Chicago saw yesterday one of the largest parades ever held here. Twenty-thousand marched. On both sides of the streets, where the parade passed through, thousands had gathered to watch it. Ten-thousand were assembled in the Coliseum, where the real festival took place, and at lest that many had to be turned away for lack of room.

A most impressive speech was given by Mr. Harry Rubens. This mass-demonstration of the German-Americans made a profound impression. Marching in the parade were first the German veterans of the Civil War, then the veterans of the German army, the members of the many different Athletic Clubs, the Men's Choirs, dozens of different Mutual Benfit Societies, and others.

From the official speech, we render the following citations: "I recognize this assemblage as composed of American citizens for many of us are born 2here, and among the others there is certainly none who has not obtained citizenship... The banner of the stars and stripes is the only one to which we are loyally devoted, and the defense of which is our patriotic and solemn duty. We feel justified to emphasize with proud awareness by means of this public demonstration the importance of our descent from a great cultural nation of the old world.

"We have gathered here to celebrate the German Day, because we are conscious of the fact that we do not enjoy in this country the reputation and prestige to which we are entitled, in consideration of the German culture, which we have brought along, and for our sincere efforts, which we have contributed to the national wealth of this country.

"We are not at all concerned to constitute a state within a state... There is only one fatherland for us, politically only one constitution, one civil right. It is far from us to establish here a new Germany, but we will oppose unitedly that this great nation, to which we belong, and on whose cultural development we have contributed so much, and whose position of power among the nation is our labor to considerable degree becomes merely a New England state.

"The German-Americans are justly proud of their past. If the large stream of German immigrants would have been diverted into other channels and not to this country, one wonders, what conditions night prevail now, and what political changes might have occurred. How would the Revolutionary War have turned out had not a German, F. W. von Steziben, changed the revolutionary militia into a trained army? Were not the heroes of the Revolutionary War of German descent, as, for instance, N. Herchheimer P. Muhlenberg, J. von Kelb, and others?

"Would Lincoln have been elected without the influence of the Germans of "Forty-eight" and without the German ballots? Would the state of Missouri have been saved for the Union without the Germans in St. Louis? What would have happened to the Union Army without the German regiments, and without the German officers? What would have happened after the Civil War with an honest money system, Civil Service reform, without the united backing of the German ballots and with the powerful influence of the German-American mental giant, statesman, and patriot, Karl Schurz?

"Have not German immigrants colonised, cleared and cultivated large areas of the Mississippi valley, Pennsylvania, Ohio, New York and many western states? Would American industries and transportation be so rapidly developed without the German technicians and engineers? Are not among the great American inventors? Many of German descent, such as Mergenthales, Steinmetz, and others? The American iron and steel industry way created to a large measure, by Germans.

"The German element of this nation has also contributed much to its ethical and educational development Of considerable importance has been their influence upon our primary and high school system, the introduction of a systematic and scientific training in physical culture and the development of the fine arts. Every American schoolboy is delighted by the well-known picture, "Washington crosses the Delaware" but only very few know that it is the work of a German-American, Emil Jentze.

"One of the most admired artistic creation in architecture is the library of Congress in Washington, planned and executed by two German-American architects.

"In the realm of music, the German were nearly the only teachers of this nation. An opera or a concert was almost unthinkable without German musicians and directors up until very recently.

"The powerful and effective co-operation of Germans in the United States to carry out the profound cultural developments of this nation, has continued until this day without interruption....Anywhere and everywhere, in the universities, the workshops in the laboratories and the research work of science, etc., we find Germans active for cultural development and progress of their nation.....

"The German people have risen to the first place in culture among civilized nations, and their reputable and influential position in all branches of science is readily admitted by all truly educated Americans. The President of the Johns Hopkins University made this statement. 'As Latin was the language of the medieval age so is today the German Language, the language of science and culture, and no one can consider himself learned until he masters the German language completely.'"

The following telegram was sent to the German-American Alliance Convention in Cincinnati, Ohio: "Five-hundred Chicago Clubs and Societies carry out the largest German-American demonstration, which the city has ever seen. Twenty-five thousand march in the parade."