The Watertown weekly leader. [volume] (Watertown, Jefferson County, Wis.) 1912-1917, 1917-04-11

x resources of the country are y
9 hereby pledged by the congress 8
| q of the United States. x
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edly and grossly violated its treaty OBJ
legations to US, and wantonly broken
solemn assurances"
"The issue is not peace or war;" Sen
| ator Swanson continued. "War has al
ready been declared upon us. The is
sue Is whether we shall accept war or
abject and cowardly submission"
Reciting the sinking Of American
ships, German plots, and Outrages in
this country, Senator Swanson said the
zimmerman plot to incite Mexico
against this country reaches the low
est depths Of national turpitude."
Many other senators took part in the
debate, Gronna, Stone, Vardaman,
Norris and LaFollette, all opposing the
resolution.
Senator Smoot made the last speech
"a short prayer that God would
hasten the day when liberty will be
enjoyed by all the peoples of the
EARTH"
The roll call was taken while the
senators and spectators sat solemn. A
few cheers greeted the result and then
all filed quietly out Of the chamber.
House Vote, 373 to 20.
The house, after a debate lasting
about seventeen hours, adopted the
joint resolution by a vote of 1878 to so.
Nearly hundred representatives made
speeches.
In offering the senate resolution as
substitute for its own, the house for
eign affairs committee submitted a
long report reviewing the history of
submarine warfare and Americas fu-
tile protests against it, German in
trigues and bomb plots in this country,
the effort to ally Japan and Mexico
against the United States and the mis-
treatment of American officials and
citizens in Germany.
SIT is with the deepest sense Of re-
spQnsibility for the momentous results
which will follow the passage Of this
resolution" said the report, that your
committee reports it to the house, with
the recommendation that it be passed.
1.-THE conduct Of the imperial Ger
man government toward this govern
ment, it's citizens and its interests, has
been SO discourteous, unjust, cruel,
barbarous, and so lacking in honesty
and practice that it has constituted q
violation Of the course of conduct
which should obtain between friendly
nations.
SIN addition to this the German gov
ernment is actually making war upon
the people and commerce Of this coun-
try, and leaves no course open to this
government but to accept its gage Of
battle and declare that state of war
exists"
Flood Opens the Debate.
Under 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 meas
ure to a vote. He was disposed, how
ever, to give members every opportu-
nifty to speak throughout the day. The
debate began without any limitation.
"War Is being made upon our coun-
try and its people," Representative
Flood said in opening "Our ships are
being sunk. Our nonSmbatant citi-
zens, including men, women and chill
dren, are being murdered, our mer-
chantmen are denied the freedom of
the seas.
"The time for argument has passed;
the time for heroic action is here, and
ouf people will rally to the support of
their government in this high and pa
triotic hour and meet wars sacrifices
and wars perils as brave and patri-
otto people should.
"We should take our stand by the
side of the allied nations who have
been fighting humanity's battles for
two and one-half yeats, 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 shall be
delivered from the threat and danger
Of the Hohenzollern dynasty"