The Fargo forum and daily republican. [volume] (Fargo, N.D.) 1894-1957, 1917-09-26
Other Mems Views
An Editorial That May or May Not
Square With The Forums
Opinions. ~

Minneapolis Journal: In a gang OF
fifteen Iaborers, working in one OF
the Minneapolis parks. are men OF
seven nationalities. Seven tongues
are spoken in the group, though the
entire fifteen speak English. They
all work agreeably together, and
every man appears to entertain a
measure Of respect for his fellow.
These men exchange information
regarding their personal affairs, and
regarding the government and So
cial affairs of their mother coun-
tries. All read the American, daily
papers. All appear to be patriotic
American citizens; and all, even the
German, are for the prosecution OF
the war.
Probably each of the fifteen has
dropped some of his inbred hostility
toward other nationalities. The
foreigners he has met have proved
better men than he had expected.
He has studied nations at first
hand, and has found in every one
of them men with the qualities he
admires.
There is but one way a man may
remain an unregenerated foreigner
in America, and that is by remain
ing an unregenerated bigot, The
average immigrant is more or less
open minded. He let's the facts
about him leak into his mind nat
urally; and, If let alone, translates
them into opinions more or less
correct. Such a man finally becomes
a well informed and good willed
citizen.
Shut UP that same man in his
own. land, cut him off from friendly
contact with other nationalities; ed
ucate him to believe that he and
his compatriots are super beings
better born, wiser, and stronger
than all others. endowed by the
gods with rights above every other
nation on earth; teach him that all
other peoples are idiots" louis"
"degenerates," weeds" which. his
people are born to eradicate or re-
create by force, and you make him
an impossibility. Gather a settle
ment OF such people together in
America, and there Immediately
arises about that spot a problem of
diseased social and political condi-
tion.
"seest thou a man wise in his own
conceit? There is more hope Of
fool than Of him." Thus runs a
Hebrew proverb. The same is as
true Of a conceited nation.
America has been slow TO believe
that Germany could have wrapped
her head in a cloud Of such dense
self conceit. For more than. a CEN
fury America has known many lik-
able Germans of open -mindedness
and modesty. 1t has known German
bigots, too, but not en- masse and in
power, as It has since they began
their world raid. And America still
refuses to believe that all Germany
is hopelessly permeated with such
insufferable conceit.
Persistent inbreeding Of provin-
cial ideas; the making Of vanity a
virtue and of self praise system;
formulating unduestioning obedi-
ence to power into national relig-
ion: these things have made of the
ruling caste OF Germany, not great
men. but veneered wild men. The
ruling caste has become a powerful
and untamed animal endued with
the high intelligence OF man graft
ed on to the low instincts Of a beast.
It Is not the human folk Of Ger
many that the human government
OF democratic America Is lighting,
It Is the Frankenstein monster that
is blighting Germany, and that has
gone forth into the world to slay and
% Stake It's lust.