Democratic Sentinel, Volume 9, Number 20, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 12 June 1885 — The German Ahead. [ARTICLE]

The German Ahead.

It is a remarkable circumstance that in every part of the commercial world Germans are supplanting the English as merchants and business men. The reason for this superiority is obvious on its face. The German is highly educated ; this makes him intelligent, and then he is patient and thrifty. The number of Germans who cannot read and write is smaller than in any other country, while the university graduates are more numerous, and hence they are supplanting the British trader because of their greater intelligence and economical habits. Americans are out of this fight for commercial supremacy. We have, neither colonies nor trade with other nations. If we had we would probably hold our own with the Germans except in the matter of education and economy. Our people are reckless spenders, even more so than the English, but this now makes no difference as we have no commercial ambition.— Demorest’s Monthly.