Der Deutsche correspondent. [volume] (Baltimore, Md.) 1841-1918, 1916-03-23
AN OBLIGATION or THE IMMI-
GRANT.

possession OF q continent. says BCr-
nard H. Ridder The development
Of the vast reaches which have been
brought one after another into the
Union has been accomplished prin-
cipally not by the descendants Of
those which fought the British from
1775 to 1888, but rather by the im-
migrants who have hocl1ed from over
the sea, and their descendants.
These people have by their muscle
spent upon the land acquired q
proprietary interest in this country.
They have confirmed this claim by
tho blood which they have spilled in
its defense
The immigrant who comes
amongst us, whatever the land OF his
origin, becomes fertilizer and moth
ing else, however, in time, when he
ncglects to contribute to our national
thought and national emotions. We
want the muscle Of Europe, but we
want equally the mind of Europe.
We are already a mongrel-minded
people. The process of mongreliza-
tion should be allowed to continue,
until we arrive at the point of
registered pedigree Washington
j.
accept the services Of Won Steuben,
q German, and of Lafayette, a
Fronchman, to maintain us a colony
Of the British Crown or a suppliant
forever at the altar OF British
thought We are ordered by the
story Of the War of independence,
as by every other story bequeathed
us by tho annals OF our country, to
observe the principle Of seeking the
best in mind ais well as in muscle,
wherever II Is to be found. This is
the brief for saying to every immi-
grant 10 this country: you have
come here to seek your fortune and
TO provide for your posterity. You
are welcome. You have come seek
ing advantages, and they are gladly
offered to you, but in return you
owe us debt which must be
liquidated Whether you come from
the Rhine or the Rhone, the Shan
non or the Dniester the obligation
is the same. You owe America the
labor OF your brains just as much as
you owe it the labor of your hands.
Shylock was not more insistond upon
his pound Of flesh than we are en-
titled to be upon the rendition to
our general store Of your particular
mental gifts.
Those who como to rs owe us this.
We owo ii to ourselves TO demand it
OF them. We need in the develop
mcnt OF that national thought and
art and literature in America, which
alone can save us in the end from
becoming once more the thrall Of a
particular European sovereign the
viyacity of France, the romance and
music Of Italy and Spain, the endur-
ing pathos of the Slav, and the stur-
dy, oak-ribbed logic and thorough
ness OF tho German and his Scand,-
nayian kin We can use them all.
They mix well, and out Of the mel
ting pot viii come what we should
haye-a composite mind, as we nave
already a composite population
A considerable effort has been
made to place the immigrant upon
the land"-to avert city congestion,
and to point where his arm can serve
tho country best We have neglected
largely heretofore, however, to give
thought to the possibility of exploit
ing to the advantage Of The country
the immigrants mind. A school Of
|
volves about the Club Of the uni
verse" ana constitutes the disturb
ing spoke in the whocl of true Amer
icanism, consistently opposes any
such program Their ancestors
fought to break the chain OF British
aggressions against the American
Colonies They, themselves, are to-
day once more courting these same
fcttcrs.
A great many private Organiza-
tions have been created in this coun-
try, with little or no national assist
ancc, to give our national mind the
| benefit OF those gifts which have
been brought into our midst from
other lands Among them may be
mentioned The National German
American Alliance, whose education
al and patriotic purposes, as stated
in it's act Of Incorporation, are as
( follows:
"The conservation OF the prin-
! ciples OF representative government
and the protection and maintenance
| of all civil and political rights; tho
/ protection Of German immigrants
against imposition and deception
/ and to assist in their naturalization;
| the study OF American institutions
and the publication Of American his
tory; the cultivation Of the German
language, literature and drama, and
the porpetuation of the memory and
deeds OF the early German pioneers
| whose influence has been Of in
calculable benefit to the intellectual
and economic development OF the
country and whose loyalty in times
of stress and strife is a matter Of
history"
Tho purposes OF the Alliance as
stated above have never been for.
gotten by it nor has it ever diverted
from them. When clash on prin.
ciples occurs between German
thought in this country and that oi
the pro-British Boston school, The
latter is naturally inclined TO accuse
the former OF representing Germany
1t is, Of course, doing nothing Of th'
sort. 1t is simply representing tru'
| Americanism in its conflict with ;
pscudo-Anglicism 1t is representing
~ y fls.f