New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1917-07-02
Germans Not Loyal
One Observer Who Thinks Most Of
Them Are Not Patriotic Americans

To the Editor of The Tribune.
Sir: The statement that most of the Ger
mans in this country are loyal to the United
States is still being repeated by editors,
politicians and others, until one wonders
whether, after all, Barnum was not right.
1.-The Evening Post" tonight contains an ar
ticle criticising Great Britain for Directing
to natural born citizens of German parentage
being sent to Europe in the Red Cross SER
vice. Great Britain is right and "The POST
is wrong. Assuming that editors are well
informed, as they ought to be, they must
know that the Germans, including most Of
the natural born citizens of German parents,
5re not patriotic Americans. 1t is true that
most of them have not done any damage
since war was declared, but the best that
be said is that they have refrained
from violence, not through any love for this
country, but through fear of the hanging
which Ambassador Gerard told Zimmerman
the Germans would surely get if they caused
trouble | have yet to find one single Ger
man who is in favor of the United States
in this war. Moreover, have heard of only
cne-an old shoemaker in New Jersey, who
has a grievance against the Kaiser and pos
sibly his hatred is due to the Zabern Incl
dent. Permit me to add that some of the
most rabd pro-Germans are those born in
this country of German parents and who
have never felt the Kaiser's heel.
lived in Newark for many years, and I
know something of Germans, and I know
that the Germans Of Newark would welcome
the Kaiser and the rest Of the Huns. | re-
member my father telling me fifteen years
ago that the Germans were not good cti-
zens, that they lacked civic pride and pa
triotism, and that if we ever went TO war
with Germany we would find them disloyal.
How true this prediction was | leave to the
readers of this letter Yet for many years
politicians have addressed all sorts of hy
phenates and told them what fine citizens
they make, when most of them knew they
were talking nonsense for the sake of votes.
| am not criticisng German subjects for
being pro German. That is perfectly natural.
If had lived in Germany for twenty-five
years I would still be pro-American, but in
the event of war, If could not leave the
country, | would have honor enough to re-
fran from being a traitor to the country
that harbored and supported me-
| criticse editors, politicians or any one
else for still assuming that we can trust
the herman eleHeUJ. we HtEt ONtI ONt
hundred millions of people, and surely we
can secure enough for every branch of SER
vice, whether in the army, navy, Red Cross
or elsewhere and we ought to be practical
enough 70 stop deluding ourselves. We can
not afford TO take a chance. Our indifer-
ence and innocence in the first two years and
a half of this war cost US many lives and
great loss Of property, not only on the high
seas, but in the United States, and during
that period German lawyers, editors, minis
ters and other propagandists were busy jus
tifyng the sinking of the Lusitania and the
commission of countless other crimes by the
German forces. Is there any thinking per-
son who believes that because these rabid
Kaiser lovers have at last shut up they
have changed their opinions?
Let US be on our guard One disloyal
hyphenate in the Red Cross or in our army
could do enough damage TO Offset the good
that a hundred loyal ones might do, sssum-
ing that a hundred could be found. As
Colonel Roosevelt says: "Nine-tenths of wis
dom consists of being wise in time"
Let US hear no more of this nonsense about
nine-tenths of the Germans being loyal
Merely keeping quiet while they read the
"Staats -Zeitung" with hate in their hearts is
not loyalty--except to the Kaiser.
PRO-SAFETY.
New York, June %, 1917.