Grand Forks herald. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1916-1955, 1919-09-10

st. Paul, Sept. 9.-President Wilson
dwelt at length tonight on the mixed
origin of the American people.
1T is based upon long experience
that in every part of the world l can
recognize an American the minute I
see him." hc.said. And yet that is
not because we are all of one stock.
We have more people Of various origin
than n people in the world. We come
from all the great Caucasian races.
We are made up u of all the nations
of people who have stood from time
to time in the center of civilization.
I'm this part of the country it is
doubtful whether in some'of our great
cities SO per cent of the people came
from parents born in America.
1.-The memory of America does not
go very a. back as measured by dis
lance of history. A great many mil
lions of our people carry in their
hearts the traditions of other people,
the traditions of races never bred in
America. and yet we are all unmistak-
ably and even in appearance American
one possible explanation for that, my
fellow citizens, n that is that, there
is in the practice and in the tradition
of this country a set Of principles
which, however imperfectly, get into
the conscience of every man who lives
in this country.
Not Troubled With Shackles Of Past.
"One of the chief elements that
makes an American is that in almost
every other country there. Is some
class hat dominates Or some govern
mental authority that determines the
course of policy, or some ancient. sys-
tenn of lane laws that limits the free
dom of Ian tenure, or some ancient
custom which puts a nan into a par
ticular groove in the land in which he
lives, and there is. none Of that In
America. We do not have to square
ourselves with standards that have
been followed ever since our great
fr~andfathers. We are very much more
interested in becoming great-grand-
fathers than in having had great
grandfathers, because our view is to
the future.
Germany Feared Discussion.
1T was universally agreed on she
other side of the water that if Ger
many had allowed the other govern
ments to confer with her "a hours be-
o war was declared 1t would not
have taken place, but they didn't dare
discuss it. You cam afford to discuss
w are the pre-destined mediators
of mankind (%intense applause).
Really. then, when I hear gentle
men saying we must keep out of this
thing and take care of ourselves, I
ask. where did we come. from? Is there
nobody else in the world that we are
for?
Opponents Do Harm.
rs that what America is with her
mixture Of blood? Why, my fellow cit
liens, that is a fundamental miscon-
ception Of what it is to be an Ameri-
can. These gentlemen are doing a
harm which they do not realize. 1 want
to testify to you here tonight, my fell
low countrymen, because / have the
means of information, that since it has
seemed to be uncertain where we are
going to play this part of leadership
In the world, the old intrigues have
started up in the country again.
That hyphen which looked to us
like a snake, the hyphen between Ger
man n American. has reared it's
head again. You hear the hiss of its
purpose, and what is that purpose?
1T is to keep America out OF the
concert of nations in order that Amer
lea and Germany, being out of that
taken dream unite to dominate the
world, or at any rate the one to assist
the other in holding the nations Of
the world off while its ambitions are
realized.
Know1edge-Not Conjecture.
There is no conjecture about this,
my fellow citizens. We know the for
mer purposes of German intrigue in
this country, and they are being re-
vtved. Why? We haven't reduced
very materially the number OF the
German per cent. Germany remains
= great power Of Central Europe.
She has more than sixty million people
now. She had nearly seventy millions
before Poland and other provinces
were taken away. She has now more
than sixty million people. You can
not change. the temper and expecta-
tons OF q people by five years Of war,
particularly Of five years OF war n
which they are no vet conscious Of
the wrong they did, or the wrong way
In which they did It, and they are
expecting the time OF the revival 81
their power. and along with the revival
OF their power goes their extraordIn-
AIRY capacity, their unparalleled Cd
ucation, their great capacity ia com-
merce. finance and manufacture.
Some Gekznans Who Wauted No War
The German bankers and the Ger.
man merchants and the German man
d~factureft did not want this wal. They
were making conquest Of the world
without II. They knew 9that Il would
Il Dootl theft plaza NOT aAVnaAA ftnNn