The Devils Lake world and inter-ocean. (Devils Lake, N.D.) 1915-1920, 1918-03-27
HOLD
PATRIOTIC MEET

20IlxO0tVV ANSAS
days ago at a meeting made up almost
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 COM
munity in the Northwest.
The two principal speakers at this
meeting were a former professor OF
the University of Heidelberg, Ger
many, and a former soldier in the kai-
ser's army, and those who could un-
derstand only a little had their inning.
The jamestown meeting was staged
in this manner at the suggestion OF
A. R. Rogers, Director Of the Third
Liberty Loan in the Ninth Federal
Reserve District, who was advised in
advance by many Of his friends that to
stage a meeting of Germans and at
tempt to carry a message to the peo-
p]e in the German tongue would ac-
complish little good and probably
would occasion considerable criticism.
It was the opinion of MI 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 and Democracy was
to talk to them through their W peo-
pie, in their own tongue.
MI. Rogers is more than gratlfied
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 bis loyalty to this
Nation. The two principal speakers
were Prof. Alfred H. Koenig, former
ly of Heidelberg university, and now
Professor of German in the University
Of Minnesota, and j. D. Kramer, of La
Moure county, N. D., a former soldier
in the Prussian army. Other speak
ers were DR.. N. D. Shutter Of Mime
apolis, G. S. Woolidge, Of Fargo, and
MI. Rogers. Geo. Lutz, a prominent
German was secretary of the meeting.
"There were 623 in tn armory when
the meeting opened" said MI. Rogers.
ut was announced Immediately that
the speeches would be in the German
tongue and that anybody who did not
care to listen could leave. About 40
elf the hall. They e. principally
Jamestown people who wer not IA
miliar with the scheme Of the meeting.
In checking up those in attendance, I
found that party Of Germans had
driven 90 miles. Another party II
miles, and many parties 30 and 40
miles to attend. In the audience were
many German women who brought
their knitting with them.
"The speakers made it plain to the
German born present, that they all
had left Germany to seek better con-
ditions in this Nation and that almost
without RECEPTION they had waxed pros
porous and found the happiness they
sought. That their children attended
American schools and universities,
and had been given the same unquali-
fled opportunities a every other Am
erican child. That this has thorough
ly 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 without re-
serve.
II don't know exactly what the
speakers told them, as my knowledge
Of the German language is somewhat
limited, but I could catch the general
drift of things end could catch the
whispered comments of the audience
After the meeting I talked to many
of these German farmers and theil
wives outside, and they told me that il
was the first time that the true lesson
Of making the world safe for demo.
cracy and the Liberty of Mankind had
been made clear to them. Several Of
them said that they could not reat
English, nor understand it when spok
en- and that they had been kept in {
somewhat bewildered state Of mind
but that the meeting had made it cleal
to them that their duty to themselves
to their homes and to their children j,
to give their unqualified support t.
the United States Government. Man,
Of them said that they were willing Il
sign up then and there for Libert,
bonds. They explained that they hat
not bought before because they never
had understood-that it all had bee1
bewildering to Them.
II am not going to hesitate in tn,
future to have speakers talk to Ger
mans in their own language. Per
haps these old Germans could hav,
learned to read and speak Englisl
long ago, but tina. cannot be correctet
in q moment. We will teach theil