South Bend news-times. (South Bend, Ind.) 1913-1938, 1915-05-18
AMERICAN IDEALS AND GERMAN
EGOTIsM ~ COLD COMPARISON.

States has spoken i'm no uncertain
terms-outlining "a true Americanism.
His speech in New York yesterday
encircles the highest ideals Of Amer
lean life; higher perhaps than the av-
erage OF American citizens. but up
lifting and pointing American citizen
ship 10 that higher plane We need
to be unsefish indeed. charitable.
though continuing firm in such a cri-
sis ~ confronts us. Take it in his own
language:
America asks nothing for her
self except what she has "a right
20 ask for humanity Itself We
want no nations property. we
wish 90 question no nations hon
or. we do not wish TO stand self
lshly in the way OF the develop
ment OF nations. we want nothing
that we cannot obtain by our
legitimate enterprise ard by the
inspiration of our example. and
standing for these things, IL is
not preteDsiOn on our par to say
that we are privileged 20 stand
for what every nation should wish
and stand for. ON yOnder
flag ] see Americas mission writ
ten alternately I'm strips Of white
and red-the white suips of lib
erty and justice interspersed with
q biOOd-Stained courage inserted
To vindicate these rights and
then in the corner "a prediction OF
the blue serene into which every
nation may swim which stands
for these great things.
How different this from the My
self and Cod" attitude of Emperor
William. of Germany generally treat
ed in the United States as "a sort Of
human egotism. but likely it seems to
be accepted i'm German high circles as
mere evidence of our inferiority. We
offer Pres't Wilson's dictum. at least
i'm part. for purposes Of comparison
of our American ideals with those Of
official Germany if not indeed, intel
lectual Germany as well.
II is always hard. especially in times
Of tense feeling for one nation to
understand another nations point of
view AT present neither the Ger
mans nor the English can come with
i'm thousand miles of "getting" each
other. and "a similar lack of cOmpre-
hcnsion has been developing between
Germans and Americans. The Ger
mans cannot see why non Germans
think as they do in war matters. and
non-Germans look upon the Teutons
as living i'm strange mental world
IF their own, woven of imagination
and inverted logic And argument
doesn't seem 20 do any good on either
side.
Here. however. is "a statement which
may make "a little palmer the point of
view that seems uppermost in Ger
many today. and is reflected in the
utterances of some of our German
Americans. IT is letter written b
philosophic German named Rudolph
Won PIassmann 10 the New York
World:
What you and your fellow
Americans do not understand,
and are not 20 be blamed for not
understanding. is thar Germany
is NOT nation; il is "a law of ma
turc. III is something that civil
izatiOn has never seen before, the
genesis OF new and different
race of men. as far superior TO the
present low human order as that
is TO the simians that preceded II.
The German is the Superman that
certain of your ongue-Bcrnard
shaw and Houston Chamberlain
foresaw, being OF different
ethics. religion. law, government,
from anything before known. Con
sequently Germany Is not 20 he
judged by the antiQuatcd stand
ards OF inferior peoples.
In the progress of the COsmic
order the Germans function Is
this: To syuthCSize the world. The
present order has achieved 'ts
utmost. il can so no further.
best is "a mere vcnecred material
ism. There is no such thing as
humanity There are only nu~
merous disordcTly. unhappy, dis
cordant. greedy groups OF par
TALLY civilized humans that i'm
million years could not make one
step OF real advance. To lis the
Germans business To build up
new world that shall be one, har-
monious. rational. wise. beautiful,
progressive. Your Christianity
has failed. Your democracy IS
Joke or tragedy. All that YOU
have learned in science. art.
music. municipal government. i'm
dustry. YOU have simply appropTi-
ated from Germany.
Watch now this cid world beiuE
beaten out hv Thors hammer into
form and beauty and use-the
Denomination OF the world.
That's the rhapsody of an eloquent
extremist. but none The less interest
ing for that reason. The German la
tion today seems actually animated 10y
some such national faith as this. An
American is likely 20 repudiate it be-
cause il doesn't square AT all with
American ideals; and yet the sheer
force and Sudacity OF III challenge adj
miration but note that we said the
sheer force and audaciy of it, There
is such thing as an admiration that
Is akin 60 contempt. The ideal OF
Kaiser Wilhelm. as more than an
anu-Christ. bat i'm reality a super
Christ. appears 90 be OF real Ger
Inanisuc foundation. and that be has
started out 10 subdue the earth and
possess IT, u.s. if we can take This Ger