4 1 NOVEMBER 4. 1917. NOVElIBER 4,, 4t, 1917. "TAY 6 6 TA AY SINN FEIN AND By V. C.
Fin erty PART PAGE IRELAND PART PAGE 5. PAY" --O'CONNOR 1 SINN FEIN AND -IRELAND By- V. C. Finerty aIw4y3 been productive of eulogy to die for Irelandand productive of calumny to live for Par .6. PAGE THE IRISH CONVENTION By T.
P. O'Connor was not the word) for the empire; they thought of their own views and their own interests' only. But the position of the Orangeman is very different now from what it was before the war. Then lie came to the rescue of a great political party, which was sore pressed. The Tories were frightened out of their lives by the legislation proposed by Lloyd George.
They regarded him with a mixture of ferocious hatred and pale terror. They knew that, trained in all the traditions. hatreds, grim resolves' of the Welsh nonconformist, he was resolved to destroy the whole feudal system; to change the land laws; to destroy the house of lords; to dethrone the nobility; to give theunder dog. as he once said, his chance at last. Lloyd George, as is known.
did succeed in carrying out a good many of these purposes; it the war had not come he might have carried out them all. To the rescue of this beleaguered Tory garrison came Sir Edward with his appeal to Protestant sentiment. "No popery" plays the In British politics that the bloody shirt" did in your politics: and the Orangeman was patted on the back by the squire anxious for his acres. by the parson anxious for his church. by the brewer worrying about his brewery.
tiut today the Orangemen stand between the British empire and its highest interests: and he is no longer loved. He 1 isolated. THE CHICAGO Now put this fact in connection with the other outstanding fact that after the war the burden of taxation on Eng- I land A in be so enormous that the mere payment of interest on her debt will make as large a budget as the payment of all her expenses of running the empire: was before the war. If the same taxation were applied to, Ireland as to England. this would mean a crushing buOget for Ireland, and.
above all, for the north of Ireland. This is a point which has already been brought to the special notice of the Orangemen by Dr. Kelly, the Catholic bishop of floss, really the ablest man in the convention on all questions of finance. Ile has already made a profound impression on these hard headed men of business hi Belfast they are not in vain. For these teasons, I rereat that I ee no difficulty in the on the question of finance.
Ireland yin get Avhat she hasn't gut under the I present hotne rule act now on the I statute booknamely. fiscal autonomy. Dominion self-government is a somewhat loose phrase. but it sufficiently indicates what will be the outcome of the convention if they agree about Ulster. I t- SUNDAY: Olf THE CHICAGO SUNDAY- i Ilk 1 A41 PAGE 0 -I Trm- a-I A 11)1 4.1 kJ 6.
.1 .1,, THE IRISH CON 6. r-'-' 4 1 By T. P. O' ..,,:4, .4,,:,,,,:,,.,:. 4..,,,,,,,.....
-''') Connor was not the vrorcb for the empire: they Now put this fact in connection with A os- thou ht of their own views and their tine other outstanding fact that after -I'S; the War the burden of taxation on En g- se a se- own intereet Only. he Orangeman land mill be ao enormous that the 'ft But the position of Oso-- soes ee- mere payment of interest on her debt eY'Ss-A-o ses's is very different now from what it was I before the war. Then be came to the will make as large a budget as the 7-- yes rescue of a great political party. which pament of all her expens of run was sore pressed. The Tories were ning the empire was before the war.
eseso, a frightened out of their lives by the le g- If the same taxation were applied to -sr o's-o; ,7 4 islation proposed by Lloyd George. Ireland as to England this would! '1 1.: They regarded him with a mixture of mean a crushing for Ireland, 'ff ail ferocious hatred and pale terror. They and. above all. for the north of Ireland.
1 knew that, trained in all the traditions, This is a point which has already 1 hatreds, grim resolves of the Weleh been brought te the special notice of sesss Par de- the Orangemen by Dr. -4 nonconformist stroy the be was rhole feudal system solved to to elle bishop of Ross, really the ablest 4 sit1O-S nge the land laws: to destroy the questions man in the convention on all change bility; 1 hous of lords to dethrone the no to give the under dog. ae he once said roround i of finance. Ile has ahead) made a 4 4k-1-- unipr es-1 0, 1t en these har 2 a s.r. 4e' Stfe-o: s' ossOlso-so satass N.Ii.:S---',:::;sso; eeSeSiee Ss- --o-so; his chance at last headed men of in BelfastI eel, o-'4'-.
they are not in viiin. Lloyd George, as is known. did sue- be the outcome of For these icesens, I rereat that reed i car rying out a good many of I see no difficulty in the csenrion 'I, these purposes; if the war had not ton the question of finance. Ireland 21 come he might have carried out them will get Aviett she hasn't get under the all. To the rescue of this beleaguered present home rule act now on the ois ri-r: Tvry garrison came Sir Edward Car SDn s.
y. fiscal autonomy oes see oessooess 5 with his appeal to Protestant en statute booknamel Dominion iself-government is a some- f- timent. "No popery" plays the part sass, Soso as red in politics that the "bloods- what loose phrase. but it sufficiently 7 IA vs kg Orangeman wa siiii -'s 1H- at hirt did in your politics: and the Indicates what sloesese re so eisel: patted on the back the convention if they agree about Losses 1 by tbe squire anxious for his acres. by Ulster.
Oa 'l. 4 's -IP oo-OeSose, eV; ON the parson anxieue for his church. by te if but i a the brewer worrying about his brew- cry. but today the Orangemen stand les ea et bween the Briti sh empire and ite highest interests: and he is no lon ger 1- eo s)t. es Ins S1' -lot 44- r.
loved. He le isolated. z44i-ae-xt. tele is ss "as A---o 4-4 'het ib le '-'7 th, LS -foe asso ssoie wt- r. so 4 42-4-s rs o', eel are 'moos-.
Iva k'11 -a 4 Ike 4 -ss so- S- '4 as 'WI 'F e-- 4N 'P a l'''' Sso 1 r. ner en sed an t. 'let in -spite of the hostility of. for many years, -virtually- the whole of England, of part of Ireland. both unionist and these two sections have always played into One another's handsthose few men-, held Ireland in firm leash for nearly half a centnryuntil, in.
September, 1914. they cornpelled the majority in Great Britain and Ireland to reverse the verdict of centuries and to register before the world Ireland's right to legislative independence. But though certain reactionary British statesmen, despite the body of Orange volunteers they had equipped and organized. were unable to prevent the placing of the home rule bill upon the statute book, they were able to prevent its application. The methods subsequently employed by those statesmen in misgoverning a country constitutionally entitled to govern herself.
led to the revolt of Easter week. 1914, in which 2,000 out of a population of four and one-quarter million took 'part. The methods those same- British statesmen permitted their agents in Ireland to use in coping with the revolt transformed the majority of the people of Ireland. almost instantaneously, into Sinn From that moment, because of an undeniable German tinge, the Irish question became an international question. When the United States entered the war, the Irish question became a highly important American problem.
P. O'CONNOR'S presence here gives effective answer to those of our American compatriots who question the of any active Interest in the. Irish question during America's critical hour. For this gifted Irishman. in speeches that have crystallized the war spirit of America, has Proved to us that to be truly loyal to our own country.
we Americanswhether of native or foreign ancestrymust lend our hearty support to re-coring for Ireland the fullest measure of independence possible within the empire. The Socialist conference at Stockholm. enunciated the same aim; so it can: hardly be hoped by even the most sanguine of us that the peace conference, of necessity far less radical assembly, will even mention the possibility of Ireland's complete lade- pendence. We are. therefore.
disloyal to America if. on the one band. we try to further the Sinn Fein dream of an Irish republic, which is being nourished by German brains; we are disloyal to America if. on the other hand. we remain Inactive and thus however Indirectly.
the now hostile to the interests of our own country. of that section of the Irish people who have been goaded to temporary madness by the insane blunders of the British government Who is better fitted to point us the way out than is T. P. O'Connor. great Irishman.
because great citizen of the world, When it was rumored that this great Irish patriot. the Idolized champion of the two and one-half million Irish in England. was coming to Chicago. representatives of the of the French, of the Italians. of the Armenians.
of the Poles. and many Americans (who had enjoyed T. Irish hospitality abroad). hastened to ask his prospective hosts for some share in the- privilege of entertaining him. Only certain men of his own, race were hostile or indifferent seemingly a sad commentary upon one phase of the Irish-American character.
I propre Irish the w-- to Us countr native our Irelani pender The SA enunci hardly snnsu' ence, asseml sibilits pender We Ica furthe: Irish ished 1Yal we re! age now countr peop le porar ders ol is be out tl Irishm world' NVhe Irish 1 the te Engle repret the Fr menial Amenb Irish ask share him. rc ae ingly phase 1 I GOOD ewishes would make the IDeo Convention there could be no doubt of its success. except among those who desire to wreck the feeling Is universal that tees body has the opportunity of bringing' the long etruggle for Irish Dery to a satiefactory end. SVIII it do to? I find it imposeible to utter any confident prophecles--especially Low that I am far away from the scene of action. There is.
however. teoeig ground for hope. Tbe difilculty of the whole Irish situation and indeed, of the English situation, comes from the factwhich kinerleans rind it hard to ralizethat In old countries, with deep roots in the pest, there is always a certain powerful minority which finds it hard to give up the traditions and prejudices of the past. I am struck in America by the clear view which Americans of all clasees have with regard to the trieh question. They don't understand why England hasn't given Ireland home rule a generation at lease ago; still is do they understand why it ie that a minority such as that in 'Ulster haft had the power at once to threaten a rebellion and to override a maperity of the Irish peoele.
No Sinn Fetener seeeld le- more bur reed: none more irelienent tnan many Americans I have it coer the admis. eon of Sir Felward teat eiii eito a cabinet offee after his record as the leader of a rebel movement. I sympathize with this Ameriean view. and set. to see acqueinted with tee cenditione in ter political and parliamentary sem*n the thing appears feet; sitnple than it te te one le eireerlea.
The Met eentation of the comparative indulgence given to eir Edward Cartson and the Ctreocetnen itt. that England is a Frotestant ami Ireland in the main a 'eel-leer yountry; that an Irieh parliament must neeetserily consist of a Catholl meteorite; ant therefore. the erwemort was usereend svith strong fftcet in such a reotestant country as Enzianiteelleit, pee heel no right be tuercO? Englatidto Protestant's to go under the yolot ef Iftime. It a fa lee wee- f.f stating the thzes, ter tee Irieli parliameet veien it (ernes into eeistence NA ill not be under ke ee yo of any cliurt in dealing with the rielit ef ite elti7PTIS; but it eras tLe kind of appeal that tell with a large heels. of the Erielleh electorate.
I re li sent as mue as any Irishman so intolerable a loadefig of the dice against the Irish Catholie. -e Ie FIEler sereel- skill make the real- er reelize how direetult it will be to end a itelution ef the high peohlem if the Orangemen per- set In ter detterninatlen to refeee, te have an hare in the parliament in teitilin. and air' I must in- set tent the; le the real almost tlie only eree of the eonvention; and heeln an galn I nmet inlet on Its eifeculty. Fr, reetele may not think the teek of the convention quite easy tee rime'. Arti eet.
remelt, heipeful. The reeneetren Ie extreordinare- in hie esularey end In els stubbornnese. I heard Telesel George say to one ef their leaierse Why don't you asck them to cenneller the difficieties end the perils of the empire?" The reply wee that they dilne. rare a cent I cent 7 GOOD wishes would make the convention secceed, there could be no doubt of its success. thoee who desire to except among lode the feeling is universal that thging is body has the opportunity of rin the long etruggle for Irish to a satiefactory end.
SVIII it dlo leo? I find it imptsseible to utter try confident propheeles--especially that I am far away from the tow asene of action. There is, however. steeett ground for hope The diesouoy es the whole Irish sit- tion tia arid indeed, of the English it eadon, "nes from the factwhich Am tind it hard to realizethat i in old countries, 'anti deep roots the tbere is alwa s. a certain poe-er. pest.
oil minority a hich finds it hard to give up the traditions and prejudices of the past I am struck A in merica by the petfltetly clear iew which Americans of all classes have with to the lush question. They Tdoegn't ar understand why England hasn't even Ireland home rule a generation do thew under- at least ago; still lese entnd Irby it ie that a minerity such as that In 'Ulster has had the po wer at osce to threa ten a rebel: ion and to override a majority Irish peo of the eie- No sinn S'euier cos's! le- ere bur. I none inla esst an many Americans I have Islet co er the 8drillS Son of Sr Elward ein sell tete a cab- offee after his reeord as the lead- of a rebel rico ement I sympathize ith this Anere-an view. atel set. to cis acceininted with the cenditione in tar polittr al and parliaentary e)s- the aepeare le5g simple than It to one lo aseerlea, The tit st ex p-antation of the comparative indulg.
a Careen ence given to Sir Ildvear and the Cooneeinen is that England is a Frotestant dna in the main a Catb011.7 ettUfirry: that an trieh parlia- ee ent neeoirily consist a oathons nittjority; aril therefore. the imeet as usel -and vith strong err tftcet in slid, a IS-otestant country as yrs: Iota no right to tuerce Llnglatort- fellow Protestarit'S to gn the yolot ef Iteme. It ees a fa way ef iee satin the rear, tsr tee irall parliameitt when it fames into esiseo ice NS PI not be under the yoke rof any ceursh in dealing with l'e rielits of elt17ns; but it was the kinl of sPiJoal, ihst ir-01 l'ritil A THAT brings me back to the will they agree about Ulster? If the Orangemen refuse to agree, look at the peculiar position In which they will be placed. They will have at least three-quarters of the convention against them. That kind of a spectacle will they present to the world if titty insist on remaining out of the parliament and the government of their own country when three-fourths of their own countrymen many of the same party In politics, ao good Protestarts as they erecall upon them to come in.
It is an impos- slide position. I have reason to believe that it tail he made more impossible by the concessions which will be offered to them by the Nationalists. They may be offered larger representation in the Irish house of commons, much larger representation In the Fen-ate. They will, I believe, be offered a coalition ministry. with Orangemen forming part of the ministry.
In the face of every offer of reasonable safeguards and in face of the big majority against partition. I think their old position will be hopeless. There will be no sympathy foti them in England. In the house of commons the majority of the English Tories are as much against them as the Liberals. Indeed.
some of the fiercest opponents of the partition are to be found among the English Tories. I may mention as prominent Rnd powerful anti-par. titionist, Duke, the present chief secretary, and one of the stanchest Tories in the house of commons. Finally note that Sir 'Horace riunkett Is the Chairman of the eon. vention.
I do not know that he Is either physically- or Intellectually the ideal strong chairman. Ills' health is poor; his voice is rather weak; I don't know that he has everltarl experience as a presiding- officer. But rely on this: Ile will give no countenance to partition. and if any man can do it, he will not allow anybody to leave that convention hall until they have agreed. For these reasons II have strong hopes that the convention will agree to a proposal which all sane Irishmen Can accept.
IIAT brings rne back to the point; ill the agree about Ulster? If wy the Or geinen ref use to agree loo at the peeuliar position In ma nch they will be placed. They will have at least three-quarters of the con- vention against them. What kind of a spectacle Avin they present to the world if they insist on remaining out of the parliament and the government of their own country when three- four ths of their own countrymen inany of the party In politics as good Protestarte as they arell e'a J. upon tern to come in. It t' an sible positien.
I have reason to be hove that it till be ade more Impost- sit-vie by the concessions which will be offered to them by the Nationalists. They may be offered larger representa the Irh house of commons tion in is much larger representation PI the Fen- ate. They will. I believe. be offered a coalition ministry, with Orangemen forming part of the ministry.
Tn the face of every offer of rea- Fonable safeguards and in face of the big majority againet partition. I think their old position will be hopeless. There will be no eympathy foi6 them In Ar PLY the facts to the tonvert- tion and you see how different is the situation from what It might have been. Ignorant or insincere critics have spoken of the convention as if Its composition were bad; is a matter of fact it is so good that it is still a surprise to Tile that the Orangemen ever accepted it. There is a clear two-thirds majority in favor of home rule; that is all right.
Nobody nOW (not even the Orangeman) contests home rue; it is accepted. tlut what is really much more important in the composition of the convention is that thrse-fourths of the convention are against the partition of Ireland. No partition is the thing which presents all the difficulty; the Orangemen. on the one hand. have always insisted on it up to the present.
while. on the other hand. the Nationalists would not look at anything which bad partition as part of the scheme. Thus then the Orangemen have a difficult choice Either they agree to abandon partition or they adhere to It. If they agree to abandon It.
well a ft good: the convention can easily and with cordial unanimity Nettie the other questions. for the Orangemen is quite as anxious to reform the taxa tinn of Ireland aa the Nationalist. Indeed. there is reason to believe that the Orangeman will be stronger on (Inanrial reform than anybody else. The whole trend of fiscal legislation in niodern England is toward the substitution of direct for indirect taxation: in other words, toward the substitution of a tax on wealth for a tax on the nevessities of the poor.
such as tea, sugar. and coffee. Indirect taxation. the burden of Ulster. would be greater than the burden of any other part of Ireland, for Ulster is the province where the Hell manufacturer makes the most money; the south is prosperous.
but it is the prosperity of the small farmer, not of the wealthy PPLY these facts to the tonven. tion and you Fee how different is the situation from what it might have been. Ignorant or insincere critics have spoken of the convention as if Its composition were bad; Is a matter of fact It is so good that it is still a surprise to me that the Orangemen ever accepted it. There le a clear two-thirds majority in favor of home rule; that is all right. Nobody nOW (not even the Orangeman) con- tests home rue: it is accepted.
tut what Is really much more important in the composition of the eonvention is that threefourths of the convention are against the partition of Ireland. 0 partition is the thing which pre- sents all the diffleulty; the Orangemen. on the one hand. have always insisted on it up to the present. while.
on the other hand. the Nationalists would not look at anything which bad partition as part of the scheme. Thus then the Orangemen have a T. P. O'Connor.
Mr. O'Connor was for several years a London correspondent of The Sunday Tribune." He was personally acquainted with the late Joseph Medal, and he has known three generations of editors of 11 The Tribune." The main purpose of his mission to America is to seek aid in fighting German propaganda and German money in Ireland but during his stay in Chicago he has broadened the scope of his public addresses to give information on the issues of the war. He has addressed the Irish Fellowship club, the National Security league meetings, the Association of Commerce banquets, and numerous othsr social and patriotic gatherings. Harry H. Merrick, president of the National Security league, Chicago branch, end vice president of the Chicago war boa rd.
and H. M. Byllesby, Chairman of the executive committee of the league, testify to the aid Mr. 01Connor has given the league by his speeches against the pro-Germans, pacifists, and Sinn Fein sympathizers. Mr.
O'Connor, as.a former member of The Tribune" staff, asked whether he might get out a page setting forth his work and aims and presenting the Irish situation. And here it is. T. P. O'Connor.
Mr. O'Connor was for several years a London correspondent of The Sunday Tribune." He was personally acquainted with the late Joseph Medal, and he has known three generations of editors of The Tribune." 71--. -Z A a- Yet the reasons for their hostility to this great man. otherwise without an enemy in the world. are at least partially understandable to those who have followed the constitutional stage of the tragic Trish struggle.
FORTT years ago O'Connor and his colleagues undertook the task of converting England to the idea of Ireland's legislative independence. They proposed to effect this by constitutional means, since the various physical force movements. aside from their moral effect. had proved disastrous only for Ireland. It was far less simple than it sounds.
for the Irish people had also to be converted to the belief that parliamentary methods might succeed where revolutionary methods. largely because of propinquity to England. had failed. The Irish-American people had also to be imbued with the same idea. a more difficult task.
perhaps. For to treat with a government they were justified in despising instead of dying, however vainly, opposing her garrissort, was to men of Irish blood like hitching their star of liberty to a wagon. Nevertheless Parnell. O'Connor. the Redmonds.
Dillon, Das-M, and other outstanding men in Ireland. and a few kindred spirits in America effected that conversion. Nor was there any blare of trumpets over the quiet splendor of their choice. It has Yet to thi i an en partia have I of the even, those few reactionary Englishmen would have dared to go so far. Thus the responsibility is partly ours.
and our atonement should be postponed no England herself is trying to make amends now by means of the Irish convention. 7 But-we shall have to be exceedingly active- in support of the Irish parliaxnentary party. whose forty years of reconciling work have been undone in three, if England's atonement is not to come too late. Ireland has to be reeducated. has to be brought; to the point of forgiving England even unto this lastan expensive business In moteways than one.
But every ore In America ovres something to the young Irishmen who have died for the allieswith what terrible doubt at their hearts for the future of the country they adored: Perhaps it would console them.now to know they died In part for us. Three sears ago Ireland. through her leaders, Redmond. O'Connor, Dillon. and Devlin.
made a noble choice In the world 'war. For she volunteered to defend liberty In Belgium and il France befere she heel firmly sectaaad it for herself. From that moment age world has been in Ireland's debt. Creel tribute has been paid. and Justly.
ta the gifted and generowe a oung men of England who have fallen in the war to the Rupert Erookes who have per. ished with Their finest songs unsung. But they died. after all. for a country that gave them much.
As gifted and even more generous young Irishmen by the tens of thousands. died for liberty in Gallipoli and in France. knowing that liberty ham been fettered In Ireland. That, surely. Is the summit of pathos and of tragedy.
Can we In America hope that good will Newsom from the war if we let their deaths be vain? To whom better than to T. P. 0Connor can we make payment-no? For this great Irishman is still true, as sro all of his colleagues in the Constitutional party of Ireland, to the spirit that. in 1914, led them to speed the going of their nearest and dearest to the trent. The fact that all of them have since been personally bereaved andterrible ironythemselves and their causes betrayed by English statesmen has not turned them from their path: ham not eonverted them from their ideal of furthering the progress of the world.
regardless of selfish bounds. to the Sinn Fein ideal of Ireland for ourselves-" As Mr. O'Connor said to the Irish Fellowship club of Chicago. the organization in America that of late years has done triest to keep the true Irish-American ideal -alive. "Ireland will never purchase be liberty at the eapense of the liberty of the A MERICA must therefore see tn It that the liberty of the world is not purchased at Ireland's expense.
Hundreds of thousands of Irishmen front from Eng. land, from Scotland. from Wales. from Australiaand from Canada. have paid their tribute to liberty on continental battlefields within the last three years.
It Is to them and to their cause that we in America. whether of Irish blood or not. owe a sacred debt. Let us net lag in paying it. There is a practical, as well as an Ideal aspect of the situation.
for. until the Irish question is reasonably settled. there are two dangers to the cause of the allies that must, be 0). The possibility that Ireland. if allowed to remain in her present restive condition.
may become a base for German hostility; (2). The possibility that an irresponsible minority of Irish sympathizers in the United States may somewhat embarrass the government In the prosecution of the war. There are between 20.000.000 and 40. 000.000 Ame7icans of Irish descent oe birth, and the loyalty to the Stars and Stripes of the oerwhelming majority of us has from the days of '76 to the present been too strikingly evident ta admit of our being sensitive to the exposure of the disloyalty of the few. Nor.
while condemning their course. do we find it impossible to understan I the extent of their temptation. For we have all been touceed. if momentarily. by the heroic dream of the men of Easter week.
and by the turbulent realization of a similar dream In Russia. Unfortunately a German shadow lilarers above both 'dreams'. Prolonged decentralization- in Russia will not be a military advantage to the allies. Further violence in Ireland. regardless of where the guilt be placed must.
how-ever indirectly, swell the tide of American blood. too much-of which will, in any case. be shed. For Irish-Americans, therefore. Sinn Fein, in Its present aspect must be labeled And surely, in helping to place Ireland upon the footing of Canada and Australia.
a greater achievement than even Parnell dreamed we shall be compensated by' our sense of double loyaltyto Ireland and to America- There are some optimists. indeed. who prophesy that the next half century will see Great Britain In name as well as fact a federation of republics. And contemplating so desirable a result men of Irish blood may console themselves with the reflection that other things being equal. cream always rises to the top.
I cannot believe that Americans, particularly those of Irish blood. wi'l longer disregard what they should consider their privilege rather than their duty. It will not avail us longer te say that we do not understand. TP. O'Connor and Richard Hazleton have crossed the hazardous modern seas to point the way to us.
If we disregard their plea, let us call our neglect by what pleasant name we like, the fact remains that we are traitora to Ireland endmost deadly sin of alltraitors to America. Let us emulate T. P. O'Connor and become. great Americans by becoming citizens of the world.
I "If that is the position I must take regarding Belgium, could' I ever hear Ole Belgian hymn or see the Belgian flag without hiding my head in shame" And." he houteet. If the Sinn Fein policy demands the defeat of EnglarKi and would drag down France and Italy to lay them at the feet of Germany, what shall the Sinn Fein say of America? I say to you: rather perish Ireland than that America should go down under German rule:" T. P. O'CONNOR By an Irishman T. P.
Paid Agent? By Richard Hazleton P. TilAT problem can be settled only by the reconciliation of Ireland and a result consummated by the Irish parliamentary party in 1914, only to be destroyed by English irreconcilables in the ensuing three years. It must be reMl'ected by hearty American the Irish Nationalists in their efforts to secure for Ireland the fullest measure of independence possible within the empire. But the qualifying phrase within the empire damns that object in Sinn Fein eyes. because Sinn Fein ears are deaf to the mandate of the world regarding Ireland: Thus far and4 no further shalt thou goat present." Fortunately the parliamentary party, whose members place the welfare of Ireland above the gratification of their own emotions.
are able to reckon with their hosts. Unfortunately, however. the parliamentarians now have two of England's political creations to convert, the Orangemen anfl the Sinn- Feiners, of whom the latter will probably be the more difficult. subjects. For it is a little like expecting a Belgian to admit that Germany has some rood excuses for being to ask a Sinn Feiner to realize that all decent English people are heartily ashamed of the procedure of certain Officials who misrepresent them.
Nevertheless it has to be done, and every loyal American must -be ready to help to the best of his ability. A mutually hostile and England will complicate matters entirely too much for our present and future comfort. It is intolerable to contemplate the survival of the Irish-English bugaboo beyond the But to lay that specter the Irish party must have financial suprsort. Hitherto a considerable portien of that support has been given by Irish Now it takes infinitely more courage to ask certain of our countrymen for contributions than would be necessary to lead an Irish revolt A favorite reply is that Mr. O'Conner and his colleagues are "paid Britisn and therefore should reed no more American dollars.
The fact that T. P. O'Connor has, at 69, for at least the second time in his csa-eer relinquished his own source of income. and crossed the submarine infested seas in order to secure support not eillv for Ireland's cause but for that of America and the other allies, should be eloquent answer to the accusations of these wrong headed gentlemen. From a purely practical point of view.
it is a pity that the English government cannot be allowed to pay for the trouble some of her agents have caused. but though the obligation is hers. we in America must do ourselves the honor of joining. T. P.
and his colleagues in defraying' the expense. Recognizing the ex-I tent of the service of these devoted IIrishmen. we should be ashamed to hesitate over the matter of contributions. While many of us were busy amassing fortunes for ourselves. the Irish parliamentarians were bending all their 'energies of body and brain and heart to promote Ireland's wet-fare.
Perhaps a recent war novel. in words I spoken by an old parliamentary obi server. best characterizes the supreme self-sacrifice of the members of the Irish parliamentary party. rve sat opposite or alongside them many said my uncle, reflectively. a I've seen the hair of so many of them turn gradually whiter.
Some of them are elderly men, fleorge; if home rule doesn't come in their time. And there are still people who call 'them paid agitators; the Sinn Fein party still pretends they're prolonging the agony In order to keep their job. Ye gods how sick of it all they must be! There are men on those benches barristers and writerswho could have made the world their own. What d'you suppose they wouldn't give now to have their youth backand their youth's opportunities? You may live to see the tragedy repeated with MOST of the present Trish trap- edy is of Lngland'amaleing. But part of it is Irish-America's.
For had we stood firmly back of their Irish parliamentary party as we could and should have doneas we did until a few years backnot and weaker nation- et Ireland. The Norman bar( i has game down. has gone out for ever a.nd ever, and the Celtic people once more hold their own soil. The grip is gone. The barons' grip is -gone in Ireland.
It in torn down. as the grip of other barons- in other lands will he torn down. in the not distant future. now that America has gone to war." R. O'CONNOR smoke on behalf of the Irish Nationalist and Constitutional party.
of which he has so long been a member and a leader. He went to Parnell's first effort In ISM when home rule became the burning question in Eng; lish politics. had been done. The Liberal party had been rent asunder and kept from power for a score of weary yet hopeful years. It had been made truly liberal.
It had given Irishmen their own land to till and harvest. It had found the house of lords a seemingly irremovable obstacle In its path and it had torn down the house of lords. The narrative was vivid. however political facts may be dull. and no listener remained unmoved at the tale of achievement by one who had been a part of all of it.
Thence the orator turned to the recent rebellion in Ireland. He told of 100,000 Irishmen in England marching forth to war; given godsend by their priests. their women and children. And England was Unable to tae the hand then held out to her." he i mourned. 'The barons, society, the I church, and at last the army had turned a deaf ear to the law of the land.
fairly written on the statute books. In Ulster they seized a gun to hold the rule of the people from those who had earned it. Can the Irish Volunteers be blamed if they, too, thought it good to have a With deep sympathy Mr. O'Connor told of the death of the martyrs of the Sinn Fein movement in the Dublin insurrection, men animated by the noblest patriotism. "England sent to them Gen.
Maxwell. Maxwell announced he was come to stamp out Insurrection in Ireland forever! All history since Cromwell, since Strong-bow. was a closed book to this Englishman. Sixteen brave lads were tried in the dark and killed in the dark. And I Ireland is seething today with insurrection." But it was necessary to- dissect out from the fintniess of this self-forgetfulness the effect upon Ireland in the 1 the effect upon the allies, and the effect upon The orator grew more dramatic.
personifying in turn the bleeding little nations now trampled upon, replying on behalf of his own Ireland. "In New York lately," he said. "I saw Belgium appear on the stage in the guise of a. bruised and beaten an- dressed in tattered mourning. And she turned to me and said: 'My men' are slain.
my women outraged, my' children murdered. my Christian tern. pies desecrated. and the homes of my holy women violated. Ireland, Ireland, I what will you do? And the answer of Ireland, according to the policy of.
the- Sinn Fein. which would overthrow all to overthrow England. must be: I stand with the butchers of your priests and your children, the oppressors of your land. the sacrilegious desecrators of your churches and your COLIVelltSV 1 more. his whole life has been consecrated to a battle for greater freedom, wherever freedom is to be fought for and won by human effort.
Experience broad and deep has left him skeptical of petty present victories which imperil a future triumph, and his grasp of human affairs la at once charitable to the individual and hope- ful for the race. FOR oraterical triumplie an audi- ence is needed no less than an orator. On smaller the speaker. may command his hearers or the crowd him who addresses it But for the best and most satisfying examples audience and orator must be mutually impressing and impressed. the moesis of one reflecting themselves radiantly in the thoughts of the other.
the play and interplay between constant and scintillating. Such an occasion was the speech Riven by the Hon. T. P. O'Connor, M.
before the Irish Fellowship club at the Hotel Sherman on Saturday. Oct. 13. it was, to begin with, a note; hie gathering. Bishops and priests.
judges and counselors at law. successful business men in most fields of modern commercial endeavor. authors and writers. bankers and manufacturers were seated in a great hall at flowery tables. with them girls and women who knew how to be both fashionable and modest in their dress.
To them rose at length the Irish parliamentarian, thirty-eight years the chosen representative of their.race in the mother of all parliaments, thirty-five years the chosen political chief of that race in England, numbering hardly a million less than those remaining on the old sod Itself. They rose to him, applauding loudly.wIthbands and cheers. men and women together, while he smiled and Never was welcome more welcome, for the speaker was with his own again after The opening sentences commacded attention, for they drew a shrewd historical parallel between the conduct of the Anglo-Saxon race after achieved conquest and of the Irish people after conquest attempted and unfulfilled, chapters in the long fight of right against might. now culminated in Europe. In 1066 William the Norman overthrew the Angles and Saxons at Hastings, and in that single battle conquered and are stip ruling the peo-, ple they then conquered.
In 1170 Richard Strongbow the Norman undertook the conquest of the Irish. But not In one a hundred battles, in a thousand battles did he gain his victory. The land of England is still the The 'land of Ireland is today the land of the Irish people. The Norman barons still rule the Anglo-Saxon people, still rule the house of lords. English society, the English church.
Their ruie is as strong as it became in 1066. But turn to the poorer A TII 0 A POW ER O'CONNort, whose Initials. pronounced in the oiler English manner, P.1.". have eiven him a nickrirne known and smiling- Ty acknoleifelzel, is just emerging uprin his' year. Ile was born 111 A thlOnf.
ntv Tees trope ii. Ireland. ft Oct 1 fela, that ar ef revolutem and lemorrati, aspiration, and the events7 the year of his birth fret- Europe have tinted his political ntilosephy Schoiarly frorn I 'ey hood. 7'flung C-Connor was graduated frerr. ccilege in Galway wits the degree et beihelor of arts in his eighteenth year.
Pifer at the College of the eoreeptiert in hte notive tnvn on et the f-lhannoto being the rior in history 8 nd the moe.oe-1 fit grad Uatinn. l'qM )F1141PrV of French and Gernen persiqted, atter leavieg fo1l0gP lue "''raMe a reporter and a rorAT pc rnAn he ham been ever idnee, and Titer on many eheAte 'tied pOlitical. 'Irtf'r ttirPe of Irish jotienanete hb narrated to and the Daily negroph. and soon after earne into tirst intimacy tvith America in the of the New York herald in Lonital. Elected to the British parliament as the Member front Galway in 1880.
P. O'Connor is row in his thirtye 18hth of parliantentary 'service. In IM5 be returned from both aril Liverpoel. Choosing the fat-- ter constitueney, lie ham been ever Ware In a pecular settee the representative-of the Irish people resident in Great firtfain. arid for thirtytive years has Lfen elected to that honor by them.
Ills services in the imperial legislature tire matters of history. Re is the founder of a number of ifinnential Jew-nide and was their first 111tor. The list cannot be said to be fiinshed yet, but it includes the Star. the Sun. the Weekly Sun.
M. A. Po Lai T. Weekly. His books have been widely read, and among them It's, be mentioned "Lord Beacons-held: A Biography, "The Parnell "Gladstone's House of f.
centrions." "Napoleon." and many b)ore of a lighter nature. In politiek of eourse, Mr. O'Connor la art Irish Nationaliet, a liberal of rad. ical tendeneies In the direction of a completer democracy. to.
believer in nntia rule for Ireland. itt4 for other 'Illaii nations as a preparation for the practieable measure of selfsovernment, alld from an American of riew. a Jeffersonian It le eloquent of the points in between Britieh and American. that lite views will be found in nolitical coincidenee with those of President Woodrow Wilson, the two men of such widely different educations reading history widely and with the same glass. EW men are easier tn know than T.
r. O'Connor: few men are better worth knowing. tie is widely and delightfully read. capable of skimming over never so profound a topic with witty ease. capable upon occasion of plumbing its depths.
Ile expounds rather than controverts. A trained dialectician. his invariable preference is for kogical exposition. But he has all the persuasive gifts of the trained orator, among which a soft 'oice. rising to musical sonority.
with a delightful uti-English cadence and traees of the speech of Queen Anne's time. miscalled a is by tneatis the least. Fix feet in his in youth, a trifle rhorter now that he has reached his Seventieth )ear. his sturdinees of frame leaves no marked impression Of height. But the broad shoulders and thick chest bespeak great strength and vigor little impaired.
and he still dees work daily that kould exhaust many a younger men who thinks himself diligent. The head is long and wide at the temples; the brow. somewhat amplified in height by the years. im impressive. There is a small and well shaped nose, with the little depression above the tip which denotes Irish origin.
set between two eyes of undimmed Irish blue. twinkling and receptive to the slightest shade of sentiment. listened to or expressed by himself. A cropped mestache partially hides a mouth that lifts a little at the corners. making smiles easier then sternness or contemptuousness.
Wit is grateful to such a face, mobile and interpretative. and tinder all ordinary circ*mstances tile play of genial humor in the facile mind reflects itself faithfully between the corners of the mouth and the bright blue eyes. To a sound education in both the claseics and the modern languages Mr. O'Connor has added wide travel no less Informing. Few Americans know their native land as well as he by direct observation.
Commanding the better known tongues of Europe. lie has been a consistent visitor of the European continent for scores of years. and the associate there of scholars and statesmen. One feels in conversation with him that the tales, and stories, witty and wise, of the world are hie; but he is lacking in the American vice of degenerating his conversation into mere story telling, though not in Lincoln's of apposite citation when a point is to be made and gained. A man of the world in the fine sense of that phrase, he falls within Tom Paine'es nobly brave amendment of the phrase, "Where Liberty is.
there is my country." to the great, "Where Liberty is, there is mine!" What ir IN this connection he has pointed out that there are hundreds of thousands of good Irishmen am women, not only in Great Britain. but in Canada. in New Zealand. In Australia, and elsewhere throughout the British empire. who have worked earnestly in support of the cause of self-government for Ireland and who believe that the true solution of the Irish problem is in securing for Ire hind the same measure of freedom which they enjoy in the lands of their adoption.
They believe that while Ireland is 1 right never to consent willingly to an Inferior place in the empire. she would be able to work out a glorious future 1 as a partner of equal rights and status I with Canada or Australia. This has been 'the position which T. P. and the men of his movement have spent their lives in seeying to win for Ireland.
To call such men traitors to their country is a form of self-delusion possible only to people of unbalanced mind. There are Irishmen of sincerity, who wish to see their country separated from all connection with the British empire. but only fanatics amongst them would writs down as traitors all who not agree with them. If T. P.
O'Connor's labors for Ireland have mostly been in the house of commons and in Great Britain. that is not to underestimate their importance to Ireland. By his pen and.his voice he has been a tower of strength for the Irish cause. No journalist of our day has won a wider reputation than he has. Visitors to the house of commons from all over the world seldom fail to ask to be pointed out T.
P. O'Connor amongst the personalities of prominence they wish to see. There is a charm about his literary work which one Invariably finds in himself. To those who know him there is no more attractive personality. It is not without reason that he is' everywhere known as just T.
Brilliant as a. conversationalist. with a fund of reminiscences which gain an added Interest from We way in which only be can tell them, there is no one who meets him who is not captivated by the charm. the glow, the deep human sympathy of his remarkable personality. An Irishman to be proud of, whether you agree with his polit-: ical views or not, that must be.
the verdict of those who know him. There are some men we admire 'for what they have done or attempted to do. T. P. is one of the men we admire for what they are It has been represented that the sition of film censor.
which he holds, is MANY Irishmen unfriendly to the Irish party and to the constitutional movement it leads pre- tend to regard T. P. as an Eng- lish Liberal and not as an Irish Nationalist. They point to the fact that be represents an English seat in parliament. and that he has lived in England for nearly fifty years.
A few twisted extremists will even tell their friends that he is an English agent, paid by the English government to betray Ireland. I wish these people could only meet him and get to know the splendid and self-sacriticing patriotism which has eN-Pr been the inspiration of his life work. 'They would hang their heads in shame for even having entertained unworthy thoughts of one of our greatest Irishmen, who has without any question done more to convert England to home rule than any man, with the possible exceptions of Gladstone and Parnell. It la true that T. P.
sits for an English seat In parliament. He has represented a division of Liverpool for more than thirty years. In 1886, while member for Galway city. he was considered the one man likely to 'capture a seat in England for the Irish patty, and when he did so he resigned from GalVay. His resignation of that seat was followed by the famous Galway election of that year, in which Parnell put up Capt.
O'Shea, and ultimately, after a bitter struggle, secured his unopposed return. The seat in Liverpool. which T. P. holds is the only one in Great Britain the Irish party has ever been able to capture for a member of the party, but no opposition has proved of any avail In shaking the hold which T.
P. has kept for all these years on the loyalty and affection of his supporters. And while he represents Liverpool In parliament he has been for the same length of time the unchallenged leader of the Irish people dwelling in England and Scotland, a very powerful and numerohm section of our race. They decide the issue in many a hard fought election between the friends and the enemies Of Ireland in Great Britain, and he will tell today with a smile of pardonable pride that whatever may be the unhappy differences between Irish nationalists in other parts of the world his own Irish people of Great Britain are united almost to a man behind the sane policy of constitutional agitation for a form of government for Ireland similar to that which Canada has found to work so well- 1M I I 'a government appointment. Vie fact movement.
He was then editor of an important weekly journal, the of which informed him that if be.left flngland at the time he would have to resign his editorship. with his attendant salary- of $7.500 a year. Ile never hesitAtel for a moment as to his course. He came to America. Ho lost Ms editorship, but he helped to save the Irish movement.
And this 18 the 'paid agent of ne-nt as to merles. He helped to And this and '1 is that It Is a trade appointment solely, with which the government has nothing whatever to do. Indeed- so far am material interests are concerned, there are few men in Irish public life who have made greater sacrifices. 4 Let.me give one instance only. In 1906 he undertook a visit lo this country at the urgent requestjof Mr.
Redmond on behalf of the Nationalist I 1 1 I 1 it.
