The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1916-05-19

could be found for repudiating the
men whose actions have made it pos
| sibie for foreigners like Professor
Rohrbach to write with the insolent
| belief that they can use our fellow
citizens of German birth and descent
SO that their political influence may
be exerted in such fashion as to make
! this country helpless. to defend itself
against foreign aggression, whether
from Japan, from Germany, or from
any other power. L should just as
strongly denounce any men of English
birth or descent or of any other birth
or descent who. in the interest of their
fatherland or of the country from
which their ancestors sprung. advo-
Gated such action against the interest
of America by Americans as is advo&
Gated in Professor Rohrbach's letter.
We must all act as Americans; ana
we cannot afford to accept as our
| leaders either Germans OF English-
men, or men of any other foreign ma
tiOnality. F-n'i-ti
Where 1t Strikes Home
1 ask my fellow-citizeus of German
birth to remember that whatever cal-,
amity befalls this country will make.
its effects felt on their children no less
than on mine. If Professor Rohr-
bach's disciples here succeed in shap-
ing our action SO that Japan, in tho
| interest of Germany, beats the United
States, the shame and the disgrace ans
the loss will be felt by your children.
my fellow-citizens of German origin
no less than by mine. The conquer-
ors who overcome us in such war
would not go out of their way to ffnof
out the different race strains of the
people in the land. They would Cypress
all alike with grim impartiality. II
| New York were taken by Germany or
| by any other European power. or San
| Francisco taken by Japan. because we
| had failed to prepare to- defend our
| selves, the weight of the hand of the
alien victor would be felt by all Our
citizens alike: and the story of our
shame would be evil for your chill
dren's children as for mine. When the
! British took Washington in 1914, the.
disgrace and the loss fell just as
| heavily on Americans of English origE
| in as on Americans of any other
origin. i.l5-.lt
! The extreme naval party in Gers
many has recently advocated war with
the United States on the ground that
in the end as the result of ouch a war;
we would have to pay all the war ex-
penditures of the Germanic powers
and their allies zeit
These enormous sums would be
raised by taxation on all our citizensS
| those of German descent would pay
| as heavily as those of any other del
scent; and all would share equally the
| shame and dishonor. A foreign foe is
| the foe of all of us alike. If in this
land the citizens of one national origin
successfully set the fashion of in
! fluencing this nation to its own detrf-
ment in the interest of the country
from which they originally came7
sooner or later it is absolutely certain
that the citizens of some other MAJ
tional origin will repeat the expert
ment; and this country will be left
| degraded and helpless among the ma
tons. If such an event 5efall US. the
| bitter bread of humiliation will be
eaten by all those who dwell in this
land. no matter what their creed, no
| matter what their national origin. It
will be eaten by your children and
grandchildren and great-grandchil-
| dren just as much as by mine
| Oppose All "Hyphens."
| / make the same plea precisely to
the Americans of German birth OF
/ descent that l always have made and
always shall make to all Americans.
no matter what their creed or their
national origin. I am exactly as much
opposed to English-Americans as tb.
| COMMUNICATIONS. oppose aN
kinds of hyphenated Americanism. s
ask my lowAmericans who arc
partly or wholly of German blood to-
| show the foreign foes of America
who, from abroad, irstigate and guido
our traitors at home-and above al
ask them to show these traitors az
home-that the immense majority OF
Americans of German descent, whethf
err naturdilZed or NAIVE DOrrt are ioya3
Americans and nothing else and THAI
they stand for the honor and the fn-
terest of the United States shoulder to
shoulder with all other good Amer1r
cans of no matter what creed or naE-
tional origin. Americanism Is a matA
ter of the spirit. not of birthplace or
1 descent.
Among the best Americans have
ever known, among the men cscsesf
to me IN social and political life, are.
and have been, men born in, or meH
| whose fathers were born in, Germany
| Ireland, the Scandinavian kingdoms,
| and other European countries. Thex
| stand on an exact level with the other
Americans whose ancestors were hera
in Colonial times. We are all part or
the same people. fH 8
We all stand together for our COM
mon flag and our common country
We must so prepare that this country
will be good place in which the
children's children of all of MS shall
live; and to do this we mnst 50 pre-
pare that we can repel all foreign foeS
and preserve the inestimab1e right CT
| settling for ourselves the fate OF this
mighty democratic republic