The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1903-01-24
THE: IRISH in HISTORY.

Ireland we do not wonder that so
many Of her deliberate lies pass for
truth i'll communities that do not I'M
derstand the real situation.
England spends thousands of pounds
every year in this direction, and no
field has been left unexpected that
could i'll any way hide the real story
of her connection with Ireland. To do
this work Il most elaborate system has
been established under the secret serv-
ice of England, which reaches out in
every direction. Statesmen and schol-
airs, college professors and school
managers, business men and clergy
men, and men in all the lines of nio
have been reached, by one means or
another, by the corrupting influence Of
this system, says the National Hiber-
MAN.
Evidence of this evil influence appears
on every hand. In the school books of
twenty or thirty years ago many al
lusions to Irish heroism might be
found and in their examples OF oratory
the speeches of Emmett, Grattan, and
other patriots were quite frequently
used. Now not Il vestige Of Ireland or
her history appear in the text books OF
the public schools and even many of
our own Catholic schools are supplied
with somewhat similar literature.
In history, biography, fiction, and all
other books supplied to the adult read
er the same conditions may be OBJ
served. In histories Of the American
Revolution, for instance, written half
a century ago, Irishmen received some
credit, though not enough, for the part
they took in helping to throw off the
English yoke and establishing Ameri-
can independence. In the works of to-
day they are either entirely ignored or
so casually alluded to that they do not
appear as anything like factors in the
beneficent changes which were brought
about.
In works OH the worlds poetry the
name Of Moore, who was pronounced
by such men as Byron and Scott as
one of the greatest poets that ever
lived, does not appear. The same
may be said with regard to oratory, a
field in which, above all others, our
countrymen have distinguished them
selves. In fact many of our most dis
tinguished orators are set down as
Englishmen.
Now this condition Of affairs has not
been brought about by accident, nor is
it the outcome of any lack Of evidence.
1t is the result, pure and simple, OF q
deep laid plot which has been for
years so Systematically worked up and
so persistently pursued that lies APP
pear as truths and the name of Ire
land is not mentioned in the history
of the worlds work
Or, if it does appear, it is made to
stand as the representative Of an ignor-
ance in letters and intolerance in relig-
ion which were always foreign to Our
race and nation. Even when English
laws made it death to impart either re-
ligious or secular knowledge our people
went abroad to learn and came back to
instruct, under the cover of darkness
and in the face of the direct persecu-
ton, those who We're compelled to re-
main at home.
In his recent able speech before our
Order in New York, Mr.. William Nc
Adoo, ex-Assistant Secretary of the
Navy, stated that there is more pro-
found ignorance of Irishmen and the
Irish in the United States than in any
other place or among any other race
in any part of the world. He had been
thoroughly appalled,, he said, and thor
oughly discouraged, in talking to OPEN
minded and receptive and big-hearted
American friends, to find how little
they know about Irishmen and the
Irish.
This could not be said of Americans
fifty years ago, and it can only be
said now as the result Of the plot we
have alluded to and in consequence OF
our own inactivity and negligence in
not counteracting the effects of that
plot and driving the lies down the
threats of our enemies as soon as they
were uttered.
We have not, as Mr.. McAdoo further
adds, taken ourselves or our cause
seriously enough and we have. in too
many cases, stood idly by when libels
were repeated and never raised voice
or pen in defence of the truth.
Bishop Cosgrove, of Davenport. Ia,