Helena weekly herald. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1867-1900, 1884-09-25
PATRICK EGAN.
The Letter in Which he DenOuncei
Cleveland and Declares for Blaine.

Cleveland and Declares for Blaine.
The letter of Patrick Egan, recently
published in the State Journal of Nebraska,
has created wide comment and produced
a wholesome and lasting impression in
Irish-American circles The following is
the letter in full
LINCOLN, Neb., Sept. 4-Editor State
Journal: Your contemporary, the DAILY
State Democrat, having on two distinct oc-
casions referred, as l consider, most un-
warrantably and udfairly to my political
opinions, now refuses, contrary to all recog-
.nized rules of decent journalism, to pub
lish any but a garbled copy of my reply
LINCOLN, Neb., Sept. 3, 1884.-The Edi-
tor Daily State Democrot-Sir: For the
second time within the past three weeks
you have dragged my name into the polit-
cal campaign, although up to the prese.;
moment | have never publicly spoken or
written single word to give you, as Il
journalist, any ground for so doing. Before
the late Boston convention of the Irish
National Land League l had, as the result
of close observation and careful research,
made up my mind that there existed no
good grounds why the Democratic party
should hold any mortgage on my vote be-
cause | happened to be an IIishman. /
weighed with care and deliberation the
merits Of the two Presidential candidates
and l came to the conclusion that neither
as an Irishman nor as an adopted citizen
of America could Mr.. Grover Cleveland
have my support.
The case OF John Devoy, on which you
so persistently harp and which you have
again and again referred to as the only
ground of my opposition to Mr.. Cleveland,
was only one of the many objections which
l entertained to that gentleman.
did indeed consider the treatment met
ed out to Mr.. Dewey of the basest kind and
as a strong evidence of either the hostility
and contempt of Mr.. Cleveland for Irish
men of national opinions, but objected
also to Mr. Cleveland as the pet candidate
of the London Times. the London Standard
the London Daily Telegraph, the London
Daily Neocs, the London ST. James Gazette,
the London Saturday Revie0, in fact, the
entire English press. l objected to him as
the pet candidate of Puck and Harper's
Weekly, as the author of innumerable
vetoes in the interest of the great monopo-
lies, and as a man who had, as l believed,
proved himself the enemy of every Just
right of the toiling millions l objected
to Mr.. Cleveland because l felt proud of
the country of my adoption, and because l
felt that, in the words of the Boston Pilot
"a straight out and out Democratic organ
-"he has not single quality large enough
to fit him for the Presidency of the United
States
had made up my mind to support Mr.
Plaine because from long observation l had
come to regard him as the very opposite of
all this-as an American of Americans, a
man among men, as an able statesman
fitted by nature and culture and experience
to fill with credit to the country and to
himself the position of President of this
great Nation. These were a few of the
grounds of Ihy objection to your candidate
and my preference for Mr.. Blaine, and, as !
have before stated, they have never, up to
the present, been made public by me, nor
would they be now if you had not COM
PEELED me by your unfair comments and
by your unworthy sneer at Irish wisdom
to state them. When, however, at Boston
l accepted the presidency of the Irish Ma
tional League | considered that whatever
my private opinion might be l was then
precluded from taking any active part in
American politics. Accordingly l have
abstained from taking any part, nor shall /
take any so long as l hold the Office
This is my position; and must beg of
you, therefore, to spare me the trouble of
any further contradictions or corrections on
this subject. With regard to your quota
tion from speech of Mrs. Parnell-I
yield to no one on this side of the Atlantic
in the respect to which pay to the bon
ored mother of the man who am proud
to be able to claim as a personal friend as
well as co-worker in the cause of Ireland,
Charles Stewart Parnell-and | am sure
she will not misunderstood me when /
state my conviction that she would best
consult the welfare of the great movement
in which she and l are interested, and my
belief that she would best consult the de-
sire of her son by keeping his name en-
tirely out of the present political contest.
PATRICK EGAN.