Der Deutsche correspondent. [volume] (Baltimore, Md.) 1841-1918, 1916-08-11
IT IS UP no YHE sENATE.
From The IrIsh WorId.


From The Irish World.
--
On the Saturday preceding the
execution of Roger Easement the
United States Senate passed a reso-
luton asking the British Govern
ment to commute the sentence of
death passed by an English court.
In doing this the majority of the
Senate represented American public
opinion, which had ranged itself on
the side Of the condemned Irish
patriot. The Senate resolution was
sent to the State Department to be
transmitted to the British Foreign
Office. Recall that the Senates plea
for mercy was made on Saturday.
Making every allowance for State
Department red tapesm it should
have reached London on Tuesday at
the latest, forty-eight hours before
Roger Easements life was ended by
an English hangman.
On Wednesday afternoon, accord
ing to a Washington dispatch to the
New York Sun: There was a good
deal of excitement at the State De-
partment when it was discovered
that the resolution had not been sent
and there was some delay in locating
the document. The search is said to
have gone high and low throughout
the archives until one of the search
ers remarked that the matter didn't
appear to be entirely Of routine
affair, as the hour of fate was fast
approaching for the man whom the
resolution was designed to aid" We
have here a picture of the State De-
,sf,a Iofo oil fr1r
low for a document which should
have been delivered at the British
Foreign Office twenty-four hours be-
fore the search began.
When the text Of the Senate reso-
luton was finally found it was too
late for it to serve the purpose for
which the resolution had been
passed. 1t is true that it was in the
hands of Ambassador Page before
the English hangman had done his
work But as the British Foreign
Office does not begin the days work
before ten o'clock, and as Ambassa-
dor Page did not believe that the
possibility of saving the life of an
Irish patriot would justify him in
interfering with the ordinary routine
of British officialdom by telephoning
special messenger to the heads of the
British Foreign ONCE, for these
reasons the United States Senate's
plea for mercy was not delivered at
the British Foreign Office till ten
O'Clock on Thursday morning, an
hour after English law had wreaked
its vengeance upon ono who had been
guilty Of a crime similar to that COM
N fv,rr ~
The New York Globe, which may
not be accused Of being anti-British,
has this to say of the dilatory man
ner in which the State Department
acted in forwarding the Easement
resolution:
1T would have made no difference
If the Senate resolution urging Glenn
ency for Sir Roger Easement had
been delivered to the British govern
ment before, instead of after, the
Irish leaders execution. 1t seems
ridiculous, though, that it should
have been presented at the Foreign
Office an hour after the executioner
had done his work"
Then follows this suggestion in re-
gard to investigation as to the re-
sponsibility for virtually multiplying
resolution Of the United States
Senate:
"Although the resolution was
adopted last Saturday it was not
cabled until Wednesday afternoon,
reaching London too late for de-
livery in advance Of execution I'm
der the circumstances it would seem
to have been the sensible thing not
to present it at all. At any rate
some explanation as to why its trans
mission to London should have been
SO delayed by the State Department
would not be out Of place. What
we are pleased to term diplomacy
certainly moves at times in a most
strange and mysterious way"
1t is now up to the United States
to determine what measures shall be
taken to resent the greatest affront
offered to Senatorial dignity in re-
cent times. 1t is for the Senators to
find out who is responsible for the
belated Easement resolution being
held back to Wednesday afternoon
and being delivered an hour after
Roger Easement had ended his earth
ly career. Are there State Depart
ment officials so loyal to the British
Government that they are ready to
serve 1t even to the extent of turning
deaf ear to the claims Of human
ity? 1t Is for the United States Sen
ators to find OUT