New Britain herald., 1918-05-25
COMMUNICATED.
LET'S DEAL WITH THE RESENT.
Joseph G. Mann Believes Past History
of Germany Wiped Off Slate.
New Britain, May "a, 1918

New Britain, May "a 1918.
To the Editor Of the Herald:
Before we allow pride to eXtol
| human ancestry we should be sure
that we ourselves are not the victims
of false charity. A really honest
man today is an honest man tomor-
row, because honesty is the enbodi-
ment and expression of Principle,
which changes not; but if a man, by
his changes to the bad, proves only
to have been policy-honest, what is
there about his self-eNposure Of
meanness and weakness that we
should honor?
So with nation! I should no more
think of teaching American children
of German ancestry the German lam
guage in honor of THE German
Fathers" than T should think Of con-
demning, instead of honoring, the
wisdom of the great Master for His
penetrating spiritual insight whereby
He detected the vile consciousness Of
the proud personal pretendcrs of his
time who were also quick to recount
the superiority of Father Abraham to
cloak their own growing, latent muir
derous intent.
The law treats man who murders,
rapes, and tramples under foot all
that civilization holds dear, as an in
tolerable culprit, and not according to
the good reputation of an ancestor.
The Master, though himself a Jew
but more a man of principle four
sauare-said to the unprincipled Jews
of his day:
eye are Of your father, the devil"
From that moment of righteous
Judgment, how much just pride re-
mained for the Pharisee in the Ian
guage of devils? Hebrew, because
devils used it, became, from then on,
a dying language, and it is today a
dead language, except in so far as
Christianity has preserved the letter
Of the inspired word.
Students in the future may still
study and learn German, but posterity
must always despise the language of Il
despised despot; and science. and art,
poetry and music-indeed, all that in
the progress of civilization under
Christianity makes for the happiness,
true peace and prosperity Of universal
mankind-will be written and ex-
pressed in the language of the nations
that loved most, whose steadfa stn ess
in principle inspired the greatest liv-
ing sacrifices for the good of all, and
whose virtue is that kindling spark of
God so practically with US as to de-
feat the devil and all his angels, the
Kaiser and his subservient hordes, in
spite of every insane determination on
their part to force upon the world an
ensla wing, INSCRIPTIONS German "Kul-
tur."
The good-natured GU quietness Of
those whose sym pathy secretly is with
the enemy, with whom they claim or
admit inherited or other justitiable re-
lationship, is painful to me--so pain
full I feel I must cry out the more
loudly to atone for their lack, and to
awaken them to their present duty.
Germans in this country should not
hide, as from the wrath Of Uncle
Sam" A Liberty bond or a donation
to the Red Cross should not be their
pinch of incense, to satisfy official
pressure upon them. They should not
only grudgingly stop singing ''Wacht
Am Rhine" but more gladly should
they now sing "The Star Spang1ed
Banner"
To me, there is only one creature
more despicable than the half hearted |