Kentucky Irish American. (Louisville, Ky.) 1898-1968, 1914-10-31
IreIand's Indignation Foiled Ef-
forts of Carsonites and
Dublin Cranks.
Something of Inner History OF
the Nationalist Volunteer
Movement.
REDMOND STILL AT The HELM

In a London letter to the Chicago
Tribune, Hon. T. p. 0'Connor, M. p,
writes that it is possible now, as 1t
was not some weeks ago, to tell
something of the inner history of the
Irish volunteer movement, and espe-
cially of the conflict which, after
smoldering for a long time, has
finally broke out and ended in the
placing of the movement at last on
a proper basis and under proper
authority. The volunteer movement
took its origin almost by accident in
the Irish midland town of Athlone,
the town in which l was born. The
originators had little idea of what
they were about to start. But by
one of those extraordinary outbursts
which always upset everybody's cal
culations in Ireland the movement
at once captured the Imagination OF
the Irish people, and 1t began to
grow with extraordinary rapidity.
This was partly due to the fact that
it came at the right psychological
moment. In the first place, Sir Ed
ward Carson had by defying and
apparently beating the Government
suggested the idea that only armed
men had any influence upon the
British administration. This idea of
the omnipotence of physical force
received additional impetus by the
mutiny of the officers on the Cur
ragh.
However, in Ireland it became
clear that the people were called
upon to show that they could no
longer be trifled with, either by
armed Orangemen or by soldiers, and
accordingly they proceeded to create
the Irish volunteer movement. Some
of the Irish leaders realized from the
start that this mighty popular move
ment would have to be counted with
and made up their minds quite early
that the movement would either
have to be controlled by the sane
men of the Irish party or fall into
the hands of the mischief makers
and the cranks who have dogged
their path at every step and several
times brought the whole home rule
movement to the brink of destruc-
tion. What these farseeing men
saw soon happened. Dublin has al
ways been the center of a small nest
of cranks, some sincere and foolish,
some insincere and crafty, who have
been on the lookout for some chink
in the armor of the Irish party.
Many of them are civil servants
clerks in the Law Court, or the Post
office or the Custom House.
In the Irish volunteer movement,
especially in the interval before it
was taken up by the Irish party,
these cranks saw their opportunity.
Some fifty of them appointed them
selves into the governing body of the
volunteers. They received their
mandates from nobody but them
selves. But in the absence of other
leaders the country, more or less,
acquiesced; at least it made no pro-
test. These gentlemen, adopts in the
arts both of intrigue and of self
advertisement, soon began to spread
the idea Of their power and pres
tige. Before long though II became
evident that the new volunteer move
ment, started for the defense of
Irish liberties, was really intended
by some of the cranks to be a great
weapon to tear aside the Irish party
5 from the Irish people,; in other
words. TO destroy the unity OF Ire
land and to paralyze the hands of
John e. Redmond at the moment
when he was engaged in the last
and most difficult stages Of winning
home rule for ireland.
Then II was seen by John Red
mond, John Dillon and Joseph
Devlin that the new movement, IL IL
was to be a blessing instead of a
curse to the Irish cause, must be
taken in hand. A meeting OF the
Irish party was called and after an
eager and brilliant debate in the COM
mittee rooms of the House OF Com
mons, where the Irish party meets,
II was resolved with practical
unanimity that the Irish party should
take up the volunteer movement and
make itself responsible for its
direction. II was still, however, the
desire OF the party that there should
be neither a quarrel nor a scandal
Never was the Irish movement going
through more perilous hours than
at that moment, A quarrel or 3
scandal might be Just the feathers
weight that would turn the scales
against Ireland.
Sir Edward Carson was threaten
ing. He was pointing to his arm,
with numbers rather mythical and
grossly exaggerated that was read,
10 Join Earl Kitchener's force Il
home rule were not put on thu
statute book; and there were serious
divisions even among those IN thu
Cabinet, who were, while hom'
rulers. alarmed by the prospect o
any break In the national unity ant
In, the party truce which was 81
necessary In the great war bursting
forth. Accordingly Redmond begai
with the modest proposal that thu
Irish party should have some repre-
sentation on the self-appointed gov
efning body Of the volunteers. Blu
that was what some OF these gentle
men were determined not to have