The Irish standard., 1897-09-18
Talk on the Celtic Element In
Foreign Countries.
LEADING cELTs IN CONGRESS
Represented In Army and Navy
of the Uuited States.
GENIUS OF THE CELTIC RACE
EX-COnsul to London Has No
Political Ambition.

VlAkAkOA AlnNlIlVNs
A representative of the Boston Herald
recently interviewed the Hon. P. A. Col
Inns, ex-consul to London, Eng, on the
progress of the Celtic element in for
eign countries.
''It is in this last half of the nine
teenth century that the Celt has gotten
the ear of the world" began General
Collins, continuing as follows
while the Celtic element of our popu-
lation largely governs our cities, do
not think its political activities stop
there. When was in congress a few
years ago members of the house of rep
resentatives Of Irish birth or descent
formed a club to celebrate st. Patrick's
Day, and nearly one-quarter of the men,
bers Joined. In the chair was Andrew
Curtin, war governor Of Pennsylvania
and ex-minister to Russia, and the sixty
or eighty others were at least as able,
prominent and distinguished as any
equal number of men in the house, TAX
en- as they passed in and out. These
were Irish Celts, but there were other
Celts in the house, and at their head
was John Griffin Carlisle, the speaker.
A good many diners on that St. Pat
rick's Day bore names that did not
clearly indicate Irish origin. I recollect
two, Davis and Stevenson, both Republi-
cans and both Protestants, but the one
was born in Ireland and the other was
the child of Irish parents. The fact is
that unless man has pronounced
Irish name, or was actually born in
Ireland, he is not thought of in con-
nection with the Celtic race at all. And
the Irish are not the only Celts. Near
ly all the Scotch and Welsh, as we'll
as large percentage of the French and
English, are Celtic. Jefferson was of
the race, and thousands of our most dis
tlnguished public men, down to McKin-
ley, the president, and Bryan, his COM
petitor, both Celts; Andrew Jackson,
John G. Calhoun, James Buchanan and
Chester A. Arthur were not only Irish
Celts, but their ancestors all belonged
in the same county in Ireland.
"In the army and navy, also, look
at the roll, that includes Montgomery,
Wayne, Stark, Knox, Lewis, Conway,
Sullivan, Meade, Sheridan, Kearney,
Shields, Barry, the father of the Amer
can navy Stewart, McDonough, Mahan!
Oh, yes, the Celt has acted his part in
the national arena, though admit that
in politics he still prefers to be first
in Troy and Utica rather than second
at Albany or Washington. Moreover,
very few of the best city men can af-
ford to leave their homes, their busi-
ness and their professions to go to con-
gress, where at best little is accom-
plished. When they can afford it, they
will be heard from there also. Their
marked success in, and aptitude for,
municipal politics in the United States,
which has resulted in their gaining con-
troll in SO large measure of the execu-
tive offices, the bureaus of administra-
tion, is the first fruit Of the genius Of
the Celtic race in it's new environment.
AS the conditions change, there will be
other fruits.
"The fact is, the popular conception
of the Celt has been based upon tradi-
ton, the conventional drama, the idea
that he is fond of drink, lover of sport,
OF fun, to the exclusion of more serious
things, rollicking fellow, creature Of
disturbances, d rebel against constituted
authorities. The first comers have been
hewers of wood and drawers of water,
men who were forced to apply them
selves at once to the practical problem
of money-getting. Setting to work at
this in the cities of America, the Irish
have only gone into public life SO far
as they could do SO without interfering
with their daily occupations. Their work
has gone on while they have been elect
ed to municipal office and taken seats in
the state legislature.
Their comparative poverty consider
Ing the rest of the population, has some
what limited their sphere of action
They have not chosen the national arena
because they could not afford to leave
their work to pursue public life away
from home. The Irishman who was
elected to congress had to pull up stakes
and leave for a 'protracted period the
community in which his material inter-
est centered, SO that he has, as rule,
remained in congress but short time
often spending much of it on railway
trains between his home and the ma
tional capital In the city Of Boston,
for example, he has altogether dropped
out Of congress. In New York, Amos
Cummings is the only one who occurs
to me as having held on; and he is a
Journalist the scene of whose activities