The Irish standard., 1902-03-22
TRUE PATRIOTISM.
An Address With the Right Ring
to 1t.

to 1t.
II. p. Hall, the veteran journalist of
st. Paul, paralyzed the members of
the Minnesota society of Sons Of the
! American Revolution at their annual
banquet. Mr.. Hall was down on the
programme to respond to the toast
| washington and His Memory" but
he said he preferred to speak to the
living rather than of the dead. His
talk, short and to the point, was so
sensational that it threw wet blan-
ket on the patriotism" of the other
speakers and rather spoiled the affair.
Mr.. Hall said in part:
| The history of this country has
been one of progress. To my mind
I it has no better illustration than, the
lives of George Washington and Abra-
ham Lincoln. Slavery in Washing
toms day was not, at least popularity,
regarded a moral crime, and George
Washington, great as he was, was a
Shareholder. He wrested our freedom
from a foreign tyrant and we honor
him. Lincoln preserved and eman-
cipated the slaves as we'll.
But we are not through with prog
ress. The democratic party lives
largely upon the traditions of the
past, and mistakes, real or hoped for
by the Republican party. They have
had better opportunity than the
Republicans of following the teach
ings of Washington's farewell let
ter, when he announced at the early
age of sixty-four that he never would
hold office again, and I wish there
were more in the Republican party
who did not feel that they must, of
necessity, be so imbued with patriot
ism that they should overlook that
portion Of Washington's letter.
There is one tremendous question in
the South at this very moment. The
negroes are in worse condition in
the South today than they were be-
fore they were emancipated. The
white population has been elevated
and advanced by the obliterating of
the political crime of slavery. But
to all practical intents and purposes
the negro in the South is still a slave.
He is DISTINGUISHED in many states,
and allowed no opportunity to rise,
and there is problem that it will
take some man, wiser than myself, to
attempt to elucidate. =
The difficulty about political indie
pendence is the binding character Of
party ties, and the feeling that If a
man dares to speak what he thinks
and differs with his party he is at
once politically ostracised.
AS said, the Republican party is
| more progressive than the Democratic
party. This is, perhaps, because so
many Of the progressive Democrats
left their party and joined the Repub-
lican ranks during the Civil war and
have dominated that party ever since.
The Mckinley bill of 1890 was a
courageous thing, and very few polit-
ical parties would have taken the
chance Of enacting it at that time,
but it was passed by the Republican
party, and it caused it's defeat, Cleve-
land being elected in 1892.
Now look at McKinley's last speech
in Buffalo. That speech would have
answered for the Democratic platform
in 1892 upon which Cleveland was
elected president. But it has been
accepted by his party, and all Repub-
licans now say Amen. If four or five
years ago any other prominent Repub-
lican had raised the standard of polit-
ical independence, which Mckinley
raised at Buffalo he would have been
ostracised and turned out of his party.
Take the case of the Spanish war.
| Why not be honest among ourselves?
Every one really knows-no matter
what he says-he knows that that
was war of conquest. We based
it upon the ground of humanity, and
possibly it has done Cuba some good,
but II we continue our present policy
the condition of that island is liable
to be worse than it was under Spanish
rule. It is only question Of time
when Cuba will be one of the states
of this Union, and why not admit
that we sought the possession of that
island for our purpose and treat the
case accordingly. Why not be frank
and honest among ourselves. 1t is an
old saying that It is never wise for a
man to attempt to deceive himself.
President Mckinley was standing in
solid bulwark against congress that