The Irish standard., 1910-01-22

Are our ideals also expressed In these
pictures, or have we substituted for
them others-the Graces Three for ex-
ample, or the Heroes Nine? These are
some Of the questions that should bs
answered at our next national conven-
ton, and answered fully and satisfac-
torily. And until they are answered,
the mass of the Irish people in Amer
lea will be like sheep without shep-
herd, blown about by every wind IF
doctrine, looking hither and thither for
guidance, at the mercy of every spout
er and charlatan who plays on theil
honest feelings to satisfy his own SELF
ish ends.
Two things appear to be certain-flrst,
that dread paralysis has fallen on
our race in this country in recent
years; secondly, that this paralysis has
been caused by lowering of ideals.
The disease dates from that miserable
fiasco known as the Invasion of Can
ada. Prior to that event, the Irish
people at home and abroad were Of
one mind in the matter of ideals. They
had one, and one only-repeal of tho
Union, national independence, call it
what you will, it was a fixture in their
minds. That foolish enterprise to Can
ada-foolish because led by fools--tore
that fixture out, and in this country at
least, substituted for it nothing noble.
The Irish at homs-we fondly believe
still remain faithful; for they are part
and parcel of the soil. They are COM
PEELED to breathe Irish air, and look on
Irish mountains, and hear the multi
tudinous laughter of the Irish streams.
Hence the poet sings:
"Be sure the great God never planned
For slumbering slaves home 81
grand"
But the Irish abroad broke up into
two camps, one of which is still cling
ing to the old doctrine. while the other
drifted steadily out until it was lost
in the cross-currents of Agrarianism.
And here we come upon the true source
and fount of that evil of dissension
which has now assumed gigantic pro-
portions in our midst, namely, the SUBJ
stitution of a lower ideal for a higher,
the substitution Of Agrarianism for
The man who created the
Land League, and thus turned the eyes
OF the Irish race upon the land, babe
fair to become, not Ireland's worst en-
envy, to use Mitchers phrase, but her
most fatal friend. He would have de-
stroyed Ireland had not the Gaelic
League risen up at the eleventh hour
to save her. And the Gaelic League
is the parent of Slim Fein. And Sim
Fem in it's essence is Nationality.
Mr.. Timothy Healy. M. P, is one of
the keenest intellects in the present
House Of Commons. He is not merely
a Home Ruler, but he is also q Ma
tionalist. This is what Mr.. Healy has
to say in his recent letter to the Dun
dalk electors: "The kernel of Home
Rule is finance" Note the signifi-
canoe of that statement. What il
finance. Finance is either the man
agement Of money or the money itself.
In either case the central idea is mon
ey. Now, the witty, the ironic, the
Tim affirms (and chal-
lenges deniaD that the very heart and
soul of Home Rule is-Money. And
money is dirt. according to the saying
of the wise Shakespeare, who steals
my purse steals trash" Now let us
look on the other picture. What Is
the kernel of Sim Fem? The kernel
OF Sim Fein or Self-Reliance is the
consciousness of a distinct nationality,
energizing toward political freedom,
We have, therefore, today, set up n
our midst two ideals, two great fecund
sources of energy and action, two dis
tinct war-cries as potent in rousinR
their respective clans as ever was the
'Crom Abu' or the 'O'Neill Abu' of olden
time-and these two ideals or war.
cries are-Money and Nationality!
Sim Fein is the expression of Ma
tionality; F'enianism or the Clan-na-
Gael is Sim Fem carried to excess.
Both the Sim Feiners and the Clan
na-Gael have identically the same
ideal, namely. National Independence.
But their mode Of approaching it or
reaching out for it Is different, The
Sim Feiners believe in personal and
industrial revolution; in other words,
In revolution to be accomplished by
the force of the mind. The Cian-na-
Gael, on the other hand, believe that
the sword is the sole arbiter of ma.
TONS destiny, and that by push of pike
and the strong right hand can alone
a nations freedom be wrought ont.
Both views have been beautifully ex-