The Irish standard., 1919-03-29

the Irish Race-Staunch Support Of
the irish Catholic Press the Duty Of
the Hour.
(By John O'Dea, National Chairman
A. o. H. Irish History Propaganda)
Irish history is not all in books. 1t
is being written daily-being tele-
graphed to the ends of the. earth-be-
ing published in tens of thousands of
periodicals-and read by millions of
eyes and believed by millions of minds.
Much of this Irish history is made
to order" 1t is inspired by those in
imical to the Irish race for the pur-
pose of thwarting the aspirations of
political desire in Ireland and retard-
ing the progress of Irish influence in,
all other lands, but especially in this
land of America.
This hostile element is no new de-
velopment in the experience of the
Ancient Order of Hibernians But it
is more perilous today than ever be-
fore during this generation. For to-
day, through the coincidence of Cir
cumstances, the Order is almost de-
fenseless, because almost voiceless.
The wells of truth are poisoned at
their springs by agencies both openly
antagonistic and agencies ignorantly
or unconsciously prejudiced. There
are other unseen enemies disseminat-
ing lies with, an assiduity only equaled
by the spleen of the scribes who aimed
their shafts at the character of the
race during the days of Froude. Then
the attack on our fair fame was more
open. Now it resembles the squir-
rels in the ancient Irish fable, which
ran up and down the ash-tree bearing
messages of hate from the snake to
the eagle, and from the eagle to the
snake.
Irish Pens Must Write Today's History
Too much so-called Irish history has
been written of us, and apparently for
us, by alien hands. For our race to
neglect the duty of writing its own
records today is a peril, not only from
its evidence of its careless apathy
not only because of its effect upon the
public opinion of the world-but be-
cause of the incalculable flood of mis-
information which such contempor-
aneous s'history" will bear onward to
other generations.
lh0 To- oof
where the advocates of all nations and
races are pleading. In this forum the
Irish advocates are but feebly repre-
scented, and but listlessly heard. Yet
this is most vital hour for our race.
We, who have given our intellects to
the moulding of the constitutions of
many free commonwealth of which
we are citizens-who have given our
toll in labor to the wealth Of those
new nations which now are deciding
the fate of mankind and dividing the
soil of the earth-who have sent our
sons to the sacrifice of strife in the
battle of the nations-we stand dumb
stand without voice in the forum
of public opinion which is more potent
than Congresses and Parliaments, for
it makes history-and the powers that
: write the history of today rule the
sentiments of the future.
The causes of our failure to plead in
this tribunal of public opinion are
plain. Since 1914 the Governments
have controlled the news service, and,
since the United States entered the
war, our people have devoted all their
energies to the service Of the Repub-
lie. We failed in foresight. We must
now arouse all our energies to regain
and maintain our place in this forum
of public opinion, upon which our
hopes and our character as a race
must rest.
The peculiar situation of our race
must be more impressively realized.
We are severed by seas and continents.
We are divided by political allegiance.
We can only be united by our blood
and our common sentiments. And can
any who know the story of the past
deny that history may not repeat it.
self-with multitudes forgetting their
own people because there are none to
warn, to instruct, and to inspire?
There have been voids in the writ
ing and in the reading of Irish history
In other times, when despair or ignor'
ance or unwisdom broke the pens OF
silenced the tongue of Ireland both
at home and abroad. These voids In
variably mark a tragedy in the life OF
our nation, for they indicate a sinking
of the spirit or depression of that in
tellectual vitality without which M
race or nation can survive.
To be outwritten is to be outW1ttet
and outfought To abandon the writ
inc NJ todav's history to unfr1endly