Wausau pilot. [volume] (Wausau, Wis.) 1896-1940, 1907-03-26
WASHINGTON
Chief of Greatest Police Force-Big
Irish Membership.


II is often lack of knowledge that
causes men to make erroneous state
nients regarding certain subjects. More
often lack of knowledge than of any
intention or desire to be unfair or preju-
diced. Bigotry, of course, is the child
OF ignorance and can only be removed
or eradicated as we become informed
Sometimes, however, hurried state
ments or reports, or accounts of hap
penipgs are run into the newspapers,
having the appearance of bigotry when
bigotry or prejudice is not the animus
of any offense which might be found in
such statement or report. Men often
make word of mouth expressions which
sting temporarily but are eventually
forgotten. But cold type often gives to
an observation, not intended as often
sive, the most offensive color imagin-
able. The PILoT is not densely ignor-
ant on the generality of subjects and
therefore not bigoted; prejudice, of the
raprehensible kind, is not factor in
the PILoT's anatomy, and we feel that
after all these years of active, industri-
GUS and intelligent existence in Wau-
sau, this is the public verdict. In the
PMoT's mention of the eloquent
address delivered by Hon. Daniel H.
Grady, at the opera house, Monday
evening, 18th inst, it said:
Although the Irishman is everywhere
'irs evidence, especially ca the police
force of large cities. very few people
tsIke the time to look up his history.
Although he is sometimes considered
ala interesting character, not much at
tssntion is given to his origin"
The seven or eight hundred years of
English misrule and English effort to
make and perpetuate public opinion,
derogatory and prejudicial to the char
aeter of the Irish people. has held its
effect upon the public mind to limited
extent. 1t was part of the English
plan of conquest and the prejudices
that England invented for home use
were forced upon the early Americans,
who were made up of English and Irish
and Dutch, none of whom relisbed
tyrany
We said the 'Irishman is everywhere
iE evidence, especially on the police
force of the large cities' And we
desire at this time to supplement this
By saying that they occupied an inn
perishable position on the. original
police force of the nation, at a time
that tried mems souls Charles Carroli,
John Hancock, Thomas Mexican,
Mathew Thornton, William Whipple,
George Taylor, Thomas Lynch, Edward
Ratledge, John Nixon. James Smith
end George Reed, all Irish, signed the
Declaration of independence. That
was police force that will never die
and it did its duty. In 1777 another
police force was organized in Philadel-
pa, because dreadful distress was
suffered at Valley Forge and the follow
ing year did not alleviate the condition
of the American army. In 1880 the
soldiers began to murmur, half fed,
unpaid and ill-clothed as they were.
Wayne himself, their idof,~ when in
action, was unable to control them; and
had it not been for an extraordinary
effort of patriotism on the part of the
merchants of Philadelphia, the army
would have utterly fallen to pieces. On
the 18th of June, 1880, ninety three
Philadelphia merchants signed the fol-
lowing paper:
Whereas, in the present situation of
public affairs in the United States the
greatest and most vigorous exertions
are required for the management of
the just and necessary war in which
they are engaged with Great Britain
We, the subscribers, deeply impressed
with the sentiments that should, on
such occasion, govern US in the prose-
cution of war on the event of which
our own freedom, and that of our pos
terity, and the freedom and independ-
ence of the United States, are all in
volved, hereby severally pledge our
property and credit for the several
sums specified and mentioned after our
names, in order to support the credit of
bank to be established for furnishing
supply of provisions for the armies of
the United States And de- hereby sew
orally promisel and engage to execute
to the directors of said bank. bonds of
the form hereunto annexed. Witness
our hanos this 18th of June in the year
of our Lord, 1907
Twenty-three of the signers to this
immortal document were Irishmen and
descendants of Irishmen and they sub
scribed half million dollars to the
fund.
Jeremiah O'Brien and his five broth
ers, all natives of Cork, Ireland, fought
and won the first battle for American
independence on the seas, near
Machias, Maine.
Major General John Sullivan, the son
of a Limerick schoolmaster, captured
the first fort and the first gun in the
war of the Revolution. Major General
Joseph Warren, killed at the battle of
Bunker Hill, was relative of Sir Peter
Warren, an Irishman and commodore
in the British naval service. Commo-
dore John Barry, The Father of the
American Navy" a native of Wexford,
Ireland, and first commodore of United
States navy.
John Hancock, the first signer of the
Declaration of Independence: His
grandfather was a native of Newry,
ireland, as was also his mother. The
maiden name OF the mother of John
Hancock was Nora O'Flaherty.
George Read, signer of the Declara-
ton was the son of Dublin man.
General Pickens, one of Washington's
most active military partisans, was an
Irish American.
James Smith. signer of the Declara-
ton. was Irish born.
William Whipple, general and signer
of the Declaration, Irish American.
General John Stark, the hero of Ben
nington, Irish American.
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