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KENTUCK
IRISH AMERICAN.
Kenny Irish American.
DEVOTED TO THE MORAL AND
IRISH AMERICANS.
Entered at' the Louisville I'OBt
WILLIAM M. HIGGINS, MANAGER.
Addreil all Communication! to the KENTUCKY IRISH
BifRAPEsI
MONDAY,
TO OUR PATRONS.
Hereafter this paper will
be issued so that it will reach
all our readers on Saturday.
We started off on the Fourth
of July just to cheer up our
patriotic Irish - American
friends, but Saturday wilbbe,
'the regular publication day.
To begin with, everything had
to be done in a hurry, and it
hoped to make improve
ments in all departments.
We intend to slight
body. There are a large
number of business men in
Louisville and vicinity wl
want to advertise
us. bouier these
called upon,
not at horn
on tneseHVThis
papejHHIriiable ad-
all who
Louisville
be a good field for
mblication of a
laper of the character we in
tend to make this one. It is
up-hill work, many people
tell us, but we feel much more
uian encouraged. we are
delighted with the outlook
Friends have offered us great
encouragement, ana we are
confident the undertaking can
be made a successful business
enterprise as well as a pleas
ure to our readers.
Our friends will oblige us
by sending in advertisements
and subscriptions. Already
several have done so without
asking, and we appreciate
this very much.
THE IRISH IN KENTUCKY.
' The Irishman is no stranger in
Kentucky. Before George Rogers
Clark came to Louisville in 1777
there were Irishmen here, and with
Clark were many Irish soldiers,
notably Col. George Croghan. A
list of the private soldiers who fought
under Clark, which may be seen at
the Polytechnic Society Library, dis
closes the fact that more than half
were of Irish ancestry.
The first printing office established
in Kentucky was by an Irishman, Mat
thew Lyon, and he was a son of Erin
of whom the race may feel proud.'
Born in the County Wicklow in 1746,
he, came to this country at the age of
thirteen. Having1;no money to pay I
,t.- L" . .
jus psMgc, iic was oouna out to a
farmer (C6e.cticut, and, after pay
ing his ''.debts, went to Vermont,
'where hV established a Democratic pa
per. After distinguishing himself as
a, member of the "Green Mountain
HHHHu for
SOCIAL ADVANCEMENT OF ALL
ofllce as Second-clan Matter.
AMERICAN, Cor. 3d and Green Sts.. Loultrllle, Ky.
JULY 4, 1898.
Boys" he came to Kentucky, and
was sent to Congress from 1803 to
181 1, after having first served in the
Legislature two terms. He brought
over the mountains with him the first
type used in any printing office in
this State, and therefore can be
counted as the first man to do some
thing for education. In Matthew
Lyon's time he was not known as a
Scotch-Irishman. That type had not
been discovered in those days. Plai
Irish was good enough for himai
he loved to be known as an Iri
without any misleading
From Matthew
Co. George
Indiai-Irishm
1
nent pan;c
ucky,
and, we
to do so.
ade Irishmen
but it can be
, as it was in the
en an Irishman is true,
ot his neighbors and
lued friend of those who repose
nfidence in him.
lhe Irishmen in Louisville who
have been trusted with official posi
ions have never defaulted that we
are aware of. As a rule they make
intelligent and capable officers. The
same is true ef every other relation in
which they are placed, whether as
business men or laborers. ' '
.It.h3S.bepn-S3iH .ihat tho Iricli nro
not clannish and will not support
newspaper devoted to their interests
like the German. We do not believe
this. We admit the race is not
given to combining like some others,
uui wc are wining 10 nsK tnem m
giving ineir support to a newspaper
.
which will speak in their behalf. It
will be the policy of this paper to
speak for the Irish interests in Louis
ville and Kentucky. We do not
mean by this that they should be ad
vanced to the exclusion of others, but
shall maintain that they have their
just dues in public and private life,
This will not be advocated on relig
ious or political lines, but on broader
principles. In Ireland the Tew has
ived for centuries, and has never
been persecuted. True Irishmen do
not quarrel about religious differences,
and where this has been done it has
been disastrous.
We shall attempt to be as broad-
minded in conducting this journal as
the most liberal could desire, and cer
tainly no man will be offended about
what is said in regard to religious af
fairs. We shall go on the principle
that "the truth will make you free,"
and we propose to stick to that.
THE IRISH AND THE
GLORIOUS FOURTH.
The Fourth of July is a day which
gives joy to every Irish-American, for
on this day 12a years ago the Decla
ration of American Independence was
proclaimed.' Fifteen out of the forty
five signers were Irishmen. The
Declaration itself is in the handwrit
ing of ah Irishman Charles Thomp
son, Secretary of Congress. It was
first printed by Capt. Thomas Dun-
lop, an Irishman, who published the
first newspaper in America. The
Declaration was first, read to the peo
ple by another Irishman, Capt. John
Nixon. We read of, and glory in,
the yalor of" our soldiers at Bunker
CrozhAH
9m
m
1 'JiBaaaaaaBaaaviii
Fdelight
Hill, which is named after Bunke:
Hill, just outside of Belfast.
pany, composed of Irishmen, wat
first to proclaim at Mecklenber
North Carolina, that Americans wet
a free and independent people.,, Thefc
are a few reasons why Irishmjnci
well join in the patriotic celebratia
of the Glorious Fourth. The Irish
this country from Revolutionary, tirri
have shown themselves
bravest people who ever lived,' who!
loyalty and devotion to the hope
free government no tyrant can ev
crush. The Shamrock and the S
and Stripes have a place side
Where is the battlefield in
country that has not be
by Irish courage an
Irish blood, and Jrte
country Deen Am
Drains ana
by Irish
iwhh.
its
in the halls of Con
he field of battle. Ai
. . .1
ow in the miast 01 war
seem more fitting today to pal
attention to the Irish in .wan
. . . -Ml
than to those who have been leader!
in civil life in America. In the Con
tinental Army thirty-nine general , of
ficers were Irishmen, and tenytf then
were Major Generals. Gen. Johi
Stark, who led off with the Oreei
Mountain Boys, of Vermont, was a'
Irishman, and his army was large!
recruited from the Irishmen of Lon
donderry, Vermont. Gen. John Su
livan, Washington's Chief of.,;Stad
was an Irishman.
In the navy Commodore - Oliyel
Haggard Perry wasof Irish descent,hi
mother having been born in Newry
Thomas McDonough, ,the hero of ou
greatest victory on the lakes, was a"
Irishman. Charles Sjewart, the gran
father of Parnell, -.was .ahotherl r A
mtral Stephen, C. Rowan "('IKtftcP
Rowan) was born in Dublih;d
miral George C. Meade was ancmer,
in the federal army of Irish descent oil
nativity were Gen. George GordorJ
Meade, Philip H. Sherdian, Martin!
F. McMahon, Michael Corcoran.
John P. McCown, Eugene
j - 1
A. Carr,
George F. McGinness, E,
Kirbd
Smith, William Joyce Sewell
Thos
Francis Meagher, James R. CfBierne,
Anson G. McCook, James Shields,. B.
F. Tracy, John J. CoppingerJ Col
James A. Mulligan and many qthers,
On the Confederate side were Gen".
Patrick R. Cleburne, Leonidas Polki'v'v,.
TohnS. Preston. Farmn MrAlliJ
t..k,. a r--.,.. . .M the PaPers referred -'him as
juuui n.. uaiiy, 1UUIUU5 YC1SI1, ue
William Mahone, Dr. Theodore D
gan and Uol. A. M. Waddell, d
scended from the colonial Governo
James Moore Waddell. The latt
was long a resident of Louisville,
dying here only a short time ago.
We might go on and give hundred;
of other names that have added luster
to American arms in our own and!
foreign countries, like, for instance,
our Irish-American President, James
K. Polk, who had Mexico thrashed
before breakfast.
it is estimated that there are 75,-
000,000 people now in these United!
States. Statistics show that 6.000.000
people have come to this country from
Ireland, making this nationality have
29 percent, of the total population
by birth or descent. This would
make the total Irish-American popu
lation 21,750,000. Up to 1850 the
Irish constituted 48 per cent, of the
European immigrants, and the esti-j
mate made is not giving, the IrisM
more than their due. ,
All of those 21,000,000 have reason'
to feel glad when the Fourth of July!
comes around, for their forefathers
shed their blood that the immortal
words should be proclaimed.
As it was in the Revolution, in the
war of 18x2 and subsequently, so it
jh today.
The first American officer
Cuban soil, Sergt. Maj.
kilted on
Henry Goode, was an Irish-American,
born, in Cork. Those with him were
Privates Thomas J. Burke, Joseph
Martin,' Patrick Costello and Joseph
Jtdxbury, all of Irish descent of birth.
'-I.' .... .
No-ibattle or skirmish can nappen
without Irish figurine
it. And, as
the. poet said of tr.
g up of the
Maine,
"We'reall i
enpe
Kelljr amj
ALLIANCE.
to see the couner-
and other papers in
steering clear ot tne pro-
merican alliance. Na'
takesteps backward.
er of the United
ialliance with her
can fight this
assistance from Eng'
land. The party that favors an alli
ance of this kind would be swept
from the face of the earth. The Eng
lish Government seeks an alliance
with us now because she is in trouble,
riot because she loves us. The mo-
ment any statesman in this country
advocates such a suicidal policy that
moment will he dig his political grave.
The German-American citizens will
not stand it.
'V-
They are as much op-
posed to it as the Irish.
This is not
an Aneio-baxon country, we are a
nation made up of Celts, Germans,
French, and anything but English.
The emigration statistics show this.
If it was to the advantage' of the Eng-
lishi Government to fight us now it
would do so. Russia and France
have been our allies for a long time,
and we are not going to snub them
now.. "No entangling alliances" was
a good enough moUo for Washing'
ton, and it is a good enough one' for
i t THE SCOTCH-IRISH.
IKAlthough there is "no such thing"
as a Scotch Irishman there is a society
bearing this name in Louisville.
Whenever a man born in Ireland does
anything great he is immediately set
down as a Scotch-Irishman. During
the'revolutionary period the Scotch,
with the exception of Paul Jones, did
nothing at all in behalf of the inde
pendence of this country, and if they
were ever heard of in the war of 181 2,
orin any of the Indian wars, we are
.
Scotcn-Irisriman. The fact is his an
cestors lived Ireland for centuries.
There was no element of Scotch about
him, except that he was thrifty and
saved his money. He was for the
freedom of Ireland, and never called
himself anything but an Irishman.
Mr. Taggart was a man Louisville
might be proud of, and his coming up
from a poor boy to a position of af
fluence shows how the Irish can get
along when they are given a chance
and try.
In our next issue we will publish in
full the Fourth of July oration of the
Hon. MattO'Doherty. This of itself
will render our next issue one that
should be much sought after and
widely read. Mr. 0'Dohertys repu
tation as one of the leading orators of
the present day is too widely known
to need further comment.
an
gnu?
The Indiana Democrats put a
strong labor plank in their platform.
When the Kentucky Democrats meet
they should do the same. They could
do no better than to copy the Indiana
plank.'
We would be ungrateful were we
not to return thanks to the union
printers for their interest in the ap
pearance of this number.
a
A PROGRESSIVE
YOUNG IRISHMAN.
Mr. Michael J. Burke, with J. M. Rob
iason, Norton & Co. Ills Rapid
Advancement in Life.
Among the progressive young Irish
meu in Louisville is Michael J. Burke,
of the above firm. He was born in
Louisville in 1866. and started to
work when thirteen years old. Sev
enteen yeors ago he went with the
J. M. Robinson Company, lately reor
ganized and now J. M. Robinson,
Norton & Co., as stock boy at $3.50
per week, and now controls the cred'
its for that firm, doing a business of
over $4,000,000 per year. The house
he represents sells goods in every
State in the Union and as far north
as the Dakotas.
Mr. Burke attended the third an
nual convention of the Credit Men at
Detroit, Mich., June 22, 23 and 24.
In an interview with a reporter for
this paper Mr. Burke stated that the
object of this association is the organ
ization of individual credit men
throughout the United States for the
purpose of rendering more uuiformity
and establishing firmly the basis upon
which credits in every branch of com
able to 'honest debtors and creditors;
the enactment of laws beneficial to
commerce throughout the several
States; the gathering and dissemina
tion of data in relation to the subject
of credits, and the provision of a fund
for the protection of members against
fraud and injustice.
He also stated that good work has
already' been done by the local asso
ciations in Texas, Missouri, Ohio and
various other States. Nothing has
been done, however, in Kentucky,
but with a little more enthusiasm
aroused no doubt much good can be
accomplished.
The organization at Detroit repre
sented 250 firms, with a working cap
ital of $600,000,000 and a yearly bus
ines of over two billion dollars.
Mr. James G. Cannon, President of
the Fourth National Bank of New
York City, was re-elected President,
as was also Secretary F. R. Boocock.
Mr. W. H. Tayor, of Kansas City,
formerly a Kentuckian, was elected
Vice Presideut.
Mr. Burke's trip to Detroit was one
of much pleasure. Many other prom
inent Irishmen attended the meeting,
among whom were Mr. Daniel B.
Murphy, of "the firm of Burke, Fitz
Simons, Hone & Co., of Rochester,
N. Y., who was chairman of the indi
vidual dry goods meeting; Mr. J. J.
Crowley, credit man for Burnham,
Stoepel & Co., Detroit; Richard Han
Ion, of-St. Louis; Mr. Slattery, of
Kansas City, and Mr. Pendergrast, of
New York, who will most likely be a
candidate for Congress this fall, with
good chances for election.
We feel proud of Mr. Burke and
would say to the youthful generation:
"Go thou and do likewise."
PRANK McGRATH.
Oae of the KIhIbk Young Metier,
the
Ninth Ward-Ills New Uoase.
There are few men as popular as
the young gentleman whose name
heads this article. For a number of
years he has been one of the leading
spirits in the Ninth ward, and in all
political contests his friendship means
certain success.
"Mr. McGrath is also a very charit
able msn, and his kindly acts are innu
merable. He is unostentatious in his
MIKE BURKE.
rnercial Enterprise may be .founded;
TotheY.refwtaatie
manners, and he lets his goods deeds
be known to but few.
Recently he erected a handsome
business house at Seventh and York
streets, which will result in great im
provement to that locality. Would
there were more men with the enter
prise and spirit of Frank McGrath.
A. O. H. CONVENTION.
Continued from Fourth Pack.
"I thank you for the privilege of
being present with you today, and
hope that it will be my good fortune
to meet every one of you, personally,
during this week."
The Bishop next introduced P. J.
O'Connor, of Savannah, Ga., National
Presidentjof the American wing of the
order. In presenting Mr. O'Connor
the Bishop said that he was a man
who had the interest of the organiza
tion at heart for many years and wha.
had left nothing undone to bring
about the reunion of the order.
Mr. O'Connor, in reply to, the ad
dress of welcome of the Bishop and
Mayor, made a very eloquent ad
dress. "The cordial greeting ex
tended us by his Lordship, Bishop
McFaul, is highly appreciated," he
said. "Through his earnest and pa
triotic efforts we are here to complete
the unification of our people and re
ceive his blessing. The city of Tren
ton is bristling with inspiring and
historic memories, and the grand re
sult achieved for Hibernianism therein
will long be remembered. We are
glad to be among our New Jersey
brethren, composed of men of true
manliness, high moral character, emi
nent ability, devotion to holy church,
loyalty to American institutions and
with love for the Emerald Isle. We
will carry with us from the gates of
this city the kindest remembrance of
the efforts of the people to make this
visit one of the sweet msmories of
our lives. We are proud of the A.
0 H., which has for its object the
miking of its members better as to
trfemselves, better, as to their familiel
aid better citizens of theirlcounH
(urirewVCshbsahath di
turseaimore;tnTsre;oranFPB
pur" chanty-isjco-extensive with the
" After telling of the deeds of valor
of Irishmen in the former wars in
which this country took part, Mr.
O'Connor said: "In the present con
flict our people are noblv doincr their
o
put, and the most brilliant pages of
h story, when written, will be il
li mined by the brave deeds and valor
o our people. And friends, there is
0 le consolation I extract out of the
p esent conflict, and that it is has
wiped out the dividing lines that so
long separated the North and South."
The National Convention of the
AJ O. H. adjourned sine die Friday
nieht. The following national of-
ficers were elected:
John P. Keating, of Chicago, was
chosen National President by a vote
ofi67 to 114 over Edward J. Slater
erly, of Massachusetts; Jas. B. Dolan,
of; Syracuse, N. Y., was elected
Vice President without opposition;
James O'Sullivan, of Philadelphia,
was re-elected National Secretary over
James P. Bree, of Connecticut; P. T.
Moran, of Washington, D. C, was
elected National Secretary; and P. J.
O'Connor, of Savannah, Ga., Ed
ward J. Slattery, of South Farming
ham, Mass., M. J. Burns, of Indian
apolis, Patrick A. O'Neil, of Phila
delphta, were elected National Di
rectors. Boston was selected for
holding the next National Convention
in May, 1900.
In the resolution adopted the pro
posed Anglo-American alliance was
condemned, as well as any alliance
with European powers.
IRISH-AMERICAN SOCIETY.
Mrs. J. Drewry makes an excellent
Secretary.
President Mike Muldoon has been
absent from a number of meetings
lately because of absence from the
city on business.
Thomas Keenan would make an
excellent .presiding officer for any
lodge. He is an excellent .parlia
menjarian. There several matters of importance
anee to come up at the next meeting,3
and all who are interested in the so
1 1
should be present.
ciettj
X
