The Ace Stenographer and the Freedom Fighter

Historian Jonathan Smyth's latest Times Past recalls Henry G. Hayes, a Stenographer who in 1851 reported on Lajos Kossuth, a Hungarian Freedom Fighter who toured America...

When a revolution broke out in Hungary that lasted from 1848 to 1849, it was Lajos Kossuth who emerged as the hero of the hour. He was the Governor -President of the Kingdom of Hungary at that time and is described in the history books as a lawyer, journalist, politician, statesman and nobleman. Kossuth came from a poor gentry family and attained his place in the world through his skill as an orator of persuasive public speeches and convincing political debates.

His stance during the Hungarian Revolution confirmed his status as a ‘bellwether of Democracy in Europe’, and afterwards, the United States and Great Britain in their admiration invited him to tour their countries.

The American newspapers at the time billed Kossuth as a freedom fighter and they were so impressed with him that a commissioned bronze bust of Kossuth is now displayed in the United States Capitol with the inscription: ‘Father of Hungarian Democracy, Hungarian Statesman, Freedom Fighter, 1848–1849.’

During Kossuth’s memorable tour of the United States of America in 1851, the New York Herald newspaper assigned a young reporter named Henry G. Hayes to go with the fêted freedom fighter and report on the magnificent speeches he gave. Hayes had a terrific gift for linguistics and could ably translate Kossuth’s words regardless of the language he spoke. The Washington Times said of Hayes: ‘Mr. Hayes always recorded his (that is, Kossuth’s) speeches in a manner that attracted the attention of the whole country and brought him into national prominence.’

A publication called the Congressional Globe invited Hayes to be their official reporter of Congress reporting on Congressional debates. Eventually, Hayes was further rewarded when he was made the official reporter of the House Committees.

In the year 1829, Henry G. Hayes was born in Co Cavan, Ireland and at the age of 21 years, he and his brother Stephen G. Hayes emigrated to the United States. Both Henry and Stephen were talented stenographers who could speedily note speeches in shorthand and then report them accurately in the papers. And although we cannot be absolutely certain which part of the county he came from, we do know that there were branches of the Hayes family living in the parish of Drumgoon and in the parishes of Annagh, Templeport and Killinkere.

There are numerous records showing the payments received by Hayes for his services, an example of such in 1883, published in ‘The Statutes at Large of the United States’, volume 22, noted: ‘to pay to Henry G. Hayes, for special report of testimony before the House Committee of Foreign Affairs at the First session of the Forty-seventh Congress as per account approved and certified, one hundred and sixty-two dollars.’

On March 20, 1882, Hayes was removed from reporting on a Congressional hearing and naturally he was not exactly pleased.

The US website www.govinfo.gov records the original entry report from first session Forty-seventh Congress Journal, as follows: ‘2Oth March 29, 1882, Mr. Alexander H. Stephens, of Georgia, as a question of privilege, presented correspondence whereby the Speaker (Mr. Keifer) had removed for cause Henry G. Hayes, stenographer to committees, but had declined to specify the cause or causes. The subject was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary without debate.’

The Congressional record of the House records Henry G. Hayes’ response to the removal in which he asks ‘respectfully’ for an explanation ‘for the cause for which I am removed.’

The reply received by Hayes from private secretary C.C. Boyce did little to alleviate the upset created: ‘you should not be led by the language of the letter of removal to infer that any criticism was intended to be made upon your private character.’

Hayes refused to recognise the legality of the letter from Boyce. This initiated a call for a complete ‘inquiry’ by the House Speaker, Honourable J. Warren Keifer.

Henry died on February 6, 1903, with the Washington Times stating that he never tired of work and that he had reared a ‘large family’. The eldest boy was Charles J. Hayes, commonly referred to as Charlie, an Associated Press reporter of the House ‘in succession’ to his father. Charlie died around 1876; then followed by the death of Henry’s brother Stephen. The loss of both son and brother was said to cause Henry to lose heart and give up the fight as a successful reporter. All of Henry’s daughters, except for one, were married. His daughter Alice, noted the newspaper, was married high up, to Major Charles Archer a British Officer on the staff of Lord Curzon, Viceroy of India.

Henry G. Hayes was survived by Mrs. Hayes, four daughters and two sons, Dr Henry Hayes, coffee planter in the Hawaiian Islands and Stephen S. Hayes, electrical engineer who worked for the Westinghouse Electric Works, Pittsburgh.

On a Monday evening in late July 1920, James Soraghan, a farmer’s son was returning from a dance when the military and police stopped him and asked him to raise his hands. Soraghan did as was asked. During the interrogation, a soldier pulled the trigger and his gun discharged, the bullet passing through Soraghan’s wrist and lodging in his chest. The military continued on their way. A neighbour came to Soraghan’s aid and after ‘some attention’, took the boy by motor car to the Mater Hospital, Dublin.

However, it was reported in the Freeman’s Journal, that about the same time as the shooting, the authorities also fired at a protestant farmer and chased him into his house, then broke down the door to arrest him. The farmer was later released when the local sergeant identified him. Meanwhile, the police and military headed off in the direction of Carrigallen, stopping and questioning everyone they met. On July 21, 1920, the Irish Independent reported that ‘on enquiry at the Mater Hospital last night it was ascertained that the boy Soraghan who was shot near Gowna, Co Cavan, by a party of military and police, has successfully undergone an operation’ and had the ‘bullet removed from the right side’.

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