Salt Lake Tribune | 1917-04-01 | Page 1 | Wilson to Address Congress Tuesday

Indications That a Wave of War Sentiment Is Sweeping Over the Country Reach the White House; Nation Stands Ready to Back the President. PREPARATIONS BEING HURRIED House Expected to Organize Or-ganize Promptly and Be Ready to Respond to Any Call That May Be Made for Men, Money and Supplies for War Purposes. WASHINGTON, March 31. A declaration dec-laration that a state of war exists between be-tween Gormany and the United States is generally expected to follow close upon the assembling of congress in extraordinary ex-traordinary session Monday. Today the government bent every effort to hurry preparedness measures as though actual war was an imminent certainty. ! Indications that a wave of war Een- timent is sweeping the country came to the White house in messages conveying jjresolutions adopted at patriotic mass Imeetings in different states, and in reports re-ports Irom senators and representatives that the nation stands ready to back up the president. Predictions were general at the capital cap-ital that the house will be organized pr- -aptly so that the president may deliver de-liver his message making recommendations recommenda-tions for congressional action. Unless there should be an unlooked for change he will speak Tuesday. Tension Increases. News of the sinking of additional ships by German submarines and the resulting re-sulting loss of more American lives only increased the tension slightly. For some time the general feeling has been that Germany already had shown utter disregard of American rights and actually ac-tually was making war on the United States. Secretary Baker conferred with the president and afterwards announced that more than 7000 additional national guardsmen had been ordered out for police po-lice duty in different states. He also said that complete plans for raising a larcer army had been made. Plans in the navy for securing manv submarine chasers and organizing them for a coast patrol went forward rapidlv. and the Nationnl Defense Council perfected per-fected a plan for co-ordinating in a practical way the nation 's industrial preparedness. Message Almost Finished. President Wilson has almost finished his message to congress. He remained in his study much of the dav, and also was in close touch with the' war. navy and treasurv departments regarding preparedness pre-paredness plans. It was indicated that tentative plans of the administration for providine men, money and supplies for war pur poses await action by congress on the main ctn stion of whether a declaration of a state of war is to lie adopted. Careful to observe the war-m.ikir.T pro-rotative pro-rotative of congress, the president and his advisers are desirous of doing nothing noth-ing to be construed as an act of war beyond be-yond maintaining a state of armed neutrality neu-trality and making ready for war if it eornes. y.ans of pacifists for attempting to keep congress from declaring a state of fs: attracted Borne attention, but most of the reports to the administration i;i-di.ared i;i-di.ared that the nation, as a whole, be- (Continued on Page Four.) WILSON TO ADDBES5 CONGRESS TUESDAY (Continued, from Page One.) lieves that the time for war has com-?.! A statement by Chairman Stone of tho ; senate foreign relations committee to- j lay that ho would vote airainpt war, ; but would support tlie government in j anv policy decided upon, was the most t no tunable, anti-war development. 1 Outside, of the main question to he : decid-'d, chief attention within the ad- ( ministration is directed toward guarding guard-ing against possible disturbances in the1 L'nited States. That such danger fx-ists fx-ists was generally admitted, but officials offi-cials believe the situation is well in haud. f Senate Debate Probable. 1 On the eve of the new session, all , senators and representatives professed ! complote ignorance of details of the j 'president's jjlans for action. They wore, unanimous in predicting that a decla- i ration of existence of a state of war is , probable, but beyond this they appear i to have little notion of what congress ; will do or will be asked to do. ! The first expression of congressional ! sentiment is expected from the house. Such a resolution as will be suggested! by tho president may include au emer- ; geucy appropriation which would have : to pass tho house first and in addition ' I tho moral force of affirmative action ; j by the house would give the resolution greater intial impetus, man' members : believe, than if the senate should be- i gin the discussion. 1 Whether the new cloture rule of the senate would be needed in considering tho resolution is speculative. It is regarded re-garded as certain that tho so-called pacifist group in the senate, including those who opposed the armed neutrality measure, will occupy considerable time in debate. Senator Stone, however, indicated in-dicated today that he favored some prompt expression by congress and would call the foreign relations com-; com-; mittce together immediately after the j president delivers his address.