The Irish standard., 1913-04-12

the work OF Irish soldiers, by General
Isaac r. Sherwood of Ohio, will be
read with interest by all Irishmen the
! world over: That great English poet,
essayist and philosopher, said over a
half century ago:
inequality ,natcrializcs the upper
classes. vulyarizes the middle classes,
and brutalizes the lower classes"
Patriotism, which unitcs the love of
country with the love of fellow-man,
is directly and inevitably opposed to
materialisn1. which means a combina-
ton Of selflshness and greed, the sure
precursor Of vulgarity and inequality.
And today in the United States all
students Of prevailing conditions adj
init that we are living in a material
age, when sclflshness rules the courts
and the government, and the old pa
triotic spirit is either dead or coma
tose. There are three striking and
startling epochs in tho history Of this
republic in which the patriotic spirit
was uppermost and dominating
force. In the decade 1868 to 1878; in
tho decade 1851 to 1861; and in the
civic contest Of 1865 to 1872. / do not
mention the actual periods of war be-
cause am not discussing the intense
patriotism Of camp and blvouac and
battle. but the patriotism of peace,
that goes with civic government For
tho purpose Of illustration, let me re-
fer to local conditions in Toledo inn
mediately after the great war of the
rebellion, and Toledo flttingly illus
trates the dominant and dominating
patriotic spirit everywhere in evil
dence at that intense time. Among
the first Of new acquaintances 1 met
on my return from the war in July,
1865, was that broadminded and schol-
arly and patriotic Irishman, Stephen
j. Meany, then editor OF the Toledo
Morning Commercial. became init
mately associated with him on that
paper, and through him first met
Father Hannin, one OF the most en-
thustastic and devoted patriots have
ever met. He had more energy and
vitality than any human being 1 have
ever known---all the enthusiasm and
intensity of devotion Of my valued
comrade OF the war, Father O'Brien
OF the Church of the Good Shepherd.
And as evidence of the fact that Faith
er Hannin was a devotee Of the Union
soldiers, he never missed inviting tho
writer and others Of the war to all his
patriotic entertainments.
remember his famous celebration
of st. Patrick's Day. in Whites hall
in Summit street, March II, 1866. On
that occasion, Father Hannin as
signed to me the toast, "The Irish Sol
der" In an old scrapbook, forty
three years old, I find the following
printed report of that speech:
IF should say the Irish race is the
most belligerent race in the world YOU
would concede it without argument
but when I say that the Irish race is
the strongest race in the world, in
blood. strength and national vitality,
you may call for the evidence. Let us
see. The Phoenicians the Spaniards
the French, the Danes and the Britons
all invaded Ireland by war-and
each in turn was absorbed and aSim-
Hated by the Irish. The green isle is
still Ireland and the irish heart and
impulse are still true to the traditions
of tho Irish race. And here is an
other characteristic of the Irish race!
No race ever crossed the Atlantic or
the Pacific that has SO rapidly and
thoroughly assinilated with our free
institutions. For instance, Patrick
Henry, half Irish in blood and all Irish
in spirit, the foremost orator of tho
decade preceding tho war of the revo-
luton, was the first to exclaim in pub
lie. Give me liberty or give me
DEATH" The Irish Catholics of Mary
land. led by the bishops Of Baltimore,
were ahead OF the Puritans of New
England in the revolutionary moye-
ment. The Scotch-Irish of soutl,
Carolina were holder and more az
gressive than the patriots OF Massa-
chusetts Bay.
And now, let me recall some of the
great wars in which was allowed to
take an humble part. No battle was
ever fought without heroic Irish blood
REDEEMED the field Of carnage. The
last successful fight Of the war was
led by that ohio-born Irish soldier,
General Phil Sheridan, at Five Forks,
Va. 1t is conceded that Sheridan was
the greatest cavalry general of the
war, and he divides the honor with
General Hancock and General Joe
Hooker as the most brilliant battle