What patriotic American can fail to be moved by emotions of gratitude when he learns among other facts that the Irish in Ireland assisted with food and provisions the struggling settlers of Boston in a time of dire distress; that Irishmen of Philadelphia contributed large sums of money to the famished Revolutionary heroes at Valley Forge; that George Washington considered himself honored in being elected a member of an Irish society; that nine of the signers of the Declaration of Independence were men of Irish blood; that on the field of war, and in the council chamber of the nation, as well as in the administration of national, state, and municipal affairs, from the time of our earliest history to the present time, men of that race have given their lives and property to the nation’s cause. The work of this society thus far in this direction gives promise of either destroying the prejudices that have hitherto existed against the Irish people, or removing the venom from the fangs of bigotry. To my mind the most urgent need of a society of this nature is the means it affords of preserving Irish history in America. It would be a great misfortune if the history of the Irish people in America, at present fragmentary at best, yet gathered together under favorable conditions and after the most careful and painstaking labor, could not find some secure lodgment. What more suitable abiding place than the cabinet of the American-Irish Historical Society, from whence it could find its way into the private and public libraries, not only of our own country, but of the civilized world? This Society, in the short time it has been in existence, has accomplished so much in its chosen field as already to have demonstrated quite clearly its scope. From the publications issued by its members, notably the work of Secretary-General Murray in Massachusetts and Rhode Island, Commissioner Linehan in New Hampshire, Senator Walsh in Georgia, Hon. Joseph T. Lawless in Virginia, and others, our Society has already contributed a fund of rich historical value to the history of this country. It would suffice to cite this labor to show the scope. The thought has occurred to me that it might be well, however, to suggest a specialization of this work, and to provide avenues for its dissemination. The Society should pursue the line of procedure already mapped out by extending its membership to every state in the country. Membership should be selected from men of scholarly attainments, devoted to historical research. This membership should be so catholic as to include men of all religious denominations and nationalities.