New-York tribune., 1918-03-25
Spare the German
By DR.. P. p. Clarton,
L. s. Commissioner of Education,
Creels Official Bulletin

" heading, the governments "OH-
cial Bulletin" published by the
Creel Committee on Public Information,
printed the following letter from Dr..
Philander P. Cloaton, L. s. Commission
ey of Education, to Dr. Robert l.. Slagls,
president Of the University of South d.
ioto:
My Dear DR.. Slage: In reply to your
letter Of February &c, l must say that l
cannot agree with those who would
eliminate German from the high schools
and colleges Of the United States at this
time. 1t is, of course, desirable now, and
always is that nothing should be taught
in any language in our schools or else
where that would tend to create spirit
OF dsloyalty to our country to the
American ideals Of freedom and democ-
racy. But the fact that we are now at
war with Germany should not. | believe
affect in any way our policies in regard to
the teaching of the German Language in
CIR schools.
"Not at War With Language
The United States is at war with the
imperial government of Germany. and not
with the German language or literature.
The President has tried to make it plain
to all the people that we are not at
with the people of Germany as a people
that have in our hearts no hatred or
bitterness toward them. For our own
sake and for the sake Of the future of the
world, let us hope that may finish this
task for the establishment of freedom and
the safety of democracy without learning
to chant any hymn of hate. After the
ic i,,+or ,,;+
people will be reGstablishcd, probably not
Immediately and fully, but our relations
with them will no doubt be more impor-
tant as the years go by Germany may
even yet become of the leading nations
for the preservation of the peace of the
world
Needed for Practical Purposes
For practical industrial and CONNER
cia purposes we shall need knowledge
of the German language more than we
have needed it in the past. We should
remember also that there are many mill
ions of German-speaking people outside
of Germany. and the number of such per-
sons viii probably increase rapidly after
the war, regardless of the way in which
the war may end Some years ago we
were at with Spain and more re-
Gently were almost at war with Mex
leo, whose people speak the Spanish Ian
guage, and the need Of the knowledge of
the Spanish language for commercial and
industrial uses has been greatly enhanced
result.
Couture Value of German
The culture value Of the German lam
guagc and literature and the writings of
Lcssins, Goethe, Schiller and host of
other poets and Of novelists, historians
and cssaysts remains the same as it was
before the war, and it is too great
for us to lose out of life, national
and individual. The value of the scientific
and technical writings of the German
people will no doubt continue to increase
To rob ourselves Of the ability to profit
by them would be very foolish. The kim
ship between the English and the German
languages is the as it was before
the war, and the value of Il knowledge of
the history and phlology of the German
language for an understanding of English
remains the same.
Last of all, cannot as a people afford
to put ourselves in the attitude of regard
ing as evil everything about any people
with whom we may happen to be at war
We cannot afford to assume this attitude
toward the German people simply because
they happen now to be under the control
of autocratic militaristc government
with purposes and aiHas that have brought
us into conflict with it. The fewer hatreds
and antagonisms that get themselves ON.
bodied in institutions and policies the bet
ter 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
land, Mexico, Spain and among ourselves.
Urged to Take Broad View
! 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 United States.
nor can failure to do so in any wav
strengthen our position in the war or
enable us to bring it to a successful end
more quickly.
have reason to believe that the views
and sentiment expressed in this letter are
fully in harmony with those Of the Admin
istration at Washington. Yours sincerely.
p ?. CLAYTON, Commissioner.