Los Angeles daily herald., 1889-04-13
An Unfair Presentation of the Irish
man in American Paftttes.

Mr.. InomaS MAST was wont 10 blghallhe
himself by brutal caricatures OF the Irish.
In these efforts of his pencil he was very
careful never to reproduce any engaging
feature of the physiognomy OF race
which N. P. Willis declared, and every
artist will declare, embraces every possi-
bility of the classic in human lineaments.
Puck has started in in the old line of
Harper's Weekly, without its brutality,
and with infinitely more artistic ability.
In its last issue it represents all the
national politicians, including President
Harrison and ex-President Cleveland,
passing. with obeisance, before robust
Irish "navvy" enthroned in state.
The secret of this cartoon is the ap-
pointment of Patrick Egan as Minister
to Chile by President Harrison.
1t is quite likely that this appointment
was q sop thrown to the Irish race in
America. And yet there is nothing ex-
trsordinary about it. The wonder is that
this race has been so long neglected in
the distribution of national favors.
In Pucks cartoon Mr.. Cleveland is
represented as having done the grand
kotow act to Paddy" We cannot see
where this comes in. In all the long
line of Mr.. Cleveland's appointments we
cannot recall single instance of the
preferment of the class known as Irish
American. Gen. Patrick Collins, of
Massachusetts, undoubtedly settled Mr..
Clevelands election by hurrying over
from Boston to New York, pat upon the
Burchard "Rum, Romanism and Rebel
lion" outgivng, and distributing poste RS
embodying that bigoted utterance in
every Roman Catholic pew in New York
City, and yet Gen. Collins neither asked
for nor received any Office.
There has been for almost several gen.
erations tacit understanding between
the Democratic party and the Irish
American vote. 1t dates away back to
1852, when the Know Nothing sentiment
ran high. That native American organ
ization was obliterated by the gallant
campaign of Henry A. Wise, of Virginia,
who sounded the splendid keynotes
which have settled for all time to come
race and religious bigotry in this couln-
try.
During the last Presidential election in
this State the Irish stood solid with the
Democratic party, as was shown by the
splendid Democratic majority in San
Francisco. If it had not been for the
memorable incursion of Eastern voters
in Southern California the Irish-Ameri-
can vote would have given this State to
Cleveland.
Cleveland would have been reelected
if the Mugwump city of Brooklyn had
done as we'll by him as the Democratic
city of New York-made Democratic by
the Irish-American vote.
This vote has been singularly true to
rns Democratic party, and it has been so
without regard to a hope Of reward.
Any cartoon which represents it as waver-
ing is false to the political history OF the
United States. Almost all the offices
held by Irishmen in the United States
have been the result of the peculiar
genius of that race for local politics. All
the Celtic races have a natural aptitude
for these contentious, the Irish leading
amonget them, and these things scarcely
enter into the domain of national politics.
Governor Hill, in tie election which
determined the last Presidential election,
~~1tol1xy HAon.r,a6 fhn of
Irish-American. He will undoubtedly
receive it should he be the Democratic
nominee for President in 1892, as he
probably will be. Mr.. Cleveland got
substantially the Irish-American vote in
1888; and he would doubtless have re-
ceived all of it in that year, as he did in
1884, if he had appointed few Irish
Americans to office. The Sir Lionel
Sackville West episode came too late to
be available.
The staunchest and most reliable
episode in American politics is the devo-
ton Of the Irish American voter to the
Democratic party if no free trade issue is
introduced. On such platform as Mr..
Cleveland was nominated upon in 1854
platform framed by Samuel j. Ran
dali and Senator Gorman-nearly every
Irish-American vote in the United States
is assured for the Democratic party; and
that means, under the present conditions
of American politics, success in all the
pivotal States, and the election of the
Democratic candidate.