New Ulm review. (New Ulm, Brown County, Minn.) 1892-1961, 1918-01-30
Wbot Is Defeat


appears in Minnesota in the War,
the official organ of the state safet.
commission, an article showing wherein
America and the Allies may lose tn
war in a more lasting manner than t,
lose by mere military defeat. We ar
all expected to fear that if German.
wins we shall suffer greatly and tina
will save us from final subjuga
ton to the German yoke if we do no
win now: "E. M. c." points out tina
we may win the war only to lose tn
victory more completely if we heed no
the trend of national feeling. VIII
this writer is we do not know but he
(or she) has gone deeper into the aspect
of victory and defeat than have thos
of us who are afraid of defeat at arms
1t is sometimes said that defeat is tn
best thing in the world that can happel
to man, setting his feet into new ant
straighter paths. It may be that tn
converse proposition also is true ant
that victory can in reality be defeat j
the state of mind of the nation is wrong
At any rate, one would do well to con
slider this phase as set forth in the word
of E. M. c.. =
eve hear frequently of move
ments and agitations looking to
the elimination of German lit
erature, music and language from
American publications, concerts and
schools. Resolutions of this nature
- have been seriously proposed in
representative and influential bodies,
although not, we hope, by represent
tative and influential men and wo-
men.
During the past three years and a
half the most horrible, the most
disgusting and the most discourage
ing aspect Of German psychology
has been it's capacity for hatred.
In that country the strafing of
enemy nations, especially English
and American, with particular at
tention to the outstanding indi-
viduals and characters Of these
nations, has been universal, dis
playing a type Of mind in the exist
ence of which the more Interior oc-
cidental civilization has found it
impossible to believe.
But there is cause for some ap-
prehension that even in America,
where racial hatred and >unreasoning
prejudice are supposed to have been
most nearly eliminated, we find
prominent institutions of education
and civic committees Of one sort
and another indulging themselves
in at least mild form of reciprocal
strafng. This is most unfortunate,
if not altogether tragic, and it shows
in a very subtle way that Germany
: is coming to the point OF a victory
in something far more essential and
lasting than any conquest in arms
could possibly be.
eff Germany succeeds in extending
her sort of mind and establishing
her kind of method among her
enemies, she will attained have a
an-Germanism which she herself
would hardly have hoped. Whether
the allied forces attain military
victory over the German arms or not,
Germany will be triumphant if she
succeeds in creating the spirit of
hatred and distrust among nations
and leaves all peoples at the end
of the war under the conviction that
nothing less than intense nation
atty, struggle for self-survival, and
: unlimited armament is feasible.
$50 it becomes the duty OF those
who recognize the subtler aspect OF
the struggle in which we are engaged
to prevent wherever possible the
passing of resolutions and the UNI
reasoning discrimination against
things German which will bring dis.
credit to the motives Of a people
that claims to be actuated by such
broad humanitarian instincts as
the people OF America.
'1We must refuse to indulge in even
a modified form OF that bitterness
and hatred which in itself would
mark us as in no degree superior
to those whose sacrilegious violation
Of the holy ground Of justice, Of
truth and Of mercy, we SO intensely
resent
Mrs. T. Collins who has been i'll f
several months had a pleasant surpri
Thursday when group of her frien'
called to remind her of her birthda