The Washington herald., 1918-07-07
why IS GERMANTowN,
Correspondent Asks Reason for Re
tanning That Name.

Editor. The Washington Herald
Why Is Germantown? This sounds
like the old conundrum, "why Is a
hen?" but there Is this difference
The first Is not conundrum and II
has an answer. All over the country
the people are changing the German
names Of towns. streets. buildings.
etc. given many years ago, before
Germany had made itself so univer-
sally hated and despised as 1t Is now.
Moreover, these names were given by
Germans who came to this country.
believing implicitly in Deutschland
uber alles'' and have never believed
anything else.
and to Germanize America has been
for two generations the principal OBJ
ject OF the German-American Alliance
and kindred organizations and we
Americans have sat around like O lot
Of chumps and let them do 1t In the
name OF liberality and good will to-
ward the immigrant. We are now
finding out that 1t Is easy to overdo
this sort of liberality.
The millions of Germans In this
country banding themselves together
headed by a man styled, THE Kaiser
Of the Germans in America!' German
teachers In the public schools! The
German language and German text
books used In many communities TO
the exclusion OF American, and Ger
man children beaten at home by their
square-head parents for daring to try
to talk English" How do you like
these things? And they are true and
a deliberately planned part of what
we now call German propagandaI' 20
Some people saw 1t and warned Of the
danger, while others made light and
prated again Of ''liberality."
Now Is a good time to get rid of Il
all. Now, before the victory comes
and the same ones who prated Of lib
erality will again prate of generosity
toward conquered foe and say, Let
us forgive and forget and take them
again to our bosoms." like we would
the wild beast from which we had by
our own prowess barely escaped with
our life and had him at our mercy.
Would we say to him, "Now that we
have you completely licked. Mr. Devil,
let's forgive and forget" I'VE will
trust you not to do 1t again" Your
word is as good as your bond; come in
and make yourself at home" We
might talk that way to a beast Of the
jungle who has put up a square fight
and got beaten, but for the two-legged
beast whose sworn promise IL "a scrap
OF paper" who smashed through Bel
GUM and. in place of its beauty. left
desolation: who lined up women and
children and killed them for the mere
lust Of killing; who crucified captured
men. spiking them to doors with bay
onets, and did other unbelievable
things that make one see red to read
Of; to him will we offer to forgive and
forget? Blotting him out in this coun-
try and curbing his power for evil in
his own will not be forgetting.
But let us get back to German
town." OF Montgomery County, Mary
land. II the people of the town feel
proud Of II, why not call 1t Prussian-
town. or Kaisertown, or Huntown,
either of which would be as fitting to
our county and State, and sound even
better. Who named it? When was 1t
named? The histories of Montgomery
County do not tell The name was
probably given 1t at first in Jest. like
We used to have "Bloodfield' and
Helrs Bottom" in Washington. There
are plenty of names prominent in the
States history which would be an
honor to the town and the county
instead Of perpetuating this disreputa-
BILE name that make people want to
keep away from II. Let US blot out
Germantown" and substitute a good
Maryland name, We have plenty of
them. Why is Germantown?
L. NJ. MooERS.
Takoma Park. Md.