The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-10-13
STRANGE CAREER
 OF POLITICIAN Has Been Unionist, Liberal and Home Ruler
IS NOT AN FRESHMAN
T. w. Russell Is Likely to Be Made Scapegoat for England's Elm bargo - Succeeded Sir
 Horace Plunkett

I10TdCe luOhctt
 Dublin, October 2.-(Special. )-By the time this is published it is likely that the resignation by T. w Russell of his post as vice president of the Irish de- partment of agriculture and technical in- struction will have been announced, and one of the most remarkable careers in Irish politics brought to a close. It is in keeping with the contradictions of Irish politics that the man who has aroused more antagonsm than any other in Ire land in recent years and has clung to off, flee in spite of criticism, should be forced out through no fault of his own and by circumstances beyond his control.
 Russell's resignation, if 1t takes place, will be forced by the mitigation of the Irish farmers and cattle shippers over the embargo imposed by England on the Irish cattle trade on account of the re- cent outbreak of foot and mouth disease. The export of fat cattle to England is one of Ireland's chief industries and Irish competition is a serious matter for Eng fish cattle feeders. When, therefore, the recent outbreak occurred-although 1t was widespread in England and affected only onesmall district in Ireland--it is eag- erly seized on by the English farmers and Walter Runcman, president of the Eng fish board of agriculture, promptly for bade the landing of Irish cattle at Eng fish ports. This embargo he has re- fused to remove although the disease was promptly stamped out in Ireland and the result is that Irish farmers are losing thousands of dollars weekly
 In justice to Russell it must be said that he has done all in his power to se- cure the removal of the ban, but he has not succeeded. Political conditions are SC delicate at present that the Irish party in Parliament has been unable to accom- plish anything. In ordinary time a threat of the withdrawal of their support from the government would have been all pow erful, but with the home rule bill com ing up for its third reading next month
 such a threat is impossible and the Irish parliamentarians are forced to sacrifice the immediate interests of their consti- tuents to the greater gain for the whole of Ireland.
 A scapegoat had to be found, therefore
 and all the blame has fallen on Russell
 who really Is not to blame and his posi-
 ton has been made intolerable. He re fuses to talk for publication, but it is
 an open secret in Dublin that he has
 made up ms nllllu 10 SO
 Russell has had a hard row to hoe ever since he took over the appointment ir 1907. He was handicapped at the begin
 ming because he succeeded Sir Horace
 Plunkett, the most successful and popu lar chief the department of agriculture
 ever had, the founder of the cooperation
 movement in Ireland, and a man whC was honored by all parties. Sir Horace
 however, was no politician and had mol
 T-I.. I.~ lac excuse for removing him, the reason given being that it was thought neces- sary that the chief of the department should be in Parliament to anNwer ques tions affecting the conduct of his de partment. Besides Russell, who was the sole representative in Parliament of that queer breed, the Ulster liberal wanted the job and the English liberals felt thai they must encourage their party in Uls ter. which normally only. produce union ists and nationalists. When Russell was appointed he was M. P. for South Tyrone His appointement to an office oi lprofit under the crown made it nec- essary for him to seek reelection and he was beaten hands down by A. L Horner, a Unionist. Everyone expected that he would resign, but he hung or and proceeded to undo most of the things that Sir Horace Plunkett had
  cooperative movement to which he has displayed an inexplcable hostility. Russell is not an Irishman, at all He was born in Scotland in 1S41 and al one time kept hotel in Glasgow
 Then he came to Ireland as a temper ance lecturer and threw himself into Irish politics as an ardent Unionist. NC man was moro virulent than he in de nouncing the Nationalist party and Co oh This X- plains to some extent why he is SC hated today by the Ulster Unionists who refer to him habitually as "Russel the arch traitor"
 He held office as parliamentary sec retary of the local government board under the Unionist government iron 1895 to 1900, and when that govern nlent, went out of office he changed his politics and came out as an "Ulstei Liberal' and Home Ruler His ap'
 pointment to his present office follows quickly on his change of faith, bu he has never made himself really popu- lar with his new allies.
 Really his unpopularity is rather mat ter of temperament than of anything else 1 and his mistakes In office are due largelS | to the same cause. He Is dour scots
 man who has never understood or sym pathized with the gayer or more mer'
 
 fanatical in his war on the liquor traf-
 fic, which is very powerful in Irish poll tics. His opposition to the co-operatiy'
 movement, which has changed the face
 of the Irish countryside in the last 2 years is traceable to his early training as | a trader and his hatred of what he con
 siders unfair competition with private en' terprise
 1 So far no one has been mentioned as i lis successor and the post is one thai will be hard to fill in such q way as ts | give )any satisfaction. The Irish party is | full of men who understand the problems of Irish agriculture and would make splended chiefs of the department, but the office is political one under the crowr and Irish nationalist member of parlia ments are debarred by thier pledge iron accepting such appointments. There ar'
 no more Ulster liberals to draw on SC
 the post will probably have to go to some