TaÌˆgliche Omaha tribuÌˆne. [volume] (Omaha, Nebr.) 1912-1926, 1915-01-29

permanently disturbed. II the people
have once for some considerable
time discarded the use OF certain
products IL Is difficult 10 bring them
back again to their former habits.
As long as a repetition Of the
present calamity Is 20 be feared the
countries must go on TO make them
selves independent permanently in
order not 10 be placed again IN the
same ctraits. Therefore Is 1t highly
desirable and most necessary 10 find
some permanent means OF avoiding
the possibility Of 4 recurrence Of the
present situation. in the interest Of
the commefee and the happiness Of
the world
III Feeling Commercially Unfortun-
ate.
A difficulty is added by the great
deal Of III feeling shown in the
United States toward Germany and
Austria, for reasons which / do not
want 10 enter into now, but which /
do not consider Justified. Certainly
this III feeling is most unfortunate
from a merely commercial view
point. All business has It's founda-
ton IN trust and confidence, because
il is carried on on credit. And ii
this III feeling (unwarranted as /
consider it 10 bel is 70 continue it
will add greatly TO the difficulty OF
the situation. We in Germany believe
that the people here have been in
huenced by false reports and have
been unable 10 get at the truth. But
there are signs that Germany and
Austria are commencing to think
that the truth ought TO have pen
ctrated over there by this time, and
it is humanity, ineligible fmuch as
! should like to counterfeit it) that
resentment should spring up and
make itself felt. This may be to the
interest Of Great Britain, since (ac-
eordiug TO the |utterances of its
statesmen) she desires to capture
and to steal German commerce and
shipping Il use this word reluctant
~. but / have no other TO- the way
in which German trademarks and
patents az being captured in Eng
land). But il is certainly not to the
interest Of this, country. And it
seems 70 me necessary that the dis
cussion as to who broughs on the
war, who commands a higher civil
i%zation, an that all these %unfounded
tales OF atrocities should now be
dropped in order to gain that view
from a higher plane. The view that
gathers its force from a looking into
the future should prevail.
Hatred a Spiritual Misfortune.
But the relations have also been
disturbed in another direction. /
have always wondered why the
| people IN these states should take
sides at al. All thinking men, to my
mind, should try to prevent this.
The United States is a country OF
many nations. II has a very large
population OF English descent. II has
a larger population Of German and
Of Irish descent. 1t haJ tried sue
! cessfully to obliterate national lines
and transform all Corners who make
the United States their permanent
home into its own citizens. Amer
leans FIRST, last and all the time. But
ii the leaders of the nation, especial
ly those who are teachers OF the
coming generations, the professors,
the authors and the journalists, do
not see their way to keep full re-
serve toward the various factions at
war, it must OF necessity occur that
tie peace Of this community will be
disturbed, that the various COM
ponent parts will remember their old
affiliations, that blood will assert it.
sell, that factions viii arise and that
political strife will become more
acrimonious and surely this cannot
! serve for the good Of this country.
This is, after all, a matter that
should concern America alone, so |
will not enlarge on it,
But the split among the people
has also touched or the spiritual
relations. German professors and
scientists who have tried to defend
their country are being ridiculed by
their brethren on this eide. Lifelong
friendships have broken up. The
interchange OF scientific attainments
| and invention is checked. Hatred has
been engendered, and we have the
woeful spectacle that the men who
should stand for the advancement Of
science, the men Of independent re-
search, the finding OF the truth, the
keepers of the holy fire" have
taken sides and added to the general
i'll feeling.
From my point Of view | can only
deeply deplore it. | cannot recognize
the necessity nor the occasion for
such actions. | think that it should
be the noble duty Of the scientific
world to stand above the happenings
Of daily life; that il should preserve
and strengthen the ties that have
brought so much ideal good 10 the
world; that it should seek and dis
seminate the eternal truth; that it
should try to understand human
nature and make it understood; moi
that it should pass a wholesale
judgement on 100, 900 Of people
who have contributed to the good Of
the world at least as much as have
their present adversaries. II this
necessity does not dawn D o the
scientific community the ~dislocation
OF thought and scientific relations
may prove ever a more serious
thing for the future, and ii will take
perhaps a generation to come to heal
the wounds unnecessarily inflicted.
Religion Endangered by War.
And let me now shortly furn m a