The Birmingham age-herald., 1910-10-20
WHAT GERMANS HAVE
 DONE FOR AMERICA
Dr. Hexamer Delivers Interest
 ing Address
OPPOSED TO PROHIBITION
Thinks South Is Losing Valuable Class of Immigrants Because of Spirit shown in the Passing of
 Sumptuary Laws

Dr. Charles J. Hexamer of Philadelphia, president of the National Germian AL liance of America, which numbers over the local German-Americans last night at Turn Verein hall.
 Emil Lesser. who presided, made a short talk setting forth the loyalty of all Ger man citizens to this, their adopted coun- try, by way of introducing the distin- guished speaker of the evening.
 The address of Dr. Hexamer was strong both in it's scholarliness and In point of delivery. Starting at the very dawn of American history, he made a review of all the great achievements of the Ger man race in building up the present civil ization in the western hemisphere.
 Since we have reliable census records" said Dr. Hexamer, i've know that Ger many has furnished about 30 per cent of our so-called foreign population. while England for comparison, only gave us about Il per cent. including those from Wales'
 Speaking of the attitude of the Ger mans toward slavery, Dr. Hexamer made hhC cldACilcHt tudt lHe IliSl SuCCeSSIul German coloney, at Germantown (now the Twenty-second ward of Philadelphia, in 1888 drew up a remonstrance against slavery-the first of all such protests"
 CIassifes Characteristics
 In classifying those characteristics of the German nation which have been in fused into the American civilization. the speaker dwelt mostly upon their invent iveness" and patriotism" and the Hove of home.''
 Tn 1890 Wilhelm Rittenhousc erected the first paper mill in America" said Dr. Hexamer, and prior to the Revolu- tion there were more printing presses operated by Germans in Pennsylvania and more books published by them than In the whole of New England.
 When the great revolutionary storm arose and it became necessary to fight for liberty, the German colonsts were not lacking in their devotion to the cause of freedom" and he enumerated the names of Muehlenberg, Herkimer. and Barons De Kalb and von Steuben. the latter being the inspector and drilmaster of the United States army during the Revolutionary war.
 The speech of Dr. Hexamer was full of such citations to the glorious part the Germans had played In the estab- lishment of the greatest commonwealth on earth.
 Before closing he took occasion to ex- press his views on the subject of prohi- bition, and said: "As devoted citizens of this country, we are bitterly opposed to the passage of any law, that destroys our rights of personal liberty; for as free and sovereign members of a free and SOW ereign people, we believe that We have the right to regulate our lives as we see fit. We Americans of German birth or extraction object to prohibition because 1t is a sad blow aimed at the funda- mental principle of righteousness, sacred to every manly man-what Is at stake and let us not close our eyes to the fact Is the divine right of individual liberty the right as the great philosopher, Her bert Spencer, tersely put 1t, that Every man Is free to do what he wills. provided he infringes not the equal freedom of any other man."
 In closing Dr. Hexamer said: "It is our duty as American citizens, that we hold fast and cultivate the noble gifts be- queathed to us by our ancestors, for the German brings with his culture to this new home, sturdy integrity and a pure and happy family life. What inestimable advantages are ours If we honestly strive to improve the benefits bequeathed to us by our forefathers, placed as we are
 
 With freedoms soil beneath our feet
 And freedo's banner streaming OCT us.'
 Let our watchword be-
 The union of hearts, the union of
 hands
 And the flag of our union foreverr "
 Thinks Prohibition Wrong
 In statement made after the meeting had adjourned, Dr. Hexamer said that he was vastly impressed with the wonderful possibilities that the south offered for immigration. expressing his surprise at the splendid harbor at Mobile, and the natural resources of the state at large, especially of the unlimited mineral wealth in the Birmingham district, which he said was ahead of that of Pittsburg He also expressed himself as believing there would be a greater influx of immigrants into this section if 1t were not for the prohibition movement, and said that to his mind the only solution of this prob lem was local option and high licenses which had proved a successful experiment in Pennsylvania.
 In the way of a souvenir, the local Ger man-Americans presented Dr. Hexamer with handsome silver peper weight, a dodeckadedron in five of the faces of which were set specimens of coal, iron ore, limestone. pig iron and steel, while another face bore the following inscrip- ton: ITO Our Leader. Dr. c. l.. Hex amer, as a Memento to Remember His Visit to Birmingham, October 1s, 1910''
 Those present on the stage were: Otto Buedinger, Karl Kuhlo, c. T. Rambo, Paul Cabret. Emil Lesser Hugh Mo Geeyer A. F. Bunker and Major Cor