Daily inter mountain. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1881-1901, 1899-06-27

A SiCo uSAl u puiVl 'oiNt luIN
has of late been INDUCED in over what
has been termed the hyphenated Ameri-
IAN To emphasize their patriotism a
great many persons have raised strenu-
Gus objections to the terms Irish-Ameri-
cans, German = Americans. English
Americans, and so on. alleging that an
American citizen should not indicate his
foreign nationality. Some nave even
gone so far as to regard such distinctions
as bordering on the unpatriotic, and like
ly to weaken the citizens individuality
as an American. Hence the cry against
hy%phenated Americanism.
The 1nter-Mountain does not share this
~unfounded prejudice against the hyphen.
1t believes that the distinctions indicated
are useful and proper, and serve a good
purpose in strengthening the bonds Of
patriotism, instead of weakening them,
The most desirable class Of citizens which
this country can acquire from foreign
countries are men who bring to our
shores a o v and reverence for the land
of their birth. The most undesirable are
those who come here with the hatred Of
home burning in their hearts.
The man who comes here with the love
of old Ireland afame within his blood,
with the lakes Of Killarney pictured in
his dreams, the music of her fair daugh-
ters and the memory of her patriotic sons
engraven upon his mind, becomes a bet
ter citizen when he weaves into his
Americanism the best elements of his
own nationality. We would not, if we
could, eliminate from our national life
the characteristics contributed from the
old sod. Let the Irish-American remain.
The mother country-"Merrie old Eng
land"-With her wealth Of enterprise. her
centuries of progress, her literature and
history, is entitled to the love and adora-
ton of those who have sprung from her
soil. The characteristics Of the English
man-his love of home and country
make him prouder of the land of his
adoption. Let the English-American re-
main.
The honest, Woodworking, sturdy citi-
zen, who originally came from dot little
German home across the sea- is a bet
ter man because he loves the highways
and the by-ways of the Fatherland and
longs for the association of his kindred
and his friends. Like the Irishman and
the Englishman, he brings into his Amer
lean life strong elements of citizenship
that contribute to the greatness of the
nation. Let the German-American re-
main.
Let all those who come from foreign
shores cherish the memories Of the past.
for they are thereby mentally equipped
for the duties of the present and the re-
sponsibilities of the future. Americanism
in its broadest sense is a blending of thu
best elements of other nations through
the influences of association and the in
termingling of blood. The pride which
the foreign-born citizen feels in his race
and in the country that gave him birth
makes him ambitious to impart to the
land Of his adoption the best that is with
in him. To the desire of the Irishmau to
stamp his individuality upon public af-
fairs. to the ambition of the Englishman
to impress his personality upon all that
stands for progress and civilization, to
the efforts of the German to introduce his
habits of enterprise and economy into
the business and industrial lite of the
country, America owes her greatness.
1t is the friction Of ideas, due to the
processes Of assimilation, whereby the
best that can be transmitted from for
eign sources are made our own, that gives !
to America its leadership in the affairs
OF the world. 1t is the love of those char
acteristics which they would engraft
upon American life which makes foreign
born citizens keep alive the memories OF
the fatherland, and which impel them to
the preservation Of their identity of
birth. Therefore, we say, let the hyphen-
ated American remain. He fills we'll the
sphere to which destiny has assigned him.
II the American republic has anything
fear on the score OF patriotism, it is
Dot from the mel who rejoice because