The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1902-11-29
army and once more private citizen.
He now resides in Burlington, VT, and
moves in high circles.
BOOKS IN IRISH CHARACTERS.

Through the persistent efforts of
Mr.. Martin McHale, the former Labor
Commissioner of Minnesota, a fine
collection of books relating to the
Emerald Isle has been recently added
to the Athenaeum section of the Min
Ncapolis Public Library. The books
are printed in both English and Irish
characters, and they will interest not
only the children of the Gael but
students of every nationality who de-
sire to learn something of the little
island in the Atlantic which has been
so prolific for centuries in soldiers,
statesmen, orators and poets.
The list of books is published OH
another page. Among those worth
special mention are "Hibernica," can
nails Of the Four Masters and can
Equities of Ireland" which every son
of Erin proud of his ancestry should
read. In point of history and litera-
ture the collection is very valuable,
and on behalf Of the Celtic citizens of
the Northwest the Irish Standard
takes this occasion to thank the men,
bers of the Athenaeu1n Association
for procuring such rare books at con-
siderable expense.
Some English historians have repre-
scented the ancient Irish as barba-
rians, and many men Of Irish origin
who are ignorant of Ireland's history
have taken for granted that what the
Saxon writer's have said of their fore
fathers is true. A perusal Of the vol
umes in the Public Library of Mime
apolis will convince them that Ire
land possessed men of culture and re-
finement centuries before the Anglo
Norman set his predatory foot on her
ccnsecrated soil, and that the grand
old Irish race had attained celebrity
in literature, science, religion and art
when the progenitors of the vain
glorious Anglo-Saxons were painted
savages in England like the American
Indians Of the present day.
The Irish people have been grossly
maligned and misrepresented by pref
udiced, lying historians for the pur-
pose of justifying the atrocities of the
English Inv Ireland. For many years
the world believed what was said of
the Irish and thought they deserved
to be oppressed in order to be civil
lied. The world is now awakening to
the fact that the Irish have been mis-
represented as well as misgoverned
and that instead of being rude and
uncultured they were pre-eminently
distinguished for their intellectual at
tainments at a period when all Europe
was in mental and moral darkness.
There is abundant proof of the SUI
periority of the Irish in civilization
to be found in the books at the Mime
apolis Library. Despite the vandal-
ism of the English, who tried to de-
stroy all evidences of civilization in
Ireland, these and other books re-
main to give the lie direct to such
men as Dickens, Hume and Froude,
who have painted the Irish in sombrc
l.ues and declared that they are i'll
debtcd to the English for rescung
them from ignorance and barbarism
Men of Irish descent in Mime
apolis should learn something of the
race from which they have sprung
They have now an opportunity which
they never had before. If they pos
sess any self-respect they will make
use of the books placed ut their dis
posal, free of cost, by the members
of the Library Board. If they use
these books and show their appecia-
ton, others of similar character will
be gradually added to the collection.