The Fairmont West Virginian. (Fairmont, W. Va.) 1904-1914, 1905-12-26
WE ARE AMERICANS.
Ambassador Reid Proves It Ely Quo
tatlons from Chatham, Burke
and Fox.

The London papers contain the full
text of the speech of Ambassador
Whitelaw Reid at the American so
cietv Inner on November 80, in which
he proved title to the designation.
american" as applied to the people
of the United States, and tooK 5udg-
meut against Sir Edward Clark, who
insisted that they be called "Usont-
ans" Mr.. Reid said, in part:
"You, however, Mr.. Chairman, nave
done something to cast a gloom over
my personal feelings. In response to
my request to be shown what the
American society did and expected on
Thanksgiving day, you sent me a re-
port Of your proceedings on tnis day
a year ago. Therein I read, from q
brilliant ana eminent leader OF the
English bar, thai it vas quite wrong
for us to call ourselves Americans,
and especially wrong to describe the
high office which I am honored In be-
ing permitted to hold, as the Ameri-
can embassy. This explained the in,
SEPARATION Of remarks I had heard once
or twice from estimable and evident'
ly impressionable countrymen that
we really ought not to take a title big
ger than our desserts, and that it was
~unhecomiug in us and unfair to 9th
ers to describe ourselves by a name
that could belong only to the whole
Of the three Americas. Now, MI.
| Chairman, after having thus set me
in my place by this enduring record
Of last years censure. you have hope
lessly compromised me by flagrantly
introducing again tonight the Amerl-
can Ambassador
"Well, sir. this seems to put me
upon my defense; to put most of you
also on your demesne. In this emer-
gency 1 shall resort to a high legal
authority. | cite, in all humility and
with all due respect, the we'll known
case Of Bardell VS.. Plckwick. Those
of you whose legal education has not
been neglected will remember that,
in that famous case, the highest ad-
vice recommended a 'hallibi.' That
is our defense, sir; We plead an alibi.
We weren't there when the crime was
committed. In fact, it was done be-
fore we were born!"
ct was not in the present century,
or even in the last. but away back In
the century before that. that q person
called Edmund Burke said on q very
public occasion. You a never sub
due the Americans It was another
culprit, the first William Pitt, Lord
| Chatham, who began an impassioned
outburst on another quite public oc-
caslon with the words, If | were an
American, rs I am an Englishman.'
and so on. There was another i'm
penitent offender, n Charles James
Fox, who remarked at a critical mo
ment, America must be conquered in
France May l cite only Il more
criminal to the bar? On an occasion
also somewhat public . certain Dan
iel Webster said at Bunker Hill, Il
was born an American, I live an Amer.
lean, l shall die an American
THE indictment against US at the
Thanksgiving Inner last year seemed
to be that we were assuming a new
name for Ourselves and that this
robbed or aironted the Canadians
and Mexicans and Central South
Americans, who had as good a right
to it as we. Well, You have seen that
the name isn't new that we don't
FIRST apply it-thnt, in fact, we've been
known by Il IN three centuries. NOW
does anybody suppose the others
want it-that the Mazlcaag would
Ike to have their representative here
called the American minister-or the
Chillinns OF the venezuleans would
like to use that name instead of their
own?
"But some one says, a any rate,
the name asgwe use It ID not SUFFICIENT
'ly exact. We'll, take the clumsy alter.
.As No. fEl1t.Hl dAakahth