The Belding banner-news., 1921-06-22
OLD RESIDENT
WRITES OF EARLY
DAYS IN MIRIAM
HENRY SCHREINER, IN SECOND
LETTER RECALLS NAMES OF
SETTLEMENT PIONEERS

Henry Schreiner, whose letter to
Walter Reeves, was recently pub
lished in this paper, has sent the fol-
lowing letter to the editors. and it is
with pleasure that we publish it:
Benton Harbor, Mich,
June Is, 1921
Ed. and H. NJ. Engemann,
Belding, Mich.
Gentlemen
| received your paper of the
1st inst. containing the publication of
my reminiscent letter to my old
schoolmate and friend, w. L. Reeves.
This recalls to my mind Miriam pa
rochial school reminiscence.
Your mother, myself and the other
children were the little barefoot
girls and boys future fathers and
mothers of our country in those pio-
neer days that attended the Miriam
parochial school. Miss Lizzie Rade-
maker was our teacher and your
mother may be able to recall the in
cident when FIR. Leitner came in the
school and gave a patriotic talk on
Americanism. How we should al
ways be loyal to our country and our
flag.
Well, / remember what FIR. Leitner
said about our flag which | afterward
went to his house and had him re-
peat it so ! could write it down and
commit it to memory.
"No other flag in the world accom-
plishes so effectually to the longitud-
inal moving effects as the stars and
stripes lend themselves in the breeze
as that of our great American flag.
It's symbolism is beautiful. The red
is for heroism, the blue is for truth
and the white is for purity. The
Declaration of Independence was
nearly year old when congress, on
June 14th, 1777 resolved that the
flag should have 13 stripes of alter
nate red, white and blue and 13 stars
in a field of blue. Betsy Ross, the
skilled needle-woman in Philadelphia,
made three suggestions which were
adopted and she made the flag ac-
cording to the amended design" As
visited Miriam during the world war
/ found all my remaining old school
mates loyal Americans, only one old
woman i found pro-German. She
knew Columbus crossed the ocean, and
that Washington crossed the Dele
ware but she could not see where the
Kaiser double crossed the world She
believed as she was educate in the
progeny of an age when kings were
rulers by divine right and subjects
were fawns to be sacrificed in the
royal game of slaughter.
At that time a great problem con-
fronted every American Of German
nativity, it was a problem difficult Of
solution, problem laden with tears
Our emotion told US one thing at that
awful time but our reason told us
other things. II was natural-was it
not so-as Germans it was a horrible
calamity that we had to fight Ger
many. But as true German Ameri-
cans by preference we could see no
other course open but to be an oppon-
an Of the absolute dynastic power Of
the unspeakable Hohenzollerns.
By the strange irony of fate we
saw the allies giving their blood for
principles which we held dear against
the wrong principles which govern
ed the people we loved.
A very unhappy paradox. Germans
did not want to see the allies triumph
over the land of their birth. but as
true German Americans we wanted
to see the triumph of the ideas the
allies were fighting for.
The first great base for everything
In the democracy scheme of civiliza-
tior is the faith that the government
derives it powers from the consent of
the governed Tie first great founda-
tion stone of the passed Getman gov
erument was that It derive: its pow
ers and all Of iem were OF divine or
gin. What fsllrWe1 from the old
German government theory was that
the people were so many instruments
to fulfill and uphold the will of the
Continued on page a.