The Mena weekly star., 1916-06-08
ROOSEVELT SCORES
 MISUSE OF HYPHEN
Moral Treason Charged Against Those Who Seek tO Force Action AgainSt Interests of |. s.
 America for Americans

St. Louis. May 3l-Moral treason to the United States was charged byI Theodore Roosevelt, in an address delivered here Wednesday, against Communications who seek toI make their governmental represen- tatives act in the interests of Ger many rather than this country, He characterized the German-American alliance as "an anti-American alli- ancen but added that he believed that it's members not only do not represent but scandalously mis- represent the great majority of real Americans of German origin.
 Urging the motto America for Americans for all Americans whether they are born here or abroad, the former president de- clared that the salvation of our people lies in having a nationalized and unified America. ready for the tremendous tasks of both war and peace"
 T appeal to all your citizens. the colonel said, mo mater from what land their forefathers came, to keep this ever in mind, and to shun with Seorn and contempt the sinister in- triguers and mischief-makers who would seek to divide them along lines of creed of birthplace or of national origin.
 Americanism His Subject.
 Colonel Roosevelt said he came Co St. Louis to speak on Americanism- to speak of and condemn the use of the hyphen whenever 1t represents an effort to form political parties along racial lines or to bring pres sure to bear. on parties and pOliti- clans, not for American purposes. but Tn the interest of some group of voters of a certain national origin. or of the country from which their fathers came"
 He was equally against the native American of the wrong kind and for the immigrant of the right kind. the former president declared. but the immigrant who did not become in good faith an American lis out of place in the United States. He said each nation should be judged by it's conduct and that the United States should oppose encroachments on it's own rights whether Germany. Eng land. France or Russia be guilty of misconduct.
 The effort to keep our citizenship divided against itself" the colonel continued" by the use of the hyphen and along the lines of national ori- gln IS certain to breed a spirit oi bitterness and prejudice and dis llkes between great bodies of our citizens. If some citizens band to- gether as n-Americans or lrlsh-Americans. then after a while others are certain to band together as Engllsh-Americans or Scandi- naVlan-Americans, and every such banding-together, every attempt to make for political purposes a Ger man-Amerlcan alliance or Scandi- standardization alliance. mean down at the bottom an effort against the interest of straight-out Ameri- can citizenship, an effort to bring into our nation the bitter old world rlNalrles and jealous hatreds.
 What l have been striving for a year and three-quarters to do is to protest against the up-growth of this utterly un-American spirit. which means if successful. division and impotence in our national life. the breaking up of our citizenship along the bitter lines of old world antipathy."
 Former President Roosevelt took issue with President Wilson's views on preparedness and declared he was unalterably opposed to hyphen- ated alliances. be they German American or English-American.
 The trouble with us in America. r Mr. Roosevelt said. is our tendency to use lofty words to veil our mean ing: l wish to take issue with Mr. Wilson s expression in his Memorial Day address. The President says he IS for universal volunteer service That is equivalent to truant law that would make every boy and girl attend school provided they didn't wish to stay away.
 " like the word universal. but voluntary is a weasel word. IL snrks out the life of the other"