From the time of the discovery of America, men from all nations with energy and ambition, loving liberty and adventure, fleeing from the political and religious tyranny of Europe, men with scientific or artistic minds, Puritans, Quakers, and Huguenots arrived in this country and built this great Republic and the American nation with the finest qualities of the foreign nations.

And now, we belong to the same great family of Uncle Sam; we live under the American flag, the symbol of liberty and justice. We must be united and respect each other, and obey the laws for the happiness of all, and for the greatness, prosperity, and glory of this country.

Demosthenes said, "Who is the enemy of the City? It is the man who does not speak the truth."

The Constitution of the United States is ideal, but there are some laws that cannot be considered as ideal. However, if there are bad laws, it is up to us to change those laws. If there are laws for the benefit of one class, it is up to us to change them for the benefit of all classes. If there are lawmakers who do not wish to change these laws, we must change the lawmakers. We have the right to vote, and we must use our votes to select the best man for every office. Solon, the Athenian lawmaker, said, "The man who does not vote must be considered as a man without honor."

Greek immigration is the newest and the oldest. The great philosopher, Pythagoras, who lived in Greece 2,500 years ago, was the first man who discovered that the earth is round. This theory was accepted by Plato and Aristotle and was well known in Greece for centuries. When the educated Greeks 3left Constantinople on account of the Turkish conquest in 1453 A.D., and settled in different cities of France and Italy, they revived the Greek civilization and produced the European Renaissance. Among the precious knowledge they offered in that time, they promulgated also the Grecian theory about the sphericity of the earth. Columbus took advantage of this theory and discovered America.

About ten years ago, I read a very important article concerning a discovery in South America by American archeologists. They had discovered a number of graves and skeletons of giants. The graves were of Grecian style with square stones. On these graves they found, in Greek letters, the following words; "Alexander, The King's Soldiers." The archeologists have not as yet found any solution of this great mystery. How did the soldiers of Alexander the Great happen to be buried in America?

Thinking of this discovery and reading Greek history, I came to the conclusion 4that when Alexander arrived in India, his fleet was accompanying his army around India. History tells us that the fleet of Alexander suffered a great loss from storms, and possibly from a tornado. It is probable that one of the boats taked by the storm passed the Indian and Atlantic Oceans, and arrived on the shores of South America. There, the first sailors who died were buried, according to the Greek custom and religion, and honored by Grecian graves. If my explanation is correct, the Greeks discovered America 2,300 years ago.

In the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries, a few Greeks arrived in America and the majority of them have a splendid career in letters, science, and the navy.

Greek immigration began about twenty-five years ago, and we now have about 400,000 Greeks in America. We helped to build the railroads and the American industries. Many thousands of Greeks are employed in the business of candy and confectionery manufacture of all kinds, to make the American life sweeter. Others are in the flower business, to make the home happier; and others yet, in all kinds of professions and artcraft.

The contribution of the Greeks in the United States in the recent war for liberty, was wonderful; 65,000 among a population of 400,000 were enlisted in the American Army and Navy, and fought under the American flag. About 50,000 were working in the ammunition plants, and in the Liberty Loan drives they received honorary positions by their generous contributions.

When I arrived in this country nearly twenty years ago, I found the shores 6of the United States very familiar and very hospitable toward me. I have seen in the port of New York the Statue of Liberty, which was born in Greece many thousands of years ago. I have found the Constitution of the United States copied from the constitution of the glorious Republic of Athens.

I have seen the Greek architecture of Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian orders in the most magnificent buildings in every big city of the United States. When I was in Denver, Colorado, I admired a building located on a beautiful site, and built of Pantelic marble. I thought this was a Grecian temple, shining under the blue and oriental skies of Colorado. I have seen reproductions of the Grecian statues in every art museum of the United States.

In the Art Institute of Chicago, I have admired many times the magnificent picture of the Virgin, painted some four hundred years ago by Theotocopoulos, 7known also as El Greco. This artist, considered an equal of Raphael, was born on the island of Crete. I have found the Greek books of the old philosophers and poets in every American library. I have seen the Grecian dances revivied in the United States.

Now, I firmly believe that in the next generation the artistic spirit of the Greeks in the United States, combined with the American practical mind, will produce a wonderful and glorious civilization.