The Irish standard., 1919-11-01
When Humbert

| sailed With the French into killal. a
Bay and three separate and distinct
French fleets sailed to free our lands
we were pro-French. When Emmett
stood his trial in the dock, what was
the charge against him? That he was
an emissary of France. And when
the Prussians and the French fought
in 1870, we were pro-French and Eng.
land was pro-Prussian. Later when
the Beers rallied in defense of their
republic, Irishmen fought against Eng.
land. and, of course, we were pro-Boer
(Laughter.) The story has been
summed up by witty Irish priest in
this way: that if you were a mouse
and big cat pounced on you crossing
a room, and just as it was about to
devour you a good-sized Irish terrier
came along, you were pro-dog.
daughter and Applause.)
The men who saved the Republic on
Easter Monday, 1916, were not pro.
German. They were pro-Irish-every
man of them. Applause and Cheers. }
l had the honor of being behind a bar.
ricade, and was pro-Irish with think.
ing of Ireland first and Ireland last and
Ireland all the time. (Applause.)
We believed that we were as truly
fighting the battle of freedom of small
nations in Ireland as were the men
who went to crush militarism in
France and Flanders. Militarism is
naive term, and it is not peculiar to
the Prussian. We struck the militar.
ism that had our country in subsection.
We struck the militarism that had
driven from our land the people in
every generation. We struck the
militarism responsible for the reduc.
tion of our population by half in sixty
years. Under the Prussian kaiser, un.
der the Russian czar, and under the
miitarist emperor of Austria the popu.
lation of Poland doubled it's numbers.
Under the champion of small nation.
alities" s"-England, our land, the rich.
est land in all the world, lost four
and half millions of people. driven
| forth from their own fair land to seek
employment here and all over the
globe; driven forth to make our land
a kitchen garden for England and a
barren bailiwick for British navalism.
| We have heard with horror of the
homes wrecked in France and Elan
ders during the past war. In times
| OF peace. in sixty years there have
been 100000 homesteads leveled in Ire
land. We struck the power that had
our country bled white, knowing that
in our day we were carrying on the
fight handed down from the dead gen
erations We fought not against the
Allies-We fought against England
and to make the point and to drive it
home that we did not fight against the
Allies, let me say this: That six
! months after our insurrectiOn Gie
| President Of the American Republic,
| speaking in Cincinnati at a public
meeting, invited the audience to tell
him if they knew what the war in
! Europe was about. He said that if
there were anyone in the audience who
could tell him he would be very much
obliged, that up to the present he did
not know. When we rose we rose
against England. From the day. that
war was declared we knew that Eng
lands professions were untrue We
had not to wait until the Russians
exposed the secret treaties of England,
i'll which she had the whole earth di.
to the people of America, and that
parliament and that people were the
Irish Parliament and the Irish people.
And We know that 1rishmen played a
gallant part in building up this re.
public. We know from the evidence
of CORVALLIS before the English
! House of Commons that fifty per cent
of WashingtOn's army were men of
Irish birth or blood. (Applause.) And
| in his evidence he stated that the
Gaelic tongue was heard as often in
the camps Of Washington as was the
English tongue. We know that seven
frishmen had the honor of signing
your Declaration of independence, and
we know that the son of Wexford
peasant was the first admiral of the
American navy. We know that in
every generation our people have given
their brains and their blood in defense
of the republic. But we are not com
ing to claim debt. We are coming
to ask America to honor the promises
given to the men who fought and died
that they were fighting for the liberty
of peoples everywhere; and our peo
1 pie, as l said before, have in an cleo
ton, in spite of all the difficulties
placed in their way, shown a degree
Of unanimity unequaled in the history
of the world.
We are travelling throughout the
| length and breadth of tho land and