The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1890-10-16

petty lealouSleS and Quarrcls 10 flrnI.h n FcriI.
nard aud Isabella, even had there been a Colum.
to 10 commissioned IN tho great movement OF
nations TO the new Eiiorado oitho west.
Further than thls, Gtrnany yas not a. that
day a ihickly settled country. She had lost 10
snGh En- eAtons ~ her Tas lhai ore hundred
and after tho clcse Of tho Thirty Yeats war, her
population had fallen OF. moie than one.hsli.
Ihe destinations Of battle were very great, aud
The tertorisu1s 81 fem0toleSS military couscfip.
ton had resulted In Wholesale ilght and emf.
grafton 10 other countries. So that In the year
when Columbus sailed from Spain Germany was
ton.
Thee wcfc other IaclotA that played a part In
producing this sreming Indifference Of Germany
10 the possibilities OF a great career beyond the
seas. The discovery oil g~inpOwder promised 4
longcl'ior roliei from military service. 4 paid
regular army had become part Of the agitation
build the waste places OF their land. agriculture
had begun to flourish, aud tho desire for pea Q
was universal, More than !hl,. the era Of the
Reformation hat set in.apa all Germany was
great crisis In The relation, Of the Mother
Church TO Germany was i%mpcndlug. and they
knew not what alliances between iOmr aud the
Emplto would result,
Germary-ih era OF the revival OF lrarnlng-
and hand In hand with tho Reformation ciino
tho aspirations OF the people for deliycrauce
from iInoranct aud superstition. Tho every.
where prevalent sentiment was that there
should be higher plane Of eIi ricnce than The
waIing oil bloody and brutal ware at tho bchcst
OF selfish rulers whose sole ambition It Wa. TO
enlarge their patty sutrounii' ~ and provide
lies! ss.'"' "N" U''''O''A' AS'''ASSs '0' 'hsi' lam
All these forces and others were At work at the
era OF the discovery Of Amcrlca 10 concentrate
German attention on thClr home affairs II
seemed At tllat time as II the lplrlt that had car.
rich the wave OF COalCst iuto EDgiaHd, that had
Franco AMI Italy, and that had even absorbed
the sovereignty Of sralui had indeed radically
changed.
II Is curious TO know Just here that after all II
was not by the force OF krTs that the original
foundations Of the best American settlements
were laid. The same sentiment that brought
the .irst German cclrny TO America brought the
PufitRns 10 New EIeIAGd, tho Catholics to
Matylan1, the llugenou TO South Carolina. the
Quakels to Pennsylvania ana The PrcsbyteriRnS
TO the Cumberland valley, They were all rc;u'
goes from persecution. E,Cn as late as 1858 the
c0uhtry where today religion OF Any kind or no
religion OF any kind alike prevail. and that
has 4 rialerIAii,tlc reputation In the theological
world. had only advanced 50 far IN religious
federation as TO recognize rs orthodox the three
grand divisions Of Catholicism, Luthcranlsm
and Calvanism, AL the minor sCCts, such as
luakers, c McnOnliss. NUrav1ans. Apabap'
lists and other ,cctGrles existed only
By ,%uilerSnee and were prosecuted alike
people. Consequently when William
ien,i. OF blessed memory, acquitted from Charles
II Of England. the province Of pennsylvania In
1881, and Issued his famous Invitation TO the
people. oppressed In their C0psciences In Ruy
part OF Europe 10 come aEd fluid a congeuial
home under his broad and liberal charter tic
erho was heard and bHIled throughout The
l%sieinish rnlaiinstes, and the lltst movement OF
I sLa KNNu Mac 4 a a. /. - 80 kn..- Ul.--.
Menonites were QuNkers Ia everything but name.
They. were UppoSed 10 war and 10 ali parIicipa,
ton In political affairs. their dress was OF The
sim lest. character. and thelr honesty. industry
and thrift were prOrctbial. Strause that 8 pcO-
pie q this kind should ever have been peFsc'
cuied. And yet In our own day We have seen
Russia exDairiating thousands Of the kamc peo'
pic b., her grinding military requirements.
hut little need be snid Of This li'st GcrmHn SET
Element In The Quilted States. 1t grew and pros
pered and spread by additional Immigration and
by natarai increa,e until IL occupied the ln.gc
area drained b. the waters OF Ihc Delaware. II
extended back into the interior, absorbing the
rich counties OF Lancaster. Berks and York, and
the people became known to the rest Of the
country rs the PENN ivHuia DIlch"-A name
that has become famous IN the politics. the SO,
eiai life aud tae agricultural prosperity OF Penn.
sylTGnia. There they have preserved a remark.
able Individuality. Their bis barns, clean fields,
Stone fences ami lat cattle aud horses gre sa0wn
TO all Travellers. a German pat0is, a mixture OF
EnG!ish ant German, after The manner OF Creole
French In Louisiana. Is still widely spoken, and
me German housewife Is there ss she was In the
home OF her ancestors on the Rhine the keeper
OF the household keys and the mother Of iunu.
me.able children.
It would not be compatible with the limited
time Wh'ca this OCCASION permits 10 attempt
even an enumeration OF the various settlements,
large and small, that followed this coming Of the
Menonites TO the banks Of the Delaware. Many
OF you are familiar with the fact that the richest
portion OF the Shenandoah valley IN Virginia
was kettlld bS the .aEe lieInsn element about
the middle OF the la.t century. Perhaps YOU also
remember that they had 4 remarkable status In
the history OF Virginia. Their Congressional
district was ktswn as the tenth LEGION and
the old time Wing maioritits In other rarts OF
thu Stale brp.e over ibis Democratic fortress In
vain. Like l!erks COUNTY In Pennsylvania, II
was adamantine and immoyaDlo In is politics.
The Kuow.Nothiug furore that swept over this
country III 1855. and that turned at last for Ma.
rolled back from this Gibraltar as a Tide that
hero sIeat rs Etnpst force In vain. Tho Tenth
Legion gave It lis death blow. A historian once
said OF these people. ''tt.cy know no wants mud
That princes would give half Of their doniniUns
mind" -"
The most important colony Of Germans that
ever game to the Ohio valley was that OF The
Economics under George Harp. who settled
kuoUt twenty-five mics DelOW tlttSourSh over
tllty years aSo;; They also belonged to a sect OF
German religionisls, their chief peculiarly be.
luz that they held their property in common
and did not marry. Like the Russian Count
Tolsioi, lyaiosc recent book has made such a
sensation In lhls, country, they believed that III
the interests Of humsnlty unborn the human
rnce should be permitted TO run out. They
G!nod TO follow the doctrine and practices OF
some OF the casly Christian seets In this par.
tlcular. Their wealth to-day Is counted BY mil.
| liOug nnl there prn nuty n falv nj thn nrIplpa1
colony leti-so few that In order to save their
immense property from lapslng 10 the state
they have felt compelled 10 open their gutes and
take IN new members Of thcir ,a.tE.
Passing owe. much that might be sold OF other
German settlements, old aud rev, In this region,
not forgetting the most recent one at I~ielyetia.
In Randolph county, West Virginia. with which
the late DR.. Richard Blum Of this city. wal
santa Gisrs, EodaEidge county, Of which the
now notorious D!6s Debar MAS at ono tine a
member, ! come 10 speak OF the era In which q
real tidal wave Of German immigration yet In 70
this country. refer. q course, to 1878, an era
that 10 YET very familiar TO . large portion CT
this audience. Prior 10 that lime German I'M.
mlgntion was In driblets. and Us compared With
ltish immigration cut u very Insignificant figure
In our Statistics. l have not been aole to ascer.
tain what II was prior TO is2J. II Is estimated
that up to that date there were MI told less
than a quarter Of a million OF people OF foreign
li.th i! IN the United States. Even Us late as $50
The whole foreign immigration was very meaGr0,
only about 500 having rcai:hed our shores thlt
year. Those were the days when Il soa voyage
was something 10 be dreaded. Some OF the carly
Men0nites were five months on the voyage.
The mortality At sea among so many people so
long confined was large Indeed. It Was not
until 4 recent period that the packet ships made
| the voyage In q month. The substitution OF
| steam rapidly shortened The lime and immense:
ly STIMULATED immigration TO this country.
Nevertheless, aa lRip Rs lSS0, nine.,enths OF all
the Germans who unnie 10 the United S,ates
csmc In sailing vessels. | presume there arc not
n dozen Germans In this audience who reached
Wheeling prior TO that date who can't 10 a steam.
ship. ldoubt II there Is one. ~
II appcars " reliable statistics that the whole
number OF Germans arriving In this country
from $50 10 lsS was three and one hall millions,
II yearly average Of over 81 1000, aud Of these
threeGlasiers Of n million came between 1876
and lSss, the boom year bsluG laSs. There arc
to-day in the United states over four milllduS OF
persons who were born on German soil. OF
Gcrmaus OF the first and second generations
there are about twelve millions. OF persons
who can, hnceslIally, speak the language there
are fifteen millions. Asa E,ntlcr OF fact, there.
fore, over one fifth OF our entire POPULATION do
speak or can speak the German language By
virtue Of nativity or hereditary descent.
10 the younger portion Of this audience feel
that ! owe o lev rena:ss explanatory OF the re.
murkRble tidal wavo Of Immigration that set In
to this country from Germany after The year
1915. That WIS Rn eventual year In German
modern history. i bad rs antcceleuts deep III
| the past and was the outcome OF the strtuglcs