The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1914-03-18

lie we must recognize the things of which it is built and from which our prosperity flows as that same justice and influence expounded and preached by St. Patrick before the assembled kings of Ireland
 Long before the revolution there l had begun on the soil of the United States that ministry of ours which is one of the most important features in our history as people,
 The speaker then compared the inn- migrants of today with those who first came here in the 17th century and pushed their way to the i1nciyilized as well as the civilized districts con- quering the Indians that haunted the wilderness.
 In conclusion he said that we must continue to exert our influence in this republic if we will in the future as l in the past be the striking example for all people to emulate.
 The concluding speaker of the even ing was Rev. Edward F'lannery of Ha- zardville whose toast was 'sThe Day. We Celebrate'' Father Flannery, among other things said:
 1 REV, FATHER FLANNERY. l Rev Father Flannery. speaking tc the toast, "The Day We Celebrate" I This is neither the time nor the place to dwell upon the purely religi- ous phase of St. Patricks achievement, lSO we pass over ms ChTlSL1anIZ1ng 6T- l fort with this single comment that in 1 all the history of evangelization Ire l land is the only country and Pat trick the only missionary whose story lof conversion is not stained with blood Patrick won over the whole island population without spil1ing a drop of blood; and any man who could l induce crowd of Irishmen to eIn- brace any proposal without fight and blood letting must have been indeed Ia wonder
 There must have been a command tIeness of the saint, to tame our early lbarberous ancestors. My Irish friends I may take exception to the Word bar berous as applied to the natives of Erin at any stage of her existence. But while T. am willing td concede I whatever praise is due the en1fghten- ed condition obtaining before his ar 1 rival 1t seems to be belftt1ing of iPatrick,s glorious triumph when men 1 exaggerate the culture and over-rate the wisdom of those primitive days. The fact is that In spite of the cividz- ation then enjoyed, of which we have lb1t begun to hear recently. Patrick l had a hard task and his success Is the more praiseworthy because of the difficulties he was forced to encoun- ter.
 "out of the c1asiipg clans that made up the island population Patrick brought union. He welded the Irish people into an unbreakable body of 1 faithful adherents to a common faith. No other proof need be offered of his fgreatness Insist as much as you l please, even with the raucous e1n- tphasfs of our hating foes on the ten tdency to disorganization in the Irish character Joke about their lack Of cohesion even in trivial affairs and diIate upon the constant divisions in to which the race is split. and you but magnify the powers of the man who united them on so important a thing as religion. When we stop to think about it there is something mfracu- lous in that victory, and if we had no other evidence of the supernaturaI tcharacter of the Christian religion, l the submission of this nation would seem to offer testimony enough.
 we said that Patrick made the Irish known and respected. The early Roman historians dismiss Ireland with l a scant notice, being little acquainted and less concerned with nation the. 1 indornitab1e Caesars failed to conquer. From their time till Patrickss day lit- 1 tie is told by the textbooks But with Patrick's arrival new light is shed upon the dark places and from then forward the Irish are the best