The Irish standard., 1898-08-20
WHO ARE THE FeRElGNERs7


Times, in narrow spirit of know
nothingness. says that Mr.. Chamber
lalns speech was perfectly understood in
England and the United States, Except
ny portion of our foreign population
as represented in their papers published
here" and that ''the man who calls him
SELF German-A American, or Irish-Amer-
can, Or Hungarian American is only half
an American in spirit When the Irish
Standard, which represents the Irish
American citizens of this commonwealth
criticized the un-American sheet for it's
bigoted utterances. it poured it's walls of
wrath on 1.-The organ of Fenianism'' and
stigmatfzed it's patrons as "dynamiters
and blackguards, because it and they
are opposed to the unholy alliance be-
tween Great Britain and the United
States.
We desire to reply to the Times de-
nunciation as briefly as possible. and at
the outset we will say that the only for
eigners that we know in these United
States are the British subjects, who will
not renouncc their allegiance to the
Union Jack and become American citj-
zcns by adoption We have quite num-
Der Of them here in Minneapolis who
are merely sojourners in a strange land,
aliens under a foreign flag, and ready to
depart for their native homes when
they have accumulated plenty of Amer
lean dollars. Many of them had declared
their intention Of becoming citizens of
this republic in order that they may
vote; but when the state of Minnesota
passed law requiring them to become
full-tledged citizens before voting. they
absolutely declined to perfect their nat
uralzation and thus became disfranchis-
ed. Though they are foreigners by choice
and purpose to continue SO, every moth
ers son of them is enthusiastic over
an Anglo-SaNon alliance. as they were
two years ago over the Anglo-American
arbitration treaty. What fraction of
IAN American in spirit are these lions
wheps?
Let us instruct our next door neighbor
little more: An alien or foreigner who
resides here either permanently or tenn
porarlly is "one who has not the privi-
leses of a citizen" and citizen Is "a
member OF commonwealth in the en-
joyment of full political rights" A citi-
zen of foreign birth may reach the high
est office in the gift of the people of
Minnesota. One Of them was governor,
of this state and is now representing the
commonwealth i'll the upper house of
the congress of the United States. The
only office he cannot fill is that of presi-
| dent, from which he is barred by the ac-
cident of birth. He was soldier of the
rebellion and is as much of an Ameri-
can as his colleague of native birth.
The Times foolishly imagines that
foreigners cannot understand things like
Englishmen and Americans of the Anglo
Saxon breed. What are the Americans
| on this continent but foreigners and
children of foreigners? Those who came
i'll recent years are as good and re-
| spectacle as those who came two hum
| dred years ago. They cannot all he of
! Anglc-Saxon descent. Even all English
| men cannot trace their origin to Hengist
| and Horsa. Washington, the father of
| his country" was Of Norman pedigree
The fact Of the matter is that at the
| highest computation not more than one
third of the present population Of the
United States is of English descent, not
] to speak of Anglo-Saxon at all, and we