The Bridgeport evening farmer. [volume] (Bridgeport, Conn.) 1866-1917, 1909-03-18

This day-the 18th of March-is con-
secrated to the Irish the world over,
ana IN every land, and under every
sky. men of Irish birth and descent
are doing Justice to the name and fame
of St. Patrick and recalling with
mingled feelings of pride and sorrow,
the glories. sacrifices and hopes of the
Irish race.
Only those who have seen the Elmer
aid Isle, even though they have expert
enced some of it's hardsh .ps. can fully
know what the name of Ireland means
to the Irish man or WON IN
As the essayiSt writes: THE land it
self one of the fafrest spots on Gods
earth: with its fields that are ev>r
green; it's hills that bloom to the sum-
/ init: its streamlets that in sweetness
seem to sing her legends. the valleys
where her fairies play; the voices from
it's glens; and all so beautiful that 1t
would seem Providence would have
preserved this little Emerald Isle for
repcse and contentment rather than Tor
centuries of sacrifice"
Amid such glorious scenes the Irish
people have been ground down for cen-
turtles under the heel af tyranny and
oppression. They have been chained
to the soil as producers of food and
raw material and as consumers of
English goods. while their children. by
hardship and starvation, have been
driven to this and other lands Of great
er promise.
Although held down for centuries by
the iron hand of oppression, the per-
| 1Ormance OF the irish national IDEA IS
most extraordinary in history.
Others have been conquered and ac-
cepted defeat: other have been wrong
ed and acquiesced in the wrong. others
have been reduced to slavery and have
been contented to remain slaves: but
the Irish people have not accepted d =
feat. have not acQuiesced in wrong
and have not been contented to remain
In bondage.
Here throughout the entire span OF
our colonial and national life. and else
where. the Irish race has had a g.or-
fous record. and 1t is our custom on
these occasions to rejoice that we are
sprung from race that has contri-
buted SO largely to world-progress and
humanity.
In this respect a EARRING note was
sounded recently in a Tennessee city
by DR.. Charles w. Eliot. now ex-n-esi-
dent of Harvard University. His state
ments were glaringly incorrect. and
made by man SO long the head of
our leading university. they are I'M
warranted and fnexcusable.
According to a stenographfc report
of his speech he made the following
statements: Then in all parts of the
country there are problems to be
solved that would tend to interfere
it Is negro problem. The same or SINH
lar problems exist in all parts of the
country. In Protestant Massa chusetts.
the land of Pilgrims and PuEtans. the
population to-day is mostly Catholic.
There are Irish that present the same
race problem to the East that the neg
roes do to the South. On the Pac fic
coast 1T is the same with the Japares
I believe that the Irish should not in
termarry with the Americans of Eng
fish descent: that the Germans should
not marry the Italians: that the Jews
shcEiG not marry the French In the
North are afflicted in our CIVIC life
by having masses of voters who know
nothing of liberty Take the irish
They say themselves that at home they
had no experience in self government"
You viii observe that while a num-
Der of races come under the ban Of his
critical disrleasure that he takes rs
| principal fling at the Irish There
must be spleen and bias. when an edu-
Gated and well Informed man makes
statements so directly at variance with
| the facts. 1t Is a direct racial sander.
! and history on almost every page at
tents it's falsity.
I have been informed that DR.. Eliot
has since stated that his statements
have not been properly Interpreted. but
that he does not oudiate the words
ascribed to him. smany of his utter
rection. it is difficult to believe that
he has not been correctly quoted.
A nation is known By the men it
produces. Taking this standard
| the little green isle stands out
/ il1umined with a perpetual glow. For
centuries her sons have BEN sorely
tried. but out of that crucible of IRE,
and suffering have come such men as
Emmett. Gavin. Duffy. Allen. Larkin.
OBrien Curran Grattan Burke, Sh r.
idan. O'Connen and others of more re-
cent years. who will go down in his
tory as renowned leaders of men.
In view Of Dr. E1iot's attack I de-
sire to address myself brief'v to the
leading role that the Irish have played
in the creation and preservation of our
| glorious America. which we al so
ardcnt1y love and cherish. The Irish
were among the earliest settlers in this
country and were of a ty"e as sub
stantia1 and Independent as the Pill
griTns themselves They were amo rg
our most daring pioneers. and ac-
quilted themselves cred:tably in the
colonies under British rule Washing
tors army was about half irish ard
they desperately fought for liberty. at
| th, same time settling few scores
that came down from Their fathers.
And speaking generally it may be sa d
that whenever England has war on
| has no difficulty in locating at least
the sympathies of the irish
Our revolution was largely fought
and won by the Irish. Dutch and Ger
man immigrants. and their, chi dren,
most of the Irish having immigrated
on account of the tyranny and oppres-
sion of England.
| Take. for example. the case of Gen.
George Clinton whose body was re-
Gently removed from Washington to
Kingston. He and his family came to
! New York as poor Irish immigrants.
When the thirteen colonies declared
| their Independence he was elected Gov
ernor of New York. He continued as
Governor for eighteen years. and was
twice elected Vice-President of the
United States. He was a Major-Gen-
eral of the Revolutionary War and it
was men such as he and other imm'-
grant Irish. Dutch and German that
made the Revolution a success. The
old English families were almost al
tories, New York City had a tory ma
jority Long Island. Westchester Coun-
ty. and this part of Conn cticut in
which we live was decidedly tory.
After the war for independence had
been fought and won. the emigration
from New York and Boston to Ha fax
and England was extensive. and in
cluded the major part of the wea' tn
and fashion of these sections of the
country.