ir native tongue. Hence they acquire the new dialect with
little difficulty. The simpler words and expressions of the common
people are almost the same as those which they used on the shores of the
North Sea and the Baltic. For example: _Wo is min Vader?_ Where is my
father? _He is in the Hus._ He is in the house. English and German
sailors from opposite shores of the North Sea, using the simpler words
of their respective languages, have no trouble in making themselves
understood when they meet.

The High Germans learn English more slowly, but they, too, find many
points of contact, not only in the words but also in the grammatical
construction of the language.

In the United States the descendants of Germans number seventeen
millions. They have made no inconsiderable contributions to the sum
total of American civilization. For philological reasons, as we have
seen, no people are more ready than the Germans to adopt English for
every-day use. None amalgamate more easily with the political and social
life of the country of their choice. In normal times we do not think of
them as foreigners.

English has the right of way. Its composite character makes it the
language for every-day use. Thirty-five languages are spoken in this
city, but the assimilative power of English absorbs them all. The Public
School is the effective agent in the process. This is the melting pot
for all diversities of speech. Children dislike to be looked upon as
different from their companions, and so it rarely happens that the
language of the parents is spoken by the second generation of immigrant
families. Their elders, even when their "speech bewrayeth" them, make
strenuous efforts to use the language of their neighbors.

Seeing, then, that Anglicization is inevitable, why should we not cut
the Gordian knot, and conduct our ministry wholly in the English
language? This would greatly simplify our tasks, besides removing from
us the stigma of foreignism.

We are often advised to do so, especially by our monoglot brethren.
There are those who go so far as to say that the use of any language
other than the English impairs the Americanism of the user.

Some of the languages at present used in our church services may be of
negligible importance. The Slovak, Magyar and Finnish for example, as
well as the Lettish, Esthonian and Lithuanian of the Baltic Provinces,
will never have more than a restricted use in this city. The
Scandinavians and those w