The Washington times., 1914-04-23

been chosen by his Catholic, associ-
ates for twelve succeeding years a.
chairman"
The lord mayors dark eyes snap
ped and his voice rose.
1T Is utter nonsense to attempt
to defeat Irish home rule by q cry
of religious persecution that can be
answered completely by q tour
among the people. Now. you your
self have been travelling about IN the
Catholic parts of the country. Have
you found the Catholics bitter
against ProtestantsT"
/ had to admit that I found open
religious aAtagonism only I'm armed
Ulster.
''Of course. And that Is what ev-
erybody else finds. We find Prot
estants outside of Ulster. as q gen.
eral rule easy 10 work with and
reasonable to deal with Now and
then we meet Digos among them,
but 1t is only fair to say that there
are Catholic bigots, too.
Now take the situation in Protest.
ant Belfast and in Catholic Dublin.
The men who are organizing. and
training the Irish volunteers as an
answer to the arming and drilling
Of the Ulster volunteers, asked me
to allow them to meet in the Man
sion House and to preside over the
meeting. / refused to do it because
1 knew that John Redmond. the
Irish nationalist leader, would new
er sanction anything that might en-
bitter the situation.
Declined to Organize.
up to this moment the Irish party
has declined to recognize or official
ly encourage the Irish volunteers.
Yet great army has been quietly
and spontaneously organized by the
people themselves.
II we wanted to attack or autaSo-
nize Professionals, John Redmond,
with the Irish, party behind him,
could organize a nationwide boycott
against Protestant business men,
We could drive their merchant
princes and bankers into bankruptcy
by patronizing only Catholics. We
could carry such a boycott to the
point Of ruin. Maybe, IL the 3aome
rule bill>should be defeated, that is
what will happen"
In Cork, the high sheriff of the
city. Mr.. Tilson. is a Protestant,
elected. like his two Protestant
predecessors, by an Overwhelmingly
Catholic common council.
Seeing and hearing these things, l
recalled the words OF George Clark.
OF the great Belfast shipbuilding
firm, Workman & Clark:
IF we have to have a Catholic
parliament, for that is what home
rule means, I will move out of Ire
land. and I feel sure that most of the
Protestant business men who have
built up this part Of the island will
also abandon the country. We viii
never, never accept home rule"
Parliament Needed
All this may be difficult for Amer
leans to understand. but the more 1
see OF Ireland today the more I
am convinced that an Irish parlia-
ment is imperatively needed. il for
no other reason than to bring the
people together.
The energetic Ulster Professionals
have lived SO long as political part
of England. and the Catholics of
the west and south have worked 50
long for ireland alone that they are
far apart and do not understand each
other.
Perhaps il they meet again for the
sake of Ireland's future in the old
hall where Grattan's parliament,
during its brief independence,
wrought so greatly for Irish pros
perity, they might learn to know and
trust each other as the northern
and southern peoples Of the Ut
States, gong separated by the slav-
cry question, came TO see each otner
with clearer ewes.