The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1905-03-18
A CITIZEN OF
THE CHURCH
Archbishop Ireland of St. Paul,
Whom Plus X
Calls zone Of the Greatest
Minds in the Church.

Standards:
To be great is to be misunderstood,
said Emerson, some years ago and
truly great and noble characters have
drifted into the ken of our experience
to furnish proofs of that startling
truth. They have been studied,
thought about and with the turn Of
finger. tossed into Il forgettery which
has developed them entirely. One
is struck right plump between the
eyes of ones own experience when a
man is met with who is virile. indi-
vidual, confident and ambitious-they
have got to calling it Rooseveltian
lately. The primate of st. Paul. the
Right Rev. John Ireland, ID. D., de-
mands attention for these tr;lits-and
he deserves them.
West of the Mississippi, you know.
this man is part and parcel of ones
life. When you hear traditions of the
plains-for they are beginning now,
with only two or three territories not
yet states-to refer to their anti. state
hood period us traditionary-Arch-
bishop Ireland is the most ta!ked-of
man. Then the West develops; the
effete East daZZles them somewhat,
but the East goes West to admire the
rough, real manhood of the plains.
And gradually there is development,
and with development more than one
figure looming up large in the eyes of
the student, and Archbishop Ireland
retires gracefully to allow others the
laurels of the limelight That's just
like him; gets thing done, then let
others, if they wish, talk about it
even let's others get the praise of it. if
Il mistaken public sees fit to pay that
tribute. Let us see how far this gen
erality fits to the particular fact and
figures of his life.
f'ifty-siX years ago, hardy. stout and
n;,nly little chap aged eleven years or
tllereabouts, took Off his coat and made
himself at home in the desert hamlet
uf st. Paul. His cheeks were glowing
with the brisk and healthy tingc of an
ocean voyage; a voyage from Dublin,
which started from Kilkenny, his
birthplace. The lad was the boy who
has since developed into one of the
vrry nreatest-the word is advsedly-
American Of the age. John Ireland
II. H.. archbishop of st. Paul He was
With lis parents who came here from
the old country to get the privileges
hp'" which they were refused in
H""t|Irr land. Well, the subsequent
d'tr isn't entirely necessary
supply that TIL" Young Ireland
SAW an arid desert plain
:.low. and began to grow up with it
ard ito, elop until both city and man
are tie wonders of the multitude
There were few white men on Mime
sofas tracts then-and fewer Chris
titlHs. The red man and ull his ln.unts
;Ad al his revrlry held sway. and
t,'y ">"n went SO far ahead of the
vii" ntan as to have the only school
l;r.iS ir"und st. Paul. 1t WAS Il paro.
"iihi Ersn"Ol, the church always gets
;ti'"H'' Of the government. yu, know.
il N".iI, t,p things that are more diff.
t'''"'t I" TO- f"ung Ireland went to
t. s:hp 0'. studied some and Il little
laser "'aS able to 50 to Paris where
L. c"trrrd Il Petit Semlminnirr. at
J 49,: i"H%. being graduated from that
Trutnn. Then in 1861 he WAS ordained
--aa";s tw"nty-tlree.
There are those you know who de-
li.hl il romance: others who court
crr.rr"'y the comedy, and then there
ar" til SO who mistake the one for the
other. aud take part in what proves
to be Il Srrimnlagr. The young Father
Irclanh had sollle such experience. He
returned To st. Paul aud found that.
like l,i,nst'lf, it had grown somr--hah
Developed And he also found that his
vision Of taking hold right then and
there in tic noble work OF building llp
his adopted home. WAS to be rudcly
SIN tered and when all the pres and
cons were weighed, the young man
found himself enlisted as chaplain Of
tile Fifth Minnesota Regiment of In
fantry. under orders to proceed at uncc
to the frnnt-from this yuu will guess
that Tie Civil war WAS the scrimmtge
which greeted tile young priest when
he returned to this country. Well. he
went through tie war: that's about all
that can l.. said: emily IL preference
for the incidental recalls the fact
that this is the priest of whom it was
said that he wasn't at all concerned
about forgetting that Il chaplain didn't
carry gun and that lending hand
now and then where the fighting was
thickcst was the Lest possible train
ing for ones nerves. At Corinth, on
October 2, 1862. he did this
and much more. The Union
forces heh the flank and the
Fifth Minnesota was among them. 1t
was pressed to it's utmost capacity.
and by an unfortunate combination of
conditions, if it had fallen back the
whole Union flank would have been
swept. The young chaplain saw this,
MI NrySf la pfy,, II.