The Fargo forum and daily republican. [volume] (Fargo, N.D.) 1894-1957, 1918-08-06
MUST GROW AN
AMERICAN SOU"
THE ULTTN AT N
OF JUDGE ANIDON
Serves Notice On All Low
ers Of Fatherland, In
Sentencing Pastor
"BoDY HERE, BUT
SOUL In GERMANY"
-
"I Don't Blame You Alone;
I Blame Myself; I
Blame My Country"
BODY HERE, BUT
SOUL In GERMANY


the disloyalty of which you have
been guilty, but to serve, notice upon
you and the likes Of you who have
been cherishing foreignness that the
end of this regime has come; that
the day has arrived when you and
the likes of you must grow an Amer
lean soul within your body. The
court finds that you are guilty I'M
der each count Of the indictment,
and as punishment therefore it is
decreed that you be imprisoned in
the federal prison at Leavenworth
for three years, the sentences under
three counts to run concurrently ana
not in separate sequence.
So Judge Amidon in federal court
Monday concluded a remarkable
charge in. the sentencing of Rev.
John Fontana, pastor Of the German
Evangelical Lutheran church OF New
Salem. convicted under three counts
of violating the espionage act Of 1877.
Rey. Fontana's council Immediate
w gave notice of appeal and filed an
appeal bond, together with writs Of
error and other technical formalitles.
The court denied motions for an
arrest of judgment and for a new
trial, such motions being based up
on the same alleged errors as spect-
nent. Judge Knauff in support OF
his motions argued that the defend
ant had not been properly indicted
and that the indictment had not
given the defense q chance for a
fair trial. He spoke of the senti-
ment which Floats from tongue to
tongue here in Bismarck" which he
declared made it impossible for any
defendant to receive a. fair trial in
such charge.
Judge Amidon's Charge. a
Having overruled the motions Of
the defense Judge Amidon sum-
moned the defendant. to the bar and
addressed him as follows: ST.,
"sYou stand convicted of having
used seditious language with intent
tn interfere with the military
activities of the United States gov
eminent. What have you to say in
your own behalf"
81 am not guilty" replied Rev.
Fontana. II never had the inten-
ton to say or do anything against
the United States. What I have said
has been misunderstood or misinter-
preted. I had some sympathy for
Germany before we went into the
war Since then I have been for the
United States, first and all the time,
and that means have been for her
allies. have been an American for
20 years. My wife was born here,
and her parents were Americans.
My children are citizens Of the Uni
ted States, and want to raise them
good citizens"
Questions from the court brought
out the fact that Rev. Fontana was
165k years old when he left Ger
many; that he received part Of his
education in. Germany and completed
it at a Lutheran theological semin-
airy at Austin, Mimi, where he grad
uated in 1898, since which time he
had preached in Ohio, South Dakota
and Minnesota. Nine years ago he
came to New Salem In all Of his
charges, Fontana stated, he used the
German language service. Whether
services be conducted in German or
English, he stated, was optional with
the congregation, and his churches
had preferred to hear their services
in German. At the request of the
court, the defendant repeated q por-
ton OF the oath of allegiance to
which he subscribed when he be-
came an American citizen at Web
ster, S. D., in 1893.
The Courts Address.
Zone clause of this oath may have
slipped your memory" said the
court, beginning his charge to the
defendant. ct is found at the be-
ginning and the end of the oath, OF
allegiance. You renounced and
abjured allegiance to Germany and
the emperor of Germany and prom
Used you would bear true faith to
the United States. That meant that
YOU would grow a new soul as soon
SOD -sE
German soul Have you done that?
/ don't think you have. You have
cherished everything German and
stifled everything American. You
have PRAYED and preached and sung
in German. Your body has been in
America, but your life has been i'll
Germany If you were set down in
Prussia today you would be in COM
plete harmony with your environ
ment.
American FOreignness.
'You have Influenced. others un-
der your ministry to do the Same
thing. A good many Germans have
been before me during the last
month They have lived in this
country like yourself, 10 20, 80, 40
wears They. had to give their
evidence through an interpreter, and
as you looked at them here was
written all over every one Of them:
Made In Germany That mark
stands there today as bright and as
fresh as the inscription on a new
coin.
Who Is To Blame?
'T do not blame you" continued
the court. II blame myself / blame
my country. We urged you to come;
we welcomed you; we gave you OPP
portunity: we gave you land; we
conferred on you the diadem of
American citizenship, and then we
went away and left you.
I'VE have paid almost no atten-
ton to what you were doing, and
now the world war has thrown a
powerful searchlight upon as and we
md all over the United States Little
Ceramics, Little Austrias, Little
Italys, Little Norways and Little
Russias.
circle around themselves and In
stead Of keeping their oath to grow
American soil they have cherished
and perpetuated everything foreign.
1.-THE figure Of my country stands
beside you today, and it says to me,
don't blame this man alone-I am
partly to blame. Punish him for
his 0IIenSe5 OUT let MIN Know Lh6E9
is a new era coming in; punish him
to teach him and the like OF him and
all who have been misled by him
and his like that a change has come
and that there must be an interpre
tatton anew OF the oath of allegi-
amee. 1t has been nothing in the
past but a formula Of words-it
must i'm the future be made living
characters. Incorporated In the heart
of every foreigner who comes to AS