The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1897-08-21
ANGLO-SAx0N GLORIFICATION.

ANGLO-SAXON GLORIFlCATION.
Writing of Prof. William Thompson,
or Lord Kelvin, the great scientist,
Chicago paper, noted for it's laudation of
Anglo-Saxonism, has the following to
say about him:
Lord Kelvin is not Scotsman, al
though the Scots claim him. The Irish
insist he is theirs. But, the English,
who do not claim him at all, are really
most entitled to all the honor, for Loru
Kelvin is an Anglo-Saxon by blood. All
three countries can shine by the refec-
ton from the luster of Lord Kelvin's
light, for, although he is Anglo-Saxon
by blood, he is Irish by birth, and
Scotch in ali of his surroundings"
If Lord Kelvin had first seen the light
of day in Scotland, he would he
Scotchman; il he had made his debut on
the stage Of life in England, he would be
a John Bull; but as he was born in Bel
fast, a city in the north of Ireland, why
not call him an Irishman, and be done
with 1t? We suppose that the distin-
guished scientist, if asked about his ma
tivity, would unhesitatingly answer that
he was Irish. and nothing else AS to
his being "Anglo-Saxon by Blood the
claim is ridiculous, for there is not in
existence such thing as an Anglo-Sax-
on race. In fact, there is no unmixed
race at all in the British islands at the
present day, and every ethnologist If
repute acknowledges it. The English
are mixture Of the Gothic and the Ce":.
and very little of the Saxon Is in their
blood. The aristocracy, or nobility, o.
the country, are descendants of the Nor
man invaders who conquered the Sax
ons under Harold at the battle of Has
tings. Whatever is left of the Saxons
belongs to the lower classes, except
certain persons whose families may
have amalgamated with the Nornlans
during preceding centuries Very few
men of Anglo-Saxon origin have ever
risen to eminence in science, literature
or craftsmanship in the tight litsle
island When one traces his pedigree
back for several centuries he will dis
cover that he is considerable of a by
brid, and that he has inherited the blood
OF men and women Of divers races.
There is no homogeneous race among
the English-speaking people of the
world, and it Is nonsensical to say that
any man, distinguished or notorious, IS,
an "Anglo-Saxon by blood"
The Pilgrims who fled from England
to seek refuge from persecution in this
country were not Anglo-Saxons, and
neither was George Washington, though
Of English ancestry, as every historical
student Is aware. Take the state O.
Massachusetts today, and what do you
find? The foreign born element COM
posed of Irish, French, Poles, Swedes,
etc., are 80 per cent of its population.
Take Minnesota, and you will find else
where on this page of the Irish Stand
are that the population Is made up of
Heterogeneous elements. The Chicago
paper is conducted by Anglomaniacs,
who try to make people believe that
this great republic is a sort of British
province, and SO when the King OF
Scientists" arrives in this country, he
is proclaimed as man of "Anglo-Saxon
blood" though it. is possible he has not
a single drop Of 1t In his body.
The Irish are not all Celts, but are
made up of several strong races, blend
ed together That is why the Irish
complex race is SO enduring, so ener-
getic, so prolific OF statesmen, philoso-
pliers. scientists. warriors, orators and
poets The Celtic blood prevails, but
other bloods flow with it in the same
veins.
Prof. Thompson may be Celt for ali
we know; we are sure he is not Angie
Saxon. The Scotch, of course, like to
claim every great Irishman whose name
ends in son" They claim VIM. Rowan
Hamilton. the great mathematician,
born in Dublin, though his family had
settled in Ireland $50 years before hi;
birth. Macpherson, the Scotch liter
airy thief, claimed that Ossian, the
great Celtic poet, was native Of .ale-
donia. The English claim every cele-
brated Irishman as Britisher, and
every famous Scotchman as an English
man. Tennyson. in his ode on Wei.
lington. refers to that Irishman as 1.-The
great Englishman." We think the
American people should not follow the
example Of the English in deprivins
Ireland of whatever honor Is due to her
for tho production of men of science, art
or literature.
1t is the sheerest nonsense for such
papers as the Times-Herald to say that
many of the greatest names in Irelan.
are not Irish at all, nor even Celtic,