The Intermountain Catholic. (Salt Lake City [Utah] ;) 1899-1920, 1900-02-17

. sore neeu. IHlllh- anu IL ye WOulu0
mind givin me a hunk of bread or piece
e OF pie 10 fetch to them, goodness vii
? not forget We if (as God forbidD yoI
should happen to fall into the same
q disthress.
! The old faction spirit still clings t.
our people abroad as well as at home
and our i'll wishers are fond of say
1 ing that you cannot leave two Irish.
r men in a room alone or one would xii
t the other in vindication of his method
( of freeing Ireland. And so they tell us
( that this want of cohesion, Of agree
= ment, of unity is one Of the big defects
Of our nature in America as well as
, at home. The people who call it a fault
, because we do not always agree re-
t garding ways and means are superficial
thinkers. Some one has said that the
curse Of our Irish nature is accentu-
ated individuality. That this is the key
10 the problem / admit, but that indi-
viduality acCentuated is curse l deny.
Other nationalities there are, and sue
Cessful ones, who let one man or two
men think for them and crowd like a
flock of sheep WheTesoever the driver
drives them. They are successful. Con-
tented sheep will grow fat. But every
| freshman sets a value-tOo high value
if you like-on his own intellect and
thinks for himself and thinks that he
can think as well as his neighbor, if
not better And though, collectively,
this is a misfortune, it is an admira BILE
trait individually.
From the ordinary worldly-what you
call the practical-point of view, then,
Irishmen may be unfortunate in their
natures. bat looked at from the moral
level, as good men should look at such,
they are specially blessed. Once two
of my cOuntrymen disagreed about the
right and wrong of a subject, and at
/ length n h1nVVS Whom n
them knocked OUT the other if you
will permit me borrowing from the
language of your ring), he bent over
his fallen friend and asked, Have ye
got enough?" Plenty, Lord knows. y
Who's right then?' You're right, of
ccurse-though the divil take me if I
believe it" Then give US a shake of
your fist, and ye're free to believe what
We choose, so long as We don't want to
| shove it down my throat" That was
! an empty illustrative combination of
| asEertiye individuality and moral toler-
ance.
For, though the Irish American does
not get proper credit for it, he is a
very tolerant indiVidual-nuch more
! tolerant now than before he quilted
/ home. Even the North of Ireland
| Orangeman, who. with the possible eX-
! ceptiOn of Mohammed's henchman. is
| the most tolerant individual that ever
/ stalked over the earth, grows bread,
liberal and Irish in America. Yet
among US northern Irish the old feeling
of party animosity takes long killing,
! admit. On one st. Patrick's day an
ungracious mayor refused the right of
having the green floated over the city
hall. An indignant northern Irishman
was. to an American group. rating the
contemplate mayor at a grand pace.
One Of the Americans interposed: But,
Charlie, if he granted you Irishmen
such a privilege on this day, the Dutch
would ask to have their flag hoisted %On
day of their celebration, Certain
ly, an why shouldn't they?" said the
just Charlie, hotly.-"Oh, but then the
French would ask to have their flag,
too. hoisted on their day" AN, of
course, so it should Charlie assented.
And then the Swedes would look for
the same privilege" Certainly, why
not?" And you'd let the Dagos have
theirs. too Justice is justice, even if
a man is a Dago" and Charlie looked
about him with bold, challenging air.
And you'd. give the Greek and the jew
the same right?' THE Creek, the Jew
and the Turk" assented Charlie. And
on the 18th day of July, of course, the
Orangemen would fly their flag on it?'
Instantly Charlie placed a fearful fist
under his questioner's nose. and said:
Il would br'ak the neck of the man !
who would propose it,
The partial disgust and dislike with |
which, at one time. the southern Irish |
and the northern Irish in America |
viewed each other are much mitigated !
in these days. l think it was principal |
~ because of the non-Celtic element, |
or, at least, non-Irish, for which the |
north was noted, that the southerners
detested us, the Fardowns- 1t will be
remembered now, when the greenhorn
tumbled down a dark sewer and the |
KeTTyInan hailed him to know if he
was far down, the poor fellow fearfully
repiied: No, no. thank God. I'm only
from Limerick" Even between the
purely Celtic and Irish northern and
the southern there is an interesting diff
ference of characteristics. Whether or
not it is from his long association with
the Scot / know not, but our northern
Irish Celt represses his emotions and is
distrustful of strangers. whereas the
southern Irishman is a jolly comrade,
himself and all his kin on an
hours acquaintance. The north
ern Is slower in friendship and
I think. tTuer. He is not nearly
so brilliant as his southern cousin, but
he is a sounder reasoner and
a brainier man. The northern
will never make as accomplished
4 StnllellldI GC LiiC oOulHtIIl. anu /
be will never win his way so fast or so
we'll. Yet he has more tact and more
selfshness than his neighboT.
Not only are my kin to be found in
avery possible and impossible corner
and calling in the United States. show
ng their adaptability and versatility
Dut they Outlines are found in odd and |
situations. In a, big western |
own once ! wandered into a show to
lad been long ensaved by the Turk,
letail her wonderful experiences. Her /
,arly life in CircasSia. with all its love ]
mess and joy, was as beautifully and
detailed as her after years
With the MohammeGan. and both the
pretty girl flor She was pretty) and her
wonderful tale were doubly wonderful
md interesting to me- inasmuch as |
discovered that Circassians speak Eng =
ish with an excellent County Galway !
rogue. / am fond Of little crowds, and i
offering along State street in Chicago.
ne night, stopped on the skirts of a q
title gathering which had congregated
round an earnest looking Kentuckian =
reacther, who was seeking from the
'hristian ,ChicagOan help for mission
ry work among the benighted heather
f his Kentuckian town.
This good man preached at his audi Y
nee and prayed for them by turns,
nd a haggard, big framed fellow who
tocd by the preacher. bearing a stand t
I'd, punCtuated his masters prayers
18th intermittent long drawn, Praise
iodi" which was given with such an
Xquisite Irish brogue that my curios-
Y was very much awakened, for 1
ad never seen an Irishman in such an
flee before. l saw well that Patrick
ad fallen upon evil times. Both his Il
Ountenance and his clothes showed it,
nd the gapes in his boots spoke loudly II
} the same effect. His eye met mine L
t length, and the humor of the situa-
on proving too much for me. | smiled. cI