New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1916-06-01


scent tries TO remain with n dual ale
glance, with divided citizenship. he
merely ceases to become an American
without thereby becoming a German
or an Englishman or anything else.
He becomes man without country
who has forfeited the right to be
stirred by the feeling of patriotic de-
votion to any land. or to have a special
and peculiar hnship with any people.
The American birthright is the birth
right Of all of US; and it is shame
and n disgrace for any man to barter II
for so poor mess of pottage as is i'm
piled in that kind of hyphenated citi-
zenship which means that the individ-
ual tries TO be a halfway citizen OF
two lands and forfeits the right to be
n whole citizen Of any land
at is entirely proper to feel an init
mate sympathy with the art and litera-
ture Of the land with which by blood or
tradition we have close ties; and |
sympathize equally with the man who
has such a feeling for Milton and
Shakespeare and with the man who has
the feeling for Goethe and the Nibelun-
genlied. | admire all four myself, but
very strongly feel that our primo
duty, even in literature and art, is TO
develop our own American schools and
traditions is, to develop our own
distinctive American culture.
when our nation was formed in
the stress of the Revolution it was
under the lead of men OF many differ
ent race strains English, Dutch. Ger
man, Irish, French. But they were all
Americans and nothing else. Their 10y
atty to this country was whole-heart-
ed and undivided. and they sought to
serve only the United States and not
any Of the countries from which their
ancestors had ccme.
THE same rule applies to-day.
Throughout my life my closest per-
sonal and political friends have in
cluded men who were themselves born
in. or whose ancestors were born IN
Germany. ireland or Scandinavia. Just
as they included men who were OF old
Colonial American stock.
"The man who. for the ten years
when ! was Governor. Nice-President
and President was closest 90 mo. was
man whose father and mother were
Lorn in Germany and his father
served in the Civil War. by the way.
lie and / looked at all problems, ma
tional and international. from the
STANDPOINT and only from the stand
point of our common Amerlcanlsm'
The man who. when | was Police Com
poiesioner in New York. was closest
10 me was born in Denmark. lie Is
dead now. His name was Jacob Klls.
lie was one of the best Americans
have ever known. Again and again !
have held up his career as model
for our American boys to follow.
zone of the best Americans ] know,
4 man who has done better work Tor
the navy than any one else during the
last two wears, is by birth a Swede'
During nv scientific work in Africa
Ind South America, at the head OF
American scientific expeditions, the
American members Of my party IN
Guided the man with whom ! have been
most closely associated in geological
work and who was joint author with me
Of the geological book of which am
most proud His parents were born II
Germany. his kinfolk fought IN the
Union army.
"Another OF my American compan'
ions. an Iowa man, was born OF an
Irish father. who fought In the ClNil
/ War. Another's father was born III
bohemia. being a Czech, and also
fought in the Civil War. Yet another
an Indiana boy, had German father
and a French mother. But we were
all of us Americans, and nothing Du'
Americans.
! In my Cabinet a descendant. o. one
of Butchers colonies sat side by sid'
with a descendant Of one OF Napoleon
brothers. Another member Of the CAP,
ret had been bonn in Germany, ano
vet another member in Scotland. Inc
/ narents Of another member were born
/ in ireland. They were all OF them
Americans. and nothing else. If they
had severallv DESIGNATED themseIve'
and acted as. one a 'German-Ameri
can, another a Fronch-American, an
other an Irish-American,' another
/ .Rritisb-American. each conditioning
his LOYALTY to the United states by
hyphen. not one of them would have
remained an hour in my Cabinet.