Washington Journal., 1915-11-05
Working from the Inside
Especial Correspondence for this paper
by a prominent Washingtonian).


When an Englishman comes TO this
country, he finds it very easy, If he
chooses, almost at once to lose himself
completely in the surrounding mass Of
Americans in such a way that his assoc
ciates hardly remain conscious Of his
foreign origin. A German immigrant,
on the other hand, finds a similar COM
plete assimilation very much harder; in
fact, it would be possible for him only
under very unusual circumstances, and
even then only after many years Of
residence in this country. The reasons
for this difference are obvious The
Englishman speaks the same language
as the American, and in addition he
has been brought up in substantially the
same circle of ideas and has subStan-
TALLY the same mental and moral habits
as the majority Of Americans. The
German, on the other hand, speaks a
different language and hardly ever ac-
auires a command of English 50 COM
plete that he is no longer recognized as
a foreigner by his speech-be it only
by the rotundity Of his RS" and the
excessive sibilancy of his SIS" In adj
dition, he brings with him quite a diff
ferent set Of ideas and a different at
titude towards most phases Of life, from
the most trivial to the most essential. As
a result, both he himself and his Ameri-
can associates, especially the Anglo
American portion of them, continue to
fee; that there is a difference between
them, that he is not entirely of their
kird That remains true ever after all
his interests and affections have become
ce1tered in his adopted country, and
continues TO be 50 even in spite Of the
closest ties of affection created by kin
ship, marriage or friendship and often
resppears even HI the seeoiid and third
generation.
There car be no doubt that this ii n
ayoidable circumstance, looked at from
the standpoint Of the individual Ger
man-American, constitutes a very Sc
rious disadvantage. In many cases, it
may bring about effects upon the per-
sonal happiness of individuals that are
pathetic, to say the least. Emigration
into 4 country not ones own by birth
and early association is under all cir
cumstances a very serious undertaking
The economic advantages or disadvan-
tages of it by no means exhaust the
ways in which it affects the individual,
and the more highly organized any emf
grant is, the more profoundly will his
personality be impressed and changed by
such a step.
The manner in which the individual
German-American is affected by the
feeling of strangeness never fully elimi-
mated from his relations with his Anglo
American neighbors is not, however, the
most important aspect of the matter.
II it should turn out that only by suf-
fering, for a period, this disadvantage,
could the mission of the German ele-
ment in the United States be accom-
plished, we should have no just reason
to complain. Having inherited the COM
mon stock of ideas which have made the
German people what they are, we Ger
man-Americans understand that it is
every mans duty to sacrifice a part of
his own advantage. and if necessary his
personal happiness, for the welfare Of
the nation of which he has become a
part.
Now il seems fairly obvious that Ger
man-Americans could not influence their
Anglo-American fellow-citizens in the
direction of blending the ideals and par
ticular characteristics Of the two stocks
into the harmonious Americanism of the
future which should be the idea of
every lover of the United States, unless
for a more or less protracted period the
distinction between the two n%ationali-
ties were maintained. Any premature
and hasty amalgamation could result in
nothing but the disappearance Of the
German element, with the further con-
sequence of intellectual colonialism.
While, however, the continued sepa-
r~ateness Of the two stocks may be de-
sirable for a while, it does not follow
that the German-Americans are doing
their full duty towards the country when
they hold aloof from taking their share
in the ommo activities Of the nation,
Unfortunately, it can hardly be denied
that far too many Of us are so deeply
immersed in our private affairs that we
are willing to leave general concerns
almost exclusively to our Anglo-Ameri-