118
AN GAODHAL.
Mo bheannacht is beannacht Iosa Criost,
Sa Bhanaltra bhreagh
Fad saoghal ans an tír seo is Rioghacht
Na bhflathas go bráth.
Tomas Ua Griomhtha.
A. O. H.
Quite a number of Gaels seem to not fully un¬
derstand the terms on which we proposed to sup¬
ply the several divisions of the A. O. Hibernians
with the Gael. Some think that if a division 75
members strong sent 60 cents to the Gael each
member would be entitled to a copy of each issue
for a year. No; the Division only would be en¬
titled to one copy, and a division having only 20
members would pay 20 cents only, that is 1 cent
a man; no division is charged more than sixty
cents even if it should have 300 members. Our
idea is is to have every Division of the Order be¬
come a subscriber to the Gael and thus secure an
Organized constituency for it which would ensure
its continuance for all time without the fear of its
collapse. For instance, — The Order has now on
its roll 90,000 members ; one cent a year from
each member would amount to $900 a year, with
that the Gael could never collapse. An example
of the necessity of this organized action in rela¬
tion to the Gael: Owing to the heat of the wea¬
ther, and his advancing age, the editor was not
able to stand at the case for the last three weeks
to do its manual work, hence, the paper has run
considerably behind time. With the idea which
we have suggested, and at the cost of only "one
cent" a year, to organized Irishmen, the GAEL
would be a permanent Irish institution were we
to drop to-morrow — to-day, no one living depend
on its income for support !
Up to 1873 this government could pay its pe¬
cuniary obligations in "coin", that is, in either
gold or silver. The silver dollar was then worth
$1.03 in gold. In that year the London gold bugs
brought "pressure" to the amount of $500,000.00
to bear on the President and Congress, and silver
was demonetized — thus robbing the country of
billions of dolars. Is it anarchy, populism, or so¬
cialism, or repudiation, to restore in 1896 the pro¬
ceeds of the theft of 1873?
'Tis a lie to say that the silver dollar will be
worth only 50 cent; it will be worth what it is
now and what it has always been.
85 per cent. of Americans favor bimetallism;
and this annoys the gold bugs because they can¬
not buy them up — too many to buy!
THE PHILA. PHILO-CELTIC SOCIETY
Having sent resolutions of thanks to his Grace,
the Rt. Rev. Patrick O'Donnell, Bishop of Raph¬
oe, have received in answer the following letter.
"Letterkenny, Ireland, 22nd May, 1896.
Dear Mr. O'Kane,
I acknowledge with gratitude the receipt of the
Resolutions which the Philo-Celtic Society of
Philadelphia has been so good as to adopt with
reference to myself and which has been transmit¬
ted to me as sealed with the corporate seal of the
Society and signed by you as President, and by
Mr. Hunt as Secretary. It should inspire us all
with fresh determination in the cause of the Irish
Language to find that the least effort we make
on its behalf is so warmly appreciated by our
kindred in free America. As Irishmen, your feel¬
ing on the subject is, unquestionably, right. If
we fail to keep alive the fine language of our
country, how is the unity of the Irish race to be
maintained or the special talent of the Gael to re¬
ceive congenial cultivation or Celtic ideas to be
preserved in their salutoay influence on future
generations? The Irish tongue belongs to the
ost inheritence that has come down to us from
the Past.
Thanking the Society most gratefully, I am,
Dear Mr. O'Kane,
Sincerely yours,
✠ PATRICK O'DONNELL."
The Society adjourned on June 28 to meet on
the first Sunday in September. There was quite
a jovial feeling in the closing exercises with
promises from the speakers to promote the inter¬
ests of the Society the coming fall. It meets at
31st and Callowhill st.
Geo. W. Boyer,
Secretory pro tem.
OBITUARY.
It is the sad duty of the Gael to record the de¬
mise of one of its oldest subscribers in the old
land, Mr Michael Gleeson of Ballinamona, coun¬
ty Limerick, which occured on the 16th of April
last, at the age of 86 years. The lamented deceas¬
ed was introduced to the Gael by his friend and
neighbor, Mr. Thomas McEniry, exPresident of
the Philo-Celtic society of Philadelphia, — a gen¬
uine Irishman. It seems that Mr. Gleeson was a
veritable genius. He invented such lot of useful
mahcinery in his time that if he were in America
he would have made a fortune — he even essayed
to overcome the difficulties of the perpetual mo¬
tion. — May his soul rest in perpetual peace.
Amen
