East Mississippi times. (Starkville, Miss.) 19??-1926, 1918-06-14
Why We Fight
Bsesuse Germany for Years Sought
10 Undermine Our Government
and Our ldcais
BY CLARENCE L, SPEED
Secretary Of the War Committee Of the
Union League Club Of Chicago,

Union League Club or chicago
We are fighting Germany for the
right to live our own lives as. we see
6t. We are fighting for our laws, our
Ideals, our homes. our institutions.
"But, how" one may nsk, "were oil
those things threatened by Germany
before the war started2 II is easy To
zee How they may be threatened now,
Tor II We are defeated We are lost, but
before the war started did Germany
fn,nace those things we hold most ss.
credr
Let the Germans themselves answer.
After you have read the evidence out
Of their own mouths, you may decide
whether or not Germany planned to up.
set our institutions, our ideals, our very
mode Of life.
IN 1901 the National German.Ameri.
can alliance was formed In the United
States. In 1907 II was Incorporated
BY act Of congress. Its charter is
now being attacked In that same body.
One Of the objects Of the alliance, as
officially announced, was ITO check ma.
tivistic encroachments." In other
words. to keep the Germans from be-
coming Americans. Another object
was ITO awaken and strengthen the
sense Of unity among the people Of
German origin In America"
"This alliance" Its preliminary
statement Of aims concludes, us
pledged to bring Its entire organisa.
ton to the support of any state fed.
Grafton which Is engaged In the strug.
gle for any Of these objects"
II was pledged, In other words, to
have Its members vote, not as indivld.
unls, but as German controlled units,
for or against anthing Of which
they did not approve,
The desire for resisting "nativistic
encroachments," was particularly ab.
horrent TO American ideals, because
the effort In this country has always
been to keep politics free from racial
or religious influences. Yet here was
q body, proclaiming itself German In
origin and thought, seeking to perpetu.
ate this German feeling In the midst
OF America.
From Its very start the alliance
sought TO foment discOrd with England.
II always spoke of the American press
as "the Anglo-American" press, and It
carried out long and well.directed
campaign for the introduction Of the
German language into the schools and
Its use In civil life.
1.-THE National Alliance" according
TO an Issue of Its official Bulletin be-
fore this nation entered the war, "is
waglng war against Anglo.Saxonism,
against the fanatlcal enemies OF per-
sonal liberty and political freedom, II
Is combating Darrow.minded, benlght-
ed know.nothingism, the. influence Of
the British, and the enslnvlng Puritan
ism, which had Its birth In England"
"The race war which we will be
compelled to 90 through with on Amer
lean soil will be our world war;" said
the New York Stats Zeitung In fight
Ing n proposal to amend the New York
constitution to make ability to speak
and write the English language q
requisite for suffrage.
Ludwig Fuldu wrote a book, "Amer-
lean Impressions" They were i'm.
pressions Of q German who had stud
led this nation with view to seeing
10 ultimately Gertnonized. German.
ization Is synonymous with cnusing to
speak aerman," he said, "nnd speak
1ing, German means to remuin German"
wherever there were signs Of dis.
content, OF q movement which might
tend to disrupt this country, or any
other which Germany might End as q
commercial flSal, the Germon.Aineri.
iehn' alliance vas sire to be Oh the
3ob. Il gave support to the irish
American societies, because these soci,
'etIes, before the war, were working for
the separation Of ireland from Eng.
land, q matter In which Germany, at
that time, coald have no legitimate
interest. But Germany, even then,
'ras preparing for war, and was doina
every possible thing to weaken its
roning enemies, d dlsorganised
America, one flled with Geriuun re-
Servlsts, would be IN no position to
eide with her enemies, Germany fg'
ured. On this subject tho tnuch.quoted
.Rprnha tdi vrrrfnt .,
I. Measures must be taken at least
70 the extent OF providing that the
German element is not split up In the
world, but remains united In compact
blocks, ana thus forms, even In for,
eian countries, political cpnters Of
gravity Ii our favor. The isolated
groups Of Germans abroad greatly ben
e6t our trade, since by preference they
obtain goods from Germany, but they
may also be useful to us politically, at
w discover Ia America, The German
Americans have formed a political ai'
lanes With the itishI and, thus
un.ted, constitute 3 power ih the state
F!th wslcs ths American goreyrinsa!