The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1895-11-28
.|R|SHMEN AND FREEDOM.
An Eloquent Grafton at Metro.
politan Hall by James
D. Phelan.
IN THE CAUSE OF LIBERTY
Part of the Irish Reviewed at the
Entertainment of the Knights
of st. Patrick.

| Clby 10 enjoy the grand literary ana muS1-
cal entertainment of the knights of St.
Patrick given in celebration of Thanksgiv-
ing eve. The evenings programme opened
with violin solo by Frank Hess, who was
followed by Miss Nettie Flynn and Messrs.
II. Anderson and W. T. Brien IN trio
| from Verdl's 'Attila."
| Frank 7. Shea explained the absence of
President jeremiah Deasy, who was to
have made the Introductory address, by
stating that he was ILL., and performed the
part of the absent officer by reviewing
| briefly the origin and history of the order
OF the knights of st. Patrick in this coun-
try.
| At the conclusion of his remarks he in
troduced James D. Phelan as the orator of
the evening. In the course of his eloquent
and witty address on "The service of the
Irish people to the cause of liberty" Mr..
Phelan said
The success of the Irish in foreign lands has
not been won by favor and patronage. You
know tnat well. They have had to show their
passports at every crossroad!
AS the Irish have been victims of prejudice,
even so, in no discussion in which they take a
part, should there be appeal to prejudice
Taunts, jibes and falsifcations should be met
by facts and arguments, and in this connec-
ton cannot but refer to the forbarance with
which the irish in America have acted in the
face of the greatest provocations for they are
hot-headed people, and have been known to re-
turn blow. But forbearance is one of the
lessons Of liberty they have learned. Tumult
answer but free speech, free press, free assem-
bly,, free elections the constitutional
weapons of all; and it cannot be fairly charged
against the American people that they are
like the scotchman who said, 81 am open to
conviction, but l would like to see the man
who can convince men
There is one characteristic of Irish soldiers
| they have almost invariably fought for the
cause OF liberty, and if on account of the
| power, vigilance and repressive measures of
England, which have made OF all Ireland a
| British garrison, they have not been able to
fight for 200 years their own battlefields,
| they have had The supreme satisfaction of hav-
ing fought the enemies of their liberties on the
| battlehelds of the world.
| In broadly considering the services of the
| Irish in freedoms cause we should first in
| quire what qualifications they possessed.
! AS matter of historical fact the Irish are an
| ancient people, whose cultivation of the arts
and sciences antedates civilization in Eng
| land and the continental countries. Ireland
| was never invaded by the Romans and thus
| preserved its individuality, but it is needless
TO inquire into causes when we have the facts.
| A translation OF the work of DR.. thinner, the
| German scholar, has recently been issued from
the press of Putnam's Sons entitled "The
| Irish Element in Medieval Culture" from
| which quote. Recalling the fact that Ireland
| received Christianity in the third and fourth
centuries and referring TO the immunity
| the Irish enjoyed from the Roman leglons,
! which overran Britain the author says: Ere
| land can indeed lay ella i'm to great past. She
| can not only boast of having been the birth
place and abode of high culture in the fifth
| and sixth centuries, at the time when the
| Roman Empire was being undermined by the
| alliances and inroads of German tribes, which
| threatened to sink the whole continent into
| barbarism, but also of having made strenuous
| efforts in the seventh and up to the tenth
| century to spread her learning among the
| German and Roman people, thus forming the
tont al do on n
| civilization"
Iwould now ask any fair-minded man know
| ing the history of that time, as chronicled by
| such unquestionable authorities, il it is un-
| reasonable to draw these conclusions: First,
| that people who resisted such atrocious
| methods and survived must have something
| in the fiber of their race TO recommend them
| as colonists and as men; and, secondly, their
non-submission to slavery and firm resistance to
tyranny cannot but have LARGELY entered into
| the creation of those forces which were then
| gathering for freedom; and II so, they were
unquestionably brought by them in their exile
| OF immigration to the colonies OF North Amer
| lea.
| Have we not here one of the secret inspira-
| tons of that marvellous achievement when the
| thirteen colonies, although without money or
| munitions of war, unskilled in arms and in.
| viting their own destruction, sprang up one
man in fierce and determined resistance to
the first approach of English oppression? If
| they had not been bitterly taught what Eng
| lish domination meant do you think they
| would have risked all on the hazard of warfare
| with one OF the most powerful OF continental
powers before any alliances had been made?
! Never The colonists knew they were fighting
| for their lives, honor, homes, children, their
| all, which was encompassed in that one word,
| liberty. In the light of Irish history, well
might they say: ''Give US liberty or give US
DEATH"
So we find the Irish spirit and soldier in the
| forefront of the Rebellion! The red man dis
| appeared before the white man, but the.Celt
| was unterrified by the Saxon; and, not only by
! just wars, but by the simple influence of pub
| lin rir,in iab ha hoS hann no ( nfn
| in creating and maintaining throughout the
world, he is winning that coveted freedom for
his people and all peoples al home and abroad.
| &The history of the Irish brigades recruiting
| their services in foreign lands is 8 record of
valorous deeds. Such names as those of O'Hig-
| gins and Lynch stand for freedom in Chile;
| O'Brien was the leader of the war of independ-
| ence in Buenos Ayres, and O'Rourk was the
liberator of Servia. These show the bent and
| leaning OF the race.
| But what glorious page is that describing
| the part played by the Irish race in helping to
| free America! Among the generals of Wash
ington OF Irish lineage were General Stark.
| the hero of Bennington; General Anthony
| Wayne, the hero of Germantown; Generals
Sullivan, Thompson, Montgomery, Knox, r.
vine, Hand, Moylen, Butler; and the naval
commanders o'Brien and Barry. the latter
| called "the father Of the American Navy" At
| the battle of Bennington, Stony Point, the
Cowpens, Kings Mountain, Irishmen COM
manded in person; and the Declaration of In
dependence is subscribed by nine OF Irish
blood.
| AS 10 the NUMBER Oh lrlSn OF the rank ana
| file who served in that war we have official es-
| Inmates. In 1885 there was published in Lon
| don the results of Parliamentary inquiry into
the failure of the American war, and Major
| General Robertson, who had served In the
army for twenty years, testified. He was asked:
Chow are the American provincial corps
composed Are they worthy Americans or
emigrants from various nations of Europe %
| This answer came: "Some corps are mostly
| natives, but General Lee informed me that half
of the rebel Continental army were from Ire
| land"
| In Philadelphia, in 1771, there was organized
| the Society of the Friendly Sons of st. Patrick,
| of which the Knights of st. Patrick, under
| whose auspices we are here tonight, is en- of
| shoot and in full sympathy and accord. This
society was of great service to the colonsts, of
| which we have abundant and interesting testi-
mony. They sent men to the front, and at one
| time when the ragged Continentals' were
dying for want of food in the field the
Pennsylyanians, in response to an appeal,
raised $1,50O,OOO, of which the Friendly
| Sons OF st. Patrick alone contributed
| $4,000 Among its members was
| long list of American officers, including
| Washington himself; not that they claimed
| him as an Irishman, but they loved him as
man who was free from prejudice and was
| ready to meet and accord merit to others, and
| generously acknowledged services performed