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Show l a ' . , - v ' - r" . - , 4 f ' 1 ,x - . - ''!:; - - ' 1 I ' i " L 4 -i" . v J . ' ' : r " " - -I - J ' ?"y"'": x XX. 'XXV,K Ky. t i ' " x x. i " " i ' ife v. Jvfx S ? ' ' , ' r ' A - - President Woodrow Wilson delivering his war message to congress, April 2, 1917. By ELMO SCOTT WATSON V" OR two months it had been apparent I that the march of yj' events was slowly ,Xbut surely turning fsTv-J. the footsteps of a JJii nation toward, the Mjis path which would ygy?, lead it into the gi--tzS gantic conflict raging rag-ing across the Atlantic. At-lantic. And, ironically, this was the nation whose people only two months earlier had re-elected its Chief Executive partly because of the plea in his behalf: "He kept us out of war." The first significant step in this march of events had been taken on January 31, 1917. The German high command, com-mand, gambling desperately to end the two-year stalemate, stale-mate, announced that on the next day it would begin unrestricted unre-stricted warfare and that American shipping entering the war zone would be limited limit-ed to one vessel a week. When Secretary Joe Tumulty entered the office of the President Presi-dent in the White House and laid on his desk a copy of the Associated Associ-ated Press dispatch containing that news, Woodrow Wilson read it slowly, then re-read it. A look of surprise, then incredulity, then stern determination passed across his face. "Tumulty, this means war," he exclaimed. "The break that we have tried so hard to prevent now seem:, inevitable." The next day the President met wi'.h his cabinet and told them of the "astounding surprise" of this latest act of that "madman who rnust be curbed" Germany. But even with this crisis thrust upon him, he was determined not to do more than sever diplomatic relations re-lations with Berlin nor take any action until there was an "overt act" on the part of the Central Powers. He repeated that determination deter-mination the following day when he appeared before the congress to tell it that we had broken, diplomatically, dip-lomatically, with Berlin. The First Overt Act. , During the next month that "overt act" was committed. The Ancona, an American ship, had been sunk in the war zone. Again Woodrow Wilson appeared before congress to announce a policy of "armed neutrality" and to ask authorization for mounting naval guns on our merchant ships. The house readily granted him that authority but the senate, with 7(3 in favor of the resolution and 11 opposed enough to block the unanimous consent necessary to bring the matter to a vote wrangled for three days. Then at 12 o'clock, noon, on March 4 the session came to an end. Four minutes passed by, during which time the United States technically techni-cally hod no President. Then Woodrow Wilson stood before Chief Justice White, raised his right hand and again took the oath of ollice to guide the nation through the four stormy years which he realized full well were ahead of him. During the next two weeks events marched slowly to a climax. cli-max. On March 2J the cabinet again asse. nbled in the executive oliices of ir.i; White House. The President told his aides what they already knew three more American ships had been sunk by German submarines. Several American seamen were missing. These were "overt acts." What was the next step for the American Ameri-can government to take? The congress was due to convene on April 16. Should he call it in extra session before that date? Unanimous for War. Their advice was that he should. They were unanimous for war. So he issued a proclamation proclama-tion calling congress together on April 2. Then followed a period of waiting wait-ing waiting waiting. The cabinet cab-inet met at regular intervals but the matter of war was not discussed. dis-cussed. Between meetings the President spent most of his time in his study on the second floor of the White House. There, day after day and far into the night, Woodrow Wison wrestled with his problem, went through his Geth-semane Geth-semane alone. Came the second of April. The senate, a continuing body, convened con-vened officially and after 12 minutes min-utes adjourned. Over in the house order, the doors at the rear of the chamber opened and a doorkeeper announced: "The vice president of the United States and the members of the United States senate." In the midst of a hushed silence Vice President Marshall and the elder statesmen of the republic filed into the room and took their seats. Then, as the slight figure of a scholarly-looking man appeared, ap-peared, congressmen and spectators spec-tators alike surged to their feet in a storm of handclapping and cheers. Wilson's Momentous Message. It died down as Woodrow Wilson Wil-son stepped to the reading desk just below the dais where Marshall and Clark sat. He began to read. "I have called the congress into extraordinary session because be-cause there are serious, very serious choices of policy to be made, and made immediately, which it was neither right nor Constitutionally permissible that I should assume the responsibility responsibil-ity of making." His hands trembled slightly as ' - 11 ' ' 'V :V ' :: - - - . i ' ' I N V' x X N ' ' ' ' ? I i ' V 1 s.'.o.x.'v:;xw xxxxxxx, ::.;. - . :v-. x :x; x xx s-x . ' x. X 1 s x N i - f ( - ! i N : PRESIDENT WOODROW WILSON of representatives they were electing a speaker and other officers offi-cers and ratifying committees. After eight hours and ten roll-calls roll-calls they were ready for business. busi-ness. In the White House the President was dining with members mem-bers of his family. As they finished, fin-ished, n delegation from congress arrived with the message that the senate and the house were ready to receive a communication communica-tion from the President. Outside the 'Capitol a great throng milled about, kept in order or-der by two troops of cavalry that had ridden over from Fort P.tyer. Inside, the galleries of the house were packed. Even the seldom-used seldom-used diplomatic gallery was tilled. Two outstanding figures in it were Ambassador Jusserand of France and Ambassador Spring-Rice Spring-Rice of Great Britain. The day they had long hoped for had arrived. ar-rived. A moment nfler Speaker Clark had called the house to he turned the pages of his manuscript. manu-script. His voice was low. His listeners leaned forward to catch every word as he recounted the events of the past twj months and stated his bill of particulars against the German government. "The present German submarine subma-rine warfare against commerce is a warfare against mankind. It is a war against all nations . . . The challenge is to all mankind. Each nation must decide for itself it-self how it will meet it. The choice we make for ourselves must be made with a moderation modera-tion of counsel and a temperate-ncss temperate-ncss of judgment befitting our character and our motives as a nation. We must put excited feeling feel-ing away. Our motive will not be revenge, but only the vindication vindica-tion of right, of human right, of which we are only a single champion." cham-pion." Through the hushed charr.'.-er there was a rustle of uncert .in'.y, just the sligi-.tcit hint of impa tience. WTiat was he going to ask of the congress? And then . . . "With a profound sense of the solemn and even tragical character of the step I am taking and of the grave responsibilities respon-sibilities which it involves, but in unhesitating obedience to what I deem my constitutional duty, I advise that the congress declare the recent course of the imperial government to be in fact nothing less than war against the government and people of the United States; that it formally accept the status sta-tus of a belligerent which has thus been thrust upon it and that it take immediate steps not only to put the country in a more thorough state of defense, but also exert all its power and employ all its resources to bring the government of the German empire to terms and end the war." So it was to be war I As the President uttered those words. Chief Justice White, who was sitting sit-ting in the front row of chairs below be-low the speaker, dropped the hat he had been holding and brought his hands together high over his head. That explosive sound set off a torrent of noise which filled the chamber for a moment, then died down quickly as the low voice continued: "... We have no quarrel with the German people. We have no feeling towards them but one of sympathy and friendship. It was not upon their impulse that their government acted upon entering this war . . . "... We are glad, now that we see the facts with no veil of false pretense about them, to fight thus for the ultimate peace of the world and for the liberation libera-tion of its people, the German peoples included; for the rights of the nations great and small and the privilege of men everywhere every-where to choose their way of life and obedience. The world must be made safe for democracy. Its peace must be planted upon the trusted foundat'on of liberty . . ." And so on the quiet voice continued con-tinued for 32 minutes interrupted interrupt-ed no less than 23 times by the applause of its hearers. At last it came to that most splendid passage of all: "It is a distressing and oppressive oppres-sive duty, gentlemen of the congress, con-gress, which I have performed in thus addressing you. There are, it may be, many months of fiery trial and sacrifice ahead of us. It is a fearful thing to lead this great peaceful country into war, into the most terrible and disastrous of all wars, civilization civiliza-tion itself seeming to be in the balance; but the right is more precious than peace, and we shall fight for the things which we have always carried nearest our hearts for democracy, for the right of those who submit to authority au-thority to have a voice in their own governments, for the rights and liberties of small nations, for a universal dominion of right by such a concert of free people as shall bring peace and safety to all nations and make the world itself at least free. To such a task we can dedicate our lives and our fortunes, everything that we are and everything that we have, with the pride of those who know that the day has come when America is privileged to spend her blood and her might for the principles that gave her birth and happiness and the peace which she has treasured. "God helping her, she can do no other." fe Wcs'.crr. N'cx sparr Union. |