POWER OF THE IRISH IN AMERICAN CITIES.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 769, 26 November 1886, Page 9

POWER OF THE IRISH IN AMERICAN CITIES.

The following letter was lately addressed to the Times by ‘An American ’ In the article entitled 4 The Abuse of Citizenship,’ in a recent issue of your journal, the number o t Irish in the United States is put down at 1,854.571 for the year 1880, being only 27.7 per cent, of the total foreign born population, whereas the German element is said to represent 29.4 per cent., the British 13, the Canadian 10.7, and all others 18 per cent., ahd it is stated also that the Irish embraced 33.3 per cent, of all foreigners in 1870. From these figures the writer pro duces the conclusion that 4 the numerical ascendancy of the Irish has vanished in America,’ and that ‘the American politicians might do well to draw the obvious moral that to pander to a diminishing political force is a blunder—from the point of view of the caucus managers.’ But I am sorry to say that the prospect of emancipation from Irish rule in America is not a lively one at present. The reduction of their numerical strength in Ireland has not diminished their political force as factors in British politics. As an American well acquainted with the Irish andilheir methods in my country, I beg a small space in your columns to state - some facts that many throw a little light on the subject. First, then, let it be born in mind that nearly the whole two millions of Irish now in the United States reside in the cities and towns, where they can most easily organise and bring their streogth to bear on American politics and obtain offices and party spoils. While nearly half the total population of America are dispersed over the land, following agricultural pursuits, not five per cent, of the Irish live by farming, and the few that do are mostly Protestants from Ulsters. It is doubtful if one per cent, of the Catholic Irish work land for a living in the 4 Great Republic.’ This may seem strange to your readers when it is considered that farming was their sole pursuit in Ireland at least of more than nine-tenths of them. On the other hand, perhaps one half of all the Germans in America follow farming as an avocation. The same is true of the Scandinavians who have become a strong element in the Western States. A large percentage of the British and. Canadian immigrants till the soil, but the Italians, Poles, Bohemians, and the Jews of all nationalities, like the Irish, plant themselves in the cities and villages, and eschew the plough and the ‘ hoe. It will thus be seen that the Catholic ■ Irish are the dominant stratum of ■ the foreigners in our urban population. Secondly, the two millions of city Irish are mostly adu’ts. Their American born children number fully two millions more ; for they are given to having large families, as inculcated by their priests. This concentration of the whole Catholic Irish nationality in the northern cities (few of them live in the south) gives them enormous power in the party caucuses, and enables them to dictate and control the nominations and secure to themselves the lion’s share of the political spoil. They are notoriously the most active, elbowing, pushing, grasping politicians in our country. There is scarcely a town m the Northern States, big or little, where they have not clutched control of the taxing and. spending power of the municipalities, and the appointing power as well. Thus, they hold the greater proportion of the places on the Police and Fire Departments, and of the public works and charities supported by axes, and municipal clerkships of all sorts. Of how they discharge their duties nothing need be said here. Having secured the tax- )’■' jng power their constant effort everywhere is to increase the 4 rates on the tax-payers, in order to raise salaries higher, and find places for more Irish office holders. A constant” struggle is going on in all our northern cities between the American taxpayers and the Irish ‘ taxraters,’ as they are usually called, and it is a struggle for existence on the part of the American element. Thirdly, what adds immensely to the power of the Irish in America is the fact that almost the ' entire Catholic sect acts with one party—the Democratic and the Irish faction dominates that' Church. The German Catholics are a large numerical element in all our cities, and they are as a rule a quiet, unobtrusive people, and not much given to office grasping; but they vote the ticket labelled 4 Democratic ’ without 4 scratching and with great punctuality, and as that ticket is constructed chiefly by the alert, rapacious Irish in the party caucuses, the strong German Catholic electorate is made very useful by the Celtic politicians in electing it. The Polish, Hungarian, Bohemian, Italian, and other foreign voters, contribute to the same end, all being obedient to the Catholic Irish dictatorship. The Irish power in American politics is therefore practically equivalent to the whole strength of the Roman Catholic voting power. ' Fourthly, an enormous advantage the Irish possess over the other Catholic foreign elements is their

use of the English tongue. This enables i them to speak, write, and discuss in the legal language of the Courts and legislative bodies, and in the tongue employed by the caucuses and conventions. Comparatively few of the other Catholic foreigners can use the English vernacular with any fluency or freedom, but speak it imperfectly and hesitatingly. It is easy to see what an advantage the Irish politicians derive from their knowledge of the 4 American language.’ Fifthly, the foreign-born population, together with their American.born children, whom they influence in their political action, constitute a majority of most northern cities and towns, and the larger part of all these are Roman Catholics and under Irish domination. Hence the American politician feels constrained to pander to the ruling Celtic class among ns, and I can perceive no emancipation from such rule in the near future. Just enough of the Irish act with the Republican party, or constantly promise to do it, to prevent the Republican leaders and Press from saying anything disagreeable about them. A considerable number of Irish in .New York, Chicago, Albany,, Buffalo, and a few other cities, voted for Blaine (while voting for all the rest of the Democratic ticket), and talk of doing so again in 1888 in still larger numbers ; and this hope makes the Republi can leaders smile on the 4 Home Rulers,’ and causes Democratic politicians to hug the Celtic 4 Nationalists ’ all the closer to their bosoms lest they may lose them at the next Presidential strnggle. In the Northern States the great bulk of the native element belongs to the Republican party, and perhaps half of the Protestant foreign-born citizens act with the same party, which accounts for the ease with which the Irish control the caucuses of the Democratic parties in the cities and towns—the native Democratic element being weak in numbers in the northern cities, but they sometimes 4 bolt the ticket ’ made for them by the Irish, and join hands with the Republicans in behalf of municipal reform. This happens when the extravagances of expenditure and corruptions in office of the Irish politicians become unendurable, and the taxpayers can no longer bear the burdens laid upon them by the 4 Home Ruling’ race. But after a short season of retrenchment and reform, the Irish politicians always manage to reclaim the dissident partisans, partly by blandish ments and promises of reform, and partly by dividing the offices more equally with the native-born Democrats, but mainly through party ties and necessities in Presidential election years. To the foregoing must be added the peculiar and remarkable aptitude of the Irish to seize control of the caucus machinery, and through it rule the party they act with. The chief ambition of the Irish in America appears to be to get offices and gain a livelihood at the expense of the taxpayers. They have succeeded in these objects to an astonishing extent, and now hold and enjoy tens of thousands of public places of all kinds in the urban communities. Next to getting an office, their most popular occupation is 4 keeping a saloon ’ for the sale of liquar, as such places are centres of political influence and stepping-stones to office. An enormous number of Irish saloon keepers are city aldermen in American cities, and these control the taxing power and the dispensing of contracts and jobs, and the filling of minor offices with swarms of their countrymen. And thus are American cities 4 Home Ruled ’ and all American political life influenced and injured. The thousands of Americans in Europe who read the Times will recognise the general accuracy aDd truthfulness of the foregoing, and it is high time the facts were stated.