The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1899-04-29
THE HYPHENATED AMERICAN.

A major OF the Illinois guards named
Elliott Durand was one OF the orators
on Lexington day in Chicago. In re-
spending to toast at the banquet of the
Sons OF the American Revolution he did
his utmost to insult the German-Ameri-
cans for having protested in mass meet
ing against any alliance of the United
States with European powers, but es-
pecially with Great Britain. His subject
was "The Hyphenated American" and
though he is evidently of Huguenot ex-
traction he lauded the superiority of the
Britons and extolled their friendship in
the most nauseating style of the Anglo
maniac. The blatant major repeated the
oft-refuted charges against Germany
during the Cuban campaign and scolded
the Teutons of Chicago for Insulting
Americans having English blood in their
veins and composing the greater part of
our population" In another part OF his
Earangue he declared that ga very large
and very energetic majority of our pop
ulation has one common blood, and
that is the dominating blood of the
world meaning the Anglo-Saxon ele-
ment which is less than one-third of the
population. He referred to the hyphen-
ated Americans as "our foreign ele-
ment' and ridiculed them for their an
tipathy toward England, without which
1--WE would never have been allowed to
carry our war against Spain to sue
cessful end" Though protesting vigor-
ously against hyphenated citizens, the
gallant major asseverated that the
"Anglo-Americans" are the only genu-
inc Americans to which this great ma
ton belongs, all the others being here
on sufferance. For long time we have
not read such tissue of ignorant falsi-
fication OF facts as the speech of Major
Durand of Illinois.
We have frequently regretted the
necessity Of employing the hyphen in
German-Americans, Scotch-Americans
Instantaneous, Scandinavian-Ameri-
cans and APPROXIMATIONS; but so long
as the last mentioned style themselves
the Simon-pure Americans and refer to
all others as foreigners, it is proper for
self-respecting citizens to denote their
nationality by the use of the prefix to
distinguish themselves from those of
English ancestry. Within the past two
years the Americans of English blood
are trying to bring about an alliance
with Great Britain to the intense dis
gust OF the Americans OF Irish and Ger
man birth and descent who outnumber
the Anglo-Saxons by three to one.
They object to being called Anglo.
Saxons, and desire to be known as
Americans purely, but the noisy Anglo
Saxon minority will not consent to rec
ognize them as such. Hence we have a
hyphenated citizenship. A son of the
late William Window, secretary of the
treasury, explains the cause of using
hyphenated words in reference to Amer
leans In recent letter to the Wash
ington Star he says:
Because the Anglo-American fraction
OF Our people has been OF late so arro-
giant and noisy in its demands, because
III numerous editorials the victories won
by the valor of German-Americans
lrish-Americans, French and Italian
Americans as we'll as the Anglo-Ameri-
cans, have been calmly put down to the
credit of the Anglo-Saxon race; be-
cause we have heard the flag which we