About 500 German ladies and gentlemen answered the call of the Chicago branch of the German American National League at the Auditorium, in order to celebrate German Day for the first time in Chicago's history. On account of the short time for preparation it was decided to have the celebration in the form of a banquet on the eve of the day when 223 years ago the first German immigrants landed on the shores of North America. The excellent progress of yesterday has given a promising start and has opened the finest prospects for the Chicago German Days in the coming years.

When the President of the Chicago branch of the German American National League, Dr. Jur. Max Eberhardt greeted the participants, the richly ornate and tastefully decorated hall was filled with 500 guests. At the speaker's table sat as guests of honor, the gentlemen, Dr. C. T. Hexamer, President of the German American National League; Dr. Wever, Consul of the German Empire; Arnold Holinger, Consul of the Swiss Confederacy; Adolph Timm, Secretary of the German American National League; the Professors Dr. Starr, M. Cutting and 2Dr. von Noe of the University of Chicago, and Dr. James Taft Hatfield of the Northwestern University; Dr. John A. Enander; Mr. E. F. L. Gauss and George Giegold as poets and orators of the evening. In his welcome address Dr. Eberhardt said:

"To our honorable guests, to our members and to all of you ladies and gentlemen I offer in the name of the Chicago branch of the German American National League our thanks for your numerous participation at our festival and a hearty welcome!

"With a feeling of just pride we entered these festively decorated rooms, and the eye rests now with ardent satisfaction and pleasure on this beaming crowd - the representatives of the entire German population of Chicago - who came here to celebrate with us the German Day.

"It was more than 200 years ago, when the first traceable German immigrants landed at the shore of America and arrived on October 6th, 1683, in Philadelphia. 3"Near that city they founded their first settlement, to which they gave the name "Germantown" in remembrance of the old homeland. Like the pilgrims who landed at Plymouth Rock so also these had emigrated from the old country following the impulse of free religious conviction in order to be able to serve their God in their own way. When Franz Daniel Pastorius, who came several months earlier, greeted the advance guard of the German immigration at their arrival, he did not dream that this first weak twig of the German settlements which he planted into the freshly dug furrows of the American soil, would grow up within two centuries to the great sturdy tree whose branches spread from the Atlantic to the Pacific Oceans. From the North woods of Wisconsin to the tropical plantation settlements of the Gulf Stream German song resounds! If we follow up the history of the Germans in America from its first beginning up to this day - what a rich picture of evolution is presented before our eyes! The foundation of church parishes, innumerable places of divine service held in German - and the network of schools, the creation of lower and higher institutions of learning, where German wisdom and German methods reigned; agriculture, commerce, trade and industry. cultivated and guided by German hands; Art, science and literature, fructified 4by German spirit and serving German ideals; these are the rich contents of this picture. And thereby we do not forget what active part the German in America took in public life and in the political destiny of this country. By surveying without prejudice the history of this country, there will hardly be found any important occurrence where German influence did not participate, no great acquisition, that was won without German activity, no great deed where the Germans did not cooperate.....

"But never has the German forgotten his origin, never has he forgotten that he descends from a people whose duty it is to distribute over the entire world, besides freedom of thought, noble manners and education. Remembering our origin we think again of the advance guard of German immigration, the small group of true-believing countrymen who on October 6th, 1683 put their foot on the shore of the new homeland.

"The public events of late - the expansion of power and influence of our American empire into foreign territory and the herewith connected greater responsibility of our governmental force - challenged all forces of our 5people and strained them to the extreme. Any separate element which otherwise kept restricted to its own circles, merged with the great totality. And so it goes with us Germans. We could not remain strangers with the great historical happenings that raised our republic as with one stroke to a world power. Of us the new homeland also demanded new duties, That we willingly accepted and fulfilled these duties, nobody in this country will deny.

"But just on account of this, there was lamented many times by Germans that the German element, during the last decades in place of showing a strong united front, has suffered much damage. It has been claimed that the German element has lost the consciousness of its real task, to serve as a bearer of civilization in this country, that it splits up its strength into innumerable small clubs instead of opposing the other population elements by its united influence upon the moral and spiritual development of the country.

"It is due in no small measure to these complaints and the conviction of the necessity for relief that gave cause for the foundation of the German-American 6National League. Our League endeavors to awaken the sense of unity among the population of German origin in America and to further the useful, sound development of its inner strength for the protection of such justified wishes and interests that are not harmful to the common welfare of the country and the rights and duties of good citizens.....

"We do homage to the opinion of our great countryman Carl Schurz, who said that one has a better right to call himself a good American citizen when he is a good German. And so we celebrate with our festival the re-awakening of the German spirit in this country."

After singing of the "Star Spangled Banner" by the audience and a musical greeting by the singing clubs under the baton of Professor Gabriel Katzenberger, Dr. C. J. Hexamer was introduced and spoke about German Day and the German-American National League and recalled the memory of the German pioneers such as Friedrich Post, Peter Muehlenberg, Baron Steuben, Johann Stricker and Arnstedt and the hundreds of thousands who fought for the Union.

A speech or Mr. Otto C. Schneider, that followed, dealt with the Germans as cultivators and pioneers in trade, art, science and technique. In a long oration he recalled the German settler fromthe Dutch Colonial days to the present time. He recalled the German Peter Minnewit of Wesel who as head of the Dutch West India Company bought Manhattan Island for the price of F1.60 - in the year 1626, of Prince Johannes, Edler von Buschau, of Jacob Zeisler, of the great Daniel Pastorius who founded the first pure German colony in Germantown. He related the mass immigrations of 1707 under Joshua Kocherthal, of 16,000 immigrants of the Palatinate who settled on the Tulpehoken River, of 17,000 who were in 1716 - 1717 lured to New Orleans by a certain John Law. He told of Konrad Weisen, of Johannes Lederer, of Professor Ensebius Kuehn and many others who did much for the cultivation of this country...

The next speech was held by Professor Dr. Starr W. Cutting of the University of Chicago on the topic: "The German Langugage". Mr. Wilhelm Vocke spoke then about the Germans as American patriots"; then followed Professor Dr. James Taft Hatfield's lecture about "Cultivation of the German language in the American 8Universities". Next followed a young German-American, Mr. M. F. Girten, on the subject - "The Old and the New Fatherland". With orchestra accompaniment the audience then sang the German-American National Hymn written by Mr. George Giegold, "Heil Freie Heimat Dir" (Hail to you free homeland).......

Mr. Arnold Holinger, Consul of Wwitzerland spoke about "The German Music". Mr. Fritz Glogauer (of the Abendpost) about the German-American Press. The last speech of the evening by Mr. Emil Hoechster had the theme: "German Women and German Club Activities". Mr. Hoechster closed with a toast to the German American National League.