St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1911-08-02
DEFENCE OF IRELAND.
Twenty-one Years in Ireland Yer
sus Four Days.

cuse of forming a hasty opinion and
passing final judgment from mere
! surface indications is medical doc
| tor We are told, of course, that
many man has been operated upon
for appendicitis whose ailment was
nothing more serious than an attack
/ of indigestion caused by eating too
/ freely of lobster salad or cucum-
| bers. The victim never has chance
/ to contradict the theory of the sur
geon as his appendix is usually .sin
! very diseased condition and had
/ he waited two hours longer he
would have been a dead man." How
much the necessity for an operation
| depends upon the consideration
| for performing it laymen are not eX-
! pected to know.
/ We do as rule-and medical
men always expect us to-respect
the opinion of a surgeon and medi
cal doctor believing that he arrives
at a conclusion after considering all
/ the causes for particular condi-
ton.
| One of these much respected and
reputedly highly cultured gentlemen,
but to me personally unknown, was
gracious and condescending enough
to stop off during his European trip
for four days to see the land of his
ancestors, get acquainted with the
country, study it's people, and finally
give the readers of the 'Caledonian"
his opinion of the native Irishman.
Being one of these heggars, 'tblar
meyers" and blasphemers, [ have
hardly dared to look my American
fellow citizen in the face. since the
learned doctors final sentence upon
my countrymen has been given to
your readers. I cannot find enough
courage or consolation in the knowl-
edge that several other physicians
from town have visited this land
f'where people don't look like folks"
but found no such condition as
Doctor Ross encountered-to cause
me to ever again feel proud of the
land of my nativity. Nor can [ be
solaced when 1 am told that Mr..
Palmer has not deemed it necessary
to malign a whole race because he
encountered a few beggars, where
beggars would naturally congregate
at a pleasure resort. For the
continuance of my race and the pros
perity Of my native land l earnestly
hope no one will be unkind enough
to sc-2d a copy of the "Caledonian
to Ireland as l am certain such an
indictment of a whole people by
gentleman who experienced no Eek
ultation' when gazing for the first
time upon the ruins of the strong
holds of his noble ancestors would
set Ireland back another hundred
years in the march of progress.
also fear the more Jealous of my
native countrymen-those chosen few
whom the doctor did not see,
would hunt out and destroy the poor
III n i,-+1-
women who followed the doctor a
quarter of mile for the ha' penny
they didn't get. And horror of hor-
rors! | tremble when l contemplate
the destruction of Muckross estate
whose keeper was bold enough to
exact the established toll-a shilling
from the learned doctor before he
would be allowed to gaze upon its
beauties. Did the name of the ven
cradle and historic Muckross suggest
to the learned doctor that newer,
but to some of US better understood
American word "Muckrake." His
final judgment of the native Irish
man makes me think it did. 1t he
had written his pronouncement of
the beggars, ''blarneyers" and bias
phemers, before he had eaten lunch
that awaited him after his long jour
ney we might admit hunger and the
irritability it begets as a cause for
the doctors low opinion of his sur
roundings. 1t was, however, evident
ly given to the world after he had
Toasted upon the good, bad and indiff-
erent things land there is an album
dance of all of them) to be had on
the island, and after he had ridden
through the fertile country between
Kerry and Dublin, missed seeing
their majesties in Dublin-G Won
der if their majesties know this)-
visited the hospitals that were closed
because they did not know he was
coming, ran away from Dublin be-
cause prices were too high. (Kings
and Queens are not down to bargain
prices yeti passed through the best
part of agricultural Ireland between
Dublin and Antrim, the home of the
ancestor of the late much beloved
President Mckinley, and the birth
place of some very respectable ST.
Johnsbury citizens, and last Of all
got into and out of the only Ameri-
can like city in Ireland-Belfast. 1t
was written, take it, when he land
ed in Glasgow, where 'speople are
like folks and where English is
spoken pure and undefled.
l hope the doctor has kept rec
ord of the exact spot where he pen
uSQ Ills Highly JuOSAShL VI I1O
native Irishman. Posterity may
want to mark the spot where the
Four Days opinion of the native
Irishman was written.
If traveller visited ST. Johns
bury when the officers of the law are
raiding an Illicit grog shop, and left
Immediately the offenders and their
booty was taken to the police sta
ton, would he be considered mali
cious or ignorant if he said the ma
tive St. Johnsbury man was drunk
ard? Would he be more likely to
substantiate his charge, if after read
ling the records of the County Court,
he claimed the community was made
up of men and women who are de-
void of fidelity to their marital OBJ
legation?
Such judgment or opinion should
have as much weight with your read
ers as the opinion of the doctor with