Waterbury Democrat., 1902-07-24
PRESIDENT KEATlNG,s REPORT

| Healthy Condition. The annual report of National Pres
 ident John T. Heating of the A. O. H
 was comprehensive, explicit and fruit | full in suggestions, and was warmly applauded by the delegates at the con
 vention held in Denver.
 1 After short salutatory MT Keat
 ing, in speaking of the close relations
 of the clergy and Hibernians, paid 8
 tribute to the chaplain, the late Arch
 bishop P. A. Feehan of Chicago, in the
 following language:
 l "May he rest in peace. His great
 kindly Gaelic soul full of ambition for
 his people and love for Ireland's flu
 ture, is gone to receive the reward of
 saintly life, but his memory and
 noble interest will ever remain green in Hibernian circles"
 In regard to the condition of the or der he said:
 ''I am much pleased to say that the
 reports to be submitted to your com
 mittees will prove that the order has
 made rapid strides on the road of pro-
 gress. The term just closed has
 been of rare experience and develop ment of the order to meet the new
 needs and competition which in many sections interfered with our strength
 numerically We are to-day the strongest Catholic body organized in the United States. We can go fur ther and proudly claim we are the strongest body in the world comprised of one nationality and belonging to one religion
 The aid given the Boers by the An cient Order of Hibernians is thus her aided:
 "Your splendid generosity and sym pathy with the struggling Boers of South Africa enabled the Irishmen of this country to equip and send to the Ifansyaal an ambulance corps, com posed of members of the Irish socie- ties. When the fortunes of war com pelled the return of the gallant men who went to the front, your fund, to the amount of .$5,00O. was flashed across the ocean to bring them safe to America. When the English govern ment delayed the delivery of the mon- ey, you sent ovar $4,OOO more to se- cure the, return of the gallant, few When the surrender of DeWet and De- larey, after peace was declared, we learned that few more of those gal lant Irish lads were awaiting means of transportation. One of them we had believed dead. Your officers at once sent $1,0OO to pay their passage and bring them back to the United States"
 The president recommended the di vision of the country into six districts and consequent additional members to the board of directors.
 4 MT keating expressed the hope that ln tl9O4 his successor, would be able to report union of fHibernians the world over, Considerable progress in that di- rect1on had been made, he said, the Hi bernian Australasian society accepting clearances from the American body.
 The work of the Gaelic league was warmly commended, and much praise was given the Ladies' auxiliary. say- ing:
 The enlistment of the interest of the lr1shwoman in the great work of our society means the easier solution of many vexed problems which present themselves. It also provides an addi- tional incentive to the members of the A. o. H., who are now realizing the fact that, tic work of the order is not confined to the spheres of benevolent or national enterprise, but in addition thereto, extends out into the fields of economic and social developments
 The study of Irish history in the schools was strongly advocated. some or MT Keating's remarks, such as the following, being particularly pointed:
 We would carry the facts into the
 common school, that our children, learning the truth, may desire to honor a country, not for sentimental reasons, but because of the value of its peoples work in behalf of humanity. Timidity in, this crusade to establish the reDuta- ton of a nation is little short of cow ardice. The church. which controls the parochial schools. owes it's present fiourishing condition to the sacrifices of the Irish immigrant who, to give his family the benefit of Catholic train ing, abandoned the wealth awaiting him. did he secure the broad lands easy to possess in the firt half of the century. Let us ask our clergy to requite us for the past by teaching our children what Ireland was, what her people suffered, what her exiles accomplished in every land HlGIS 1dIE IdWS adIu eQudl opportunity was afforded them.''
 The. president showed himself a strong advocate of the education of Catholic children in Catholic schools, Catholic parents, Incidentally, being that their offspring should be given the benefits of higher educa- ton in the following words:
 ''We must see that our schools can provide the boy with manual training, higher mathematics and instruction in science. I regret to note among the students in high schools, parochial or public, the almost infnitesimal num- Der of Irish Catholic youths which may be found there. Is it possible that Irish Catholic parents are losing the grand ambition to educate their child ren, which at one time was a distin- gushing characteristic of our people? Is it possible that we will be content to have our people occupying subordi- nate positions i'll the army of industry? The public high schools and normal schools are the primary schools for modern materialism. In them can be found no influence which will keep youth loyal to the Catholic precept and Catholic dogma. We must pro- vide the Catholic training school, the Catholic commercial school for our