7 as 7/^ 7. ^ LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 00143122141 MONUMENT AT GERMANTOWN F 159 .G3 U5 Copy 2 HEARING BEFORE THE COMMITTEE ON THE LIBRARY OF THE II. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES H. K. 9137 SAMUEL W. McCALL, Massachusetts, Chairman E. L. HAMILTON, Michigan CHARLES H. BURKE, SOUTH Dakota WILLIAM M. HOWARD, GEORGIA CHARLES R. THOMAS, North Carolina MALCOLM E. RIDEOUT, Jr., Clerk 61sT Congress, 2d Session WASHINGTON GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 1910 tof-yi. r MAY hi lyiu D.9F a. MONUMENT AT GEEMANTOWN. Committee on the Library, Tuesday, May 10, 1910. The committee met at 10.30 o'clock a. m., Hon. Samuel W. McCall ■! (chairman) presiding. STATEMENT OF HON. J. HAMPTON MOORE, A REPRESENTATIVE , FROM THE STATE OF PENNSYLVANIA. I The Chairman. What is the number of your bill, Mr. Moore ? Mr. Moore. H. R. 9137. The Chairman. That bill provides for an appropriation of $30,000 as a part contribution toward the erection of a monument at German- town, Pa., in commemoration of the founding of the first permanent German settlement in America. We will be glad to hear you, Mr. Moore. Mr. Moore. The provisions of this bill are very plain and simple. It proposes that the Government shall contribute $30,000 on condi- tion that $30,000 shall be raised outside, and that the work shall proceed under the direction of the Secretary of War, the governor of the State of Pennsylvania, and the president of the National German- American Alliance, and that after the construction of the monument there shall be no expense to the Government of the United States, but that the care and keeping of the said monument shall be and remain with the city of Philadelphia. Mr. Chairman, realizing the pressure upon all Members of Congress at this time, and particularly those of the Library Committee, who are mostly chairmen of committees, I appreciate the very great cour- tesy that you show us this morning in calling this meeting. The gentlemen who will be presented to you come from a distance. They are representatives of that great body of American citizens who are descendants from the first German settlers and who have contributed as much to the welfare of tliis country as those who came from any of the older countries. The great value and public service of the German immigrant can not be underestimated. To-day I think we shall be able to show you that there were in the original settlement of Germans in this country those of whom the descendants of that particular band and all other native Americans may well be proud. Their contributions to the substantial welfare of the country, their adherence to the law, their devotion to the domestic tie, their contri- j butions to industry, to literature, and to science and the arts, all seem to justify the establishment of some memorial in honor of the forefathers of the German race in America. I had hoped the president of the Pennsylvania Historical Society, the former governor of Pennsylvania, who is a distinguished scholar , 4 MONUMENT AT GERMANTOWN. mig:ht be present, and had arrano;ed that lie should be here, but ini fortunately lie has Ijeen detained and Ave are luiable to ))resent him. But at his instanee I sliall, Avith your ])ermission, read a letter which he has very hurriedly indited for this occasion. It comes from Pen- nyi)acker's Mills, Sciiwenksville, Pa., and is dated May 7, 1910. My De.\r Moore: I murh re2Tf the State of Indiana; K. O. Martin, of of the Stale of l(l;iiio; (iustav Ilalbach, of the State of Ohio; 11. J. Nienstedt, of the MONUMEKT AT GERMANTOWN, 5 State of Minnesota, officers and members of the National German-American Alliance of the United States of America, and their successors, be, and they are hereby, incor- porated and made a body politic and corporate of the District of Columbia under the name of "The National German-American Alliance of the United States of America." And by that name they and their successors may have and use a common seal, and may alter and change the same at pleasure, and may make by-laws and elect officers and agents, and may take, receive, hold, and convey real and personal estate necessary for the purposes of the society. Sec. 2. That this corporation shall be perpetual and have all the privileges accorded by existing laws or that may hereafter be enacted by the Congress of the United States, Sec. 3. That this corporation, composed of the individuals aforesaid and their asso- ciates, under the name and style aforesaid, is formed for the purposes as follows: The conservation of the principles of representative government and the protection and maintenance of all civil and political rights; the protection of German immigrants against imposition and deception and to assist in their naturalization; the study of American institutions and the publication of American history; the cultivation of the German language, literature, and drama, and the perpetuation of the memory and deeds of those early Cierman pioneers whose influence has been of incalculable benefit to the intellectual and economic development of this country and whose loyalty in times of stress and strife is a matter of history. Sec. 4. That said corporation shall have a constitution and shall have power to amend the same at pleasure: Provided, That such constitution or amendments thereof do not conflict with the laws of the United States, or of any State. Sec. 5. That said corporation shall have the right to hold its meetings at any place within the United States as may be best suited or most advantageous to the carrying out of the purposes for which this corporation is formed . Sec. 6. That said corporation shall not engage in any business for gain, the purposes of said corporation being educational and patriotic. Sec. 7. That Congress may at any time amend, alter, or repeal this act. Approved February 25, 1907. The Chairman. That is admitted. Doctor Hexamer. I shoidd also hke to file a resume of its principles, scope, and activities as a patriotic organization. The Chairman. That is admitted. The National German-American Alliance — Resume of its Principles, Scope, AND Activity. [Incorporated by act of Congress.] The National German-American Alliance is a thoroughly American institution, being composed, as it is, of citizens of the United States of America, natives of German extraction and of Germans whohave acquired the right of citizenship. The alliance calls on all Germans in this country to acquire the right of citizenship, as soon as they are legally entitled to it, to take an active part in public life, and to exercise their right at the polls fearlessly and according to their own judgment. (Principles and platform, par. 6.) In looking over the principles of the alliance, we can not help quoting another passage, which reads: "Always true to the adopted country, ever ready to risk all for its welfare, sincere and unselfish in the exercise of the duties of citizenship, respecting the law — still remains the watchword." And now let us proceed, having satisfied ourselves that the alliance "has no exclu- sive interests in view, nor the founding of a state within a state," to investigate briefly its scope and activity. Again, we can do no better than to quote from its principles the following initial passage: "The National German-American Alliance aims to awaken and strengthen the sense (consciousness) of unity among the people of German origin in America with a view to promote the useful and healthy development of the power inherent in them as a united body for the mutual energetic protection of such legitimate desires and interests not inconsistent with the common good of the country and the right and duties of good citizens." Now for a few historical data: The alliance was founded in Philadelphia, Pa., on June 19, 1900; constituted on October 6, 1901, and incorporated by act of Congress, February 25, 1907. It now numbers over 2,000,000 members and has branches in every State of the Union. The alliance, as such, refrains from all interference in party politics, and excludes, strictly, questions and matters of religion, being, therefore, nonpolitical and nonsectarian. 6 MONUMENT AT GERMANTOWN. ACHIEVEMENTS OF THE ALLIANCE SINCE ITS FOUNDING. Let US now cast a retrospective impress on the American people. German Americans have always shown gooil common sense, and a just appreciation of the personal rights of others. While Ptiritan New Englaiuk'rs maltreated unfortunate Quakers who fell into their hands, and "killed witches," the first successful German colony, at CJermantown (now the twenty-second ward of Phila- (lel|)jiia), in IGSS drew up a remonstrance against slavery — the first of all such protests. MONUMENT AT GERMANTOWN. 9 Bear with me a moment, while I will attempt to sketch what our nation owes to the German pioneers, their followers, and their descendants, whose memory is justly to be honored by the monu- ment, to which you are requested to contribute through an act of Congress. In 1690, Wilhelm Rittenhouse erected the first paper mill in America, on a branch of the Wissahickon, and the German section of Pennsylvania became a great publishing center. Prior to the Revolution there were more printing presses operated by Germans in Pennsylvania, and more books published by them than in the whole of New England. It was the German Pastorius who wrote the first schoolbook, it was the German Christopher Saur who printed the first Bible in any European language in America, and the German cloister Ephrata had its own printing press, paper mill, and bookbindery as early as 1745, and was able to publish, in 1749, a German translation of the "Martyrer Spiegel," a folio volume of 1,500 pages — the greatest literary undertaking of the American colonies. And no less a person than Benjamin Franklin found it necessary to cater to German trade by printing German books. Down to the Revolutionary war there were issued in Pennsylvania eight new^spapers in English, while there were ten published in German. The Bible was printed in German, in America, three times and the Testament seven times before they were printed in English. As a defender of the soil the German has always been strong, and when, in 1756, the colonies were harassed by Indians, the Royal American Regiment, raised by order of Parliament, consisted mostly of Germans, including the officers; and a German, Conrad Weiser, acted as interpreter at tlie council with the Indians at Easton. Again, when the valley of the Mohawk was overrun by Indians, threatening New York, the German Nicolaus Ilerchheimer and his brave German followers led in the defense. It was the German Moravian missionary Fred. Post, whose eloquent addresses to the Indian warriors, near Fort Du Quesne, won them over to our side at a moment most critical in our colonial history. When the great revolutionar}^ storm arose and it became necessary to fight for liberty, the German colonists were not lacking in their devotion to the cause of freedom. One not of German birth has recently pointed out that as early as 1772 the German residents of Philadelphia, who were influential in business and civic affairs, organized an association called ''The Patriotic Society of the City and County of Philadelphia." The object of the society was to encourage; resistance to British authority in the colonies. In 1774, when the British ministry threatened to close the Boston port on account of the tea episode, the Germans of Philadelphia called a meeting to con- sider the situation, when they appointed a ''correspondence com- mittee," the duty of which was to correspond with their German kinsmen of the other colonies urging them to get readv for the conflict which, to their minds, was inevitable. The provincial assembly which met in the same year was largely represented by Pennsylvania Germans, among whom may be mentioned Christopher Ludwig and George Ilubley, of Philadelphia; Matthias Schlouch, of Lancaster; Christian Schultz, from Berks; Peter Kaechlein and Jacob Arndt, of Northampton, and Casper Weitzell, from Northumberland. In the convention held in January of the next year the Germans were still 10 MONUMENT AT GERMANTOWN. more largely represented, and upon each occasion were unanimous in their determination to resist further British aggression, urging at the same time se})aration from the "mother country," which was no mother country of theirs, and tliey were not bound to the English colonists by any ties of blood or kinsliip, which would make them hesitate to take a stand against their English rulers. Later on, the correspondence committee issued a pamphlet in which was set forth that tne "Germans of Pennsylvania had learned with satisfaction that the people, without regard to race, creed, or former nationality, whether rich or poor, had j;iven their unqualified a]u:)roval to the act of Congress, and that the Germans especially everywhere were taking measures to have the militia put in shape and were forming new military organizations, so that they should be ready to march wher- ever they should be needed, in the event of war; urging upon those Germans that could not enlist, for any reason, to contribute to the patriotic cause according to their ability." All these matters transpired before open hostilities, and after the war was entered upon they were the first to take up arms and among the last to lay them dowTi. The roll of Revolutionary soldiers bristles with the names of Pennsylvania German soldiers, many of whom rose to great distinction. Bancroft, in his History of the Revolution, says of them: "The Germans of Pemisylvania were on the side of free- dom." Early in 1775 the Germans organized armed bodies in support of Congress. The boards of the German Societ}' of Pennsylvania and of the Lutheran and Reformed churches issued manifestos, advocating armed resistance; and German associations began drilling. Michael Hillegas, of German parentage, became the first treasurer of the United Colonies, and later of the United States (grateful Pennsyl- vanians honored his memory by a statue at the State Capitol) ; and such men as George Schlosser, Jacob Sclu'einer, Jacob Arndt, and Casper Weitzell were leading members in Revolutionary organiza- tions. While Christopher Ludwig, whom Washington called ''my honest friend," became superintendent of bakeries of the conthiental armies. At Charleston, S. C, Michael Kalteisen raised a company of German fusiliers; and on May 25, 1776, Congress formally accepted a German regiment recruited in Pennsylvania and Maryland. At Woodstock, Va., the astonished world beheld the patriotic spectacle of a young German minister, the Rev. Peter G. Muehlenberg, exchang- ing his pulpit for the colonelcy of a German regiment — the man who, in reward for his bravery, was soon to become a brigadier, and later a 'major-general of the American Army (his statue graces the ''Hall of Fame" in the National Capitol). In recounting American deeds of valor let us not forget the glorious fight of the Germans, under Col. Nicolaus Herchheimer (usuahy spelled Herkimer in our histories) against the British and Tories at Oriskany, N. Y. The First New York Battalioii, like its colonel. Lasher, consisted largely of Germans, and Barrsity. for even the name university is used l)y us in the German, not tlie English sense. The German-American teachers have a noble lineage, beginning with that learned schoolmaster, Pastorious, the settler of 1683, who, besides English, wrote in German, Spanish, French, Italian, Greek, and Latin; and the patient pe(higogue, Christopher Dock, whose "Schul Ordnung," written in 1750 and published in 1770, was the first treatise on pedagogy which ai)peared in America. The Germans devised Sunchw schools, and Saur printetl Sunday-school tickets thirty-six years i)efore the system was inaugurated in England ])y Robert Kaikes, who usually receives the credit of being tlie originator. To the German universities and technical high schools we owe an immense debt of gratitude, and such men as Dr. Andrew D. White, late ambassador to Germany, and the late LTnited States Commis- sioner of Education, Dr. William T. Harris, have pointeil out that intellectually Germany has been to us a "motherland." Many are not aware how powerful have- been also the ancient cus- toms and <-hai'actei-istics the (lerinan has 1)r()ught with him on our everyday life and the cultui'al development ol" our people, lie has MONUMEXT AT GEEMANTOWN. 13 introduced his systems of pli^^sieal culture, his music and song. To him we owe our two most beautiful festivals, that of Easter and Christmas, and to him we will owe — for he is the most democratic of all peoples in his tastes and enjoyments — a better appreciation of the fact which Herbert Spencer has so tersely expressed by "Every man is free to do that which he wills, provided he infringes not the equal freedom of any other man." And he teaches that domesticity which crystallizes in the belief that a man has no right to seek enjoyment in places where he can not take his wife and children with him. His happy family life has enabled him to accomplish with small pecuniary means what he has in the up- building of .our land. He has been fruitful and multiplied, and needs no lectures on race suicide. Honor to whom honor is due. Honor the memory of those to whom we owe so much as a nation by passing this bill. Mr. Chairman and gentlemen, I thank you for your courtesy. Mr. Thomas. That is a very interesting paper. Was Count Zm- zendorf a German-Moravian ? Doctor Hexamer. Yes, sir. He visited Pennsylvania in 1741. Mr. Thomas. And he made a settlement Doctor Hexamer. At Bethlehem; yes, sir. That is, his son-in-law, David Nitschmann, in 1738 made the settlement, and Zinzendorf on his arrival in 1741 named it Bethlehem. Air. Thomas. And near Winston Salem? Doctor Hexamer. Yes, sir; in North Carolina the settlements of Bethabaca, Bethany, and Salem were made by German-Moravians about the year 1751. Mr. Moore. Doctor, do you know of any national memorial com- memorating the German settlement in America ? Doctor Hexamer. No, sir. In looking over the best general work on German-American history, for which a prize of $3,000 was awarded, The German Element in the United States (m two volumes), by A. B. Faust, I was astonished to find it had never been done. The Chairman. Can there be any question at all that this is the first place where the Germans settled ? Doctor Hexamer. None whatever, sir. There were of course Ger- mans in the country before that time. John Lederer, who explored the countr}^ from Maryland away down to the swamps of the Santee River, was a German, and the governor of the New Netherlands and later of New Sweden, Peter Minuit (Minuewit), was a German from Wesel. Then there were a number of Germans in the unfortunate settlement that was destroyed at Port Royal in South Carolina. But the first real permanent settlement exclusively German was that founded by Pastorius, and that settlement exists to the present day. The Chairman. How large a colony was the original settlement ? Doctor Hexamer. Thirteen families; that is, the first original set- tlers who arrived on the ship Concord on the 6th of October, 1683 (old style). The Chairman. How long after that was it before the place was named Germantown ? Doctor Hexamer. It was named Germantown at once. Mr. Moore. Will jow. briefly describe the manner in which they lived '\ 14 MONUMENT AT GERMANTOWX. Doctor Hexamer. The first winter after their coming tliey were exceedingly poor; they dug caves and erected small huts; but they were skilled mechanics, and by industry and thrift soon became well- to-do. They were mostly weavers of linen and hosiery, and for that reason the coat of arms of Gennantown contains "Vinum, linum et textrinum" — ''Wine, linen, and the loom" — translated into Gennan, "Der Wein, der Lein und der Webeschrein." It is due to them and their descendants that Philadelpliia has become a great textile-man- ufacturing center. In reply to a former question in regard to Ger- man settlements in Xortli Carolina I may add that there was a Gernuin settlement in Xorth Carolina as early as 1710, one of the results of the exodus from the Palatinate in 1709, others settling in New York and in Pennsylvania. Mr. Thomas. The Germans from the Palatinate, with the Swiss, came over with Baron de GrafFenried and made a settlement at my city of Xewbern, X. C, in 1710. Doctor Hexamer. Yes, sir. Mr. Thomas. Do you i-emember the date of the German-Moravian settlement at Winston-Salem, X. C, under Count Zinzendorf ? Doctor Hexamer. I really do not remember the correct date. It was about 1751 the Moravians settled there. Perhaps Doctor Learned can give the exact date. Mr. Thomas. Was it not about the same time as the settlement at Germantown, Pa. ? Doctor Learned. X'o ; the Moravians came later; the first ones came and settled in Georgia. Mr. Thomas. Did not those Xorth Carolina German Moravians come down from Pennsylvania ? Doctor Learned. Well, to Winston-Salem, the}' did. But the wliole Moravian branch came from Georgia, you know. Mr. Thomas. Came from where ? Doctor Learned. Georgia; that is, the advance guard of them. Mr. Thomas. Did not those X^orth Carolina Moravians come down from Pennsylvania ? Doctor Learned. Part of them. Mr. Moore. Count Zinzondorf established a settlement at X'aza- reth. Pa. There is still an old institution there the traditions of wliich (hite back to liim. Doctor HEXA^rER. The Germans introduced many more things than those I have mentioned to the committee: there is scarcely a skilled trade or technical profession that they did not first introduce in our covmtry. The first kitchen garden was planted by the Ger- mans and the first botanical garden was introduced by tliem. And this holds good of their descendants, for Leidy in science, Gross in surgery. Pepper in medicine. Cramp in shipbuilding, Ilerreshoff, Lick, and Yerkes are names to be proud of, and as a merchant no American has ever surpassed John AVanamaker. Mr. Moore. Doctor, the appearance of yourself and these other gentlemen to-day is fairly representative of the sentiment of the Germans of the United States in regard to tlus bill, is it not? Doctor Hexamer. They are unanimous on that. Ml-. Moore. They have been informed as to the bill and that it was to be considered bv this committee ? MONUMENT AT GERMANTOWN. 15 Doctor Hexamer. They have passed resohitions everywhere requesting the passage of this l)ill. The Chairman. Do you think they agree that this is the proper place at which to commemorate the first German settlement? Doctor Hexamer. Yes, sir. The German da}' is celebrated tliroughout the United States; it has almost become a national holi- day. In every hamlet and town throughout the United States the 6th of October is celebrated each year as the pioneer daj'. The Chairman. If any gentleman desires to extend or amplify his remarks before they are printed, he will have that opportunity. I would be glad to have in the record a pretty good account of this first settlement. Mr. Moore. I was going to ask Doctor Learned to follow along on that line of thought. I have here a volume entitled "Life of Francis Daniel Pastorius," a text-book upon German-American literature, of which Doctor Learned, professor of German at the University of Pennsylvania at the time it was written, was author. Doctor Learned is now the head of the department of German-American research in the University of Pennsylvania. Lie has devoted much time to a stud}^ of the first German settlement; and inasmuch as he may speak of Pastorius, the founder of the German settlement, I shall read from his book a very few lines which appear in a ''foreword" from former Governor Pennypacker. These are illustrative of the character of the man who founded the settlement at Germantown: The sou of a judge and litterateur, he had been trained in the universities of Europe, and his powers had been broadened by travel and public discussion. It may well be doubted whether any other of the colonizers of America equaled him in intellectual cultivation and attainments. A linguist, he used with accuracy and fluency the Ger- man, English, Dutch, Italian, Spanish, Latin, and Greek lanouages. His Latin epigrams, poetry, and jeux d'esprit show a complete familiarity with that tongue and much literary facility. He may be regarded as the typical man of letters of his period in America, and his original productions are numerous. There is much more, of course, to be said about this remarkable man, but in view of the very brief time we have this morning I ask you now to listen to Doctor Learned. STATEMENT OF MARION DEXTER LEARNED, PH. D., L. H. D., OF THE UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA, PHILADELPHIA. Doctor Learned. It is as a Yankee-German whose paternal ances- tors were English, settled at Charlestown, Mass., in 1624, and later went to the foot of Mount Monadnock, in New Hampshire, and whose maternal forebears were Welsh, settled first in Pennsylvania, and later moved to Maryland, that I appear as a member of the German- American Alliance to speak in behalf of the bill to erect a monument to the Germans in Germantown. The Chairman. Wliat was the name of tliis Yankee-German ancestor ? Doctor Learned. The name of this ancestor was ''Learned." M)'" studies in the history of the Germans in America early attracted my attention to Francis Daniel Pastorius, the founder of German- town, and to the importance of this first permanent settlement in North America. Some twenty years ago I began to study the life and work of this man, and found in him a most remarkable repre- sentative of the scholarship of his time, a German jurist who liad 16 MONUMENT AT GERMANTOWN, studied at the best German universities, taken his depee in both kinds of hiw at the ohl University of Altdorf, which had the fir-t professor of the jus pubhcum, or as we now say, "pubHc law." Pa>- torius came to this country as an ideaUst to escape the levities and frivolities of the Old World. He came under strong reli<^ious con- viction, the same kind of conviction that moved the Puritans and l Quakers to seek refuge in the Xew Work!. The Germans who came] with this scholar, jurist, and schoolmaster of Germantown were the forerunners of the great German immigration to America, the most significant continental element which came to American shores. The little group of Crefeld weavers who set up their looms in Ger- mantown in 1683, and thus established the first of those textile indus- tries which made Philadelphia a great manufacturing city, were a part of tiiat great Flemish industrial movement which had stimulated the textile industries of England centuries before and was now to begin a new ejioch in the great industrial development of America. The little colony of Germantown became the gateway through which the Germans began to find their way to the interior of Penn- sylvania and other colonies. In the wake of the Crefelders came the thousands of Swiss and Palatine farmers. At the time when the Puritans of New England were wresting a scanty living from their stone-set farms, obliged to clear away the rocks and make walls of them before they could plow the soil, and wliile the Cavalier planters of Virginia confessed that they were imable to raise more than three crops of tobacco in succession on their tide-water lands, because of their inability to fertilize these lands, and were obliged, accordingly, to send their overseers and slaves to take up new lands to the west. The Palatine farmers, on the other hand, following the Crefelders, in 1709 and thereafter, brought a new method of tilling and fertilizing the soil, handed down to them from the Romans in the agri decimiates. These German farmers understood the art of selecting as well as tilling and fertilizing the soil, and of making it yield its gifts season after season under the touch of their industry, and transformed the woodland and the prairie into a blooming paradise. They moved out through the valleys of Pennsylvania mto western Maryland, the A^alley of Virginia, along the A})prtlachian slopes, across the mountains into Kentucky and Tennessee, along the Ohio and Mississip[)i valleys, on into the far West. The}' took with them their agricultural economy. They housed their stock and their crops, saving eveiything and wasting nothing. They felled the forest and conquered the prairie. They knew how to seek out the fat land, the red clay, and the heavy tiniberland; they knew that where a big tree grows a big crop will grow. Even Pastorius, .schohir and dreamer as he was, looked out u])on the great forest in front of his little house in Germantown and wished that he had a dozen strong Tyrolese woodnuMi to fell the giant oaks and chestnuts, that the Germans might plant tiieir liekls. The introducticm of the textile intlustry by the Cfrefelders and of progressive agriculture by the Palatines was the beginning of that great economic service which the Germans have given to the material development of America. Our historians have begun to recognize this service. Men like Doctor Jamison, of the Carnegie Institution, and Professor TuriuM-, of the University of Wisconsin, have already turned their attention to the progress of this German thrift through the South MONUMENT AT GEEMANTOWN. 17 antl the great West, and recognized in it one of the most potent factors in that development of the country which ex-President Roosevelt happily called "winning the West." Many of the old German diaries kept by the Hessians during the American Revolu- tion noted tliis difference between the English and German methods of tilling the soil, and pointed out the superiority of the German farms in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Maryland, and Virginia, and emphasized the German barn, the German wagon, and the German thrift as the striking features of tliis German economy. But the little German town of 1683 introduced other cultural elements besides the textile and agricultural economy and thrift already mentioned. ' The German settlers of Germantown brought with them the academic culture of the Old World. Pastorius, the founder of the colony, was a scholar of the university type which has come to be dominant in American ci\alization at the present time. He had stu(Hed at the best universities; had traveled in Germany, Holland, England, France, and Switzerland; was able to speak and write seven languages, Greek, Latin, English, Dutch, German, Italian, and P'rench, and occasionally cite even Hebrew. Pastorius was the forerunner of that multitude of German educators, scholars, and scientists who have been the schoolmasters and the pioneers in American education during the nineteenth century, and transformed our old colleges into universities with laboratories and libraries as centers of research. These are some of the contributions made by the Germans to our American civilization. The modest beginnings of the jurist school- master Pastorius and Ills fellow-jnoneers in Germantown in 1683 have become the dominant characteristics of the new America of our day. It was in Germantown that men like Pastorius, Rittenhous, Sauer, and many others of later date wrote their names high on the scroll of American history. The early men of Germantown were men of piety and loved libert}^ They issued the famous protest against slavery in 1688. But they loved still more, like their successors, law and order in the CV)mmonwealth, and were themselves exemplars of orderly American citizenship. Mr. Moore. Will you sa}^ a word before you close as to the actual condition of the settlement ? Doctor Learned. The settlement of Germantown was made under the joint auspicies of the Frankfort Company and the Crefeld pur- chasers. Both of these groups of Germans bought extensive tracts of land in Pennsylvania. They were not persecuted, as many other American colonists, but came to America to improve their condi- tion. The leading Crefelders as well as the Franklort Company were land speculators. Jacob Telner and a number of other Crefelders bought from 5,000 to 1,000 acres of land from William Penn, and planned to settle their fellow-townsmen upon these grants. The consideration mentioned in a number of these deeds is £100 for 5,000 acres, or a proportionate sum for smaller tracts. The Frankfort Land Company, with Pastorius'* as its agent, purchased 25,000 acres of land in Pennsylvania, but because of the small number who had «For passage characterizino; Pastorius see Learned's "Life of Pastorius," p. 226, bottom. 42934—10 2 18 MONUMENT AT GERMANTOWN. come with Pastoriiis to represent the company was unable to secure from Penn a separate grant. Pastorms then united the Crefelders and his own Frankforters, and secured a grant of 6,000 acres for both groups on the present site of Germantown and neighborhood. Penn had ah-eady spoken of granting to tlie Germans a hirge tract for a compact settlement, which he first called Franckenland, but the name finally fixed upon by Pastorius for the colony was German- town, which was founded on the 24th of October, 1683, and consisted of the thirteen families of Crefeklers and nine representatives of the Frankfort Company, including Pastorius, 41 persons in all. The Crefeklers were Quakcrized Mennonites, and Pastorius, while nominally a Lutheran, strongly sympathized with the Quakers and the Mennonites. Mr. Moore. Mr. Chairman, we have one other gentleman whom I should like to have speak. He is a representative of the National German-American Alliance beyond the Pennsylvania line — the presi- dent of the New York State Branch of the National German Alliance, Mr. Theodore Sutro, of New York City, a member of the New York bar. STATEMENT OF MR. THEODORE SUTRO, OF NEW YORK CITY. Mr. Sutro. Mr. Chairman and gentlemen, after the fascinating and learned exposition of Doctor Hexamcr and Professor Learned, as to the history' of the German colonists and the contributions of Germans to the development of this country, it is unnecessary for me to enter into any further account of these interesting details. The demand among the German population of the United States for some commemoration of the first colonization here by Germans is unanimous. 1 may say, on behalf of tlie Empire State, which I rep- resent in this alliance, as president of the German-American Alliance of the State of New York, and also president of the Lhiited German Societies of the city of New York, that tlieso organizations have passed resolution after resolution strongly upholding and favoring such a commemoration, through some monument, of the Ih-st landing of the first Germans that really spread industry and culture in the directions 3"0u have heard from the preceding speakers. And at the national convention of this great Germ an- American National AUiance at Cincinnati, last October, at which almost every State in the L^nion was represented through delegates, a resolution was unanimously adopted in support of this })roject. So I may say that while we are only tliree here before you this morning we are the mouthpieces, beyond question, of the sentiment of the entire German population of the United States. The appropriateness of erecting a monument, particularly at Philadelphia, where Independence Hall is located, is apparent from what has been said; but, aside from that, Pennsylvania is even to- day, you might say, typically the most German Stale in the Union. And, furthermore, in ex})ressing the sentiment of the German popu- lation of the country, as to the proj)er i)lace for the erection of a momiment of this kind, I could think of no more suitable spot than Germantown, because the very name "Germantown" would sug- gest, in its choice, a recognition on the part of Congress of what tlie German-Americans have contributed to this countrv. We want this MONUMENT AT GERMANTOWN. 19 federal recognition on behalf of the people of the United States of what our German forebears have done in building up our great Republic. Wliat Plymouth Rock is to New England and to the spread of education, religion, and civilization generally from that end, we may fairly say Germantown is to Pennsylvania, and to the spread of the same high and worthy objects from that point southward and westward. If the Congress of the United States has, in the discretion winch is vested in it under the Constitution of the United States, under the clause to provide for the public welfare, seen fit to erect monuments to heroes in various localities in this country, and to commemorate great historical epochs by great expositions, certain!}- nothing could be more inspiring, nothing would be a greater lesson in patriotism and education, than the erection of a monument where the dawn of civili- zation, whether it be German or whatever it might be — although it was German in this instance — first api)eared upon the horizon in this country, this dawn of civilization in the direction that has been explained to you by the speakers who have preceded me. I only want to point out in a general way and very briefly why this particular monument should be erected and at Germantown. There are plenty of precedents in the many expositions that have been held in this country, for which large appropriations were made by Congress, the most important of which were intended to commemorate great historical epochs, such as the Centennial Exposition in Phila- delphia, the Columbian Exposition in Chicago, to commemorate the discovery of America, the Louisiana Purchase Exposition at St. Louis, the Jamestown Exposition, and latterly, the Lewis and Clark Exposition in Oregon to commemorate the discovery of Oregon by Lewis and Clark; if those events deserved to be celebrated, how much more ought we, through some memorial pile, call the attention of future generations in this country to the people who were among its founders, and who were among the greatest patriots that have ever come to these shores. You have also commemorated, through monu- mental structures, the battlefields of the country, at Gettysburg and at other spots; how much more inspiring and how much better is the lesson that would be taught by perpetuating the memory of the first colonization at Germantown from which s})rung those charac- teristics of civilization for which we are really living and for which our Government exists. I want to take this occasion, also, to call to your attention the fact that the enlightened and progressive monarch who rules over the Ger- man Empire has shown not only his friendliness but his desire to con- tribute to the highest aspirations in this country. The German house at the Chicago exposition was one of the greatest features of that event; the German Museum at Harvard contains a wealth of contri- butions from the German Emperor and here, right under the shadow of the Capitol, stands the statue of Frederick the Great, which the Emperor of Germany presented to this Nation. I only mention these facts in order to refer to the appropriateness of recognizing the achieve- ments here of the first people who came from that country and who, too"ether with their successors, contributed so much to the upbuilding of*the United States, by erecting this monument in the most suitable spot in America, at Germantown. I might even say that we might think at the present moment of the extraordinary and unprecedented 20 MONUMENT AT GEEMANTOWN. attentions which the Emperor is about to sliow and intended to show to a Greater extent even than will be possible, in vieAv of the sad event which has occurred in the deatli of the British monarch, to Theodore Roosevelt, the man who certainly is at the present time reo;arded in Eiu'ope as the representative of this nation. So, undei- all the cir- cumstances, considering the relations between this country and Ger- many, considering the fact that Pennsylvania is almost a German- speaking State, that the spot wdiere w^e ask that this mommient be erected is called Germantown. and that there the first actual German colony, as a colony, was settled in 16S3, I ask that this bill be favor- ably reported and passed, and in asking this I know that I represent the unanimous sentiment of the German element in the United States. Mr. Burke. Mr. Moore, I would like you to make a brief statement as to just what your bill contemplates and the amount authorized to be expended and how you arrive at the amount. I presume you have taken some precedent for the amount stated. I would like also to know where the monument is to be erected. Mr. ]\IooRE. The National German-American Alliance has under- taken to raise $80,000 as a basis for the monument, and in order that it be given a nation-wide character they have asked that that amount be duplicated l)y the Government so that the citizens everywhere, those of German descent as well as all other good citizens, may under- stand that the Government appreciates, at least to the extent of this contribution, the influence of the German character in the United States. Mr. Burke. What is proposed to be erected ^ Mr. Moore. Doctor Hexamer has in mind plans, and I shall ask him to tell just what they are. They contemplate the erection of a pedestal, of course, and upon that a memorial the design of which is to be determined by a committee to consist of the Secretary of War, the governor of Pennsylvania, and the president of the National German-American Alliance, representative as it is of the German- American settlers in the United States. Mr. Burke. Where is it proposed to erect it — upon what spot or place '( Mr. Moore. At a place called Vernon Park, in Germantown, in the very heart of Germantown, and the scene of very many of the incidents of the life of Pastorius and his compatriots. It would be in the very center of all that we hold to be historic. Mr. Burke. Germantown is a part of the city of Phihi(lelj)hia ( Mr. Moore. Germantown is one of the wards of the city of Phila- delphia. Mr. Burke. It is not a municipality by itself? Mr. Moore. No, it is not; it is part of Philadelphia. It is not a part of the old city proper; it is a part of the consolidated city which is encompassed in an area of 129 squai-e miles. Germantown, of course, at the time of the settlement of Pastorius. was quite remote from the Delaware River, where they first nnide their appearance, and, as Doctor Hexamer has explained, the settlers started by living in caves and such crude habitations as they could devise to olfset the winter. Mr. Thomas. Germantow^i is now one of the city wards? Mr. Moore. Yes, sir. MONUMENT AT GKKMANTOWN. 21 Mr. Thomas. I suppose you have fLxed the amount of your bill, Mr. Moore, about the same as the monument for Provincetown,Mass. ? Mr. Moore. I forget iust what Provincetown rost. Was it $80,000 ? Doctor Hexamer. The bill appropriating for the erection of a monument at Provincetown, or the Plymouth Rock, canied $40,000. ]\Ir. Moore. In view of the tremendous historic interest of this set- tlement and the influence of the descendants of these ])eople upon the whole country I personally feel, and I am quite sure all associations favoring the passage of this bill feel, the amount asked for is exceed- ingly modest; that it is comparatively modest. Mr. Thomas. As compared with other appropriations ? Mr. Moore. Yes. Mr. Burke. The bill would have to be changed in some respects. We do not make an appropriation, to begin with; we only authorize. That is the first change that would have to be made. IVIr. Moore. I had to do with tlie passage of the Grand Army memorial appropriation in the District of Colund)ia and ]VIr. Burke. However, that is a matter that is immaterial at this time. Mr. Moore. The phraseology of the bill can very easily be changed to meet that condition. ]Mr. Burke. You do not say anything in regard to the site. Mr. Moore. No; the site was to be determined by the committee, headed by the Secretary of War; they would be bettor able to deter- mine that, perhaps, than Congress. Mr. Burke. Is the site to l)e j)urc]iased I Doctor Hexamer. The site will be furnished by the city of Phila- delphia. Mr. Moore. That is the understanding. Doctor Hexamer. We have already laid a corner stone there for the monument. Mr. Burke. I am merely asking these questions in order that we may have this information if the bill is considered with a view of reporting it. The bill is so drawn as to provide for a site. Mr. Moore. I had no opportunity this morning to consult with Doctor Hexamer; he is entirely familiar with the local conditions. I have not been in Germantown for some. months and am, therefore, unable to say what the local conditions arc. If you will permit, I think he can tell you exactly. Mr. Burke. If the site is to be furnished that should be one of the conditions for the authorization. Mr. Moore. My understanding is that the site is to be furnished. Doctor Hexamer. The city of Philadelphia has already given us the site. Mr. Burke. I want to make a further suggestion. Your bill does not now provide — at least I would not be able to understand from it what becomes of the money a])])ropriated — how it is going to be spent and what disposition is going to be made of the money that is contributed. We reported a bill the othei- day, which I call to your attention because it may give you a precedent, authorizing an appropriation for the marking of the Oregon Trail, and that bill contemplates contributions. It is provided that those contributions shall be paid into the Treasury of the United States, into a fund to 22 MOKUMENT AT GERMANTOWN. be known as the Oregon Trail fund, and the money is to be ex- f ended and accounted for as other moneys paid into the Treasury, offer that as a suggestion to you. Tliat will strengthen your bill and make it easier of passage. Mr. Moore. Is it your suggestion that the money thus far con- tributed by those who desire to participate in this fund should be deposited in the Treasury ? Mr. Burke. I do not think there ought to be any doubt on the part of the Government as to how much is contributed or expended. If your proposition is that the Government appropriate S30,000 and you propose to contribute a like sum, then, in order that the Govern- ment ma}' know tJiat you have contributed that sum and that it is being expended in equal amount, the money should be accounted for, and it can not be accounted for unless paid into the Treasury. I would suggest that you get a copy of the Oregon Trail bill. Mr. Moore. I will, and look it over. And I would like to say this, Mr. Burke, the custom has been, as I recall it, so far as the District of Columbia is concerned, to have the Government donate the site and to pay for the pedestal, and those who desire to erect the monu- ment to contribute the balance. Mr. Thomas. These suggestions are simply made by Mr. Burke for the purpose of permitting j^ou to perfect your bill, which is well drawn, but the committee has recently made some amendments to the Oregon Trail bill in regard to the moneys contributed by private individuals. I would suggest that you look at that bill. Mr. Moore. I will cheerfully do everything possible to conform to the wishes of the committee. In the case of the Grand Army monu- ment the site was donated by the Government and the Government paid for tJie construction of the pedestal, and the monument was erected and paid for by the contributors to the fund. Mr. Burke. As the German people of the country are interested, and as they have a representative in the House, I would like to know what Doctor Jiartholat has to say in regard to this particular measure. Mr. Moore. I w-as going to introduce Doctor Bartlioldt in order that you miglit have tlie benefit of his judgment. STATEMENT OF ^ON. RICHARD BARTflOLDT, A REPRESENTA- TIVE FROM THE STATE OF MISSOURI. Mr. Bartholdt. I have but a word to say. I am heartily in favor of this bill. It is not a clannish project, but an American project. The Germans have a way of celebrating festivals, not for the com- memoration of events in the old count ly, or events notable in German history, but they always commemorate and celebrate events in American history. The event which has been celebrated in this countiT I'oi- the last twenty years by the German organizations of the United States is the landing of the first German colony in German- town, and it is to commemorate that event that this bill has been introduced, and I hope it ^\^ll pass. Mr. Burke. You can say it is your opinion that the Germans of the country aj^prove of this bill '>. Mr. Bartholdt. They do not only approve of it, but they are veiy enthusiastic about it. MONUMENT AT GERMAXTOWX. 23 Mr. Baetholdt. There is no dissension wliatoAcr; they expect. Congress to take favorable action at as early a date as possible. Mr. Thomas. Is there any dissension as to the location of the monument ? Mr. Bartholdt. If there is any 1 have Jiot heard of it. Kveryone knows that that colon}^ landed at Germantown, and the fact that it is proposed to erect a monument on thai spot seems to be satisfactory to everybod}^. Another thing, with respect to the raising of tlie .So(),()00 by j)rivate subscription. I wish to remind you of a precedent and of the coo])er- ation between the Government and private enterprise. When the St. Louis World's Fair was held So, ()()(), 000 were supposed to be raised by the citizens of that city and $5,000,000 to be contributed by the Government. It was arranged that as soon as the treasurer of that organization would certif}^ to the Secretary of the Treasury that the amount of money had been fully sid)S(Tibo