The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1905-03-18
PRESIDENT ROOSEVELT
SPEAKS TO IRIsHMEN
Continued from First Page.)
Jackson, the victor of New Orleans.
In the Civil War.

IN the Civil War.
In the second great crisis of oul
country's histOry-tne period Of the
civil war-the part played by the mer
OF Irish birth or parentage was nc
less striking than it had been in the
Revolution. Among the three or -four
great generals who led the Northern
army in the war stood Phil Sheridan
Some of those whom l am now ad
dressing served in that immortal bri
gade which on the fatal day of Fred
ericksburg left its dead closest to the
stone wall which marked the limit
that could not be over-passed even by
the highest human valor.
In American History.
The people who have come to this
country from ireland have contribut
ed to the stock of our common citi.
zenship qualities which are essential
TO the welfare Of every great nation
They are masterfui race of rugged
character-a race, the qualities OF
whose womanhood have become pro-
verbal, while its men have the ele-
mental, the indispensable virtues of
working hard in time of peace and
lighting hard in time of war. In every
walk of life men of this blood have
stood, and now stand. preeminent as
statesmen and soldiers, on the bench,
at the bar, and in business. They are
doing their full share toward the arts
tic ana literary development of the
country. And right here let me make
a special plea to you. We Americans
take a just pride in the development
of our great universities, and more
and more we are seeking to provide
Tor original and creative work in these
universities. | hope that an earnest
effort will be made TO endow chairs
in American universities for the study
of Celtic literature and for research
in Celtic antiquities. 1t is only of re-
cent years that the extra. Urinary
wealth ana beauty of old Celtic Sagas
have been fully appreciated, and we
of America, who have so large a Gel
tic strain in our blood, can not afford
to be behind-hand in the work of add
ing to modern scholarship by bring
ing within its ken the great Celtic
literature of the past.
The United States a COSMOPOLITAN
Nation.
My fellow.countrymen, / have spo-
ken tonight especially of what has
been done for this nation of ours by
its sons of Irish blood. But, after all,
in speaking to you or any other body
of my fehow-citizenS. no matter from
what Ola World country they them
selves or their fOrefathers may have
come, the great thing to remember IS
that We are all of us Americans. Let
us keep our pride in the stocks from
which We have sprung; but let us
show that pride not by holding aloof
one from another, least of all by pre-
serving the Old World Jealousies and
bitternesses, but by joining in a spirit
of generous rivalry to see which can
90 most for our great common country.
Americanism is not a matter of creed.
or birthplace, or descent. That man
is the best American who has in him
the American spirit, the American
soul. Such man fears not the strong
and harms not the weak. He scOrns
what is base or cruel or dishonest. He
looks beyond the accidents of occu-
PdOAOu VI OOCldl C0AullbOh, anu uhllS
each of his fellow citizens as his bro
Their, asking nothing save that each
shah treat the other on his worth as
man, and that they shall join together
to do all that in them lies for the up
lifting of this mighty and vigorous
people. In our veins runs the blood
of many an Old World nation. We
are kin to each of those nations, and
yet identical with none. Our policy
should be one of cordial friendship
for all; and yet We should keep ever
before our eyes the fact that we are
ourselves a separate people, with our
own ideals and standards, and des-
tined, whether for better or for worse,
to work out a wholly new national
type. The fate of the twentieth CEN
fury will In no small degree depend
upon the quality of citizenship deveI-
oped on this continent Surely such
a thought must thrill us with the res
olute purpose so to bear ourselves
that the name American shall stand
as the symbol of just, generous, and
fearless dealing with all men and ali
nations. Let us be true to ourselves,
for We can not then be false to any