Evening star., 1917-03-11

with 2,322,442: the Italians fifth, with
2.69S,360, and the Austrians sixth, with
2.001,559. Statisticians of the census
bureau make no attempt to classify the
grandchildren Of foreigners. The baf-
fling medley of races, through inter-
marriage, begins with the third gen.
GRAFTON. Moreover. Americanization has
long since broken down blood lines and
old languages, customs and habits OF
mind have disappeared.
Germans have been emigrating to
America since the year 1907. when
Capt. John Smith. whose almost tragic
hontas a dramatic place in school his
tories. brought eight Germans and
Poles to Virginia and with their help
began the manufacture of soap, tar
and glass 1t was William Penn, how
ever. who started the emigration in
earnest by his preaching of Quaker
sermons in Germany. A group of edu-
Gated men and women, known as piet-
lists or mystics. organized company
and bought $4,000 acres of land from
Penn. the proprietary governor of
Pennsylvania. Their agent. Francis
Daniel Pastorius. came over in 1888,
bringing with him other German
Quakers. These were the men who
built the village of Germantown. which
was the first German settlement in Penn
sylvania. They planted orchards and
vineyards around their stone houses,
and. besides farming, wove linen and
Pastorious could speak seven lam
guages and was a lawyer. historian.
poet and philosopher. He wrote a pa
per against slavery five years after he
adopted as expressing the convictions
of the Quakers at Germantown, and
was then sent up to the yearly meeting
of Friends in Philadelphia. by whom
it was also accepted; This document.
John G. Whittier said. "is noteworthy
as the first protest made by a religious
body against negro slavery"
The Pietists left Germany to find lib.
erty of worship in the American will
derness. Following them came other
strange and prosecuted Teuton sects.
the Mennonites, Dunkers, Amish, Mo-
ravians and SO on. Likewise, some left
the land of their birth to escape starva-
ton. The Rhine Palatinate had been
overrun by the armies of France and
the people reduced to beggary. Eng
land, for political reasons offered the
oppressed and impoverished Germans a
refuge and an opportunity to find new
homes In America. So many went to
England-30.0 900 in the years 176S and
1109-that it was necessary to shelter
them in tents.
On their voyage across the Atlantic
to New York. Pennsylvania and the
Carolinas hundreds died Of smallpox
and other diseases. One ship with 400
passengers lost three out of four on
the way over and buried them at sea
In many instances the Germans who
could not pay money for their passage
became redemptioners, working in this
country from three to five years as
farm laborers to reimburse those who
had advanced money for their eX-
penses.
Redemptioners, landowners them
selves In time, established prosperous
and honorable families in America
Many of them fought with Washington
and went hungry with him at Valley
Forge. Their descendants, as officers
and privates in the ranks. followed the
Stars and Stripes in 1912 and to Mex
leo and into all the subsequent wars
of the United States. They are guard
ing the Rio Grande at this moment and
went with Pershing into the cactus
deserts after Villa.
During the colonial period 100000
Germans entered this country through
the port of Philadelphia They settled
In Pennsylvania, MARYLAND. Virginia.
the two Carolinas and Georgia. Others.
coming by way of New Lork. had taken
up farms and built villages in the
beautiful valley of the Mohawk.
Thousands Of Germans helped the
English and the Scotch-Irish fight and
win the war against George III. Wash
ington's mounted bodyguard of four
teen officers and fifty-three men were
mostly Germans. Maj. Barth van Heer
was their commander.
Old Nicholas Herkimer, sitting under a
tree at the battle of Oriskany, desperate
ly wounded and smoking pipe while he
gave the orders that brought about the
defeat Of the English, Tories and In
dians. pictorializes the German In the
more heroic phases of the revolution
1t was Frederick William Augustus
Henry Ferdinand Won 6teuben, q Prus-
sian and q former aid to Frederick the
Great. Who, quoting the words Of Gen.
Emery Upton. "set on foot great Inn
provements in tactics. regulations and