The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1896-03-01
AMERICAN.
decided.

Recently, while reviewing the study OF geog-
raphy, made most humiliating discovery,
10 wit, the map of America and the map OF the
United States are not identical. While Amer
lea begins well up in the Arctic ice fields and
does not stop until it sends an inquisitfve
wedge into the edge OF the Antarctic seas the
United States is much smaller. In truth, save
for Alaska, it would scarcely be more than
waistcoat on North America alone, British Co
lumbia being the coat and Mexico and Central
America the trousers. Aside from this there is
South America, with Brazil, like shawl or big
mantilla, elasped with diamonds across its
shoulders, among its other belongings; Chile,
q long scarf huttering along its side, once difi-
cult TO keep in place, and Guiana, shoulder
knot in ribbon OF three colors, one loop prone
TO untying and extending too far.
Far be it from me to make light of the land
that bore me. ! am aware that ours is the
greatest country in the world, containing wise
and most chiyalrous men and beautiful and
engaging women; also wonders, natural and ar
tifcial all due TO the TACT that you and l, citi-
zens OF the United states, were born here. II is
therefore positively mOrtifyfng to know that
had we first seen the light OF Patagonia we
would have a similar right 10 call ourselves
American, and 10 believe Patagonia, as doubt
less ii is, the only country OF the kind ever I'M
ported
I once read OF an outlaw whose father-so
stated the paper containing the news-was
Mexican, his mother an American lady. 1t is
eonsoling to thus be assured OF his mothers
sex, though that is beside the question NeS
not his father also an American? II born in
Mexico he quite as much entitled TO the
name as if he were Californian or q Virgin
ian. Even the English SPEAK OF Canadians
and Americans as being of different race, but
in Canada they would say. and correctly, too,
'sShe was born in the States"
An exceedingly handsome young man from
Bogota was once introduced TO me as Span
lard. Had he been q woman he might have
been called sparkling brunette, Tor his eyes,
teeth and hair all glistened in dazzling man
ner. When termed q Spaniard his eyes bright
ened degree or TWO more and he said:
Pardon, am South American.
His statement absolutely correct, and
although somewhat general, was as particular
as he could make II without chapter or TWO of
explanation. South America usually resem-
bles nothing much as Kaleidoscope, and
the name OF his country had recently been
changed; but whatever else he may have been,
he certainly was South American.
We are not modest enough to call ourselves
North Americans, and we rarely use the name
except by general consent as prefix to the
word Indian. 1t is small wonder that until
| quite recently, as related IN jest and story,
English women were supposed to consider eli
Americans as Indians pure ana simple. re-
member to have read when a child an express
| sion used, believe. by Fanny Fern: "Poor
| little African" She referred TO small negro
| who had been born in the United States, and
| who in consequence was not an African, but
/ in general sense OF the word an American.
| The use OF the word African, as applied to the
negro, is especially misleading, for. although
many negroes are Africans. all Africans are
| not negroes,
| Nearly everything belonging to the United
| States is designated by this general and indeh-
| mite term Even our flag is called the Amer1-
! can flag. We might, with equal consistency,
| speak OF the German standard as the European
| flag; the ragged, Chinese triangle as the
Asietic flag or the red-and-whIte patchwork
| quilt of Morocco, with the shears that may
have cut the pieces flung wide open across its
center, the African flag. Even some encyclo-
ped1as give, among the flags OF oil nations
great, medium and small-our stars and stripes
with the words, "The American Flag, in bold
letters, and beneath in characters SO small as to
be almost ifleglble, and these apoioglzed Tor, in
parenthesis (''United Slates'o. Why DO they not
reverse this? l observe, however, that when.
| they treat OF America, they include the whole
western Continent, in both map ana text, and
they do not mention any one flag as belonging
to this whole continent. 1t may be that the
term alag of the United States is less eupho-
NOUS and less brief than "The American
Flag, but 1t is at least correct, ana is lie so
short we have not time to speak the truth?
There are few sensible exceptions to this
generally absurd rule, and here we touch the
law. Though law may have little 10 do with
justice, it endeavors TO be exact. We hear OF
American citizens, but when foreigner at
tempts TO become one he finds himself cit
zen OF the United States. me expression
president OF America would invite rldicule,
and the american constitution" would neces-
sartly be as miscellaneous as an omnibus bill.
And, strange 10 say, 1t is not GOOD form to
speak OF Washington as the "capltal of
America"
When our country and our great-grandsires
were in their babyh God, and America, save Tor
It's handful OF colonies. vague term repre-
senting an unknown quantity, 1t was proper
to call these colonies by this general name.
But now that our Nation and our men have
passed the age of petticoats and pinafores, let
us not, with the consummate egotism of o
parvenu, monopolize the word America, but,
sharing 1t with other Americans, call our
country by its name-United States.
BEEBE CRoCKER.