Did you ever think that a very large portion of our people, despite their present distinction of home and birthplace, and even nationality, are descended from those common ancestors who a few years ago lived their life in the German forests? There were nourished the institutions of freedom; and if any one were to point to any place in the world to which, above all, we trace our free institutions, we would point, above all, to the forests of Germany.
Americans Saved from Mexican Mob at Tampico by German Cruiser “Dresden.
Americans Saved from Mexican Mob at Tampico by German Cruiser “Dresden.”—The destruction of the little German cruiser “Dresden” by the British in the neutral waters of Chili, in March, 1915, must call up sentimental memories in the hearts of certain Americans. For it was the gallant little “Dresden” under command of Capt. von Koehler, that saved the lives of hundreds of American refugees who were surrounded by a bloodthirsty mob of Mexicans at the Southern Hotel, Tampico, Mexico, April 21, 1914. These fugitives had gathered from all parts of Mexico, expecting to be protected by the American battleships in Tampico Bay. But by some criminal short-sightedness the American ships were ordered to withdraw, and the Americans at the Southern Hotel were exposed to immediate death by a raging mob, when Capt. von Koehler entered upon the scene and threatened to lay Tampico in ashes if the mob did not disperse in fifteen minutes. Hethen sent a squad of his blue jackets ashore and extricated the besieged people from their dangerous position. Two American yachts, hoisting the German and English flags, carried the refugees to a place of safety. Capt. von Koehler’s gallantry was publicly acknowledged by Secretary of State Bryan. A special dispatch to the New York “Times,” dated Galveston, April 27, stated that “the officers of the battleship ‘Connecticut’ said tonight that but for the action of the men of the German cruiser ‘Dresden’ there would have been bloodshed on Tuesday night.” And “the refugees arriving on the ‘Esperanza’ sent this cable dispatch to the German Emperor:
“To your officers and men we owe our lives and pledge our lifetime gratitude. We salute you and the noble men of your Empire.”
Armstadt, Major George.
Armstadt, Major George.—After the sack of Washington, the burning of the White House and the Capitol, in 1812, the British proceeded to attack Baltimore. This action brought into great prominence two Americans of German descent. General Johann Stricker, born in Frederick, Md., in 1759, was in command of the militia, and Major George Armstadt commanded Fort McHenry. He was born in New Market in 1780 of Hessian parents. “If Armstadt had not held Fort McHenry during its terrific bombardment by the British,” writes Rudolf Cronau in “Our Hyphenated Citizens,” a valuable little brochure, “our national hymn, ‘The Star Spangled Banner,’ most probably would never have been written.”
American School Children and Foreign Propaganda.
American School Children and Foreign Propaganda.—The tendency in some directions to picture George III as “a German King,” in order to shift upon the shoulders of a historical manikin the responsibility for the American Revolutionary War, has gone so far as to attempt to blind the unthinking masses to the truth about our war of independence; but it should be remembered that if the responsibility rested wholly with this alleged “German King,” then Washington, Jefferson and Franklin deceived the American people and the Declaration of Independence was a lie. In that event we have lived 140 years of our history under a delusion and a fiction. It is eminently to the interest of English propaganda to create and strengthen this impression, and it is regrettable that no organized opposition has developed to the attempt to inculcate into the minds of our school children the conception that but for this German King we should still be a contented colony of the British crown.
How is this fiction fostered?
Largely through the medium of certain important book publishers, who print school books, though the public is ignorant of the fact that the majority of these publishing houses are financed either by British or American circles closely intermarried or financially related to English houses.