On April 4, 1917, the Senate met, determined to stay in continuous session until a resolution declaring war on Germany passed. In the 13 long hours that wore by before the resolution was adopted, six Senators—whom Woodrow Wilson had dubbed "a little group of willful men"—vainly fought the resolution.
They were hissed, reviled; when they boarded Washington streetcars other passengers pointedly got off; their offices were searched, their pasts probed. The "willful men" were shunned by the world & his wife.
Last week undiplomatic Senator William H. Smathers of New Jersey said the delay in passing...
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