The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1916-05-31

was the work done by General SIoe-
thals in the Panama Canal zone. nis
parents were born in Holland bu.
he is no more a "Dutch-Americah
than am He is an American among
the other army men who have oeen
closely associated with me, MAJOR zen
eral Barry is of irish parehlase,
whereas Major General Leonard
Woods forebears came over in the
Mayflower three centuries ago. But
General Barry is not an "1r1sh-Anleri-
can Nor is General Wood an Eng
Hsh-American" They are Americans:
| When the battle fleet went around
the world, two of the best men ABOARD
| it were Admirals Wainrlght ana
Schroeder. wainwright was of old Co
| lonial English descent, and Schroeder
| parents were oorn in Germany: But
| the one was not an "English-Ameri-
can" or the other a "German-Amerl-
| can" They were Americans-and IN
cidentally, both of them were as GAL
liant and accomplished offlcers anu
as thorough seamen as ever cofnrtidlo-
| ed sQuadson of warshlps uhoer the
American flag
| As another example 1 take an en-
listed man. Throughout my term as
president the doorkeeper in the ex-
| ecutive office, the man to whom the
safety of the president and the lntl
mate workings of the government
| were in a peculiar sense trusts, was
an ex-soldier of the regular army. He
was by birth a German At the out
/ break of the Civil war his regiment
was stationed in Texas. Some of the
officers Joined the Confederacy- Oth-
ers 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
old friends children and grandchil-
dren live in this country beside my
children and grandchildren 1t is
their country; and they all have an
equal claim on it, and owe to it an
equal duty. He and L fought for and
under the same flag. That flag floats
over our children's children. 1t is
their flag and the only flag 1t would
be a wicked and a cruel thing to try
to sunder them from one another and
to make any of them divide their al
legiance by a half-loyalty to any ether
flag.
Uncompromising Americans.
1t would be possible to man oar en-
tire administration from president
down with men of German blood, and
of such uncompromising Americanism
that every good American could fol-
low them with whole hearted loyalty.
1 would vote to seat in the president
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 1
thought the first man was better
fitted for the position than the second
man. l hold it an outrage and vio-
lation of every principle of true Amer
icanism to discriminate against such
a man because of the land from
which he or his parents came, or be-
cause of his creed. But 1 hold it no
| less an outrage for him to act in our
: domestic politics not as an American
but as an American with a qualifica-
ton; as an American who has some
un-American interest to serve, some
foreign country to serve, because of
his ancestry. The man who thus acts
is the hyphenated American.
Hot Shot for German Alliance, =
5 This is not a mere abstract question
which 1 am discussing. At this very
5 moment it is blazoned forth in the
public press that branches of the
l"German-A Alliance So
called, in different parts of the coun-
try, are attempting to coerce timid
| and INSCRIPTIONS politicians by
[ threatening to vote against them, OF
) by actually voting against them. when
the German-American Alliance re-
: CARDS their action as unsatisfactory
from the standpoint, not of the United
t 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
: Pennsylvania, for instance, as reported
r in the public press, states that it in.
t tends to show the leaders of the ma
tional conventions that they have tt
/ deal with united German-AmericaT
r vote Such a statement represent
| ire 70 he oI,
Y es of the German-American Alliance
6 in other parts of the country hav,
n | used practically the same language
The alliance has put forth no program
affecting America. The program OF
= | which it wishes American citizens t
: vote is one affecting Germany ant
= only Germany. I do not in the leas
n object to it because it denounces me
/. It has denounced Mr.. Wilson almos
L as often and almost as severely. On
z of its favorite forms of denunciatiol
e includes Mr.. Wilson, Mr.. Root ant
I myself, as equally to be opposed in tn
: interest of Germany.
n Moral Treason Defined.
n 1t is moral treason to the Unite'
\ States for any of its citizens to &C
l and to seek to make their government
al representatives act, not with refer
I, ence to the interests of the Unite
I States, but of some foreign power. Tn
}, German-American Alliance is, in prac
n tice, an anti-American Alliance. An
n such political organization, whethe
S German-American, Irish-American o
f English-American. is not health
r element of the body polite Any bod
d of our citizens have perfect right I
r oppose any man because of a differ
e ence of judgment concerning Ameri
o can problems: but it has no right t
y deal with American public servants
o or American public men on the basi
9 of the interests of some foreign power
d The men who so act are disloyal t
/ the United States, and say this just a
= quickly of men trying to serve Eng
e land or France as 1 say it of men try
i ingAto serve Germany. I condemn tn
(, American citizen who acts AS an Eng