The Montgomery advertiser., 1904-04-04
SPOKE TO HIBERNIANS
INTERESTING ADDRESS BY DEN.
 MS RYAN OF BUFFALO.
He is National Organizer of Order and Presented Logical Reasons to Montgomery Audience
 For Its Support.

"One half of the army commanded hy Washington, the army which wrested freedom for the American people from the British Government was composed Of Irishmen. one-fourth was made up of other nationalties and onefourth was composed of native Americans said Dennis Ryan of Buffalo. N. Y. yesterday in an address to the Montgomery mem- hers of the Ancient Order of Hiberlans. Yet the Irishmen who fought with Washington and were SO instrumental in bringing the war of the Revolution to a successful conclusion" Mir. Ryan con- tinued. have never been given due credit for the part they played in the upbuild- ing of America.
 "The names of great Irishmen who have rendered distinguished services have been distorted and msspelt until their nationality has been lost sight of. Even so learned and distinguished scholar as President Eliot of Howard University. man looked up to by both the educated and the uneducated classes. in a publish cd work. ignored the great part played by Irlshmen in the early days of Ameri- ca. When irrefutable proofs were brought to him to show that he had made this error he admitted his mistake saying that he had not known of these lllukS anu tlldt hc ieaN b'Cii iNN S'SNH~' through lack of information.
 ''The work of Trishmen has been too often ignored their deeds too often belittled to believe that it has been accidentally done. We cannot doubt that some influence to the detriment or the Irish race has been at work in the making of tine history of America TO offset this, to give credit where credit is duo is one of the purposes of the An cient Order of Hiberians."
 The members of the consolidated divis- ions of the A. o. H. in Montgomery listened attentively and sympathetically to the forcible presentation of the claims of their order made by MT. Ryan, who is their National Organizer. The lecture was made yesterday afternoon at 3 o'clock in the meeting room of Division No. i in the parish house of St. Peters Church. Mir. Ryan is at present touring the South in the interest of the Hiber- nians, securing new members and strengthening the interest of old mem beTs.
 Mir. Ryan was introduced by State Sec retary Hugh Gallagher. In his introduce tory remarks Mir. Gallagher explained that at the National Convention of the A. O. II. held in Denver Col. last July if was determined to send the National
  West where the Irish were not SO numer- ous as in the North and East. This determination, said Mir Gallagher, was mt an evidence of the deterioration of the order. but was on the country an evidence of its strength and rapid growth inasmuch as it showed that the order was able to send man out and pay the necessarily heavy expenses for him to arouse interest in the order in com munities where the Irish were but few.
 Mir. Ryan admitted with regret that there were few young people of Irish descent in many communities wno apologized and made excuses for their race as if there was anything in the fact of a mans being an lrishman that ne should apologize for
 "The stage Irishman, the caricature oil the stage and the would-be funny filings at the Irish in the columns of the press are responsible in way for the Iac' that some of our young people who nave risen as they think above their ancestors look upon the word Irish as a reproach' said Mir. Ryan. "The stage Trishman ls especially responsible for this. And the man who does this is one of us. he Is an Irishman and he Is therefore better qualified to do 1t. The trouble with us is that we have been tolerating the stage Irlshman and laughed at him. We never think that he means us. but we believe that he means the man across tht l street."
 The thing that grieved thoughtful III bernians. he said was that some rev descendants Of the Irish race bearlhl good old names like Sullivan. Sweehe! and OHalloran had left their faith aIi' some of them had united in movements aimed al their race and their religion l Why near Louisville, Ky. there ls man named Pat Casey and he is oev enth Day Adventist" said MT. Ryan He is ashamed of his people and apo, oeizes for them. He tells of the tlIi u when as he expres=As It. his parents