New-York tribune., 1918-03-27
Creel, Claxton and
Deutschthun1
-HE following communication from JUS
4 tice Walter l. Mccoy, of the Supreme

-H HE following communication from JUS
tice Walter I. Mccoy, of the Supreme
Il Court Of the District of Columbia, to
P P Claxton, the Federal Commissioner of
Education, was published on March 25 in
"The Washington POST:
ii have before me copy of your letter
to Dr.. Robert L. Slagle, published in the
Official Bulletin of the 10th instant, in
gard to the teaching Of the German Ian
guagc in the public schools and colleges.
81 can imagine with what glee the Ger
man propagandists in this country will read
your communication and how thoroughly 1t
will be distributed by them throughout the
country. I hope that copy of it has
reached some Of the officers of the German
American Alliance and that it will be used
by some Of the members of that patriotic
organization as evidence before the Senate
committee which is now considering the bill
having for it's purpose repeal of it's char
ter.
"Of course, the letter will reach Germany,
and undoubtedly will be distributed after
the publicity agents in Germany have cut
out the statement to the effect that we are
not at with the German people, and will
tell the German people, including the SOL
diers, that the Commissioner of Public Ed
ucation Of the United States himself feels
that Germany is necessary to the world;
that the Germans are very kindly people;
that the heart of America is not in the war,
and that but for the President the United
States would not stay in.
"This may mean the death of few more
Americans in the trenches, but that won't
make any difference because the German
language will be preserved for the use of
Americans. What is the death of few more
Americans compared with the desrablity
of being able to read Lessng, Goethe and
Schiller? Notwithstanding that compara-
lively few valuable inventions, scientific or
otherwise, ever came out of Germany, we
must kill few more Americans so that
the technical writings of the German peo-
pie will continue TO increase
"The value of the knowledge of the his
tory of Germany, Of course, must be recog
nized, and naturally we shall go to German
sources for the history of the world, cspe-
cially since August 1914. AS for the phi
lology of the German language, that, like
everything else German, is necessary for an
understanding of the English language and
for the Interpretation of nglish-speaking
people to themselves. The Gcrman-American
Alliance will see to that.
"Couldn't you and George Creel organ
lze comm isslon, of which you and he
would, of course, be members, to go to
Germany and tell The Germans what nice
people we think they are? Or maybe if
you couldn't find commission willing to
take that risk you might send one to France
and Belgium to tell our soldiers that they
fighting so that the United States may
be made safe to read Lcssng, Goethe and
Schiller.
81 wonder whether you have any sons at
ha fro, ,1,hoT T1,n, of 60, No
relatives are in France, Belgium, any
other place liable to be raidcd by the kindly
German soldiers.
"Have you, since we went to war with
Germany, expressed regrets because Of that
fact, and have you expressed sentiments
unfricndly to Great Britain? How much
of your life have you spent in Germany 2"