The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1898-12-24
A CHRISTMAS GREETING.

A merry Christmas to you!
For we serve the Lord with mirth,
And carol forth glad tidings,
OF our Holy Savior's birth,
So we keep the olden greeting,
With its meaning deep and true.
And wish merry Christmas,
And happy New Year to you.
| A merry Christmas to all the readers
and patrons of the Irish Standard. The
same to the editors and publishers of all
our esteemed contemporaries, both secu-
lar and religious, and irrespective Of
politics, so long as they express honest
sentiments for the promotion of the
public welfare
We have no desire to inflict homily
on our dear readers, but this is joyous,
festive OCCASION during which our heart
is bubbling with good nature, and we
wish them all full measure Of peace
and happiness-not only for the physi-
cal order, which at best is ephemeral and
| transitory, but that which comes from
above, and which this world, with all it's
| vanity and vexation Of spirit, can neither
give nor take away. In short, we wish
peace on earth to men Of good will"
! On all our readers who have the best
interests of this grand country at heart
we invoke the blessing of the divine
Babe who was born in the lowly village
| of Bethlehem of Judea nineteen centuries
ago. Though He came to attend to His
Fathers business and to redeem hui
manity from its sins, He was not indif-
ferent to the temporal welfare of His
native country. He loved the land of
His BIRTH and wept over Jerusalem when
contemplating the fate to befall that
city from the hands of Titus, who left
not one stone upon another, but utterly
destroyed it.
The Savior Of mankind whose ami
versary all Christians celebrate tomor-
row, was a patriot, as is evident in His
life and teachings while on earth. The
virtue Of patriotism is implanted by God
in the human heart, and the man who
does not love the land that bore him is
not worthy Of the respect Of anyone
In the words of Sir Walter Scott no
matter how high is title or position may
be,
The wretch, concentered all in self,
| Living, shall forfeit fair renown,
| And doubly dying shall go down
! To the vile dust, from whence he sprung,
Unwept. unhonored and unsung
| 1t is. therefore, the duty Of every
man who is citizen Of this great repub-
lie founded by Washington and his COM
patriots. to love, cherish and protect 1t
from foreign and domestic foes. We are
| sure that the readers of the Irish Stand
ard love America with all their hearts,
| and that they never will allow British
chicanery and intrigue to rob them Of
their God-given rights.
A large number of the readers of this
journal have fed from British oppres-
sion and sought this republic as re-
fugecs. They will assuredly combat to
the death, If necessary, the yielding of
their rights and privileges under the
American constitution to their ancient
oppressor and inveterate enemy, not
wlthstanding the mania for an Anglo
American alliance with which a certain
class of denizcns in this country is
afflicted at the present time.
They will be more likely to heed the
warning of Washington to keep this
country from "entangling foreign al
lances" than to indorse tho recommen-
dation Of the jelly-fsh and India-rubber
Mckinley in his recent utterances
through the South. With the arts of a
demagogue he appealed to the baser in
stincts of the people in favor of his pi-
ratical scheme of expansion: and to ,Ilin
their sanction he declared that this ma
ton in future would care for the graves
of the Confederate soldiers who for four
years fought desperately to destroy the
unity of the republic. When the chief
magistrate Of this glorious country and
his political satellites are aiming to con-
vert his republic into an empire, and
follow the example of England in sub
jugating weaker nations, it Is in order
for all good Christians at this holy sea-
son to pause and reflect and pray for
the safety and perpetuity of republican
institutions on this continent.