Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1869-06-22
Americans and Germans.


Real enjoyment of life he knowns
nothing about. For this he has Meth.
er time nor money. Let any one
watch him at theaters or concerts
He hardly takes time to listen to the
best parts Of the entertainment. If
he does not rush out in the middle
Of the last act because the newspa-
pers consider this in bad taste, and
indicative of want of manners one
can easily perceive that he considers
it useless waste of time" But the
overcoat has to be put on before the
entertainment is ended, in order that
not minute may be lost, and before
the last notes of the music have been
heard he is rushing out of the hall as
if his life was at stake, or a million
depended upon his haste. thine is
money! is proverb which finds its
most extended application in Ameri-
ca. But Germans go frequently too
far in designating Americans as
worshipers of the almighty dollar, in
connecting Herewith the notion of
avarice. The American is not nig-
gardly. This ugly quality is probab,
ly less frequently met with in Amer.
lea than in any other part of the
world. The American much more
frequently falls into the opposite ex-
IRENE of extravaganza. He loves to
"make money" but not merely for
the sake of money. He loves suc>
CESS and the excitement and suspense
connected with money >making much
more than the money itself He is
not mean in his expenditures, but
liberal in the extreme. If there is
any need Of a contribution for a
benevolent purpose, he is not back
ward or small ingiving. He gives as
willingly as he does munificently.-
lie gives dollars where people of oth>
er countries, equally able, gives cents.
This really is noble trait in Amcri-
can character, which cannot be made
too prominent. But his endless,
restless haste destroys fsr the Amer
lean much of the enjoyment of life.
His festivals and pompous parties af>
ford the European little pleasure
They cost vast sums of money. the
tables are richly provided, the toilets
tes are elegant, but real enjoyment
IS generally foreign to such occasions.
The Americans "strew DO roses by
the way Such an idea could sug-
gest itself only to a German poet,
who never dreamed slime is money"
Americans do not walk through life.
They galiop through it to get to the
quicker. Under the grave yard
mould the hurried wanderer first
finds the rest he did not grant in life.
He hardly has time to accompany a
friend to his grave, but at last he has
himself to make the mournful Jour
ney.
But, on the other hand, we must
make this confession. Most Germans
who have lived here many years have
taken on the character of Americans
to certain extent, which is not a
fault. With the slow German lazi-
ness that goes out in dressing gown
and slippers, one can accomplish
nothing in this country. Where
there life there is motion. Stagnant
waters produce contagious diseases.
We have all became changed in the
American atmosphere, and accord
ingly cannot endure the slow and
easy life Of the I'D country. One
may say in America men live too
fast, but in Germany they live too
slow. The influence of the Germans
upon Americans is greater than the
latter one willing to admit If Ger
mans have become changed in Amer
lea, SO also have the Americans who
come under the influence of the Ger>
mans in the large cities also been
changed. Both nationalities have
done each other material SERVICE
They both have learned and unlearn-
ed many things, and good fruit must
result, even if not until the second
or third generation.