The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1903-05-30
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MASTERS OR SERVANTS?
Commissioner Il Mcsweeney Gives Good
Advice TO Irish Immigrants.

Advice to Irish Immigrants. /.
What the Irish in America must do
to maintain their standing was the
topic on which Edward T. Nc
Sweeney, formerly assistant United
States commissioner OF immigration,
delivered a remarkable addrdess re-
Gently at Young's hotel in Boston,
before the Charitable Irish society.
The formal title Of his address was,
"Irish immigration to the United
States; Its Character, Scope and Re-
Suits" But he reviewed the figures
showing the proportion of Irish i'm
migrants to those of other nations,
and made the point that if the Irish
are to prosper and maintain them
selves in influence in this country
they should turn their attention away
from law and politics to the fields of
practical arts and business. He said,
in part: Our race was formerly
classed as being composed of saloon
keepers and policemen. In the secorsl
generation alone of Irish in Massa-
chusetts to-day, there are more law
yers, doctors and authors than there
are saloon-keepers, and more teachers
than policemen. The verdict of time
will, l am sure, give the Irish emf
grant the measure of credit he de-
serves. The United States, and Mass
achusetts in particular, is under the
greatest obligation to him. They
gave him home, but in return he did
his full share toward building them
up to the position they enjoy. The
second and third generations should,
however, awake to the fact that they
have struggle before them. The
changing character of the alien ar
rivals has brought here race forces
that have been trained in a school of
adversely just as bitter as the Irish,
and who come here eager to take the
place of the Irish in every field of
human endeavor if they can. This
Is to their credit; the strongest al
ways win, and they deserve to, and
my only purpose is to point out the
fact, because it is my honest belief
that, if they want to- the Irish can
do as much in the next fifty years
as the Irish immigrants did in the
fifty years gone by"
'The first thing to be done is to
instill pride of race everywhere al
ways. The Germans in the United
States are better citizens because they
keep alive pride in their race. OF
late years there has been Il tendency
among Il certain class to drift away
and to follow the lead of peculiar
creature who has been abroad in the
land and who is Il radical absur(lity
calling himself Scotch Irishman.
Many Irishmen have been led astray
by this freak, who belongs in the
class of things that do not exist
like the dodo, great aux and the
whangdoodle. Once Irishmen begin
to excuse themselves for being what
they are, they are lost. Only race de-
generates are ashamed of their race
and their fathers. The Americans we
despise and ridicule are Anglomani-
acs; the Jews who bring shame upon
their race are those who hide their re-
ligion and apologize for their fathers
= "Adversity brings out the strong
virtues of n race; prosperity saps
them: and if in an alien land the
Irish forget and do not continue to
live up and love the religion, race and
traditions that have preserved them
intact all these centuries they will
and should perish. What the Irish
need to-day is plain talk. The vir-
tues of honesty, loyalty, fidelity, in
dustry and courage were the chief
characteristics of our fathers and they
must never be allowed to become
minor qualities in the New England
Yanllee-Irish. If Irish. jew or TIA ian
desire good treatment in the common
wealth, they must show themselves
worthy Of it. The lessons are around
them everywhere; the man who wins
is the man who works. The men
foremost in the affairs of the state,
politically. commercially. industrally
and financially are not men "born in
the purple" but men who started in
resolved to win, and mastered their
particular business by industry, appli-
cation and persistence. The Irish
>merican cannot ape Americanism
,ust be content to be what he is,
nber of clean-bloodcd race,
nOrable traditions and Il mag
history, if he wants to
anything. If he must set
american for model. let
live up to men of whom
lerica. but the world, is
lily to the government of
fidelity to it's political
policy and Il willingness
o preserve it's integrity
good name, are the
tied States requires
zens. The man who
. an Irishman into a
.'ankec into an Irish