The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1898-03-07
HONOR TO ROBERT EMME7 7
The Anniversary of His Birth
Appropriately Celebrated.
THE COLUMBIA CROWDED
Representative Fitzgerald and EX-
Representative Finnerty Deliver
Eloquent Addresses Reference to
the Slaughter of the Maine Heroes
Greeted with Intense Enthusiasm.

! 1he epltaph OF Robert Emmet has not
| yet been written. but had the audience
| that gathered at the Columbia Theater
! last night To celebrate the anniversary of
! his birth the means of carrying out the
| undertaking. il would be written before
many hours.
| The celebration was given under the
! auspices of the Ancient Order of Hiber-
mans of the city, and was one of the
| largest and most enthusiastic that has
! been held here, and this is all the more
| remarkable as ii is the third large Irish
American demonstration that has taken
place in this city in few months. The
! first was the reception given Miss Maude
Come at the same theater, and the next
the lecture of John Daily, of Limerick, at
the National Theater, and the success of
the meeting last night only serves to at
| test the tenacity of the Irishman in his
| hereditary longing for liberty and self
government.
The orator of the evening was eX-Rep-
resentatve John f. Finnerty, of Chicago,
and his remarks relative to entangling al
liances between America and foreign
! countries carried the audience by storm.
| When he referred to the death of the
| American marines in the harbor of Ha-
vana and said that if it was due to
Spanish design it would be the duty of
! every loyal Irishman to march to the
| front to avenge them, the house went
wild with enthusiasm.
| The meeting was opened by Represen-
! tative Fitzgerald, of Boston, who pre-
/ sided. He said that the name of Robert
mn Mill tha
! of brave men are remembered by lib
! erty-loving people. ''Irishmen,' he said,
have every reason to celebrate the birth
OF Emmet and especially this year, for
it would go down in history as one of
the most memorable ones In the long
| struggle of Ireland for freedom.
Hundreds OF thousands of loyal Irish
men will return this year to the island
on pilgrimage, and as they stand on the
! spots where scaffolds Were erected CEN
! tury ago, they will receive new courage
! and inspiration
Continuing, he said: THE spirit of the
! Irish hero lives abroad as well as at
| home, as has been so often shown.
"A feg weeks ago terrible calamity
befell the American battleship Maine in
the harbor of Havana, and in looking
over the names of the brave men who
lost their lives, we find that scores of
them We're Irish. True to their country
and loyal to their flag, they died at the
post of duty like men, and if il is found
that their destruction was caused by
willful design, 1 tell you thousands of
loyal Irishmen from all parts of the
country will march to the front to avenge
their death" These words had hardly
left the speakers mouth before they met
| with q quick response from the audience.
| EX-Representative Finnerty was then
introduced. He began by saying that the
voice of Irish liberty speaks Ioudest and
most strongly among the younger men
of America.
There was time he said. when
Irish generals led Irish armies to victory,
even against the proud hearts of the
! English
The voice of Ireland has only been
stffled with her own shores. The
/ Irish have been forced to make such sac
rifices 10 England that every true wearer
! OF the green holds England in abhor-
renee. Every anti-Irish cartoon and every
| libel against the Irish people at home
or abroad is inspired by our hereditary
enemy, England. Is ii any wonder that
we cherish a manly resentment against
such a country? England ruled the
wave, and while she did the Irish were
slaves in their native land. Some people
think that ireland is poor, perforce
Nothing is more erroneous. She has
| boundless resources, and of her harbors
fourteen are large enough 10 float the
combined fleets of the world. Why is
| Ireland poor? Because she has been
made so by being subjugated to Eng
land-not by the sword but by breach ca
treaties. The Irish were made illiterate
first, and then impoverished. We are
devouuy thankful, though that the irish
man is honored wherever he has gone
among the nations to fight the battle of
liberty.
The name of Emmett always recalls
most painful, as well as most glorious,
memories. We see how he gave up all
that was beautiful in life to espouse the
cause of liberty. We see how he enter
ed the presence of the great Bonaparte
and almost impressed him with the wis
dom of striking England through Ire
land. People say he was enthusiastic
so he was. Is 1t not enough to make
our hearts burn with Indignation now
when think of what Emmett felt a
you that the parliament Of 1900 made us
what are, by only minority of a
fifth of Irish representatives, many of
whom were paid functionaries. One hum
dred and eghty-six offices were given
out to Irishmen by England as bribes
sixteen regiments were given to coonels
for the same purpose. and even two
church bshoprcs To this thing Eng
land wanted US to be loyal For this
cause Robert Emmett became the first
martyr. Do you not remember his inn
mortal midnight request that you should
never violate-never TO to write his epi-
taph until ireland has taken her place
among the nations of the world?"
The speaker concluded by saying "It !
| may be proper for me to say on this !
occasion "A few words regarding Ameri-
| can affairs. If l were in Congress now
/ would hesitate a long time before [
would urge the treatymaking body TO
violate the Injunction Of Washington
that we keep free of foreign entangling
alliances. The Irish not opposed to
honest arbitration, but they do object to
anything like job-lot arbitration. string
arbitration, and perpetual court of ar
bitration. / know of no nation that
We are less obliged to than England In
| 1861. when we had our family dispute
| England recognized the belligerency of
the South, and while both sections of
| parliament were subscribing to the Con-
federate loan. OF all the nations of Eu-
rope to send a telegram of sympathy
to President Lincoln surely 1t was not
England. We should attend to our own
affairs. The American Eagle Is large
enough to protect the liberty of AmerI-