The Hickman courier. [volume] (Hickman, Ky.) 1859-current, 1882-02-17
German Emigration.

There is abundant reason why these
people should come to us, and very little
why they should remain where they are.
There is no doubt that one and all OF
them have natural attachments for the
land in which they have been born ana
reared, or that they will shake the dust
of Germany off their feet with many and
bitter regrets for the Germans are not
only housekeeping people, but patriot
ism Is very vital force with them. but
if they are patriotic they are also prac-
teal, and if Germany makes life harder
than 1t Leed be, and new careers can De
secured elsewhere under better auspices,
her children will smother their COM
FUNCTIONS now as aforetimes, and VIII
go where they can have living chance
for themselves and for their children.
The kind of government to which they
have been subjected from time immemo-
rial has always pressed heavily upon the
Germans of all classes in life, but
especially upon the commonalty, and 1t
would seem that the present Imperial
system presses rather harder than any
other kind of government. That the
Germans do not need to be ruled with
particularly heavy hand our experience
with them abundantly proves. We have
no more industrious, frugal, law-abidlng,
orderly, and useful class of foreign-born
citizens than those which come TO us
from the land where Bismarck's poiicy
of iron and blood apparently render ne
scarcely worth having. 1t is the con-
scriphon that these emigrants who are
hurrying to our. shores are chiefly flying
from, and if they keep hurryingat the
present rate, it viii soon becomes ques-
ton with the powers that be whether
( something must not be done 70 modl1y
the system which compels so large a
portion of the male population TO pass
7 the best years of their lives under arms,
or else to check emigration. III certainty
seems feasible to devise some method of
preventing the military service from
\ being the bugaboo that 1t now Is, while
7 maintaining the military establishment at
its proper strength for the meeting of
certain contingencies which are exceed
1 inClv likely to occur in the near future
These contingencies would not have
/ their present Importance had the men AT
the head of German affairs retralned
/ from pushing their enemies OF 1870 and
: 1871 to the wall, but they could not re-
sist the temptation to humlhate the
( French to the uttermost, and now they
! are paying the very dearest possible price
for their lack of generosity ana states
manlike forecast. The modlncauon OF
the military system, however, so as to
give the young men of Germany some
/ kind of reasonable pretext for staying at
home instead OF flying to America, does
not seem to occur to the rulers of Ger
many; while they have been cudgelling
their brains for a good while past to put
some check on emigration. In this, how
ever. they have thus far had little or no
success, and are not likely to have ex-
cept'by the adoption of stringent meas
ures such as even so bold and unscrupu-
lous man as Bismarck would be apt to
hesitate about proposing. Meanwhile
the tide of emigration Is steadily and
with Increasing force setting America
ward, and we are receiving aceessions to
our population which we can well afford
to heartily welcome, and which are GER
tain to add materially to onr wealth and
our strength. Philadelphia Telegraph.