Daily inter mountain. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1881-1901, 1900-03-17
ST. PATRICK'S DAY.

~. FASnIIA y OHIs
The Shamrock is in evidence today, and
many a heart goes fondly back in memory
to the old sod. 1t is an anniversary that
carries the mind back to the mother land,
the home upon the heather, II the green
graves of the Irish sires who made his
tory in the long ago. There is a charm
which time can never efface in he an
niversary days which are dedicated to the
home ties of a scattered nationality. 1t
is not alone the name of the good st.
Patrick. with the deeds Of Christian gen
tleness and love with which his life en-
bellished history. and ave a poetic flaw
or to the legends of the ancient days, that
makes the celebration of his memory so
dear to the heart of the man in whose
veins the blood of Ireland flows But it
is the opening of the tioodgates of Irish
history that adds perpetual interest to
the celebration of the reigning day of the
Shamrock. St. Patrick was an important
factor in one phase of the national life
of that people, but the day set apart to
his memory embraces more than the
saint himself-it covers more than 700
years of as important history as has ever
been unrolled from the scroll of the
worlds progress.
Today the best blood of Ireland circu-
lates in the veins of men prominent in
the affairs of every civilized nation on
earth, tempering the energy of action
With the sentimental instincts of the race,
adding poetry to the prose of life and
sunshine to its storms. The misfortunes
of the Emerald isle have contributed the
genius of it's people to the world and
caused their best energies to pulsate in
harmony with the progress of mankind.
There is a sentimental sid to the cele-
bration of st. Patrick's Day that reaches
to infinitely greater heights thar the
prejudices of the hou 1t is the exhibit
ton of a home love as lofty as the aspira-
tons of man, as pure as the heart beat of
a child. The love of the Irish for Ireland is
one of the most tender and beautiful sem
timents in the history of the human
race. 1t is a characteristic that excites
admiration and wins the respect of the
world. He who loves the country where
the ashes of his honored forefathers lie
has within the fabric of his soul the true
fires of patriotism that can be made to
glow 11nOn the altar nf a aunt, -,l,o.a
his posterity must live.
There is no greater mistake in the an
alysis of the human heart thar to CEN
sure the fo~reign-born citizen for the love
tnat fingers IN his bosom for the high
ways and byways and the heather and
hedges of his fatherland. Whatever NAV
be the line of his descent the love he bears
the old country is but an earnest of the
patriotism that binds him to the new. He
Who hates the land of his nativity. or
jeers the o V that protected the cradle of
ms sires. has little room in the soil of his
soul for a healthy growth of national
pride in the country he has chosen for a
home.
viewed as an expression of admiration
for the old home across the sea, st. Pat
rick's Day takes on an interest which
every loyal citizen must feel. Celebra-
tions of his type, in memory Of other
lands and other days, blaze the trail to
the purest devotion which the human
heart can center upon our own. All hon.
OF 10 the loyal citizens of foreign blood
who treasure the sentiments of their an
cestry and respect the legends of the
lands from whence they came. Their
souls are ripe for the harvest of nron,o.
sive citizenship and their future will bo
dedicated to the glory of our flag.