Baraboo weekly news. [volume] (Baraboo, Wis.) 1912-197?, 1918-04-04
Patriotism and the Study of German


Editors News: The other day you
published, at my request, little ar
ficle bv a Frenchman in favor OF
teaching German. He regards THIS as
a necessity in his country and 1t is
eff course favored here on the ground
fhat it is highly beneficial to our own
beloved country and people. A cor
RESPONDENT in your OllapOdrida col
AIMS. in reply seems to take the sur
prising position that it would be det-
ri4nental to us. Our own government
takes a broader and more practical
view of the matter, as is shown IN
the accompanying letter by z. T. Clax-
ton, United States commissioner OF
education, written in response to an
inquiry as to the advisability of teach
ing German in high schools and col
e9Iges, published under the above title
by the New Republic, March 2, which
I would respectfully request you to
reprint. CLARA T. RUNGE.
BarabOO.
The Letter
/ 90 not Luluk our plSoSllL lOlctClOho
with the German empire should affect
IN any way the policy of the schools
in the United States in regard to
teaching the German language.
The United States is now at war
with the imperial government of Ger
many and not with the German Ian
-guage or literature. The president
has tried to make it plain to all the
people that we are not at war with
the people Of Germany as a people,
and that we have in our hearts no
hatred or bitterness toward them.
When the war is over we expect to
be friends again, and our commercial
and political relations will be re-estab-
lished Indeed we shall probably
have much more intercourse with the
German people then than ever before,
as we shall have with most of the ma
tions of the world. For practical, in
dustriaI and commercial purposes we
shall need a knowledge of the Ger
man language more than we have
needed it in the past. We should re-
member also that there are many mil
lions of German speaking people out
side Of Germany, and the number OF
such persons will probably increase
rapidly after the war regardless OF
the way in which the war may end.
Some years ago we were at war with
Spain And more recently we were
almost at war with Mexico, whose
people speak the Spanish language.
The need of knowledge of the Span
ash language for commercial and in
Tlustrial uses has been greatly in
creased.
The culture value of the German
language and literature and the writ
ing of Leasing Goethe, Schiller and a
host Of other poets and novelists his
tOrians and essaylsts, remains the
same as before the war, and it is too
great for us to lose out Of our life, ma
tional and individual. The value of
the scientific and technical writings
of the German people will no doubt
continue to increase. To rob our
y selves of the ability to profit by them
would be very foolish. The kinship
between the English and the German
languages is the same as it was before
the war, and the value of a knowledge
OF the history and philology of the Ger
man language for an understanding
of English remains the same.
Last of all, we cannot as a people
afford to put ourselves in the attitude
of regarding as evil everything about
-oOv poOD1n with whom wp NAV hammer
10 be at war. We cannot afford to as
sumo this attitude toward the Ger
Tnan people simply because they hap
zen now to be under the control of
an autocratic militaristic government
with purposes and aims that have
brought us into conflict with it. The
fewer hatreds and antagOnisms that
get themselves embodied in institu-
lions and policies, the better it will be
for us when the days Of peace return.
We can easily see how this has been
true of our times Of war with Eng
ourselves.
l sincerely hope that school officers
and teachers everywhere will take the
broad and sane view of this subject.
To do so can, believe, in no way be
interpreted as a lack of loyalty to the
so in any way strengthen our position
IN the war or enable us to bring it to
a successful end more quickly.
(Signed) P. P. CLAYTON.