The new dominion. [volume] (Morgantown, W. Va.) 1876-1904, 1903-11-25
TT was THE DUTCH
President VIII Open Anniver-
sary Celebration of Found
ing Of Germantown, Pa.
GERMANS IN NATIONAL HISTORY
Address Delivered by Chief Executive
to Delegates = immigration from
Fatherland Powerful Element in
Formation of United States.

Washington. Nov 2o.-President
Roosevelt received in the East room OF
the White House about $50 represent
atives of the German societies OF
Washington, to whom he delivered a
brief address The delegates called
on the president formally to announce
to him the opening next Monday even
ing of their celebration Of the 25oth
anniversary OF the founding of Ger
mantown, Pa, and to ask him to par
ticipate In IT, The president will press
an electric button at the White Eouse,
which will fash in electric lights the
opening OF the celebration in Conven-
ton hall
After short address by Mr.. Voelck-
ner. of the societies, President Roose-
welt addressed the delegates as fol-
lows
1T gives me peculiar pleasure 10
greet you, and it is a matter of real
mally your celebration.
You are quite right, Mr.. Chairman,
when you speak of the stand that he
German element in our citizenship has
always taken in all crises of our ma
tional life. In the first place, from the
beginning of our colonial history ID
this day, the German strain has been
constantly increasing in importance
among the many strains that go to
make up our composite national char
acter. | do not have to repeat to you
the story of the early German immi-
grafton to this country-the German
immigration that began in a mass-to-
ward the end of the seventeenth cen
fury, but before that time had been
represented among the very first ss.:
tiers.
Some Ancestral History.
ALLOW me to give you one bit of
ancestral experience of mine The
first head of the New York city gov
eminent, who was of German birth,
was Leisler in about the year 1880.
He was the representative of the pop
ular faction in the New York colony
of that day. and among the Leislerlan
alderman was a forbear of mine,
named Roosevelt. You are entirely
familiar, of course, with the German
immigration that went to the forma-
ton of Pennsylvania from the begin
ming. That element was equally
strong In the Mohawk valley In New
York; II was equally strong in middle
and western Maryland For instance,
in the Revolutionary war one Of the
| distinguished figures contributed by
New York to the cause of independ-
| ence was that of the German, Her.
kimer. whose fight in the Mohawk
valley represented one of the turning
points in the struggle for independ-
ence; and one of the New York coun-
ties is named after him.
"The other day | went out to the
battlefield Of Antietam In Maryland.
| There the memorial church is the
German Lutheran church, which was
founded in 1853, the settlement in tho
nelghborhood of Antietam being orig
| inally exclusively a German settle
ment There is a list of its pastors,
and curiously enough series of me-
mortal windows of men with German
names-men who belonged to the
Maryland regiment recruited largely
| from that region for the Civil war,
which Maryland regiment was mainly
composed of men of German extrac-
| ton.
Germans In Civil War.
In the Civil war 1t would be diff-
cult to paint in too strong colors whit
I may we'll nigh call the all import.
ance of the attitude of the American
| citizens of German birth and extrac-
( ton toward the cause OF union AMI
liberty, especially in what were then
| known as the border states. II would
have been out.of the question to have
| kept Missouri loyal had 1t not been
for the German element therein II
was the German portion of the city of
st. Louis which formed the core Of
| the union cause In Missouri. And but
little less important was the part
played by the Germans in Maryland,
and also in Louisville and other por.
| lions of Kentucky.
III 1t were proper in addressing a
body representing various creeds and
shades Of religious belief | should ask
| you all TO attend service next Sunday
ut my church. which happens to be
the German Reformed church. They
have not a Dutch Reformed church
here, SO go to the nearest to It.
Each body of immigrants each ele-
ment that has thus been added to our
national strain, has contributed some
hing Of value to the national chara =
ter; and to no element do we owe
more than we owe to that element
represented by those whom have the
honor this day of ADDRESSING"
At the confusion the address
he president extended cordial PEI
sonal greetings to each one of the
delegates.
"lndian Princess" Dead.
New York, Nov. 20--Mrs. Harriet
NJ. Converse, known all over the Unfit
ed States as the Indian Princess" is
dead. Mrs. Converse had the distinc-
tion of being the only white woman
p1,ncQn -