Kentucky Irish American. (Louisville, Ky.) 1898-1968, 1911-02-04
Ot United Irish League Is Ably
Maintained in County
Louth.
Astute Editor of DundaIk Dem
ocrat Tells Some Plain
Truths.
NOnentities and Cranks Are
Ever Ready to Make
Complaint.
Accomplishments OF LEAGUE

From London cablegrams one
gets the 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 Dundalk Democrat, the biggest
and best paper published in. the
Province, says concerning the Irish
National Parliamentary party in his
issue of last week:
People who, often without seri-
our thought, 50 freely criticise the
national organization and its work
ing ought to read the report sub
mitted to the annual meeting of the
League Directory on Wednesday.
1t is easy to find fault, and since
no human institution is faultless it
is not to be contended that the
league is without a flaw or superior
to criticism. But there is too much
criticism, so often uniformed 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 well sometimes to con-
slider what the league is and what
it has done and is doing.
People who remember the
breezy days of the Land League
are sometimes inclined to deny to
the present organization the credit
it really deserves. But those who
are qualified by knowledge and ex-
perience to judge assure us that
never were the Irish people as a
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 dis
trict alike, and in the branches are
all the best Nationalists, the men
with Q record of work done in the
peoples movement and the young
men full of hope and enthusiasm.
There certainly 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 opinions and to
act upon them, subject to the con-
trolling will of the majority. From
the branches delegates go to con-
stitute the divisional executives;
and from each executive the mem
bers of the National Directory, the
supreme central authority, are
selected by the free choice of the
members. What more effectual
system could be devised of making
the directory representative of and
subject to the popular WILL and
what ground is there for the silly
charge of 'bossism' one hears now
and then from some crank or out
cast who sees faults in anyone and
everyone save only his erring self?
"One of our Unionist adversaries
not long since declared that Ireland
is really governed not by Dublin
Castle, by by 39 Upper O'Connell
street. While this Is very far from
the truth, it can at leas- be claimed
that the league not alone expounds
the popular voice and directs and
controls Irish politics, but engages
in work that ought to be done by a
popular home government in almost
every department of Irish affairs. 1t
has advised and supervised in the
transfer of vast areas of Irish land
to the tenants at fair and reason
able prices 1t has laid bare the
defects in existing purchase legisla-
tion and outlined the amendments
in the laws that are necessary to
complete land purchase. IL has
aided thousands of evicted tenants
to secure possession of their old
holdings or of equivalent grants OF
land. IL has carried out a social
and economic work OF enormous
value in the congested districts OF
the West, until now the poorest
Province in Ireland bids fair to be-
come the most prosperous and con-
tented. II has been instrumental in
providing fifty thousand agri-
cultural laborers with decent homes
in place of the mud novels OF a
former day. 1t has carried legisla-
tion for the better housing Of the
workers in our towns. II has
actively aided claimants for the old
age pension, by procuring in hun
dreds OF cases the necessary ev-
idence of age, and otherwise. II
has carried on the all-important
work of registration in debateable
constituencies and enabled the Ma
tionaksts not only to hold their
own, but slowly and surely 10 make
headway in intolerable Ulster
Finally II has. through its wide
spread system and the influence and
power OF its branches. repelled the
attack made upon the National
stronghold at the late general elec-
tion. and placed the national flag
once more on the captured ramparts
OF Louth, Tyrone and South Dublin
Let US recognize the real solid
value OF the work done by the
league, Let us cease from petty
fault-finding. Let us resolve thai
in the completion OF the work ol
the league each man who believes
in home rule will bear hand. Lei