Cresco plain dealer. (Cresco, Howard County, Iowa) 1913-1945, 1917-10-12

ride on ships loaded with munitions
or loaded with explosives in violation
of American statutes.
81 deny we went to war to protect
the loans of Morgan g. Co., to foreign
governments"
Reviews U-6oat sInkings.
Kellogg reviewed the history Of tor
padoing Of American ships. Discuss.
ing the demand for free speech, Sen.
ator Kellogg said:
II am as jealous of the right of free
speech as any member of this body
or any citizen of the land. But this
is a question of erroneous statement
of fact rather than free. speech
keIIoggs Speech.
Senator Kellogg's speech in full fol.
lows:
"A week ago l presented to the SEN
ate a petition from the Minnesota Com.
mission of Public Safety, containing
copy of speech purporting to have
been made BY the senator Of Wis.
consin in St. Paul on Sept. 20. The
petition was referred to the committee
on privileges and elections At that
time l made no comment thereon and
should not have done so but for the
speech of the senator today. l shall
not now anticipate the action of the
committee or of the senate upon this
question or express an opinion as to
what should be done in the matter But
/ cannot allow this occasion to pass
or this congress to adjourn without
expressing my emphatical dissent from
some of the views stated in that
speech.
No Sympathy With Unjust Criticism.
Il have no sympathy with unjust
and Incorporate criticism of members
of the United States senate or any
other men for l realize that when the
senate ceases to be deliberative body
the republic is in danger. I desire to
discuss the reason which brought this
country into this conflict and the duty
public officials owe in such a time.
THE petition presented contained
certified stenographic copy Of the
speech made by the senator from Wis.
consin. 1t was not a pleasant duty.
performed that duty under the con.
stitutional authority Of the right OF
petitions to the senate.
Limits Remarks.
II shall limit remarks to those parts
of the senator's speech which discuss
causes of the war, as the senator under.
stood it. The speech was made Is
days ago. l have heard no denial OF
the parts of the speech l shall read,
and hope they were not spoken. It il
to the sentiment expressed and the
reasons given that shall dissent"
Reads From St. Paul Talk.
The speech is before the senate and
is before the country. The parts ]
particularly wish to comment upon,
now wish to read.
I'VE are in the midst Of war.
was not in favor OF beginning the war.
I didn't mean to say we had not suf-
fered grievances. We had, at the
hands of Germany. serious grievances;
We had cause for complaining; they
had interfered with the right OF Amer
lean citizens to travel upon the high
seas on ships loaded with munitions
for Great Britain. We had right, a
technical right, to ship munitions, and
the American citizens had a technical
right to ride on those vessels. I was
not in favor of riding on them because
it seemed to me when the cOnse-
quences resulting from any destruc'
ton of life that might occur would be
so awful l say Ca voice: "Yellow")
any man who says that in an audience
where he can conceal himself is vel.
low himself (Cries: put him out.")
say this, that the comparatively
small privilege of the right of an
American citizen to ride on a muni'
ton loaded ship flying a foreign flag
is too small to involve this country In
a loss of millions and hundreds of
millions of lives.
Against War for Morgan.
And, fellow citizens, it behooves q
nation to consider we'll before it en-
tiers upon a war of that sort how
much it has got at stake. If all it has
got at stake is the loans the house Of
Morgan makes to foreign governments
and the profits that the munitions
makers will earn in shipping their
products to foreign countries, then I
think it ought to be weighed, not in a
common hay scale, but in an apothe-
cary's scale.
"Ah but somebody will tell you
American rights are involved. What
American rights? The right Of some
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