The Irish standard., 1909-04-03

ibecause man can put his words into
printers ink, and can scatter them
upon the streets, that therefore they
tave more weight than the spoken
word. Let mo tell you how the news
papers of today lead. They lead the
people. but they lead them the way The
sailor steers ship, they lead them
from behir.d. They find out what way
public opinion is going, and then they
| fall over themselves in their desire to
express that public opinion. (Ap-
p]ause.) They are the greatest people
in the world for keeping up with the
procession, but they only keep up with
| it. They are towards at heart; their
soul is in their pockets; they fear
nothing but advertisers and subscrib-
ers.
Every one Of you, poor and humble
| though you may be, though you may
be working for your daily wage, you
| nave tn. right of withholding your
subscription; you have the right of
1nut patronizing advsle4isersa.~- you
have the big stick that can bring the
biggest paper In Sam Francisco, or
anywhere else, to it's craven knees.
(Applause.)
I am saying this to you because, if
! it has been presumed in San Francisco
that an Irish Papist does not exist.
that The newspapers can afford to ig-
| more them, the fault is your own. They
began to ignore you here at the ,i-,a
of the relief. They found that they
could ignore the United Irish Socie-
ties, unfortunately with the conniv-
ance of men who were near to the
front in Irish society affairs when Ir-
| ish societies he'd something TO give
them, but who were quickest to the
rear when Irish societies wanted some-
thing Of them. They began to ignore
you at that time, and they found they
could do it with impunity, but they
i have gone just little bit too far;
and the action of the convention of the
Irish societies., and the temper oe this
meeting, I think, ladies and gentlemen,
warrant mo ir asserting that the day
is gone by when the Irish can be ig-
nored by the newspapers Of San Fran
cisco. (ApIlause.)
We ask nothing of them. They have
nothing today that they can give US.
We arc sufficient of ourselves. If we
stand shoulder to shoulder together
! there is no power in San Francisco
that can crush us down; but they need
lis, and It is up to you to make them
! feel that they need you, and first of all
it is up to you to make a special ex
ample Of the cowardly Examiner"
(Applause.)
! The duty of the hour calls for self
respect, and if we have no respect TO-"
ourselves, how can others have respect
for us? The duty of the hour calls FOR
the suppression of the st. Patricks S
Day postal card and the infamous car
! tOon.
! There are some people who accuse
us-of all the people in the world
of having a want Of humor. They say
that we enjoy joke on other people,
but we don't like to have a joke played
upon ourselves. They say, What
harm is the stage Irishman? Haven't
you got the stage German and the
stage Jew? What harm is the funny
posta, card? Does not every natl on
nave the same kind of things directed
to them? Why should the Irish alone
object to these things?" Why? Be-
cause there is fun and fun. There is
The fun, the open-hearted. sunny
minded fun. behind which there is no
5uile. and there is the fun in which
there is the black bitter drop: and
you know very we'll. and the wo-'d
knows very we'll, that the fun which
has sunshine in the heart. and the fun
which has the spice Of life and .,le
.ayety, which enables us to go with