The Irish standard., 1916-08-12
head. We had no treaty obligations in

4
the case, and it was our affair.
| Mr.. President, how many tens Of!
thousands of Armenians have been not
only ruthlessly killed and shot and
butchered but have been deported Fl
men women, and children driven like
cattle out of their country-by the
Turkish Empire? What protest or
plea for clemency has been addressed
by the Senate to the Sultan? If either
had been, it would have done them
more harm than good. II this resolu-
tion passes at all, it ought to be ad-
dressed to all the belligerent powers
of Europe, expressing the hope upon
the part of the United States that they
would all show clemency to their sew
eral lots of political prisoners.
Your committee, having looked
through the matter and considered it,
find that in their opinion it is "inex-
pedient at this time to pass any reso
! lutions' upon this subject; and
moreover that in our opinion the res
olutions, if enacted, or any of them,
would not even tend to accomplish the
purpose sought"
Now, even the Senator from New
Jersey, as much as like him, can not
plant himself upon a plane of superior
humanity, as far as | am concerned or
as far as the members of this COM
mittee are concerned. We owe as
much allegiance to humanity as he
does, and we feel as muck We are
as susceptible to an appeal for hu-
manity as he is. The Senator says
that he has been cut off by techni-
cal objections here and there. Nobody
who reads the Record would suppose
so. Technical objections did not keep
him from occupying altogether some
four hours of the Senate's time. He
says that Sir Roger Easements hour
for execution is approaching on Aug.
ust 5. If so-called technicalities do not
check him any more than they hith-
erto have, his debating of this ques-
ton will go on until after Sir Roger
Easement has been executed. Nobody
has met him with any technical OBJ
lection. He was met at the time when
his resolution was introduced with the
rule of the Senate that ordinarily res
olutions pertaining to foreign affairs
should go to the Committee on Foreign
Relations, and there he was met in
the committee by simply Il difference
of opinion.
If | were the British premier,
would just as soon commit any other
idiocy as to permit the execution of
this dreamer and idealist upon the
scaffold as an ordinary criminal. A
Government which knew how to en-
tend the right. hand of fellowship to
the Beers in South Africa and a par
don to Sir Arthur Lynch-and he was
not the only one; | merely mention
him because he was very prominent,
and afterwards became a member of
Parliament-and to do it because it
was wise to do it, sagacious to do it,
for the very reasons that Seward stat
ed in what was quoted from him, is
not a Government likely to commit
this act of political insanity, unless it
might possibly, though not even prob
ably there, be driven to such a foolish
course by having it's sensitiveness
touched by outside interference. 1t
would be foolish and childish even
then.
Mr.. President, one other word and l
am through. We are all acquainted
with the long travail OF Ireland. It
has added to the pages of history one
of the many stories of people brave
ly struggling against alien government.
In the olden time the blackest page
upon the history of Great Britain-as
its own statesmen like Gladstone and
Bryce, and it's own historians. almost
without exception. have confessed
was her treatment of the Irish people
Here of late years a different spirit
has come over the people, beginning
with Gladstone's adhesion to home
rule, and it did seem as if Ireland
was to escape alien government in it's
home affairs. There was only one
difficulty in the way, and that was that
the very Irish people who were seek.
ing to escape alien government in
their home affairs wanted to put over
Ulster alien government in her home
affairs. That aroused the movement
in Ulster and among Ulstermen to
which the Senator has referred. There
is no trouble now about home rule in
the fullest measure, as fully as it is
! enjoyed by any State of this Union
and even more fully-being conferred
upon Celtic Ireland. where there Is
one race, one purpose, one aspiration,
and, for the most part, one religion.
l believe that the people of England
and Scotland and Wales have learned
with regard to Ireland what the Ameri.