Grand Forks herald. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1916-1955, 1917-09-06
Cornell University. Aug. 18, 10.
Enclosure.

III aENrFEEIHrHH-H
Organized Committee, Peoples coun.9
Gil of America for Democracy and
Peace, New. York City:
You have sent me by mail two
cards on which you request me to de-
clare my sympathy with your aims
and to pledge money in monthly pay
ments for the support Of your Spropa-@
ganda. What are your aims?
The v%iciousness Of your propaganda
consists in its combination of aims
which are clearly in the interest Of
democracy and peace, and which /
have always gladly supported with
others, stated more or less hidden in
between. which are in the interest Of
autocracy. Of a caste system Of social
organization, and Of m%ilitarisn.
How can you ask a citizen of tho
United States, in the present crisis,
money In order to enable you ."to
work for the repeal of the conscrip-
ton laws?" Such a request is but
little short of an insult. It lie ar in:
suit when addressed to a ~naturalizeda
citizen. You, being citizens of this
country merely by the accident OF
birth, may not understand this.
lam thoroughly familiar with the.
present organization Of the German
social body and with its elimination
the present German government. I
any of the members of your COM
mirtee. I have lived in Germany 25
years. I was born there. I was edu-
Gated there. Not in the sense in
which some of the members of your
committee were educated there, who
visited a German university for a year
or two. I spent 10 years OF my life
in German educational institutions,
from the kindergarten to the research
laboratory.
I confess that at the beginning Of
this war my sympathies were divided.
The German nation had many justi-l
fable complaints against its neigh.
bors. But whatever wrongs the Ger
man nation may have suffered in the
past from other nations. the German
government during this war has had
more than n opportunity to have
them set right and to terminate the
war. Its actions show that world
domination, not justice, is it's aim. /
sympathize with the German people.
but not with their government. You,
however. act as voluntary agents for
the Gereman government. Perhaps
you would appreciate your American
citizenship better If. like me, you had
been born and brought up in Ger
many.
If Germany wins this war, SO years
hence its government will rule the
American people. I do not want my
American children to be put under
this yoke which I escaped by coming
to America. My hope is that the Ger
man government will be o~verthrown
and that the German nation, my rela-
tives and friends, will enter an inter-
national organization for peace and
Justice. But the German government,
this fearful danger to our future, can
be overthrown only by raising armies,
not by sitting around the council table
fof the Peoples Council Of America
and working for the repeal Of the
CONSUMPTION laws"
1t IL pitiful to see such q propa-
ganda as yours led by an American
university president. a distinguished
scientist, who evidently cares noths
ing for the freedom Of our children.
It Is pitiful to see even whole uni
versities in trouble through the short
sighted activities OF their professors
in favor Of the enemy. Please do not
count on me for bringing this dis
repute upon the University OF Mis-
souri,, the institution to which II be-,
long.
Yours sincerely,
Max r. Meyer.