The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1915-11-22
THE WAR IN AMERICA.
A Naturallxed Germans Opinion Of
Certain Thoughts on the struggle.

To THE EDITOR OF THE suN-Sir. Like
his former outbreaks, Ammi Wright 8
latest explosion lacks pitiably the re-
deeming grace OF acknowledging Goethe
motto: 81 can promise { be sincere TO
be impartial. not" His Partially and
complete o~nesldedness stand forth in al
their nakedness and he tries vainly 70
cover them with a cloak of Americanism.
To rave abou the war like Rudyard
kipling Is not Americanism and never
Will be Americanism.
Suppose that England were involved
In a life or death struggle with Russia.
france and Turkey. n that all Ger
many had risen to help England and had
conducted tho war in exactly the same
manner as IL has done now. where would
he the Bryce reports and what would
Rudyard Kipling have TO say when all
England was celebrating h German
victories, and the Kaiser's u%pturned
mustache triumphantly noddinr from the
walls OF English banquet halls?
Ach, du lieber Gott. How raptur-
ously we would devOur, R~udyard's glow
ing pen pictures from Germany about
thu blue eyed. fair haired Fricsian and
W~estphalian lads holding their ground
with their racial English ateadtastness.
the jolly. hardy Ravarian ana Tyro'ese
mountaineers dancing and rollicking
nUuer uTe, anu tNt uiN'iI'itIVh i'e
Po;neranian and Brand enburaer gren-
adiers sweeping on with a sons n a
Jest TO death or victory. Old linden
burg would be a second Blrcher, Mack
ensen another Prince Eugene. and, oil
course, the Kaiser would be william the
Great.
Alas. 80 hat nicht solicn sein. The
Germans are fighting against the Eng
lisi. and the psychological consequence
In that tho Kaiser Is n monster. an At
tia "slashing through Europe with his
dripping sword" and the German people
are Huns and barbarians.
These hymns of praise for the ally
and this deluge OF vltuperation Tor the
foe have nothing in common with truth.
Justice aud a sound historical Judgment.
Since nothing can be great hut what "
true these illusions amount to nothing
and are only for a day. In England
they win a few recruits, and these
not OF the right kind. In neutral coun-
tries they are out OF place. and only pos
sib!e because by race and environment
some people identify themselves with
the English or German cause.
In the New York newspapers these
wild dia,ribes have been as plentiful as
crsnberries at Thanksgiving. Fortu-
nately they have lost their power OF
doing harm. They affec: "A few unbal-
anced. Imaginative and ignorant minds.
! but the average citizen passes 'hem by
with a shrug OF the shoulder or with a
grin. The man IN the street does not
form his opinions and sentiments from
editorial articles. and among the COM
mon people the simple fact that these
Dutchmen are putting up a wonderful
fight outweighs a shiplotd OF anti-Ger-
man rawlings.
Anni Wright's Cor rather WronEs)
letter, like a toad. ugly and venomous,
wears yet a precious Jewel IN IT, head
Though born and bred In Germany
have learned TO low the English Ian
guage and literature like a second
mother tongue. and I canno help admir-
ing and enjoying the power n ease
with which Anmi rings his sentences.
hitting hard as with a sledgs hammer.
and yet:
Delivers in such apt ana gracious words
That aged ears play truant at his tales
And younger hearings are quite ravishcd
So swee. and volxSie 10 his discourse.
y. SIEBRASp.
NEW York, Novvmber 90.