The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1896-03-18
WHAT IS A SHAMROCK.
Diverse Opinions OF Prominent New York.
ers Cleaned by The Sun.

In 1891, says The New York Sun, Hen
ry +. G.. Fuchs of Jersey City invented
and patented shamrock badge "for lapel
ornament and other suitable forms OF or
namentation." There are quarter OF O
million pepole in this city OF Irish birth
and descent, and they took kindly to Mr..
Fuchs device and bought it by the thou
sand gross. This highly respectable Jer-
sey City German American, indeed, was
in a fair way OF getting rich on his irish
American fellow citizens when one James
Wilson of Fifth street, New York, recog-
nizing good thing when he saw IL, De-
gan TO make the shamrocks himself;
This is set out in due form by Mr.. Fuchs'
lawyer, James NJ. Ball of Ill Broadway,
and is in turn denied with great circum-
stantiality by Mr.. Wilson'S lawyer, Alfred
l.. Smith, Jr. Testimony has been taken
at great length before United States Com
missioner Shields, and the history and
literature of the shamrock has been gone
into profoundly.
The expert evidence as to just exactly
what a shamrock is has been extraordi-
narily diverse. Mr.. Fuchs specifications
allege that his patent shamrock is "a
green silk three-leaved flower WI woven
wire edge" Webster's dictionary says
the shamrock is "white clover" or the
eminent Irishmen subpoenaed for the
plaintiff the views are astounding and va
rious.
Some of them have been expressed in
writing and others orally. The Hon.
Richard Croker, whose office Is In the
same building with Counsellor Balls,
smiled grimly when interroeated as to
what shamrock was, and replied: 1T s
Irelapd's national flower, and dear to all
her sons wherever they are every day in
the year-but especially on st. Patrick g
day."
The Hon. John e. Sheehan declared
that he was not prepared to admit that as
good shamrocks grew in America as In
Erin, although many persons claim that
they cannot distinguish between the
white-fowering three-leaf clover of the
United States and the original old Pat
rick pure "seamrog" of the green isle.
Zone thing Is certain" said he, '"an
lrishman in America is as good as an
Irishman in Erin, and sometimes better. ~
Former Superintendent Byrnes goes on
record as believing the shamrock's dis
tinguishing characteristics to be symme-
trical greenery.
all the year round in his library, in
A handful cf earth
From the land of my birth,
saws the shamrock is symt oil of the
Trinity, and was selected by St. Patrick
for that reason to show the triunenature OF
the Deity by its three equal leaves on one
stem..
For the defence, and it's noticeable
fact that both plaintiff and defendant ara
Germans, strenuous efforts have been
made TO secure knockdown dispositions
from Bourke Cochran, ex-Mayor Gilroy,
ex-Mayor Grant, ex-Mayor Oakley Hall,
County Clerk Purroy, ex-Dock Commits
sioner White, ex-Mayor O'Brien of Bos-
ton, and Mayor Fitzpatrick of New
Orleans. An effort to bring out in the
testimony statements to the effect that
Protestant Irishmen care nothing about
the shamrock and have no reverence fol
1t was summarily suppressed by Com
missioner Shields.
The Hon. Chris Buckley of San Fran
cisco, whom the Chinese lovingly labeled
years ago as the "tlind white devil, ,
deposes that be remem bers with exquisite
pleasure that the shamrock was the las
flower he looked upon. The testimony o.
John f. Finnerty OF Chicago is said to b'
long and eloquent.