The Washington herald., 1914-07-26
WON'T See TRUTH
in Irish PROBLEM
English Thus Characterized
by American Visitor to
Emerald Isle.
ANALYSES THE QUESTION:
In Remarkable Open Letter. Says
British Papers and Public Men
Refuse to Face the Facts.
special cahle 10 ne W,shinrtcn HernId.

Special Cable to The Washington Herald
London, July S.-Writing under the sig
nature of AN American Visitor TO Ire
land" q man from the United States,
who has just been touring the Green
Isle with a party OF riends, hits straight
from the shoulder in a remarkable open
letter addressed TO Englishmen. 1t fol-
lows:
You English people don't seem in
clined to look facts in the face about your
Irish troubles.
Your Mr.. Asquith is not unlike our
Mr.. Wilson, in that he talks great deal
and does very little, but, whereas our
Mr.. Wilson's Mexican muddle can wait
while, your Mr.. Asquith is getting SO
deep into his Irish bog that, unless he
gets a move on him quickly he and his
fellow takers will be submerged in a
nlorass OF shame which will be all that
will be remembered Of them in English
history.
Shadow HauutA Party.
ITO travel through Ireland by automo-
bile these lovely summer days would be
a delight were it not for the shadow that
haunts our little party of American
pleasure seekers.
Not in the least concerned in your po-
ltical affairs, We do very strongly OBJ
ject that, when we have been lured across
the Atlantic by the clever advertising Of
your railroad and steamship corporations,
We find ourselves in a very unexpected
Ireland, an Ireland almost as certainly
on the edge of a bloody catastrophe as
We were in 1860
We open your somewhat dulI-looking
English and Irish newspapers,each morn
ing: we read aloud to our LITTLE party the
platitudes of your Lansdownes, Morleys
and the rest OF them, and we cannot
understand why they and you, instead of
staying at home and talking don't come
and see for yourselves what your Empire
is heading for. We have been here two
weeks, and throughout Ulster, Leinster.
Munster. and Connaught We have not, to
our knowledge met an English visitor.
We have been present at gathering
after gathering of the rival gangs of
bloodthirsty cutthroats who are prepar-
ing to make you Britishers look ridicu-
lous throughout the world, and We look
in vain for any real presentation of this
amazing state Of affairs by newspapers.
We do not side with Carson's army,
though we admire the way in which
Kitchener's methods have perfected IL.
and we rather pity Redmond's unarmed
and leaderless rabble.
Apparent Blindness PuzzIinE.
What puzzles US is the apparent in
ability of your public men and your
newspapers to look at the facts and tell
trouble is to be found scrawled on every
wall and fence in your well-ordered, we'll
roaded, splendidly cultivated, and solidly
built province of Ulster-'We want no
popery here 1t is usually worded
that way. but often in stronger fashion.
The red flags that fly at most Protestant
churches and chapels, the orange mari
Colds at every girls bosom, the Cove
nauters badge at every mans buttonhole,
all say that same .thing-'We want no
popery here.
And. to be frank, the Roman Catholic
Irish loathe your Protestants with equal
intensity, and, as soon as they find We
are Americans, don't hesitate to say so.
Why then, when you are on the verge
Of civil strife that is almost entirely a
question of Professionalism VS.. Catholi-
cism, don't you face the facts; stop
talking about imperial responsibilities,
the right of minorities, and other twad-
die, and keep these religious extremists
apart?
The Roman Catholic Irish don't like
your ways, which are. OF course, the
Ulster ways: they don't like your hard
business outlook on life; they are po-
etical rather than practical people;
they frankly prefer their slums, bad
roads dirty hotels, eleven shillings in
the pound taxes (rates): and they like
70 be told how to vote by their priests.
That is not your idea of civilization. or
ours: but surely they are entitled TO their
own views in their own part Of the
country.
Would Accept Compromise.
Take the map Of Ireland; let the
Scotch and English-Irish continue their
hard. practical Church of England, Prot
estant and Baptist ways at one end OF
the island, and leave the Roman Catho-
lies to manage their part by ruling of
the six Ulster counties.
You say that is not enough for the
Presbyterians. I disagree. You say that
the Catholics won't accept that solution.
Nv own impression, after many inter
views with people and priests, is that
they will gladly take r-nay. make other
sacrifices to get II.
"Carson's army, whose motor dispatch
riders in their hordes search the coun-
trvside and watch the Catholic move
rnents night and day, his mausers and
machine guns Cyes, plenty Of them), have
awakened these easy-going Celts to the
fact that once more they have been out
organized. They will take what theE
can now; but the existing tension cannot
last , Ill,
eventually quarrel AS I write, Carson's s
ornv and Redmond's rabble are facing
each other the twenty-four hours round
opd hIoodshed may start at any minute.
Meanwhile your well-paid politicians
~, both sides talk comfortably in what
I,or call the best club in the world, ana
taka abudant care to avoid the bother
~ coming over here to find out for them
selves the trouble that is coming 10
.L.,, apd IN VOL