Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1919-09-17
No Germandom in America.
Detroit JournaD /.

Patriotic Americans of German descent
have proved their patriotism with eternal
proofs They have not spared money, they
have not spared blood, they have not shrunk
from the gift of their own lives to preserve
the world from HohenZollern aggression and
to defend this country from Hohenzollern con-
spiracies. Paid plotters, venai propagandists
bomb. throwers, food prisoners, serving the or
ganized infamies of the junker cabal made
German names odious to many who bore
them, and caused these to rush into the
courts for other names. But by now there are
German names on every gold star roll Of hon
or in the national memorials and German
names on thousands Of crosses in the war
zone to show that they died to deliver hui
nanity.
Therefore, Americans of every descent and
particularly OF German descent, should rise
up in emphatic protest against any attempt
on the part of German language newspapers
to revive an American "Deutschtum" or Ger
mandom'' in our united America This word,
associated in the past with championship of
the Bohenzollern gang associated with false
appeals to the claims OF blood over the claims
of universal humanity, is again appearing in
the German press, and again is mouthed by
orators who are not using English. And it is
used. not in the name of any general human
ity. but as part Of the same old appeal in the
name of German blood" and the Father
land" and the "alte heimat"
It is not meeting with any response. The
reports in these German newspapers indicate
that though the great campaign now is for
man people, the contributions are few and
small The reason for the small contribu-
lions is doubtless that the appeal is not made
in 1.-The name of America, but in the name of
an American "Germandom" or ."Deutschtum'
which does not exist The very ssmaiiness of
the contribution, the very meagernesss of the
reports. shows despite sounding grandilo-
Quence the part of the promoters. that
there is just about as much HDeutsehtanE's
among Americans of German descent there
is kaiserism in present day Berlin
The American of German descent knows.
well where his blood ties are. 1t is not in
the refugee, blood of the Hohenzollerns. 1t
is in the shed blood of his own kinsmen in
America, blood that flowed in every war from
1876 to 1917, blood of Americans of German
descent flowing together with the blood. of
Americans of other nationalities. The blood
of our slain soldiers is the real sanguinary
tie Of our people and any propaganda or pro-
moter of dissension will find that this blood
is thicker than his ink.
"Deutschtum in our city will be reused from
its lethargy cries German language news
paper in great metropolis. Deutschtum viii
not be reused in any American city, for this
is not lethargy, it is death. Deutschtum is
dead in America. 1t existed, as a sweet mem
DRY of the old folks. associated with their
fairy tales to the children, and their Christ
mas cookery and their singing and their
church going. associated with their rosy and
golden picture of their own German childhood.
Rut Deutschtum was made hateful and in
famous by the lustful savageries of Belgian;
it was blackened by the Lusitania; it de-
stroyed in the torrential upsurge OF universe
AnTericansm when all Americans rushed to-
gether against the kaiser and for their real
fatherland. the United States.
Deutschtum is dead. dead as skaiserisun,
dead as the honor Of Won Bernstorff. 1t is
impossible to resuscitate the unhalowed
corpse, it is impossible to divide and to es-
TRANCE the American people after their long
fellowship OF suffering And still a strong
protest must be made against any promoters
of arrangement against any agents who seek
to divide Americans from "German-Arner
ism" or semi-foreignism of any sort And the
protest should be made chiefly in behalf and
chiefly by the voices of loyal Americans of
German descent.