The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1916-06-02
ron of warships under the American

ron of warships under the American
flag.
GAS another example l take an en-
listed man. Throughout my term as
president the doorkeeper in the ex-
safety of the president and the init
mate workings of the government
were in peculiar sense trusts, was an
eX-soldier of the regular army. He
was by birth German. At the out
break of the Civil war his regiment
was stationed in Texas Some of the
officers joined the Conferderacy
Others were imprisoned. The enlisted
men were left alone. A body of them,
including my friend, marched north.
through the Indian country, without
any officers, reached the Union lines,
rejoined the army, and fought through
the war; How would it be possible to
find better Americans? My old friends
children and grandchildren live in this
country beside my children and grand
children 1t is their country; and
they all have an equal claim on it,
and owe to it an equal duty. He and
fought for and under the same flag.
That flag floats over our children's
children. 1t is their flag and the on
ly flag. 1t would be a wicked and
from one another and to make any of
them divide their allegiance by half
loyalty to any other flag.
What Could be Done.
''It would be possible to man our
entire administration from president
down with men of German blood, and
of such uncOmpromising Americanism
that evey good American could fol-
low them with whole hearted loyalty.
would vote to seat in the presidents
chair any American of German, Irish,
Scandinavian or other parentage of
whatever creed as against any man
whose ancestors came over in the
Mayflower, or settled on the banks of
the James three centuries ago, if l
thought the first man was better fit
ted for the position than the second
man. | hold it an outrage and vio-
latiOn of every principle Of true Amer
icanism to discriminate against such
man because of the land from which
he or his parents came, or because of
his creed. But l hold it no less an
outrage for him to act in our domes-
tic politics not as an American, but
as an American with a qualification;
as an American who has some I'M
American interest to serve, some for
eign country to serve, because of his
ancestry. The man who thus acts is
the hyphenated American.
"This is not a mere abstract ques-
ton which ] am discussing. At this
very moment it is blazoned forth in
the public press that branches Of the
German American alliance so-called
in different parts of the country, are
attempting to coerce timid and I'M
scrupulous politicians by threatening
to vote against them, when the Ger
man-American alliance regards their
action as unsatisfactory from the
standpoint, not of the United States,
but of Germany. These branches of
the alliance openly take the ground
that they intend to shape American
politics in the interests, not of the
United States, but of Germany. The
German American alliance of Penn
the public press, states that it in
tends to show the leaders of the ma
tional conventions that they have to
deal with a united German Ameri-
can vote Such a statement repre-
sents moral treason to the republic.
Branches of the German American
alliance in other parts of the coun-
try have used practically the same
language. The alliance has put forth
no program affecting America. The
program on which it wishes Ameri-
can citizens to vote is one affecting
Germany and only Germany | do not
in the least object to it because it
denounces me. 1t has denounced Mr..
Wilson almost as often and almost as
severity. One of it's favorite forms of
denunciation includes Mr.. Wilson, Mr..
Root and myself, as equally to be OPP
posed in the interest of Germany.
''It is moral treason to the United
States for any of it's citizens to act
and to seek to make their govern
mental representatives act, not with
reference to the interests of the Unit
ed States, but of some foreign
power. The German American alli-
ance is, in practice, an anti-Ameri-
can alliance. Any such political or
ganization, whether German Ameri-
can, Irish-American or English
American, is not healthy element of
the body polite.
"Any body OF our citizens have
perfect right to oppose any man
because of difference of judg-
nent concerning American prob
lens; but it has no right to deal
with American public servants,
or American public men on the
basis of the interests of some
foreign power. The men who so
act are disIoyai to the United
Statec, and ! say this just as
quickly of men trying to serve
England or France as I say it of
men trying to serve Germany.
condemn the American citizen
who acts as an English Ameri-
cam just as strongly as condemn
the American citizen who acts as
German American
"If France had subjugated Belgium
/ would condemn her just as strongly
as | have condemned Germany. If
Rriiich b,I c,,,,1>