The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1892-03-26

without capital Without 41rlends, WltloukS
influence. It is to their immortal credit |
that they and their children have fought |
their way il the face, sometimes, OF DIT
to the foremost ranks ~ |
every profession and every calling which
this great country of ours affords. 1t IS
true that we are sometimes condemned
because Of onr loyalty to our faith. 1t is
true that Wa are sometimes ostraclzed,
sometimes denied the right to compete
with others OF our fellow citizens because
of this Some may doubt this fact, yet l
will venture to say that there are young
mon and young women here tonight who
can bear out the assertion by their own
bitter experience
Not many years ago here in Wis
consin young man who hid left home
at the age of fourteen to enter single
handed the battle OF life, was educated
in our common schools. He graduated
at the high school and from there passed
up to that grand educational institution
of Wisconsin, the State University. As
he was working his own way through
school aud being out of funds, he deter
mined to secure position as teacher
in one of our High Schools. He went to
a town in southern Wisconsin, saw the
school board, submitted to them first
class recommendations from every lead
ing professor in the State University,
submitted to them a first grade certlti-
cate marked almost perfect in every
branch of study. His application met
with their approval. He was informed
by the board that he might have the
school for the ensuing year. Believing
them to be men of honor, to be men OF
integrity, he asked no written contract.
He went to his home and awaited the
first Monday in September to commence
his school according to his agreement.
In the meantime, however, the good
brethren discovered that with all his
qualifications be was a believer in the
Catholic religion. The storm at once
arose. Shortly before the time for COM
mencing his school he was summoned to
appear before the board, who informed
him that they could not accept his SER
vices; that they should secure the SER
vices OF another; that he had deceived
!! them because he had not stated in his
application that he was Papist. There
that young man stood without legal re-
dress because he had no written contract,
deprived of the equality of American
citizenship, punished because he knelt
| down to worship the same God at diff
ferent altar from the school board Of
that village. As that young man turned
away, knowing that all other opportuni-
ties for similar employment were gone,
as he bid his mother good bye, when
about to start for northern Wisconsin's
| pine woods to earn few dollars pulling
! saw, swinging an axe, or using the
cant-hook, he might we'll have asked, are
we living in this 10Th, century, or under
the penal laws which oppressed, dis
| couraged and degraded our forefathers?
The men who inflicted that wrong
| upon that young man are unfit to ENJOY
the liberties of this country. They are
unable to appreciate the equality pro-
claimed by our constitution and our laws
They are bigots incapable of acknowledg
ing the right Of conscience. That such
bigotry exists only in small quantities is
we'll demonstrated by the fact that when
the great people of Observation-Disclosures
in no unmeaning terms Wisconsin's mon
ument of knownothingism, attempted to
be made respectable by attaching to it
the Irish name of Bennett, they elevated
that young man to one Of the positions
of power and trust at their disposal. We
have nothing to fear from these. from
these who disagree with us IN this coun-
try. They certainly have nothing to fear
from us. Their prosperity is ours, our
happiness is theirs. We are firm believ-
ers in the proposition that our first ale
glance is to the flag of our country, to
| her institutions and her laws. The man
who appeals to us to forget these for any
prince or potentate, whether he be an
Irish blatherskite or an American dema-
gogue, is entitled to our utmost contempt.
No sensationalist need be alarmed be-
cause of our devotion to the Irish cause.
It is the cause of human liberty.
No man need question our devotion to
American institutions because OF our
love or advocacy of the rights and iber-
ties of our kindred across the ocean. We
are here in this county to live, and pros
per. Here we expect to die. The inner
itance which we leave here will be en-
joyed by generations of our children still
unborn. BY fidelity to our trusts, by
loyalty to the principles Of 'equal and
exact justice in all men OF whatever ma.
tionality or religious persuasion may
we hope to secure the respect of our fel.
lowmen and do our part in fastening the