I am not superstitious.
I have frequently taken dinner with thirteen persons at the table,
and I do not hesitate to start on a journey on a Friday.
I often do things which would not be done by superstitious persons in China.
But to meet a man calling himself "Coffin" or "Death" was too much for me,
and with all my disbelief in superstition I could not help showing
some repugnance to those who bore such names.
Equally important, if not more so, is the selection of a name
for a state or a nation. When the several states of America
became independent they called themselves the "United States of America" --
a very happy idea. The Union was originally composed of thirteen states,
covering about 300,000 square miles; it is now composed of forty-eight states
and three territories, which in area amount to 3,571,492 square miles,
practically as large in extent as China, the oldest nation in the world.
It should be noted that the name is most comprehensive: it might comprise
the entire continent of North and South America. It is safe to say that
the founders of the nation did not choose such a name without consideration,
and doubtless the designation "United States of America"
conceals a deep motive. I once asked a gentleman who said he was an American
whether he had come from South or North America, or whether he was a Mexican,
a Peruvian or a native of any of the countries in Central America?
He replied with emphasis that he was an American citizen of the United States.
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