Bisbee daily review., 1915-10-14
Thursday, October ID, 1915,
ARE WE A NATloN7

ARE WE A NATlON2
Are we really nation? brilliant and observing
Irshman who lived in nearly every section OF the
United States looking at us with distinguished eyes de-
clares that we are not
Before the European war he convinced that we
had a national spirit He never ceased to be amazed
at the in which immigrants of every nationality
under the and every class OF society seemed TO take
Of spiritual kinship. He came to recog-
intangible but powerful thing called American
ism" of personal independence and selfrespect
which has apty though profaney expressed in the
phrase Look every the eye and tell him to go
to hell"
This of course is merely indyiduasm; but it seemed
to him that the individuals pooled their freedom in
national spirit of patriotism that they all stood together
in readiness to every nation in the eye and tell
to go to hell.
He saw us, to be sure made of several nations The
East, the Middle West the Far West and the South
seemed like so many separate countries in their sola
ton and sectional characteristics And yet when
scratched resident any of these sections you found
Americanism.
SO it seemed-before the war The observing Irish
man. however processes himself disllusioned. We
not a nation
The has shown he says, that the signs of racial
unity only deep The prejudices of Europe have
split our citizenship hostile elements Millions Of
supposed Americans stand forth only as Germans En-
gliahmen, Irishmen Italians Austrians Bugars etc.
Blood thicker citizenship They had only
Amercanism which the acid test of has eaten off.
And the various sections he says stand apart
so many different Americans. The Atlantic seaboard
in general, is keenly interested in the from the
standpoint the nation, and favors defend
ing our national rights at whatever The Middle
West prefers to let alone with its crops the North
west and Southwest with their cattle and mines they
have little regard for meaning the struggle the
part The United States must play
The Pacific Coast is disposed to agree with the East
halfhearedly, when it supporting the govern
ment in resentng foreign aggressions. The South, in
general apathetc when national interests imDer
nled
Even New England, says the critic, has lost the spri
OF oden days Recently when President Wilson was er
route from his summer home in Vermont to Washington
at time when our controversy with Germany still
unsettled and American feeling supposed to be run
ming high the newspapers told of crowds greeting thu
president at every with this appeal pleas
keep out Of the war;
That says critical rshman, represents the pres
ent spirit Of United States. Peace at any price!
Peace he recognizes, is lofty national deal-but
is moi the highest What he calls particular attention
is that there appears be in this popular demand
recognition OF any vital principle at stake no apprec'
ton of the Of international law Of human right
in general duty Of the government TO protect tn
least OF It's citizens. It ignores the importance Of natio
al treaties and nalenable rights and the supreme in
porance Of national honor and sefrespect
This man, be understood, was not arguing that "
should declare war Germany or align oursely'
with the Allies in any way, yield to the spirit Of mil
tarisrn He simply amented what he took for eyiden'
of The decay Of our old national spirit
Was he right?