The Irish standard. [volume], December 13, 1919, Image 2

About The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920

Image provided by: Minnesota Historical Society; Saint Paul, MN

                
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Which
parallel in his American tour prevent
ed E&mon de Valera, president ot the
Republic ot Ireland, from addressing
a meeting at Shrine Auditorium last
night, as scheduled and advertised,
•pip the Loft Angeles Examiner ot
fhtrrtiy, Nov. SO.
This was the refusal ot directors
of the auditorium to let it proceed.
The denouement came only a tew
hours before the dobra of the. audi
torium were to have beep opened and
in the form ot a letter from
Own 16,WO people were
massed before the building yesterday
evening. They were there to hear
de Valera speak.
The doors were to have opened at
6:30 o'clock, but halt an hour before
that time a truck surrounded by ex
service men, made its way through
the crowd to the curb and Joseph
Scott, chairman of the reception com
mittee uslhg this for a platform from
which to speak, told, In brief terms,
the story ot the change of plan.
In the darkness his form could
haidly be seen, but his vo*ce carried
MM frafi* of the *ow|
«s "he said:
"We have been told by the men who
control this auditorium that President
«a Valera cannet speak here tonight
We did not knew uatH late this after-
Hit this permission would be
WHI Speak Next 8unday.
afternoon at 2 o'clock
Prestdent de Valera will speak at
Washington Park to the greatest mass
meeting Los Angeles has ever seen.
"I was neiver prouder of my fellow
citlsdns in tnV lite than I*am totolght
as I witness their respect for law and
bider under aggravated circumstances.
Do i^ot emulate the journalistic anar
chist at First and Broadway, but assist
the police and ex-service boys in their
work of maintaining order."
The crowd, which was estimated by
many as numbering not far from
15,000 received the news with little
comment. There was no disturbance
very tew outcries were heard.
Some one started up "The Star
Spangled Banner soon there arose
from the mass of people, who were
indistiiiguishable in the darkness, such
a rendering of the anthem as one
might rarely hear.
And then they trooped away to their
homes. This quiet and expeditious
dispersion was not the least remark
able feature of the whole affair.
Greeted by Countless Thousands.
Although de Valera did not speak
last night, Los Angeles had an oppor
tunity to see and welcome him yester
day and the city made the greeting
one that will be memorable.
In all the countless thousands who
called to him as the parade made its
way through the downtown streets
there were scarcely an unfriendly
voice.
De Valera's address at the luncheon
at the Hotel Alexandria, while not
extensive, waB
BO
earnest in manner
and weighty in substance that those
who heard him know that the cause
he represents has a valiant and ca
pable advocate.
Mr. de Valera, it may be mentioned,
took the Shrine episode in the spirit
which prevailed among the people who
were turned away from that place. He
learned in the middle of the afternoon
that there would be no meeting and
remarked, "this is doubtless a good
thing. My voice needs a good rest,
and I shall be in better shape Sunday
afternoon than I am now."
The meat of this contretemps, as
related by the principals and docu
mentary matter, was as follows:
Decide Against 8hrlne Meeting.
Onthe evening ot November 12 di
?rectorS of the Shrine Auditorium de
cided not to let de Valera speak In
auditorium.
There were present
IL Fllnt, chairman Louis M.
m~P. Jeffries, W. H. Harrison
birt A. Heffner.
following, two days
lettarwasdi*
irien, treasurerof
-, i|S*."W
Accorded a Magnif
icent Reception
A. Fitch, secretary of the'was to be used tor a meeting to be
ie Auditorium directors, to P. P.. conducted under the auspices of the
O'Brien, treasurer of the Friends of',American League for Irish Freedom,
Irish Freedom. In this letter he but we were in ignorance ot the real
the directors had received purpose of the meeting, which we are
prb$epti from a majority of A1 Malal-'
kajh Tempi? of the Shrine which owns
the auditorium, against the meeting,
lid must therefore withdraw permis
sion for its upe.
10yQ00 Had Assembled.
Freedom:
ttth it resolution
meeting of~the
Malaikah Audi
(tinder whose
Is
you and request that the reservation
made tor the evening ot November
19. 1919, be canceled and that we be
permitted to return to you the amount
advanced in payment thereof, via.,
$250, thus relieving us ot any further
obligation under our agreement to
grant the use of the auditorium on
the date indicated.
"When the reservation was made
and payment therefor accepted, It was
with the understanding that the hall
now advised is for the appearance of
Eamon de Valera to exploit a certain
doctrine which the association believes
is not consistent with the principles
of Americanism.
"Believing such and in performance
of a duty which they feel they owe to
the association which they represent,
the directors have instructed me to
communicate with you and request
that the agreement entered into for
the rental of the auditorium be nulli
fied.
"I am further directed to say to you
that the directors, many of whom are
well known to you, do not wish this
action to disturb In any way the pleas
ant personal relations which have ex
isted
heretofore.
laikah Temple. Consequently, as we
are simply holding office aB represen
tatives of the membership of A1 Ma
laikah Temple, it leaves us with no
other alternative but to cancel the
reservation for this evening.
"In our letter of November 14 we
called your attention to our disap
proval of the purpose for which you
desired to use our Auditorium, and
then requested that we be released
from the engagement.
"While we appreciate the very
serious inconvenience to which it puts
your organization, we are compelled
to respect the wishes of the member
ship of A1 Malaikah Temple, and,
therefore, enclose herewith check in
amount of two hundred fifty dollars
($250), being amount you' had hereto
fore paid for rental of the Shrine Au
ditorium for this evening.
"By order of the board of directors.
"Respectfully,
..... (Signed) "GEO. A. FITCH,
"Secretary."
Along with the letter Mr. Fitch
handed Mr. O'Brien a, check for $250.
This action confirmed the reports
that had been buzzing around the
hotel for more than an hour. Mem
bers of the directorate of the Friends
of Irish Freedom held an impromptu
meeting and decided upon something
bigger than had been reckoned oa
The plan to have a monster outdoor
assembly at Washington Park on gun
day afternoon was the conclusion.
The president of the Republic of
Ireland received a splendid greeting
in Los Angeles yesterday.
What he said at the.luncheon~~at the
Alexandria Hotel was dramatic and
tremendous and the way he said it
will be memorable to the hundreds
crowded within the banquet room. A
professor ot mathematics in Dublin
University he used to be he had the
dryest line in this world* and yet his
words havebeCome living fire.
The ^feQoiit room watt filled to. this
last seat a^ed orowds were clustered
in the aleovea when deValera, escart-
slgnor P. Harnett, members ot th*
titers* and thi oortmrtttafr headed by
Josbph Soott, P. P. O'Brien W*. J.
Ford, P. J. McCarthy and others, en-
V^. y--'
no operated), held November 12, 1919. words proclaimed the right ot peoples
1 am directed to communicate with: t„ determination. On
Tours very truly,
"A1 Malaikah Auditorium Assn.
"Per George A. Fitch, Sec."
No check ncceppanled this letter.
The directors had merely asked tor
permission to return the check.
Uf. O'Brien, as secretary, acted only
in a ministerial capacity and therefore
did not give any such permission.
Shortly after this, however, word
came in that the custodian of the.
Auditorium had been telling persons
who had come early to avoid the rush
that the Auditorium would be "dark."
About this time Mr. O'Brien received
the second and final communication
from Secretary Fitch. It read:
'"My Dear Mt'. O'Brien: Since yes
terday afternoon, all last evening and
this morning, every director of A1
Malaikah Auditorium Association has: of education I did so with a feeling of
been overwhelmed with telegraphic, confidence in the sense of justice of
telephone and personal protests the American people. There has not
against'the use of the Shrine Audi- been a single instant'since I have been
torium for the de Valera meeting this here nor a single spot I have been
evening. disappointed.
"These protests are most emphatic "I want you to know that Ireland is
and represent an expression from the.'not one of the British Isles. All the
majprity of the members of A1 Ma- 'power of Britain could not make Ire-
ed by BlShop jobn J. CantwdH, Moo-: ber of-parsons to bear him tbjat woald
'have been possible had he kept bia
orlglnalspeakingengagement.
Bishop Cantwelltt fete
speech said:
"President Wilson. atanjlUg on tlje
sacred son ot Mt Vernon. la matchless
Bishop Cant wen first introduced
Uam Mellows, advance representative
of de Valera, who was one ot the
leaders in the Easter rebellion ot
1916.
Mr. Mellows helped to prove that
the Irish cause has a reservoir of
burning eloquence which may be
poured forth whenever occasion de
mands.
lie said there had been disturbing
rumors about what might happen In
Los Angeles and he had wired some
thing of this to President de Valera.
"And this is the answer I received
back from our President," he added:
is a game of British bltff.
Stand firm. There will be no retreat­
"It President de Valera had ted to
come to Los Angeles with only a cor
poral's guard he would have come,"
a traitor. No Irishman could: be a
traitor to Great Britain because no
Irishman acknowledges allegiance to
Great Britain. He comes here not
as a fugitive but as an apostle of
liberty."
President de Valera, briefly intro
duced by Bishop Cantwell, had ap
plause, the Chautauqua salute,-three
cheers and then some more.
"When I came here on my mission
land one of its possessions.
"I see that a certain Los Angeles
newspaper (hisses and cries of 'The
Times') wants to make Ireland a
British province, but it will not suc
ceed.
Confident of Fair Hearing.
Sunday Afternoon, Nov. 23.
Before more than 12,000 people
declared to have been one of the
largest and most enthusiastic crowds
ever to see and hear a visiting celeb
rity in Los Angeles—Eamon de Yajeca,
president of the Republic of Ireland,
spoke yesterday afternoon at the
Washington street ball:park says the'
Examiner on the following Monday.
Denied a hearing last Wednesday
night In Los Angeles when the use
of Shrine Auditorium waa refused bib&
shortly before he was to appear, d«
Valera had more than double the num-
Tears Id American Eyes.
Those who know how to sppracitefta
THE IRISH STANDARD
«tire£- ttfe «hter*i a*ata tfci atfli sh%d pM}*b^r iMttt
deeply
jpiv life |ictiB«*ue art
presMtnt ot Ufcyouii*
tinhwlN IntrwfcidiWi.
thrt
occa-
sion President Wilson placed high the
star which should guide the oppressed
of the earth so high that no man
could pull it down—not even the Presi
dent himself.
"Quickened by the words ot our
President, the people ot Ireland formed
a new government and went forth to
vindicate even unto blood the right ot
Ireland to self determination.
"Since President Wilson uttered
those Immortal words new nations
have been born, and many have asked
why Ireland should not be dree in
the same way.
"The President ot the Republic ot
Ireland is here today to put Its cause
before the people of this city, to do
tor the Irish people what Benjamin
Franklin did tor the American people."
ifc life*
continued Mellows to cheering. l»nd that he believed the American
"President de Valera has been called Z,
spirit of fair play would overcome
"I knew before I came to Los An- political issue.
geles that Ireland would get a fair} The other, he declared, Was the fre
hearing here and in America. I wanted. quently hurled charge that proponents
to come to this country when I was
in Lincoln prison. I wanted to tell
this people the story of Ireland.
"If the question of the freedom, of
Ireland were to be submitted to a
vote of the American people it would
be carried by two-to-one. If such a
proposition failed then America would
be throwing away her Declaration of
Independence and the doctrine that
governments derive their just powers
from the consent of the governed.
"That is the principle which has
made America the mother of modern
democracy. There is no power that
can disestablish the free government
of Ireland except the one that estab
lished it. -England holds Ireland
virtue of military power, but Ireland
owes no allegiance to England's king,
who is a foreign usurper.
"We are called traitors. Irishmen
are in fine company when hey are
called traitors they are in the exalted
company of Washington, Jefferson, of Ireland declaring overwhelmingly
Hancock, and the other Revolutionary
heroes."
Ivor Was
the ME eftfeeA^leeeltwaft
Ml Bfiebt? jrnjlilBiiit, and it com
IHfod ihii»|r m6t% ot the second or
third' generation, than emigrants,
ihey were Americana ot blah Mood,
.-ather than Irish who had found a
aew home In this land of the free.
But a quiet emotionalism was dis
tinctly observable in the faces ot these
American men and woven. It waa to
be seen In the countenances of hun
dreds and thousands, who claimed no
blood kinship with the sons of Brin.
Their hearts went out to the earnest
champion of Irish freedom, so far from
his own country, hat bearing a banner
ot familiar device. There woe tears
in the eyes of these Los Angeles men
and women, tears which told ot warm
sympathy for the man and his causa.
Given Earnest Attention.
The big crowd which greeted de Va
lera waa enthusiastic, tat in its mo
ments ot most earnest applause for the
principles enunciated by de Valera as
being those upon which the
Isle seeks the right ot self-determina
tion and liberty from British rule, it
was respectful and always attentive.
Despite the tact that, due to natural
conditions, many could not hear him
clearly, all gave silent attention and
very few even shitted their positions
throughout the hour and forty-live min
utes that he spoke.
Evidently sensing the temper of the
big crowd, there was no setnbiance of
an attempt to disrupt the meeting. A
squad of more than 300 ex-service men
acted as a guard ot honor tor the Irish
president as he ascended the speaker's
stand and as he spoke. He was car
ried to tie stihd Crom tke autsimoblle
in wlilch he rode to the park, on the
shoulders of a U. S. soldier and a
U. S. sailor, both of whom saw active
service during the war.
That the United States is the su
preme moral court ot the worid today'
British propaganda which he charged
had been spread here for the past five
years, wtui given by de Valera as the
reason why he bad come to this coin
try to plead the cause of Ireland.
Speaking in a voice which for itB
deepness of tone belled the lack ot
fuggedness in his physique and in an
unimpassioned, keenly analytical way,
de Valera laid before his audience the
facts regarding Ireland's clalmp to
liberty. In his finale he declared that
there was no choice tor American
men and women who believed in the
principles of liberty laid down as
America's cause for entering the war,
but recognise the right of a vast ma
jority of Ireland's people to decree
their own method of government
In his speech President de Valera
declared that there were two argu
ments or charges which were being
utilized by opponents of Irish liberty
in this country to mislead public
opinion.
One of these, he said, was the allega
tion that it was a religious and not a
of Irish freedom had "stabbed the
United States in the back" during the
war. He refuted both of them.
President de Valera made only one
reference to the newspaper which
boasted of having prevented his ap
pearance at the Shrine Auditorium,
when he said, speaking of the Irish
movement:
"It is not racial, it is not religious.
You are told it is religious. Now, it
is very easy to see tfibt it is not, and
so difficult would it be to prove it
religious that even the Los Angeles
Times admits that it is not a religious
question.
"The father of Irish liberty was
Wolfe Tone, a Presbyterian minister,"
he continued. "Robert Emmet, Thom
as Davis, Smith O'Brien and practical
ly all ot the leaders in Ireland's fight
for self-determination have been Irish
Protestants. In the election which re
sulted In 79 of 105 -electoral districts
for an Irish republic Catholics-chose
Protestants to represent them and
Protestants chose Catholics—the men
chosen stood tor liberty and not for
any religious issue."
Martyra to Irish Cause.
That eleven Presbyterian ministers
and six Catholic priests had been
banged in Ireland because of their
espousal ot the cause of Irish free
dom also was de Valera's statement
to rotation of alleged British propa
here.
Apropos the aUegation that the Irish
people-hsd ^tabbed the United States
in the tack" by alleged traitorous con
duct to .Great Britain during the war,
PwdHtoft de Valera c^ed statistics
that out of a ^population of three mil
women and children, Ireland
«s|t 250,000 fUhting pen
»war agatnat Gerpany witiioiM iaa
lOessity of oonscription.' OC this
W
*1^"
at
-ft:'-
i^ar
thd eiiftiiiMDM
feMfr 'Mtlt -feafe iAI t*
3ft fiftlior fltei»%nd if JVur
Jsta had been aS fteavy three million
Americans would have been filled or
wounded." he declared.
When Washington Was Mallgnid.
Continuing, he said:
"It wasnt only England, but men in
America—Loyalists and Tories—who
during the American Revolutionary
war called Washington a tndtor. By
exciting prejudices here Greitt Britain
hopes to defeat Ireland's cause tor
Hbfcrty. She is endeavoring to excite
those prejudices by cleverly carried
out propaganda.
"Ameriea fought for her liberty
almost 150 yean ago. Ireland has
been fighting for her liberty far 760
years. It Ameriea bad waited for the
unanimity which baa been shown for
liberty in Ireland, where 1.515,000 ot
her people voted' for the establishing
ot a Republic of Ireland as compared
with only 308,000 who favored a 'union'
with England, America would not be
a free country today.
"And "remember this: Men, women
and children were shot down by .Brit
ish troops on tile streets of Dublin
just five days before Germany precipi
tated the great European wa*. Ireland
already was fighting for her freedom
when the great war commenced. And
In the hearts of the Irish people there
was the picture of the ruthless daugh
ter with which Britain met the' efforts
of Ireland to gain the ve*y thing which
became America's principle in th6 war
—democracy and the right ot self
gefvemitaDit tor the psoptti ot earth,
bethHgnatlensaBrilsmadt.^
British Hypocrisy Charged.
An indictment -off Ehgiand as "hpo
critioaF' waB voiced by PresMent ds'
Valera In his references to Gpeat Brit
ain's entry itno the war McitaSs Ger
many had violated its tfeity' with
Belgium.
"Tdfci scraps dt txvte 9H0* prdpa'
such similar instances ot broken treat
ies and torn scraps ot paper!" ha
charged.
In substantiation of his allegations,
he cited the Treaty of Limerick, en
tered into between Great Britain and
Ireland and which, he charged, was
torn to bits by England's King even
before'the Ink was'dry-'upon it
President de Valera also declared
(bat before the United States entered
the war against Germany, British
newspapers vilified America as "a na
tion too proud to fight," as "hypo
crites," and as "slackers in a war for
liberty."
As a prelude to his address at Wash
ington Park, several hundred school
children marched into the Infield and,
after taking their places in front of
the speakers' stand, waved Irish and
American flags and cheered the Irish
leader.
Floral Gifts by Children.
Just preceding the speech ot intro
duction by Joseph Scott, President de
Valera was presented with a magnffl
cent basket of roses by Miss Eileen
O'Gorman, -representing Irish-Ameri
can school children of Los Angeles.
Miss Mercedes Shay of San Diego also
recited a stirring piece of poetry en
titled "What Ireland Wants."
Miss May Nash, attended by little
Inez Skinner and May Duffy, also pre
sented President de Valera with a
Cabinet to Bring It Before Parliament
for Chrlstmae—Strength of the
Irish Movement in America.-
Indications are given in the London
Sunday Press that the new Home
Rule Bill is due in December, and that
the government expect it will have a
triumphant passage." Little progress,
however, is anticipated before Christ
mas.
W. H. Wright,.Orange G. M., Porta
dopra, has declared that 'IJlster does
not want a Parliament of her own."
According to the Parliamentary
correspondent of .the Sunday Times,
the Prime Minister hopes the new
Home Rule Bill may be drafted and
ready tor introduction to the House
of Commons by the first week in
December.
iaiHlMi^''
«**da teftned ft-^hd En^sfM% to^^&^Ke&T Jddto
tory as a nation is Uttered with inst Erica's most frequently deco-
New Bill For Ire
land's Government
N
"He is convinced that notblng Is to
be gained and much may be lost by
delay, and tbat a Home Rulei Bfli
pay be more easily quirled
ALWAYS SOMETHING.
1^'yusslnig the various tangles that
MBenflments and reservations to the
1^^'^'^i^oiu proposal wars te
valopinfc a aenator raid:
Pf
and
PliSf
S-
Saturday, December 13,1919
iiford (ttn l#|e bDBtf&t ,8| fltfiters bfc behalf ot'
ififc AliStles life soegffet.
a a S t's
_r_ to W Los Ari&eles Times.
UriBs
liliuf lifc sfad
"l1 conjj$aiAla£e fou, men and
wdfiAn, free citizens of a tree republic,
tor showing by your presence bare
what you think ot the journalistican
archist at First and Broadway. They
told you and me, through the. columns
ot that paper that they publish, that
Los Angeles would present a long at*
tenuated Icicle to the pre&Hmt the
Irish Republic, and Mae tt ii* tliftks
be to God.
"I want to tell the editora-in-chlet
and the managers and editorial writers
of the ,Lo8 Angeles Times that If all
the hose in the fire department of Los
Angeles were turned on that but
tressed fortress at First and Broadway
it would still smell to high heaven."
In introducing President de Valera.
Mr. Soott referred to him aa "$ha
George Washington of Ireland," and
as "the man who had survi^fed im
prisonment, sentences ot d&ath And
foul indignities heaped upon htlh by
the British Government without break
ing the fire ot patriotism that leads
him to fight on for Ireland's cause.
"President de Valera has been elect
ed as President of the Irish people by
the unanimous vote of the people ot
Ireland," said Scott. "No Anrarican
President except George Wasfctt&ton
over received such a unanimous vote
from the peoples of a country its has
Valera.
Referring to the refusal to let the
Irish leader speak In Shrine Audi
torium, Scott de&uted thai it
was
without legtf right.
"Since when did it become a dis
grace for American P9D$fe to tell
kings and Princes and'Barons to 'get
off the grass* and ifit tBe wttl of the
people, the will of the majority, pre
fair »~atitfe
Riding with President de Valera in
the automobile «fflch brought him to
rated war heraes and who lo^t a leg
on the battle Unas in Stance. Keane,
now a student at the Uni?ecalty bf
Southern Callfomia, won tb« -Croix de
Guerre, the American Distinguished
Service Cross, a decoration
tor
Congressional medal for bravery.
Also in the automobile were Chair
man Joseph Scott, Lleuts. Leo Dase
and John Fox and Private Marcus
Roberts, all of whom won commen
dation for their bravery under fire In
France.
Seated in the grandstand with the
Irish President as be spoke also was
former Lieut. Rene Linguard, who saw
four years of active service with
French troops in France and Bel
glum. Among4 others in the speakers'
stand were Eddie Mailer and John
Powers of the Los Angeles Baseball
Club, who received-three cheers and
a "tiger" from the 12,000 people pres
ent for refusing insistent demands
that the privilege of speaking In the
park be denied to de Valera.
President de Valera spent all of yes
terday in his suite at the Alexandria
except during the morning, when he
attended church at St. Viblana's Cathe
dral. He left last night for the East,
where he will take a brief rest and
then complete further speaking en
gagements. 7/
than another Suspensory Bill. Apart
from the Ulster members, and a com
paratively few English Unionists, it
is not.anticipated that there win ba
any real opposition to the bin tor the
great body of the Coalition, even if
averse from the measure, would hesi
tate to incur the responsibility of
throwing it out."
"The government is convinced,"
"Candide," of the "Sunday Pictorial,''
hears, "that their new Irish BUI will
have a triumphant passage through
Parliament. It is believed," he adds,
"that the Sinn Fein leaders are not so
hostile as they profess to be, and even
Ulster is likely to be fairly amiable
abbut It/'
According to the WeeUy Dispatch,
Mr. Devlin last week stated that in
bis opinion, "the government attempt
to produce a settlement of the Irish
question is merely camouflage intend
$d jo put. Ireland in the wrong In
Amerios."
clea»pt pop^^fini raninds me oC
the old lady who was
mnH»g
&
brav­
ery conferred upon him personally by
King George of England, and the U.
8.
Ifc
A
4*
nfj
""•""ad)
1-i t®--
fjiSj
cow
when a dog came atanf *ud l^ped
sopt# of Of plll^ oiit of a bucket
"*Tberc, plagi»a on It!' tiM bld lady
ej|acailated, "*now I suppose lH hava