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Authors: Thomas Fleming
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Senator La Follette walked to his office, a man handed him a rope. 76
XX
The following day, April 5, was the House of Representatives’ turn. The congressmen slogged to their task through a city whipped by a mounting northeast storm. Some of them may have noticed a lamppost on Fourteenth and H Streets decorated with a yellow-striped scarecrow. The thing had two recognizable faces: One was Senator Stone of Missouri; the other, Senator Vardaman of Mississippi. 77
The New York Tribune crowed over the Senate vote and praised John Sharp Williams for his scurrilous denunciation of Senator La Follette. It also warned of a national conspiracy of “pacifists” plotting to disrupt the war effort. The Los Angeles Times assured its readers there were no plans to send an American army overseas. All that the Allies needed to win the war was munitions. In New York, a young man who called Americans “a lot of skunks” at an antiwar rally got six months in jail. 78
The House galleries were only half full when debate began. With the Senate vote, the conclusion probably seemed foregone. But the onlookers saw some fireworks early in the session. Congressman Fred A. Britten, a Republican from Illinois, stirred a furor when he estimated that 75 percent of the representatives secretly opposed the war but were afraid to say so. Dozens of friends had told him they “hate[d] like the devil” to vote for the war resolution, but were going to do it anyway. A startling wave of applause swept the House and the galleries. An emboldened Britten concluded that “something in the air,” perhaps the “hand of destiny” or “some superhuman movement,” seemed to be forcing them to vote for war when,“deep in our hearts,” they were just as opposed to it as their people back home. 79
Numerous congressmen leaped up to rebut Britten. Some drew applause for flights of patriotic oratory. Others rose to defend him. Chicago Republican William Ernest Mason, who had been a strong proponent of the Spanish-American War, said flatly, “I am against this war because I know the people in my state are not for it.” The debate went back and forth while the northeast wind drove sheets of rain against the huge skylight above the speakers’ heads. 80
A pro-war Republican, Clarence B. Miller of Minnesota, enlivened things by reading a supposedly suppressed paragraph in Herr Zimmermann’s telegram to Mexico:“Agreeably to the Mexican government, submarine bases will be established in Mexican ports, from which will be supplied arms, ammunition and supplies. All [German] reservists in the United States are ordered into Mexico. Arrange to attack all along the border.”
Antiwar congressmen rushed a messenger to the State Department, which denied the existence of any such paragraph. But Miller kept insisting on its authenticity and waved the paper at them to the end of the session. 81
The next surprise came when Claude Kitchin of North Carolina, the Democratic majority leader, announced that he was voting nay:“After mature thought and fervent prayer for rightful guidance, [I] have marked out clearly the path of my duty, and I have made up my mind to walk it, if I go barefooted or alone.” Robert La Follette, who was among the spectators, led a burst of applause. 82
Implicitly agreeing with La Follette, Kitchin denounced the failure of the United States to protest England’s violation of the right to trade with Germany. He described the North Sea as “strewed with hidden mines.” Kitchin maintained that this failure to treat the two belligerents alike was a fatal flaw in Wilson’s declaration of war. 83
James Heflin of Alabama told Kitchin that he should have resigned as majority leader before he made such a statement—and then resigned his seat. John Lawson Burnett of Alabama said that Heflin ought to prove his patriotism first by enlisting in the army as a private. A shouting match erupted, adding a touch of low comedy to the scene. 84
Hour after
XX
The following day, April 5, was the House of Representatives’ turn. The congressmen slogged to their task through a city whipped by a mounting northeast storm. Some of them may have noticed a lamppost on Fourteenth and H Streets decorated with a yellow-striped scarecrow. The thing had two recognizable faces: One was Senator Stone of Missouri; the other, Senator Vardaman of Mississippi. 77
The New York Tribune crowed over the Senate vote and praised John Sharp Williams for his scurrilous denunciation of Senator La Follette. It also warned of a national conspiracy of “pacifists” plotting to disrupt the war effort. The Los Angeles Times assured its readers there were no plans to send an American army overseas. All that the Allies needed to win the war was munitions. In New York, a young man who called Americans “a lot of skunks” at an antiwar rally got six months in jail. 78
The House galleries were only half full when debate began. With the Senate vote, the conclusion probably seemed foregone. But the onlookers saw some fireworks early in the session. Congressman Fred A. Britten, a Republican from Illinois, stirred a furor when he estimated that 75 percent of the representatives secretly opposed the war but were afraid to say so. Dozens of friends had told him they “hate[d] like the devil” to vote for the war resolution, but were going to do it anyway. A startling wave of applause swept the House and the galleries. An emboldened Britten concluded that “something in the air,” perhaps the “hand of destiny” or “some superhuman movement,” seemed to be forcing them to vote for war when,“deep in our hearts,” they were just as opposed to it as their people back home. 79
Numerous congressmen leaped up to rebut Britten. Some drew applause for flights of patriotic oratory. Others rose to defend him. Chicago Republican William Ernest Mason, who had been a strong proponent of the Spanish-American War, said flatly, “I am against this war because I know the people in my state are not for it.” The debate went back and forth while the northeast wind drove sheets of rain against the huge skylight above the speakers’ heads. 80
A pro-war Republican, Clarence B. Miller of Minnesota, enlivened things by reading a supposedly suppressed paragraph in Herr Zimmermann’s telegram to Mexico:“Agreeably to the Mexican government, submarine bases will be established in Mexican ports, from which will be supplied arms, ammunition and supplies. All [German] reservists in the United States are ordered into Mexico. Arrange to attack all along the border.”
Antiwar congressmen rushed a messenger to the State Department, which denied the existence of any such paragraph. But Miller kept insisting on its authenticity and waved the paper at them to the end of the session. 81
The next surprise came when Claude Kitchin of North Carolina, the Democratic majority leader, announced that he was voting nay:“After mature thought and fervent prayer for rightful guidance, [I] have marked out clearly the path of my duty, and I have made up my mind to walk it, if I go barefooted or alone.” Robert La Follette, who was among the spectators, led a burst of applause. 82
Implicitly agreeing with La Follette, Kitchin denounced the failure of the United States to protest England’s violation of the right to trade with Germany. He described the North Sea as “strewed with hidden mines.” Kitchin maintained that this failure to treat the two belligerents alike was a fatal flaw in Wilson’s declaration of war. 83
James Heflin of Alabama told Kitchin that he should have resigned as majority leader before he made such a statement—and then resigned his seat. John Lawson Burnett of Alabama said that Heflin ought to prove his patriotism first by enlisting in the army as a private. A shouting match erupted, adding a touch of low comedy to the scene. 84
Hour after
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