The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1915-07-04

anu " ~ Ahff0 - 43%EttMtHl ~ teE At3+
OF the mixture. In other words. MOTH
ing but damage comes both TO them
selves, and to all OF us as n whole.
from any group Of immigrants re-
naming distinct as n group: and
nothing but damage comes from the
action of any group of native Amefi-
cans who seek TO discriminate against
good Americans who were born
abroad or who profess differ
ent creed, simply because they
thus have q inherent birthplace
or thus worship their Creator In
a different manner.
In short words. II is an outrage
for any citizen of this country to act
as German-Americans, English Amer
leans or Irish-Americans, or in any
way to use their citizenship. excepting
each as plain American citizen no
more and no less whose prime con-
Germ Is the honor and the interest of
America and whose desire Is to see
the United States behave with equal
justice toward all the other nations
and peoples of mankind: and it is no
less an outrage to discriminate for or
against a man because of the national
origin of himself or his forefathers.
or because he is or is not Catholic
or a Protestant, Jew or Gentile.
Often good citizens of foreign birth
are puzzled by the term ''hyphenated
Americanism," being uneasy lest 1t
be applied to them as a term OF of
Tense because they are not native
born. 1t should be clearly understood
that 1t Is just as offensive. just as
,un-American, to ascribe ''hyphenated
Americanism" to q good American
who was born abroad as II Is for an
American born abroad himself to use
the term in such manner as to show
that his interests are not at one with
those of all other American citizens.
1t Is offensive and mischievous for
any native-born American to speak of
first-class American citizen who
happens to nave been born in ire
land or Germany as "German-Amer-I
lean or an 'Irish-American." If the
newcomer Is a good American he is
entitled to be spoken as such and as
nothing else, and sheg is entitled TO
exactly the same respect as Ii descend
ed from any Mayflower Pilgrim or
Hudson River patron or Virginia set
tier on the banks of the James. Ma
tive-Americanism Is itself merely a
species of hyphenated-Americ
Insistence upon 1t merely weakens US
when we denounce,. as we are In honor
bound to deneunce every species of
foreign -Americanism. The very fact
that we must decline 4 to allow the
principle duaI nationality in our life, |
tsnat we must insists that the German i
American Or Irish American Is false
to America ifshestriesSto shape Amer |
fcan policy in the Interest OF or against
the interest of any foreign country. /,
because of his own blood -connection
with that foreign country, must make
US no less insistent that If he in good
faith does his duty as an American
citizen he shall be put on an exact
equality with every. native born Amer
lean.
Any one of us who has ever COM !
manded American troops in battle mas
commanded men who were born
abroad men of native birth whose
parents were born abroad. and men
of old revolutionary stock; and such
commander has been mo true Ameri-
can IL he failed to treat all these men
alike on common basis, and to
judge them solely by the test of their
patriotism and soldiery efficiency. He
must insist that all alike occupy ex-
actly the same position of unfaiter-
ing and single-minded loyalty to the
American flag, and of complete sew
erance of recognition of or loyalty
to any foreign power whatsoever; and
in feeling, put all who so behave on
a plane OF absolute equality Of treat
meat according TO conduet.s foreign
born and native-born, Laksnnliq. Pro-
testant and Jew, standing on an exact
level What Ia thus true Of military
life is no less true on civil life.
DUTY AND RIGHT
GO HAND IN HAND
The men who stand for insistenceI
upon complete characterization of the
foreign-born citizen in our country
must remember that duty and right
should always go hand -fn-hand: that
there must ever be mutually of OBJ
legation. Our attitude is necessary
and proper when we insist upon COM
plete Americanization as matter of
duty On the part of the Immigrant;
but it Is proper only If we give to the
immigrant who fully performs tlis
duty a full and frank assurance that
in return ne shall be admitted to AM
absolute equality of right with the
native-born. 1t is a wicked and alb
horrent thing for any American Of
German parentage or German birth
To fail to denounce the action of Ger
many in the case of the Gulflight and
the Lusitania precisely as he wouYo
denounce 1t if the offense were com
mitted by an English or q French in
stead of a German submarine. 1t is
u wicked and absfoFfefgs thing for sdtafii
a citizen not to understand that his
whole and undivided loyalty is due
to the United States, and only to the
United States. But it Is no less wicked
and abhorrent to discriminate AGAINST
the good citizen who IL without re-
serve and completely an American De-
cause he Is of German birth or de-
scent land. incidentally. the present
writer is partly of German descent
and has found by forty years expert
ence of American life that ihere are
no more useful citizens of our coun-
try than such Americans of German
birth or descen). Moreover, such
misconduct tends to defeat It's own
nominal purpose, for Ii tends to per-
petuate the evil principle of group d.
vision by nationalities. OF dual ma
tionalism, of poly -nationalism, in
American life.
This is just as true when the ami
mostly Is directed against the pro-
fessors of given creed as when 1t is
directed against citizens OF a given
national origin. The very fact that
we believe as one of the cardinal prin-
ciples Of American public policy in the