The Days of a Man 1917 



As for the President, the progress of events, espe- 

 cially the wanton sinking of the Ancona, had irrevo- 

 cably pushed him farther and farther from his former 

 position. Of that he gave no definite outward sign, 

 however, the unavoidable breaking of diplomatic 

 relations not being necessarily a prelude to war. But 

 the Sixty-fourth Congress being about to pass out of 

 existence, he asked for virtually a free hand in deal- 

 ing with foreign affairs during the nine months which 

 would precede the convening of the next body, in 

 order to avoid the necessity of summoning it even in 

 a possible crisis. This request would have been 

 granted but for the opposition of a dozen Senators 

 whom he characterized as "willful," but who in my 

 Senators judgment were perfectly right, as under our Con- 

 stitution Congress must be consulted in any serious 

 international matter, and it alone has the power to 

 declare war. 1 



The President then issued a special call for April 

 1 8, a date soon changed to April 2. 



This month of March was a very eventful one in 

 my personal history. 



Emergency On the Qth came telegrams asking me to go East 

 Peace to ac } v i se with the Emergency Peace Federation, an 

 unendowed group then recently organized in New 

 York. The movement had its rise in "a sense 

 of the pressing need of deliberate, balanced, con- 

 structive discussion of the issues confronting our 

 country." 



Upon my arrival, March 17, it was decided to form 

 an unofficial commission to investigate possible 



1 The "willful twelve" were Clapp, Cummins, Gronna, Kenyon, Kirby, 

 La Follette, Lane, Norris, O'Gorman, Stone, Vardaman, and Works. 



n 714 n 



