and the
Legislators, but swept through the
august ranks of the Justices of the
Supreme Court. sitting like a jury
in cane chairs in front of the Presi-
dent. There were Justices Pitney.
White. Clark, McReynolds. McKenna
and Brandeis. Ambassadors Spring
Rice and Jusserand. in the front
row of the diplomatic corps. stood
and applauded. Some Congressmen
gave the rebel yell; others the
western whoop.
President Wilson spoke for thity-
three minutes.
: Badger SoIon Isolated.
The galleries watched Senator
LaFollette closely. particularly
when he failed to rise when the
President asked for war on Austria.
Meyer London, the New York So
cialist, stood with the others> and
applauded.
LaFollette was alone as the Sem
ators marched into the hall in pairs,
and he seemed to feel his isolation
as he sat listening to the speech.
He did not applaud at any time.
II there was any legislator not
mentally on his toes and keen to
grasp the Presidents every word,
it must have been the veteran SEN
ator Boise Penrose Of Pennsylvania.
In the midst of one of the most
striking passages. he, with a bored
expression, took out his watch not
ing it was then 12:47 p. m.
Representative Billy Mason,
known as an anti-war worker, led
was when President Wilson re-
referred to making peace.
Anti-war feeling entered more
observer knew. Vice President
Marshall. in appointing a commit
tee of two Senators to escort Presi-
dent Wilson into the chamber, ig-
nored Senator Stone of Missouri,
chairman of the Committee on For
eign Relations. He named Senator
Hitchcock instead. In place Of
Senator Lodge, ranking Republican
on the committee, Mr.. Marshall
chose Senator Penrose. Speaker
Clark named Chairman Flood of
the Foreign Affairs Committee and
Representative Henry Allen Cooper,
who is strongly opposed to war.