Washington Journal., 1915-09-10
Traducing German
Americans.

York Evening Post and the Nation, son
Of Henry Willard, the late German
American multi-millionaire of Northern
Pacific Railway fame, has delivered him
self of a remarkable speech at Stock
bridge, Mass. In it, he asserts that
"German-American affection for their
native land has interfered with the prop
er attitude of the great bulk of these
toward the land of their adoption"
If Mr.. Willard belonged to the great
mass of newspaper publishers and edi-
tors who openly betray their lack of
American patriotism by advocating the
interests of British spectators and
American manufacturers of war ma
terial, it would not be worth while to
saw a word about this. Mr.. Willard,
however. and the publications with
which he is connected, are not sus-
pected BY any reasonable person OF be-
longing to that traitorous crew. For
this reason, his amazing speech offers an
excellent opportunity for setting him, and
through him, a vast number of our re-
spectacle and well-mcaning fellow citi-
gems, right with regard to a matter
which quite evidently he thoroughly mis-
understands.
When a man born in Germany be-
comes naturalized in the United States,
he renounces every sort Of allegiance to
his former country. He becomes an
American citizen without any reserva-
ton whatsoever, and ever If that great
est Of misfortunes should occur, a war
between his former country and the
United States, he would feel obliged to
maintain the cause Of the United States
against the sFatherIand9 to the utmost
Of his ability. As 10 this. there can be
not the slightest dispute, and it is not
apparent that a single responsible Amer
lean citizen of German birth, and Of
course no native American citizen Of
German descent, has ever maintained a
different doctrine. In thus maintaining
the interests of the United States, it
may well be, however, that he may come
to the conclusion, in common with large
numbers of his fellow citizens of differ
ent racial origin, hat he can best show
his patriotism by preventing his country
from engaging in an unjust war, and
helping it to get put Of it with the least
possible sacrifice Of material interests or
honor, if it has unfortunately become
implicated. This is, as a matter of fact,
the attitude held at present by the over
whelming majority of Americans of
German birth or descent, and in holding
it they are conscious of being guided ex-
clusively by a consideration for what
they, honestly and conscientiously, un-
derstand TO be the paramount interests
of their country, these United States.
1t would be easy to make an argu-
ment on precisely the same lines as those
Mr. Willard adopts, for the purpose of
showing that Americans of British de-
scent are, in the present crisis, forget
ting their loyalty to the United States by
reason of affection for the land Of their
forefathers. No person worth listening
to would think of such a wholesale in
dictment of the most influential, if not
the most numerous element in the Amer
lean people. German-Americans have
rood ~aaeop ~ conoo1a;o tbo4 A. -
tolerance with which they are willing to
regard the pro-British sympathies Of
their Anglo-American fellow citizens is
not accorded to them by a large portion
of the press, by a few notorious snobs
with an eye to social recognition in Eng
land, by certain clerical sentimentalists,
a few crack-brained demagogues, and
especially that large number of specula-
tors and money-makers who VIGOROUSLY
derive large profits from manufacturing
war materials for Great Britain and her
allies, to the serious detriment of every
legitimate branch of business in the
United States. 1t is painful to see, that
men like Mr. Willard, regarding the sin
certify of whose pro-ally sympathies no
body would. entertain a moments doubt,
should be Willing to join in the outcry
made fanatically or corruptly by ele-
ments with which he has no mental or
moral affinity.
Mr.. Willard seems to be fair repre-
sentative of a state of mind which it is
the duty of every American to combat
who is not himself blinded thereby.
Like many, possibly a majority of Anglo
Americans, he is unable to see that the
ideal of Americanism aus not be linn
tied to mere political independence from
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