New Ulm review. (New Ulm, Brown County, Minn.) 1892-1961, 1917-06-06
The !! Open F |iorulInl

Minneapolis, Mimi, May 1917.
Editor of the Review:
Irecently learned from a subscribe that
you are conducting an "Open Forum
column in the New Ulm Review to which
you admit everything that reflects the
conscientious views Of a person along
political, social and economic lines. A
friend of mine in St. Paul has some very
fine views on American Ideals. I
enclose copy herewith and would be
pleased if you found them worthwhile
enough to, give them space in your paper.
Yours truly,
Emil Knips.
We are very glad to give space to the
following excellent exposition of "Ameri-
can Ideals
Eye shall know the truth and the
truth shall make you free.',,
Recently I attended lecture given by
a Professor Of Political Economy at the
State University who is paid good
salary by our taxpayers and he made the
assertion that 1'The trouble with us is
that we still stick to our high ideals, to
our peace ideals, to our American ideals
instead Of trying to realize. that we are
in war when ideals must 60 by the
board" Now it appears to me, that il
understand our President correctly
that we are not at war with the German
people, in fact that we are their friends
but that we are at war with their auto.
cracy and ready Ito establish American
Ideals of freedon and justice. I hope
that this is true, and if it is true, then il
IS our highest duty to understand those
ideals if we can discover what they are
And wish to take. up but a little of y ou1
time to state what belive they are and
how to get them.
There are many ideals in the world
that are beautiful and commendable tina,
are lived by those Of every nation, but
what we are anxious to discover are
those that are distinctively American
Men have at all times grouped in various
national or governmental forms that
were more or less adaptable to the con-
ditions and times in which they lived,
but the prominent feature in them all
was the sentiment, commanded by force,
that the chieftain and his government
were supreme and that the individual
had no rights except those conferred upon
him by his government. This idea de-
veloped until it had it's highest expression
in an efficient and absolute monarchy
buttressed on the one hand by servile
church that taught it's votaries implicit
obedience, and on the other hand by a
strong army to enforce obedience to the
whims of the rulers. The idea that the
individual had any rights was suppr essed
and denied and the different peoples were
kept in continual warfare
But on this continent new and I'M
tried ideal found lodgment thru the
efforts of Thomas Paine and Thomas
jefferson and their co-workers and found
definite expression in our matchless
Declaration of Independence wherein
we proclaim to the entire world that
eve hold these truths to be self-evident,
that all men are created equal; that they
are endowed by their Creator with GER
tain unalienable rights; that among these
are life, liberty, and the pursuit Of happi-
ness; that, to secure these rights, govern
ments are instituted among men, deriving
their just powers from the consent of the
governed; that, whenever any form of
government becomes destructive of these
ends it is the right Of the people to alter
or abolish it, and to institute a new
government, laying it's foundation on
such principles, and organizing it's powers
in such form as to them shall seem m ost
likely to effect their safety and happiness.
This ideal and its expression led us
into our Revol 1tionary War with a great
monarchy and it was this idea that
carried us on to victory. This is the
great distinctive American ideal; that
men have certain rights that govern
ments must respect. This is the ideal
that is denied by every plutocrat, by
every monarchist, by every tory, and by
every powerful ecclesiastic institution in
the world today, whether they happen
to be in Prussia, in Russia, or right here
in the United States. This is the ideal
that we wish to carry to the oppressed
and down-trodden Of every land. It is