Democratic enquirer. [volume] (M'arthur, Vinton County, Ohio) 1867-1873, 1872-03-13
GERMAN CITIZENS.
Carl ,Schurz in Reply to AS
perS1OnS on German
American Citizens.

L
Carl Schurz, in one of his
numerous speeches on the
French arms swindle, was in
terrupted by one of the Grant
Senators with a small sarcasm
in regard to his German natiy
Fity. The tauut struck FIRE, and
Schurz responded in this bit Of
eloquence:
Let me tell the Senator from
New Jersey that although |
certainly am not ashamed OF
having sprung from that great
German nation whose monu.
ments stand so proudly upon
all the battle.felds of thought;
that great nation which, having
translated her mighty soul in
to action, seems at this moment
to hold in her hands the desti-
nies of the old world; that great
nation which for centuries has
sent abroad thousands and
thousands of ber children upon
foreign shores with their intel
ligence, their industry, their
spirit Of good citizenship; while
| am by no means ashamed Of
being a son of that nation, yet
| may say | am proud to be an
American citizen. This is my
country. Here my children
were born. Here I have spent
the best years ofmy youth and
manhood. All the honors |
have gained, all the aims of
my endeavors, and whatever of
hope and promise the future
has for me, it is all encompass
ed in this my new fatherland.
My devotion to this great Re-
public win not yield to that Of
the Senator from New Jersey,
nor to that of any member of
this body, nor to that of any
man born in this country. |
would not shrink from it. And,
sir, for this very reason I want,
with every means within our
reach, to have that spot wash
ed off with which, apparently,
the good name Of this Repub.
lie has been soiled.
The Senator also intimated
yesterday that the German.
born American citizens could
not entirely forget their old
fatherland. Possibly not; but
| ask him, should they forget
it? Does he not know that
those who would meanly and
coldly forget their old mother
could not be expected to be
faithful to their young bride?
Manifestations of applause in
the galleries.] Surely, sir, the
German-born citizens of this
country have demonstrated
their fidelity in the hour Of
danger. When the President
of the United States called up
on the faithful sons of the Re.
public to step forward and to
brave death on the field Of bat.
tie, methinks the German.
citizens were not among the
last to respond to the summons.
Nay, in some places they were
even among the first, and it is
with pride that | point to the
State of Missouri, the key of
the Mississippi Valley, which,
by the prompt action and en-.
ergetic patriotism Of its Ger
man-born citizens, was at the
commencement Of the war,
saved to the Union. No, sir;
their thought Of the old father.
land did not stand in the way
of their fidelity to the new; and
even at the time when, by the
great events which were taking
place on the other side OF the
ocean, their sympathies were
so powerfully aroused, when
their fears and hopes concern
ing those they had left behind
were worked up to the highest
pitch; even then--I may say it
with pride-there was not a
German in this country who,
in all that excitement, for a
moment forgot that he was an
American citizen, and that his
first duty was the observance
OF tbe laws of this Republic
No, sir let not their patriot-
ism be doubted, even in a case