Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1899-08-01

ing speeches to one another The stump
speeches were stopped and everybody
crowded around Campbell to congratulate
him on the appointment as lieutenant col
onel of the regiment which is being recruit
ed at Fort Sheridan. Nobody seemed to
have any partisanship over the war in the
Philippines. Campbell was the colonel of
one of the Illinois volunteer regiments
which saw service in Cuba.
Former Mayor John p. Hopkins, seated
among a group of democratic politicians in
the cafe of the Auditorium Hotel, discours
ed about the capacity of his party for max
ing mistakes. There's the expansion bust
ness he said, addressing his followers.
Not 10 per cent of the sensible people of
this country are against it, but some of you
want to commit the party. If you do, it
will be the biggest mistake we have yet
made. Most of the group were of the
class known as ward workers. They fell to
disput1ng among themselves. L watched
the dispute with curiosity, and noted that
one-half of those who took part in it were
champions of expansion or at least of an
aggressive Philippine policy Nevertheless,
as Mr.. Hopkins said the chances are that
the democrats will take the wrong road.
Some of their leaders think they see party
advantage in the cry of militarism and i'm
perialism- They are looking specially to
the German vote.
Hyphenated American Influence.
This matter of German-American senti-
ment is clearly a serious one. 1t is under
y,
with its overshadowing element of German
nationality. The Teutonic temperament
shows itself capable of reason and of talk
ing without passion. My own desire was to
get diSpassionate German view, and it
happened that the right person was known
to
Years back ''Bei der Nord seit," on the
North Side. the Germans were universal.
That was distinctivey their part of Chica-
60 They made Lincoln Park their own,
and the whole section reflected the German
love for outdoor life and for home customs
sometimes, after the regular work in
newspaper office had carried me past mid
night. L used to finish out the night in a
coy place which some bright young Ger
mans made their own. 1t was a source IF
relief from routine work to talk metaphys-
les and Goethe and Schiller with them
Several have since become prominent among
their race and influential in business cir
cles. On the present visit | found one of
them, who insisted on beer mug and a
pipe as a preliminary to a good talk Then
he talked dispassionately, but earnestly. He
said: Il do not like for you to ask me
about the grievances of the Germans. We
have opinions and convictions, but not griev-
ances. am German-American. 1 shall
call myself so, though you other Americans
may not like it. You talk of hyphens as
something that ought not to be- and then
you go and call yourselves Anglo Ameri-
cans without the hyphen. You know the
people who make up this country are not
Anglo-Americans or Anglo-SaXons, but you
have been carried away by sentiment. You
think you are obliged to England for what
she did III the war with Spain. Perhaps
that Is so, but you know it was her own
interest. Perhaps the Washington govern
ment had a complaint against Germany in
the war. do not know that The officials
at Washington have said so many times
that there was no complaint that I must
take their word. But if there had been,
they knew that there were millions of Ger
man blood in the United States who were
as patriotic as others. But we found that
because some of US objected to being stig-
mattZed and because we objected to the
United States being used by England in her
troubles with other nations, there was
something wrong about as American
citizens. We do not know that there is an
Anglo-American alliance. We do not be-
lieVe there is but we had right to saw
what We thought about it. Then we were
told that Anglo-Americanism was the thing,
and that we hyphenated our German names
because we We're not true Americans.
Americans Are Not Shrewd
You native Americans are not shrewd.
You talk about expansion and trade. vet
you don't know that England's fear and
jealousy of Germany is because Germany
Is getting her trade. That is why she want
ed to use the United States. We German
Americans know those things, and none,
because we study international trade Why
should We want England aided by the
United States In her commercial rivalry
with Germany? Because we have stated
these things and have opposed letting Eng
land use the United States we are told we
are not patriotic Americans, and that we
must drop the hyphen when we talk of our
selves L do not think we shall do 500
This Is the substance, in condensed lam
guage, of half an hours talk Without
seeking to controvert what he said, I asked
my German-American friend about the DO
litical action of the various German socie-
cot IL
like 1t. Those societies are wrong Many
of them are not political organizations
Their people will not uphold them in TAX
ing party action I think YOU will find that
very few have really adopted resolutions
against the Philippine war. Where thew
have done so they have been led into it by
the politicians. Many of us oppose the ex-
pansion policy, but we are not against the
American authority in the Philippines I
shall advise our people to discourage those
politicians. Next year we will decide what
is best. All that We care now is to have
it known that we shall oppose the English
alliance, or anything that is like it, Crit
icism and abuse will not prevent us from
saying what we think. But you will find
that most of the German-Americans are
not making political question this wear
Some of them agree with Carl Schurz and
great many more think for themselves
They are not unpatriotic. and they will not
let themselves be made to appear so. If
they are forced to oppose the republican
party next year 1t will be hard for them
to support Mr.. Bryan and his financial plat
form. Perhaps they would refrain from
political action, but hope they will not be
| driven to making the choice. We have a
| year before us, and probably our position
will be better understood then and we will
| not be abused"
This German-American also explained to
me that few of his people believed in the
| talk OF militarism and Imperialism. The
democratic politicians who are seeking to
| raise this issue have said that the Germans
were against the expansion policy, because
| they have had experience Of an immense
| standing army at home and they fear the
| same in the United States. This German
American brushed this talk aside con-
| temptuously, and reiterated that the
| sources of the German-American discomfort
| were as stated above.
influence of Returned Soldiers.
| On the matter of politics there is also the
| influence of the soldiers returning from the
| Philippines. The democrats are counting
on utilizing that. A Chicago newspaper
| correspondent, who had been through Iowa
| Nebraska and North Dakota, said to me
| he thought this partisan scheme would mis-
! carry. He had been making special inqui-