Jasper County Democrat, Volume 20, Number 63, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 7 November 1917 — BAR THE GERMAN LANGUAGE [ARTICLE]

BAR THE GERMAN LANGUAGE

The Des Moines (Iowa) Capital very sensibly suggests that the United States prohibit the printing of newspapers, books and pamphlets in the German language. The suggestion is worthy of adoption. And in this connection we ■would urge the barring of the German language from our schools. There is absolutely no reason why the children of loyal American parents should be saturated, during the most impressionable period of their lives, with the literature of a nation whose ideas and ideals are so greatly at variance with those of this country as are those of Gerniapy. There can be no doubt that the dissemination of the German language in this country tends to create a certain sympathy for the peo-

ple who speak that language. It is impossible to acquire a working knowledge of any language without developing sympathy for its people. JuSt at this time, sympathy for Germany is a misfit in the breast of any American, True, there are many German-Americans among us. buit the time has come when these must be either flesh or fowl— Americans or Germans. The hyphenated nationality must cease. In plain words, this country has no longer any room' for the person of allegiance. The GermanjAmerican must go, and in his place must be either the American or the German. It may sound harsh to say that our citizens of foreign birth must forswear and forget the land of their birth, but if we are to be a nation, and not a polyglot mixture Of all races, this is precisely what they must do. • ; |

The paper quoted above concludes its article with the assertion that “there is not a loyal German language newspaper in America.’’ The statement may be too strong; but be that as it may, the cultivation of -the language affords, to say the least, a,strong cover for disloyalty. The German-American owes it to himself to become at once and forever an American. When he feels that he cannot do this, he should have the decency to take his person from a country to which he can not give his heart and his w*hole allegiance.