The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1911-02-11
The Astute Editor of the Dundalk
Democrat Tells Some Very
Plain Truths.
Never Was There a More Democratic
or Popular Association
in Ireland.
Time is at Hand When Every Man
Should Give Proof of His
Fidelity to the Cause.

From London cablegrams one gets
che idea from day to day that the
Province of Ulster is up in arms
against the remainder of Ireland on
the subject of home rule. But listen
to what the astute editor of the Dun
dalk Democrat, the biggest and best
paper published in the Province, says
concerning the Irish National Parlia-
mentary party in his issue Of last
week:
"People who, often without serious
thought, so freely criticize the ma
tional organization and it's working
ought to read the report submitted to
the annual meeting of the League Di-
reotory on Wednesday. 1t is easy to
find fault, and since no human insti-
tuition is faultless it is not to be con-
tended that the league is without
flaw or superior to criticism. But
uninformed and undeserved, and SO
many channels through which every
nonentity and crank can pour his
grievances and fault finding into the
public ear, that it is we'll sometimes
to consider what the league is and
what it. has done and is doing
"People who remember the breezy
days of, the Land League are some
times inclined to deny to the present
organization the credit it really de-
serves. But those who are qualified
by knowledge and experience to judge
assure us that never were the Irish
people as q whole more solidly united
in any national organization than they
are in the United Irish League. Its
branches exist in every corner of the
land, in town and in rural district
alike, and in the branches are all the
best Nationalists, the men with a
record of work done in the peoples
movement and the young men full OF
hope and enthusiasm. There GER
tainly was never more democratic
or popular association, nor one less
open to any charge of suppressing the
peoples voice. Every Nationalist is
free to join his local branch. In the
branch he is free to express his opin-
ions and to act upon them, subject to
the controlling will of the majority.
From the branches delegates go to
constitute the divisional executives;
and from each executive the members
of the National Directory, the supreme
central authority, are selected by the
free choice of the members. What
more effectual system could be de-
vised of making the directory repre-
sentative of and subject to the popu-
lar will; and what ground is there for
the silly charge of 'bossism' one hears
now and then from some crank or out
everyone save only his erring self?
Zone of our Unionist adversaries
not long since declared that Ireland
is really governed not by Dublin Cas-
tie, but by 80 Upper O'Connell street.
While this is very far from the truth,
it can at least be claimed that the
league not alone expounds the popu-
lar voice and directs and controls
Irish politics, but engages in work
that ought to be done by a popular
home government in almost every de-
partment of Irish affairs. It has ad-
vised and supervised in the transfer
of vast areas of Irish land to the
tenants at fair and reasonable prices.
It has laid bare the defects in existing
purchase legislation and outlined the
amendments in the laws that are nee
essary to complete land purchase. 1t
has aided thousands of evicted ten
ants to secure possession of their old
holdings or of equivalent grants of
land. It has carried out a social and
economic work of enormous value in
the congested districts of the West,
until now the poorest Province in Ire
land bids fair to become the most
prosperous and contented. It has
been instrumental in providing fifty
thousand agricultural laborers with
decent homes in place of the mud
novels of former day. 1t has car