The Sedalia weekly bazoo. [volume] (Sedalia, Mo.) 187?-1904, 1890-09-30
Why the Day is Observed by
German-Americans i'm the
United States.
Mr.. A. w. Winzenburg Furnishes
the BazOO With Some Inter
estiHg Historical Facts.

lie tiu'C loi lhO anu poi auC ohu
festivities of October Oh at Associa.
ton park is now fast approaching and
considerable interest is being mani
tested By our citizens in this coming
event, which is especially evidenced
by the liberal subscriptions signed on
the lists circulated by the finacial
committee, to defray the expenses.
The question is often propounded to
me: "What is German Day ?" So
/ take this opportunity of explaining
the real purport of this demonstra-
ton and why the German-American
citizens are the projectors of the
same.
While the population of the United
States Of America is composed OF all
European nations, who came here
either direct or indirect we are to
them indebted for the present exist
snce of our great republic. From
the day of the landing of the discov-
erer, Christopher Columbus, to this
present day we have been depending
upon these foreigners and their Of
spring for our source OF wealth in
agriculture, industry, science, art
etc.
Space forhids to go into detail
about the quantitive or qualitlve
merits of the different nations who
settled upon American soil as the
first colonists, hence | shall confine
my remarks mostly to the history of
my own countr, men from the first
landing of German colony, based on
historical facts.
On the Oath day of July 1883, the
first German colony, consisting OF
about 400 souls, embarked ON the sail
ing vessel Concord, "at Brennan. Ger
many, trusting tbemss Ives to Provi-
dence and the seafaring skill of Captain
Francis Daniel Pastorius for a safe
and happy landing On this side of the
wild waves of the Atlantic. On the
9Th day o. October, following, after
many perilous adventures and a voy-
age of seventy.four days, they finallv
landed ON the shores at Pennsylvania,
where they founded the town of Ger.
msntown, now the suburbs of Phila
delphia. From this colony a liberal
share of our American born citizens
are now descendants. Now, in ap-
precistion of this fortunate event, it Is
not surprising, that our German
Americas ciiizeIs are the most en-
thusiastic projectors for grand cele-
bratioD, to preserve the memory of
that important date, hence the name,
"German Day was given TO signify
the purport OF our demonstration.
The Germans were at che time the
most predominant nation of the col
Onies, which is evidenced by docu-
ments written in German language of
a treaty with the Indians, where a
certain territory of land was decided
to the Swedes. Said documents were
subsequently in the year of 1897 des.
troyed by fire in the disastrous con.
fiagration of the royal palace in the
city of Stockholm, Sweden. The
Germans never took any pert in the
desplcable traffic of human flesh from
Africa and the first importation of
slaves by the English cOlonists was
bitterly Opposed by the Germans
Quskers of German town, when Cap
tain Pastorius introduced bill in OPP
position to it, and, in like manner,
did the German Quakers of Virgins
with the Sa!zburgers on the Savannah
river protest against The act of slav'
erv. Wherever the Germans pur
chased plan atoms in the south they
considered it their first duty to hu-
MARTY, to liberate the negroes from
the bondage IF slavery. In the year Of
1857 John B. Hermann, the cele
brated lith grapher, published the
first geographical map Of the west by
Ludwig Hennepin. The German Jeuit
EusepiDs Franks Kuehn, known by
tbe Anglo Americans by the name OF
"KeenO" was the first explorer on the
other side of the Rocky Mountains
he discovered California and Arizona
/ in the latter years of the seventeenth
century and in 1902, the msp of his
|. geographical discoveries and surveys
were frat published.
In the early part of that century,
the brave and fearless pioneer, Capt.
. Suffer established flourisbing German
colonies in that country, where the
first California gold was discovered,
the glowing news Of which soon at.
|, tracted thousands of fortune seekers
, to these wild territories. The fertility
, of the soil and the climatic adaptable
, ties for the cultivation of vineyards