The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1892-10-29
!. MACYEAGII AND EGAN..

~
An acrimonious exchange Of compli-
ments has been going on this week be-
tween Wayne MacVeagh, formerly st
torney general IN Garield'a cabinet and
a recent convert to democracy, and Pat
rick Egan, the present United States.
minister to Chile who is home % vaca-
ton to secure 1.-THE Irish vote for the
party. In a speech at Cooper
Union, New York, air. Mac eagh referred
to the structures passed upon him by
Whitelaw Reid's Tribune for objecting
to the appointment OF Egan as minister
abroad The Tribune having dishonesty
attempted to pervert what he said into
an attack on Egan because OF his nation
atty, MacVeagh declared that he did
not object to him for beng an Irishman.
bnt because Whitelaw Reid and his
paper had persuaded him to believe that
Egan was a dishonest and unworthy
man. Having been constant reader
Of the New York Tribune all his life, Mr..
MacVeagh knew what it had said Of Mr..
Egan and other Irish Nationalists both
in It's editorial columns and in it's Lon
don correspondence from "Snob Small
ley" the most contemplate Anglo-man-
lac this country has produced. Mr..
MacVeagh, therefore, had no difficulty
in quoting from the Tribune about Min
lister Egan. In it's issue of March 10,
1888, it stigmatized Mr. .Egan as swind-
Ter who had failed to account for large
sums of money placed in his hands, and
added that ''the Irish are peculiar peo-
pie, and easily led by sham patriots"
On Sept. 6, 1891, it urged his recall and
said that "a new American representative
at Chile is urgently needed" The Tri
bune of Dec. 6, 1891, said that sit was
we'll known at Washington when he was
appointed what the charges against him
were, and that he had fled his own coun-
try to avoid arrest and trial on serious
criminal CHARGE" In consequence Of
these false statements of the New York
paper owned by Whitelaw Rid, the ex-
attorney general was led to say that it
was passing TRANCE to select MIR. Egan
whom Reid aud his Tribune had held up
to scorn as "a sham patriot and fugi-
tive from criminal justice" when thou
sands of worthy Irisnmen in the Repub-
bican ranks, against whose character uot
a whisper was ever uttered, we're not
honored with official appointments either
at home or abroad. Having learned
that Mr.. Egan intended to reply to his
speech, Mr.. MACY eagh addressed him an
open letter in which he said the attacks
were not his but the Tribune's, that they
were nine years. old, and it was high
time for him to notice them. He, more
over, stated that he had given the dates
on which the attacks were made, and as
sured him that his appointment was not
Objectionable to him because of the fact of
his Irish birth. Last Monday Mr.. Egan
replied at considerable length IN an open
letter to the secondhand charges of Mr..
MacVeagh and compared him to police
court lawyer. He did not mention
Whitelaw Reid or his paper but referred
to MacVeagh as il he were the original
assailant. Mr.. Egan explained at great
length his connection with Irish politics
and gave the report of the auditing COM
mittee to whom his accounts were sub
mitted. They certified that the accounts
were fully and satisfactorily kept and
vouched. In spirit of justice The IRISH
STANDARD cheerfully acknowledges that
Mr.. Egan fully indicated his character
from the foul charges originally made by
the Tribune and repeated by Mr.. Mac
Veagh. We cannot but sympathize with
Mr.. Egan for being placed in the humili
iating position of hobnobbing with
Whitelaw Reid at Ophir Farm after be-
ing un;ustly and maliciously slandered
by his paper, both editorially and in it's
news columns. Patrick Egan's record as
an Irishman is good, though he does not
deserve to be compared with Thomas
Adds E emmett, Richard OGorman,
Thomas Francis Meagher and John
Mitchell as fugitives from British JUS
tice They were men far superior to
Egan as patriots and scholars, and he
estimates himself too highly when he
links his name with theirs. He has
never shown the pure and disinterested
patriotism of.:Davitt, Dillon and O'Brien,
for soon after his arrival in this country
and before he became q full fedged
American citizen he began to seek office
on his record as representative Irish
man who had suffered for his native
land. He had certainly deserved no re-
cognition for any services he had rem
dered this country for the short time he
had lived here. He received his appoint
mont to the Chilean republic for no other
reason than to make Irish votes for the
+. I. l. 4