New-York tribune., 1916-06-23
THE GERMAN TAlNT"
A Bnton Resents the SIur Of an Amateur
Ethnologist.
he Editor Of The Tribune

To the Editor Of The Tribune.
Sir; A good friend in New York sends N.
copies of The Tribune and | would Ike 10
say find your articles in the main fair IN
their attitude towards the Allies In genera
and England in particular. As nations ne
have all Of US the faults of our nationaitiss;
nevertheless, without claiming perfection, "a
can maintain with justice that We are all
lighting against the most powerfully organ
ized evil that has threatened the world since
is infancy. believe il is recognized b.
yourself and by most Americans not OF the
hyphenated order that the danger OF tha'
same evil is not limited 10 this side o. the
Atlantic. II the Allies go under IN. Amer
can continent comes next. That being 80.
and the fact that at any rate England y
bearing her share Of the brunt Of this var.
Americans should be as enient IS possible
in their criticism Of our national faults.
am finding no fault with your recent article
criticising the weakness and mistakes Of our
government; the average Britisher not
party-blnd is fully aware Of them and De
plores them.
That Englishmen residing in the States
should be more touchy about criticism than
we at home is TO some extent natural and
due allowance should be made By Americans
for the same n the positions were reversed
they Americans would feel the same way
commend this idea especially 70 your cor
respondent Pollard, whose letter appearing
in your issue Of May is ha. just reached M.
BY comparing US with the Teuton he does
US the grossest injustice The spirit which
brooks no question of superiority, which
claims divinity for its "Kultur" as that OF
the chosen people with the hesven-sent righ'
20 force ~ down the throsts OF all mankind
at the point Of the sword, is peculiarly Pru'-
sian. developed about the period OF Fred
erick the Great and continued without a
break down 20 the present day.
Whatever faults we have nationally,
those come by descent, must be common 10
Americans also, since the first settlers IN
your country we're EngiisLmen. Therefore
according to Pollard, We are all tsrrea
with the same brush, the Hun, the Amer
can and the Britisher. But needless 20 ssy
we will not wear the cap he has made for
US; for he is deploraby wrong in his MS
tory The Prussian element is absent ~ our
national makeup; the Prussians never u
yaded Britain, but the Saxons did. Aool'
500 years ago "a long time the Ss1on 'n'
vasion took place. and various parts OF hf','
ain mot Scotland, ireland or Wales oiend'
ed pith the new race. or the Germsnie
races the Saxon to-day has proved We
most decent. Ask our soldiers, Who hS''
met them all What the Saxon pas hs'
800 years ago. IL is difficult 20 say po''
bly, uncultyated and boor, but certain! nv
akin in anything TO the Prussian o.
day. The Britisher, however, IS blend g.
the ancient Brton, the Saxon, the Dane an0'
last Of all the Norman.
His remark that chose Teutonic rioss az
all pretty much alike" scarcely toucnes y,
but I must remind him OF the old saS'N'
about glass houses and throwing stones
II is true We have some latter-day "e'
mans among us. but the real Ieutohic '"
vasion is In the United States Of Aihe'N
You all recognize the danger, has u noi cor. cor,
trolled the policy Of your government
German has saturated the old and oe''e'
stock. he has affected your commerce O.
most made it-even your Language has oes'
affected. and heaps Of what We call "lsnaee
isms" are directly due 20 him.
Run your eye down the columns OF 80
vertisements Of your newspapers ana no''
the predominsnce Of German names
don't know that blend Of races IS sny
thing 10 be ashamed Of; II makes for v'rli,p
we are told Anyway. II Pollard Is rsst'
an American. and not Herr Pohlhardt d.
guised. he hs. pretty good miKturs 70 MS
own account.
He should therefore be careful nct J"
blunder in his classihcstions by mixing US Up
with that horros the present-dsy reu,on
N l.