The daily morning journal and courier., 1907-09-25
Could it have been Harry Orchard who suggested those cocktails?
THE HYPHENArED AMERICAN.

State because the Democratic party of this city has placed in the field a local ticket composed almost entirely of Irish-Amerlcans. In the first place it is falsely argued that as this is the result of the direct primary rule the thing to do is to be rid of that meth cd of nominating candidates. In the second place 1t is falsely argued that because majority of the candidates are of Irish extraction it Is poor poli- cy if not dangerous policy to elect them to office.
 It is perhaps unnecessary for Us to say that we have little patience with reasoning of this character. The fact that the ticket is balanced as it is has nothing whatever to do with the primary method of making nomina- tions. It lay within the power of every voter in the city who professes to be Democrat to register and vote at the primaries. That so few cared to do so scarcely justifies an attack upon those who did on account of their de- scent A majority of those voting pre- ferred just what they got and they should be protected in their right to enjoy the advantage. If any comment is to be passed upon them 1t is one of credit that they cared enough for the government of their city through the medium of the Democratic party to register and take hand in the work of preparing ticket The man who does the fighting is man of respon- sibility. The man who wont fight when the batle Is on has no right to criticise the outcome Even if all of the Demo- cratic nominees are of the same racial stock they can at least say that they fought for their positions, which is far better from every point of view than If a well-balanced ticket had been ar- ranged by few bosses and forced down the throat of packed conven- tion
 As for the argument that ticket made up of men of one racial descent ought not to receive consideration there is nothing in 1t. There should be no such thing in common parlance as hyphenated American. The mos ment man is made citizen and the right is conferred upon him to vote he becomes an American pure and sim pie whether his parents were of Irish, German or Italian stock The trouble has been that the professional politi- clan has played steadily upon the prejudices provoked by hyphenated references to candidates and made confusion worse confounded To make particular point of the candidates being nearly all members of one race, in this case the Irish race, Is ridicu- lous The Irish have been long enough with Us to justify any claim they may want to make to their American line- age. Their representatives are to be found among the signers of the Declaration of Independence and were thick in the fight of the continental congress, as they had been in the bat ties of the Revolutionary army, The Bridgeport Farmer, in speaking of the incident in the political life of New Haven to which we are referring, says with truth: But if they (the Demo- cratic candidates) are the right kind of Americans the innovation will have brought about an immense gain to New Haven Democracy and incl dentally wherever voters of Irish de- scent prevail"
 It Is not the race from which can. didate for office springs, the color of his skin, nor the religion he supports which determines his fitness It Is the character he possesses. American politics ought not to be a battle among races or among churches but contest between men, from wherever sprung, of integrity, intelligence and reliability. That once determined the rest is without significance.