New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1917-02-15

To the Editor OF The Tribune.
Sir; Somewhat over one hundred years
have slid into the discard since our last
war with England II would be nlstorleal!
correct TO say since our first war with Eng
land. School books now about to go into
the discard have misled great number OIL
Americans into the belief that the hostilitle'
immediately following the Declaration OF III
dependence were between the United STATES
and England. Clearer perception Of the truth
leads to the discovery that what then &C.
Cured was a revolution on the part o. ee'
tain subjects of the King Of England ssaihs'
his usurpation and oppressive measures
vas a fqht between Englishmen domiclled IN
America and the dominant faction OF Eng
lishmen domciled in England, resulting IN
the unfolding Of the fundamental principles
Of English liberty and followed by the estap'
lisbment of an independent government ami
mated chiefly by the love OF hoer'y' WIFI"
was the essence Of English civilization.
The theories of the French Revolution III,
doubtedlv played part IN the 1orna'io" VI
the new republic. but its laws, lts Language
IT'S literature. its bone and sinew, us per
sonnet were, and to this day, generally speaA,
inc remain. English As to the England OF
centuries ago, so there nave nocHeu pe0Pi'
Of every race. every cline, every language
70 this new country; but not any Of them
sinolv nor all OF them combined have been
sble even if they desired, to change the es.
sentiaI racial characteristics of the good ole
stock or TO make US really foreign to the
land that gave us our start in life. Our nan
L. ;oht Dlue mol
our pronunciation or spelling as English as
thew once were, we may have bit more
vivacity. we may be less averse to change, we
NAV not have the same reverence for the es-
tablished order of things; but the American
who visits in England or the Englishmsr
who comes here and really enters into the
life of either for a reasonable time-say, foI
"a long as it takes a New Yorker to become
fairly used to the ways and atmosphere OF
San Francisco-fnds himself at home. The
differences either finds are no greater than
those which the Philadelphia finds in Bos
ton-are less marked than the Louislanlar
finds in Maine. Ask any Rhodes scholar
whether he found his ow-undergraduateS
Mt Oxford materially different in ideas, aims
manner of thought, making due allowance ioi
differing antecedents and surroundings, from
The fellows he associated with at his Amerl
can university One must make some allow
ance for different surroundings; one would
not expect to find precisely the same menta
attitude in a native resident OF Tucson, Arlz'
as one would expect to find in native resi-
dent of Brookline, Mass.
But let an American go to Berlin or to
Paris, 10 Vienna or to Rome, to Petrograc
or to Madrid he will surely feel like q
stranger in a strange land for an Infinitely
longer time and to an infinitely greater de-
gree than if he goes to London, to Msnches
tor. 10 Edinburgh. to Dublin or to any small
town in the United Kingdom of Great Brit
ain and Ireland. By can American" | near
one who has been born and brought up here
as an American and not as an English-Amer'