Detroit evening times. (Detroit, Mich) 1921-1958, 1942-06-20
Poem Pays
Tribute to
Irishnen
The Fighting Race Makes
Lasting Impression
BY DAMON RUNYON

6THE FIGHTING RACE" Is
l. the correct title of the
verse about Kelly and Shea that
requested OF my readers not
long ago.
Judging from the response II
must have been the favorite
poem of another generation. I
have received upwards of a
thousand copies to date.
Some of them are newspaper
clippings yellowed by age and
torn from scrapbooks. Others
are typed or written by hand,
many from memory according
to the contributors, whose ac-
curacy indicates the strong i'm
preston The Fighting Race"
made on their minds long ago.
IL is not easy TO remember a
poem almost word for word
after lapse of many years.
The Fighting Race" was in
spired by the sinking of the bat
tleship Maine in Havana Harbor
and the names on the casualty
list, and the spirit of the ring
ing verse has famed anew be-
cause the same names leap out
of the headlines of today.
will reprint the poem in my
column shortly in spite of its
length and the fact that il has
been published elsewhere lately.
II is the most beautiful tri-
butte extant to the Kellys and
Burkes and Sheas and the
O'Hares and O'Donnells and all
of the other members of THE
Fighting Race" of these times.
MEANWHILE, I will tell you
1V1 something of the author.
Jose Ignatius Constantine
Clark. who was a New York
newspaperman when he wrote
this great poem.
Irwin S. Cobb and Stuart II.
Lake. both now living in Los
Angeles, are among the former
toilers of Park Row who re-
member him. Ben De Casseres,
a poet in his own right and now
a famous columnist. surely must
recall him. too. Cobb once re-
cited the poem at a public din
ner with great effect.
Stuart Lake says he was on
James Gordon Benefits Herald
and knew "JIC" pretty we'll
around 1910 until just before
the first World War, and that
one of his choicest recollections
is of Clarke's rendition of his
own poem, usually at Lipton's,
once celebrated haunt for the
Park Row lads.
He remembers hearing II once
at Perry's when Martin Green
and Frank Ward OMalley. great
reporters of their era, were also
present.
Lake says Don Marquis was
the one who could always get
JIG" started reciting and that
Paul Thompson and Ben de
Casseres were among his favor
tie editors.
You know-the Dublin Uni
versity manner of handling the
English language-the mellow
est, loveliest thing of which a
human is capable.
No one ever heard poetry in
more beautiful fashion, CON-
ments Lake Of Clarke's recital.
CLARKE was born in Kings
~ town, near Dublin, July 81.
1S45. and died Feb. u. 1925. at
his home on West Ninety-fifth
street after a brief illness at
the age of 79.
He came 10 this country when
he was %. worked on the Irish
Republic awhile, then joined the
staff of the Herald. where he
remained Is years. He was &C
counted a splendid all around
newspaperman.
He became managing editor
OF The Morning Journal in 1883
and in 1898 was made editor of
the Criterion. theatrical publ
cation. During this time he
wrote numerous plays, including
starring vehicles for Julia Mar
lowe and Grace George.
He published several books
and poems. but The Fighting
Race gave him his greatest
fame. He wrote il hurriedly,
but fired by inspiration.
In 1905 he attended a dinner
Of the Friendly Sons of ST.
Patrick 10 recite a poem of his
own entitled The Rough Rider"
and President Theodore Roose-
welt, who was present, requested
him 10 recite The Fighting
Race, which again attracted
wide attention to the verse.
Clarke went back 10 the Her
aid as Sunday editor, but in 1906
the Standard Oil Company de-
cided IL needed a little kind pub
licity and hired him at salary
said 10 have been $4,000 a year.
He retired in 1913. He rests
in Woodlawn Cemetery, New
York.
Copyright, 1s42, BY King Features
Distributed BY International New, ssrytc.