Emmons County record. [volume] (Williamsport, D.T. [i.e. N.D.]) 1884-current, 1918-03-28
THE ALL-AMERlcAN LEAGUE.

The All-American League, born at
jamestown, North Dakota, some ter.
days ago at a meeting made up al
most entirely of Germans and at
which one of the powerful speakers
delivered his address in the German
tongue, bids fair to spread to every
German community in the Northwest
The two principal speakers at this
meeting were former professor Of
the University of Heidelberg, Ger
many, and former soldier in the
Kaiser's army, and those who could
understand only a little had their in
ming.
/ The jamestown meeting was staged
in this manner at the suggestion of
A. R. Rogers, Director of the Third
Liberty Loan in the Ninth Federai
Reserve District, who was advised in
advance by many of his friends that
| to stage meeting of Germans and at
tempt to carry message to the peo-
pie in the German tongue would ac-
complish little good and probably
occasion considerable criticism. It
was the opinion of Mr.. Rogers, how
ever, that as many of the older Ger
mans Of the country within a radius
of 100 miles of Jamestown read no
English papers and could under
stand little or no spoken English, that
the only way to really reach them
with the lesson Of Freedom ano
Democracy was to talk to them
through their own people, in their own
tongue
Mr.. Rogers is more than gratified
at the results of the meeting which
was staged under the direction Of
John Knauf, former supreme court
judge of North Dakota and himself a
prominent German who always has
been undivided in his loyalty to this
Nation. The two principal speakers
were Prof. Alfred H. koemg, for
nierly of Heidelberg University, and
now professor ef German in the UNI
versity Of Minnesota, and j. D. Kra-
mer, of LaMoure county, North Dako-
ia, former soldier in the Prussian
army. Other speakers were DR.. d.
M. Shutter of Minneapolis, G. S.
Woolidse of Fargo, and Mr.. Rog-
ers'. Geo. Lutz, prominent German,
was secretary of the meeting.
"There were 623 in the Armory
when the meeting opened" said Mr.
Rogers. ut was announced immedi-
ately that the speeches would be in
the German tongue and that anybody
who did not care to listen could leave
About 40 left the hall. They were
principally jamestown people who
were not familiar with the scheme of
the meeting. In checking up those
in attendance, found that one party
of Germans had driven 90 miles. An
other party n miles, and many par
ties 80 to 40 miles to attend. In the
audience were many German women
who brought their knitting with them.
1.-THE speakers made plain to the
German-born present, that they all
had left Germany to seek better con-
ditions in this Nation, and that almost
without exception they had waxed
prosperous and found the happiness
they sought. That their children at
tended American schools and Univer-
sites, and had been given the same
opportunities as every other American
child. That this has thoroughly
proven to be the promised land and
that it is their home and the home of
their children, and that it is their
duty to support the Government with
out reserve.
II don't know exactly what the
speakers told them, as my knowledge
of German language is somewhat linn
tied, but could catch the general
drift Of things and could catch the
whispered comments of the audience.
"After the meeting I talked to
many Of these German farmers. and
their wives outside, and they told me
that it was the first time that the true
lesson Of making the world safe for
Democracy and the liberty of man.
kind had been made clear to them.
Several of them said they could not
read English, nor understand it when
spoken, and that they had been kept
in somewhat bewildercd state Of
mind, but that the meeting had made
it clear to them that their duty to
themselves, to their homes and to