New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1903-12-25
NO HENS IN FANEUIL HALL.

The author Of those classic words: "The pig
was in the parlor, and that was Irish. too"
might never have penned such a reflection upon
the of Erin if he had known Mayor Patrick
Collins of Boston Mr.. Colins's veins are filed
with good, rich Irish blood, and he is proud Of
it. So far as we have observed he does not
pretend to any superiority over the rest Of the
race, or attempt to trace his ancestry to Plym-
outh Rock with only a temporary sojourn on
the way at Barney Castle. He was not edu-
Gated at Harvard and his grandfather did not
fight at Lexington. His reverence for the sa-
cred Goldfish and the other traditions of Boston
is not natural, but acquired. Yet this Irish
man not only keeps the pig out of the parlor.
but the chicken out of Faneuil Hall.
The surprising thing is that it should have
been reserved for him to save Faneuil Hall
from being turned into a henhouse. Where
were Concord and Lexington and Bunker Hill?
Where were the blue bloods Of the Back Bay?
Where were all the ancients and honorables to
whom Boston Common is so sacred that they
will not even turn it over to the Park Commits
sion to be properly protected? The New-Eng-
land Light Brahma Club wanted to hold poul-
Try show in Boston. Who compose the New
England Light Brahma Club we do not know.
We suppose, however, that they are mostly Sons
Of the Revolution, in blood and breeding fully
equal to their pure bloOded fowls. Nobody but
New-England Brahmins would be the patrons
Of the Brahma rooster. Inasmuch as the well
fare of the Brahma rooster was for the moment
the cause dearest to their hearts since the cry
for Philippine independence had lost interest,
it was perhaps characteristic for them to think
that a little growing under their auspices in
Faneuil Hall would be quite as appropriate
some Of the braying with which they have hon
TO how
decided that Faneuil Hall was the proper place
for the poultry show, secured from the Board
of Aldermen permit for the exhibition, and
were about to put the hens to cackle where of
old the ca gle screamed. when New-England ira
ditions in the person of the Irishman from Fer
moy stepped in with a veto. Perhaps it was
recollection of the schoolbOy days of an Irish
lad in q land Of wonder and opportunity, and
a keener sense Of the value OF those impress
sons than comes to others who take their de
scent from the Puritans rs a tribute to their
own worth, which led him to speak Of "such use
'of Faneuil Hall as illegitimate and substan-
italy q proclamation"
Good for Mayor Collinsl Good for all those
who in harmony with him inspired by his
example, inculcate reverence for the great deeds,
great places and great men in our historyl The
turning of Faneuil Hall over to a poultry club
Bell iunketing about the country hatcars
an advertisement for fairs. The Liberty Bell
would undoubtedly increase the gate receipts of
any fair, and a Light Brahma rooster who had
dwelt in Faneuil Hall would, on account Of his
added "side" fetch more than an ordinary price.
And if, instead of Light Brahmas the exhibition
were to be of Plymouth Rocks, who can calcu-
late the added value? Webster, when he boast
ed that he was a Wing, "a Massachusetts
"Whig, a Revolutionary Whig, a Faneuil Hall
WING" could not claim for himself the pre-
eminence among his kind that would belong to
the hen who clucked: 81 Plymouth Rock,
"a Massachusetts Plymouth Rock, a Faneuil
Hall Plymouth Rock"
1t might be argued that It is well thus to pop
ularize sacred things and bring them into the
life Of people who might not otherwise see them
or know their story. But, after all, the way TO
cultivate reverence for anything is to keep 1t
sacred. The distinction between reverence and
curiosity or sensationalism is too often forgot
ten We see a great deal of exploitation Of his
toric events and objects Is 1t certain that 1t
always shows respect for them. and results in
an increased disposition to illustrate in our lives
the virtues which they taught