Iron County news. [volume] (Hurley, Wis.) 1913-1950, 1915-10-02
NEW POLITICAL COMPLICATIONS.
Usher Warns Against Spirit that Would
Stir Up Factions On Old
Country Lines.
(By Ellis B. Usher.)

weeks are significant of new political
complications in this state. They are
of a nature that will not be talked a.
bout much in the newspapers, and
real politicians win take man out
into the middle of ten acre lot and
whisper about them. The war has
created these new complications and
certain German born citizens and ci-
tizens of German parentage are threa-
tening to vote against everybody who
does not see the duty of this people
through their eyes. 1t is not my pur-
pose to question the right of voters of
German blood to control their votes
as they choose, but they must not be
surprised il their threat of united OPP
position unites great many other
people for Mr.. Wilson. Many an old
German can recall the indignation of
certain Germans when Carl SchurZ
was beaten for lieutenant governor of
this state by what was then charged
up to the "Knownothing" prejudices
of Republicans. Already the pro-
German sentiment in Wisconsin is
suggesting recurrence of this mar
row view of American citizenship.
When blood and religion get to be po-
litical questions reason will desert
politics and prejudice will rule SUI
preme.
THE SENATOR'S ANTECEDENTs.
This week Senator Husting and
Schmitz and James O'ConnOr, in
meeting of the Democratic Jefferson
Club of this city, discussed the Eng
lish-French loan. The discussion ca
silly suggested to those on the lookout.
that the Senator's antece dents are
French and Belgian. Mr.. Schmitz's
are German, Mr.. O'Connor's are
Irish. 1t is easy in such collection
of prominent Democrats to see where
trouble will arise. 1t is also easy, to
recur TO Carl Schurz's early defeat as
an example, to see how that sort of
AAAktlOlA ~ III ACSuAb III dnCCbiIk pull
ties from both extremes. While Ger
tain of Carl Schurz's friends anathe-
matiZed the "Y ankees" for his defeat
the returns still show that he didn't
carry even his own ward in the De-
mocratic German city of WATERFOWL,
This is because the Germans were
fhan 0nnnnnrntC nraH lornaIx
they charged the Republican party
with being of "Knownothing" SYM
pathies. The other side of the pre-
sent situation turned up among some
prominent Republicans who attended
the State Fair, and who told me they
would vote for Wilson against the
world, under existing conditions. If
| were politician l might be afraid
of these statements, even as news, but
| am old enough to know that no.
thing of such deep concern TO so ma
ny people is ever one sided, and now
is the time for both sides, for all
sides. to consider, deeply and serious
ly. the evils of racial and religious
contentious in IA polyglot country like
ours. don't mean considering such
perils TO see them. That is silly and
only makes them worse, but sensible
American citizens will face these is
sues now or they will find them grow
M re serious with time.
THE DUTIES OF CITIZENSHIP.
These letters are seldom written
carefully. They dash, here and there
in many directions, and they, neces-
sarily, are of an assertive and indi-
vidual sort. 1t is not unusual for
some one who disagrees with what he
may consider my immature and often
unsupported assertion to think them
the merely vagarious and perhaps
prejudieed personal views of a Back
number" AS an opportunity to point
moral | want. theret ore, to quote,
briefly, from DIR. Shaw's editorial
page in this months Review of Re
views. He is certainly quite apart
from my narrow field, aud has long
ranked as one of the country's most
cultivated and thoroughly informed
publieists. In discussing the duties
OF citizenship he makes sweeping eri-
ticisms of our system of education
and to its failure attributes the CON
sequences that 'the standards and
methods of our political and orga-
nized life are lower than those of our
private life" l have nowhere seen
more sweeping indictment of our
schools than this. But he says fur
Their:
Thus our great institutions. though
more and more costly in their APP
pointments and maintenance, are
painfully aware that they are not pro-
ducing the results that ought to be
manifest. Many of their students