The diabolical ingenuity of the German propaganda was subsequently laid bare, and it is known today that nearly every German club, church, school, and newspaper from about 1895 onward was being secretly marshaled into a powerful Teutonic homogeneity of sentiment and public opinion.  The Kaiser boasted of his political influence through the German vote.  The German-American League, incorporated by Congress, had its branches in many States.  Millions of dollars were spent by the Imperial German Government to corrupt the millions of German birth in America.  These disclosures, when they were ultimately made, produced in the United States a sharp and profound reaction against everything Teutonic.  The former indifference completely vanished and hyphen-hunting became a popular pastime.  The charter of the German-American League was revoked by Congress.  City after city took German from its school curriculum.  Teutonic names of towns and streets were erased—­half a dozen Berlins vanished overnight—­and in their places appeared the names of French, British, and American heroes.

But though the names might be erased, the German element remained.  It had become incorporated into the national bone and sinew, contributing its thoroughness, stolidity, and solidity to the American stock.  The power of liberal political institutions in America has been revealed, and thousands upon thousands of the sons and grandsons of German immigrants crossed the seas in 1917 and 1918 to bear aloft the starry standard upon the fields of Flanders against the arrogance and brutality of the neo-Prussians.

FOOTNOTES: 

[Footnote 25:  According to the Census of 1910 the nationality of the total number of white persons of foreign stock in the United States is distributed chiefly as follows: 

Germany 8,282,618 or 25.7 per cent
Ireland 4,504,360 or 14.0 " "
Canada 2,754,615 or 8.6 " "
Russia 2,541,649 or 7.9 " "
England 2,322,442 or 7.2 " "
Italy 2,098,360 or 6.5 " "
Austria 2,001,559 or 6.2 " "

Furthermore, the significance of the foreign born element in the population of the United States can be gathered from the fact that, in 1910, of the 91,972,266 inhabitants of the United States, no less than 13,515,836 or 14.6 per cent were born in some other country.]

[Footnote 26:  An Account of the Manners of the German Inhabitants of Pennsylvania.]

[Footnote 27:  J.G.  Haecker, a well-informed and prosperous German who took the journey by steerage in a sailing vessel in 1849, wrote an instructive description of his experiences.  Of his fellow passengers he said:  “Our company was very mixed.  There were many young people:  clerks, artists, musicians, architects, miners, mechanics, men of various professions, peasants, one man seventy-eight years old, another very aged Bavarian farmer, several families of Jews, etc., and a fair collection of children.”]