The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1916-01-02
NO HYPHEN HERE!
Spirited Protest From n Good Ameri-
can Citizen Of German Birth.

can Citizen Of German Birth.
To THE EDITOR OF THE SuN--Str: IL
] occurs to me that the time has arrived
for American citizens OF German birth
to speak up and assert their un%filnching
loyalty to their adopted country n
proclaim In unmlstakabie terms their
protest against the unjust accusations
and i%nsinuations against their loyalty
| which seem to have become a mania
among a certain clique of individuals
and q certain part Of the press IN this
country.
! for one protest most e~nergetically
against these and incidentally against
that part Of President Wilson'S message
10 Congress which deals with the dis
| loyalty Of certain foreign born Ameri-
can citizens. True. he did not directly
name German born Americans, but he
might a. we'll have done 10. for al
though couched In somewhat vague
language its thin veil leaves little room
for doubt as TO whom he meant.
To leave these accusations unpro-
tested and unchallenged would in my
mind indicate ono OF two things. either
acknowledgment of guilt or cowardice
for not protesting against these accusa-
tons from whatever quarter they may
| come forth. / wish TO remind my fell
low Americans of the one self-explana-
tory fact that thus far all individuals
connected with pro-German plots or in
dicted for c~onspiracles are either Ger
mans, Austrians or native born American
citigens-not one of them Is a German
born American citizen, and II perchance
any such should be found who had thus
violated his oath of allegiance to this
Government I for one wish to see him
penalized to the fullest extent. Such an
occurrence lies not without the realm OF
probability, and II It should SO happen. /
ask, would II he just or AT all reconcil-
able with the boosted proverbial love OF
fair play OF Americans 20 point the
finger OF scorn and suspicion at all law
abiding German born Americans because
OF the misdeeds Of a few? Should this
be sufficient cause to poison the mind
OF the American public against all OF usT
Like myself there are many thousands
OF German born American citizens whc
absolutely refuse to ALLOW a hyphen to
exits, between their German birth and
their American citizenship. We are as
loyal II patriotic Americans and as
ready to defend our adopted country
against all aggressors as Mr.. Amni Right
who claims eight generations OF Amer.
lean birth.
We have as little love for autocratlc
"Prusslan'' miitarism as for arrogan
English navalism, and we feel right,
indignant against this limiting at our dis
loyalty. Is unfair. undeserved and
un-American. I claim that in the con
troversies between the United States and
Germany the great big majority Of Ger
man born Americans are ranged on tn
side OF Uncle Sam. And II. anent thii
deplorable European conflict. as between
England and Germany our sympathiei
are with the latter, IL there anything
more natural? Surely this does not II
any way prevent US from being loya
Americans.
Aside from this we righteously resen
tho studious neutrality as It Is carried
out by our present Administration 1,
Washington. which seems stud!ous onl,
not to offend England and equally a
studious 10 pinprlck and offend Ger
many and Austria.
Medic tut,ssimus ibis.
j 4, WAGNER
BERLIN, y. n. December 81.