Daily American organ. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1856, 1855-04-06
NUMBER l21.
Letter from a German Citizen.
From the Penny Post

The editor of the Z" Richmond Anzeieern Ia Ger
, man paper published in this CITY, and to whom
am in no way Responsible In his issue of Satin
day the Gath of March, had the impudence to Il
iect me from the entire foreign population of thi
city, Ito use his own polite expression as the onl
TOOL among them-and to assert that l was unde
the influence OF certain gentleman who bad frs
made me Wing and then Know Nothing;
IL is certainly true that am Whg, and
expect to remain one, but will inform the editor
: when and how became Wing. 1t was when
was living IN Baltimore, and when Mr. Van Buren
wasa candidate for the Presidency and before
ever saw titessntleman alluded 10 as exercising a
control orr my Judgment and action ia wss.l,e
cause hoard q number Of Germans, who had
cometo this country as have done flor the fea-
! son tlat could make more money here than
couldat home, insisting that The whole German
popuhuon ought to vote for Martin Van Buren,
because his father was German, and If he was
eectet the Germans would get all the offices they
wanted. didn't think they were entitled to hold
these offices, because, IL they were not fit to I'LL
omces N their own country they were still less fit
TO hold them in this and If they had been fit for
them at home they would have remained there,
| ana not come here to look for them and because
! loved the country of my adoption better than
lazy set OF Office hunters from my own country,
and because thought Americans knew more about
freedom to which they were born, and the consti-
tuition under which they were raised, than those
That spoke my native language aud knew nothing
about either until they got here, and Of them
not much then; and because cared more about
my own liberties than did for their holding Office
These were the reasons why i joined the Wing
party, and voted for the Wing candidate; and
after Joined fhenE stuck to them, because
thought the principles of the Wing party would
advance my Interests more than the principles of
| the other party.
I" thought, after / became an American eiti-
| gen, that the government ought to protect my la
Dor, and encourage my industry, rather than pro-
tect the labor and encourage the industry of
those left behind me in the old country; and
this the Democrats refused to do, eaying let all
the people in this country starve for what we
| care let us buy everything we want from abroad,
and encourage the British, French, and German
workingmen on the other side of the water in
preference to our own people ut home.
NOW, as to the Know-Nothings.' I don't
exactly know what Know Nothing means /; but
IT means that the natives of this country arc
better entitled to rule the country than foreign
ers-whether they be Irish, German, English,
french, Spaniards, or Mexcans--then / am a
Know Nothing in principle, for believe SO too.
don't want any Office myself, and couldn't
get one If | did, and wouldn't be fit for one ii |
could; and think am about as fit as the rest
ofmy countrymen that am acquainted with
ont' believe the people of this country under
stand enough about their affairs to manage
ior themselves and don't see that because they
let me % come here, and live among them, and enjoy
~ INV bnsn,1so n ,1ollog I mY Ittssdt atea thor ysnnport
thst that gives me any claim to ask them 10 get
Out Of my way, and make room for me to come IN
and have an ohce too =
! If was at my native home in Germany, and
an American citizen was to come there and set
himself up for an Office l should not feel that he
had any right to complain Of me, and feel unkmaiy
! towards me, because preferred my own country
men to him and think it would be a very haiq
matter for any American to get an oiice where l
| came from, that was worth anybodys having; ana
| for that reason, don't complain because Amcr-
cans choose to have their country controheo py
their own people in preference to mine. s
az have American-born children, and am satis.
fed that they should come in for their share OF
Offices, and don't want any foreigners TO come here
and shove them out Of the way.
1.-The Democrats make great fuss over the rights
Of the Germans 10 hold Offices but all they want Is
their votes How many Offices do the Germans
hold In this town The Democrats helda meeting
last week 10 nominate all the city ofhcers' How
many did they give the GermansY
ttNow, don't see much difference between the
Know-Notbings, who say openly that they won
give any German an office, and the Democrats,
who say they are entitled TO them, but take good
care not to give them any, but keep all for them
selves But what difference there Is, is in favor OF
the Know Nothings, who act honestly about II, and
practice what they preach and as for prescription,
/ don't see that, as a German, am any more pro.
scribed by the Know-N w-Nothings, than, as a Wing,
was prescribed by the Democrats. SO, Mr.. Editor
you may put that in your Dutch Democratic pipe
and smoke IT, If there is any Democratic German
in this city that didn't prescribe me and my party
AZ Wings would like TO see him pointed out, that's
ALI And IL they can't find any, let them talk nc
, more TO me about prescription. When they hac
: the power, they prescribed both natives and for
eigners, unless they would fall down and worship
| - a r. nou thay Hnd thpn1
selves in minority, they whine about prescription
But not only love my adopted country, ant
mean 70 do all l can 70 serve It's interests, but
am under greater obligations 70 the natives than
am 10 foreigners-and therefore mean TO you
with them. J have been three times ruined sine
/ / have been here--twce by fire, and once by rob
bery--and have been three times re-establishe(
in business. and every time by the native Whig
and Democrats and no fellow-countrymar Of min
ever vet lent me any aid in my distress, and there
fore they have no claims on me 10 support then
for Offices that by the way, they viii never get
J and If any Of my countrymeu are weak and SIN
enough to let the Democrats use them as tools 70
their own purposes up to the time OF the election
y and then be laughed at for their folly, they ma
. do II, but they don't catch me in any such trap.
: I" But there Is another thing that made me
| Know-Nothing and that H. that was carried int
!, the culvert by my brother German, Mr.. Henr
Miller where saw the Elephant large as life. i
!, the month Of September last, was in Baltimor
!. With him, and he took me up TO the German Roma
r Catholic Church, where I heard the Priest preac
is In the German language from IL o'clock to ], o
politics, with a newspaper in his hand, from whtc
l. he would read and then address his congregation
and he told them, in my presence and IN my near
q ing. that those who did not come up on the mex
4, Sunday and pledge themselves to vote for cand
dates that certain parties we're 70 nominate ina
9 week, (for the Maryland election that was to com
y of on the following month OF October would n
4 longer be permitted TO claim Jesus as his brother
or Mary as his sister, pointing at the same time
:, the picture Of Jesus, and the Virgin Mary. II
had not been satisfied before, this would have bee
i enough to convince me Of the dangerous influenC
i Of the Priesthood and the un6tness Of the Roma
a. Catholics TO govern this country and that the ts
= matters Of politics and religion, or Church an
State, we're too much mixed up with thai demon
n nation Of Christians, 10 command my confidence
y the selection OF proper persons to discharge pub
- duties
n "That the foreign Roman Catholics Of this cour
2, try ahould be opposed to the know-Nothngs,