The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1894-04-14
MINNEAPOLIS AND ST. PAUL. SATURDAY, APRIL Ii, 1894


market of the Palmer house convention
of 1881 There is hardly grain of truth
in it outside Of the names of those he
said we're present. Il was as fine body
of intelligent men as ever saw Assem-
! bled, but there were the heat and passion
that are inseparable from Irish, or south
ern European gatherings. William j.
Hynes presided and the Rev. Geo. G.
Belts, an Irish Episcopal minister, was
vice chairman. leCaron was there as
delegate from Braidwood and tried hard
to get appointed on the''fo eign relations
committee. From this fact and the fur
ther one that he was supposed to be a
Frenchman and therefore not eligible for
membership a delegate named James F.
| Gallagher from Brooklyn grew to sus~
pect his honesty and tried fruitlessly in
private to get up movement to have
him expelled on the ground of Ineligible
ity. Fl failed chiefly through the desire
OF The delegates to avoid censuring the
Chicago people who, according to Le-
Caron's own story, had violated the con.
stitution in letting him in.
LeCaron's name figured from the year
1879 in the directory organization sup
piled to the camps as senior guardian Of
Braidwood and as member of the dis
trict military board To the latter posi-
tion be was appointed by the district
member of 1879, and it was passport to
the confidence of the members through
out ths country. When Michael Davitt
came here on lecture tour before the
Land League was started he met l4e-
Caron through the district officer, and
| when followed over the same ground
| in 1881 / was introduced to him through
| the same channel. He lied about both
visits, as he had about everything else,
but the meetings undoubtedly took
place. 7 never suspected him Of being a
British spy, but never liked or trusted
him. The true story Of his receiving a
| letter Of introduction from me to Patrick
Egan in Paris is this: had found him
| senior guardian of the camp in Braid.
| wood when / went there on 4 lecturing
tour organized in this state by the then
| district officer, and he told ME he was a
! Frep Gilman. His dark hair, sallow com.
plexion, and long nose, all doubtless due
to strong strain of Gypsy blood, which
is common around Colchester, gave
plausibility to the story and he had man
aged to lose sill trace of his English ac-
cent. I was sitting one day in the Pal
mer house writing letters when Maj
Clingen, the OK district officer and then a
member of the district military board
walked into the room with LeCaron. He
said LeCaron was going to France and
that the man who had succeeded him as
head of the district thought it was q
good opportunity to send over any I'M
portant message might not like TO send
by mail. was dt that time the officer
in charge of such matters, but LeCaron
was not supposed to know it. l told
Clingen that had system that worked
very we'll and that had no message to
send over. He then suggested that
should give him introductions to the
heads of the organization in Ireland, but
Itold him we were under pledges not tc
do that in the case of men going over on
pleasure trips. Clingen was very much
disappointed and LeCaron stood by with
an air of unconcern, but evidently very
much interested. They went away, bat
they returned in less than an hour and
informed me that the district officer was
very anxious that the doctor should have
an introduction to ''somebody On the
| other side,' and, as he himself knew no
body, he asked as personal favor that I
! should give LeCaron a letter. then
wrote on the Palmer house paper the
letter which he called ''sealed packet,
but which was mere line Of introduc-
tion. 1t simply said that he was So good
Irishrnan, barring tue bull, and mem
ber of the Land League, and that as he
had been kind to Davitt when in his
town I knew he would receive him kindly
while in Paris gave him similar let
ter to John O'Leary, then in Paris, and
did not give him scrap Of anything else.
Mr.. Egan was not then member OF the
"home organization and my introduc-
ton contained no recommendation that
LeCeron should be trusted.
For ten years he kept the British gov
ernment fully posted about the inner
| workings of the Clan- na- Gael, doubtless
mixing truth with lies and distortions OF
truth to serve Ills purpose. What was
kept profound secret in the rank and file
was an open book totthe home Office, and
the policy of coercion was entered upon
resolutely with the knowledge that the
once plethoric treasury OF the Irish
American revolutionists bad been emp
tied. The story of LeCaron, truly and