The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1917-12-29

quarrel between the central and OF
toman empires on one side and the
United States of America. the British
empire, the French republic, Italy, ia
pan, etc. on the other comes to be
settled. the plenipotentiaries of these
powers, at the magic words, Gentle
men: Ireland will Immediately rise
reverently, sing God Save ireland, and
postpone all their business until they
have redressed the wrongs of the dark
Rosaleen. 4 wise Irishman might
well pray that his country may have
the happiness to be forgotten when
the lions divide their prey: one hard
ly wants the unfortunate island to be
flung like a bone to a half-satisfied
dog as Cyprus was at the Berlin con-
ference. But Sim Fein really does
think that the world consists of Ire
land and a few subordinate CONT
nents.
It's Practical Aspirations.
Now let us turn from the megaIo-
maniac decisions OF Sim Fem to its
practical aspirations. First, there Is
the Easement scheme. Easement was
no ignorant countryside dreamer; he
was a traveller and an official diplo-
matist. His plan, which has been for
a long time in print in America, was
that Ireland should bank-on a Ger
man victory when the great war
came. Germany's main object would
be to break Britain's command OF the
sea: and he suggested that the most
effective step in that direction would
be to make Ireland an independent
state right in the fairway OF Eng
lands maritime commerce. This was
a perfectly legitimate political specu-
lation: and it is by no means i'm
probable that it may still recommend
itself to Germany in the event OF her
coming out OF the war in a position
to demand such a change. 1t rushes
into the head of Sim Fem as air
rushes into a vacuum. Before the
war there was something to be said
for it in Ireland: for there was then
some excuse for the popular belief
that the treaties by which great
powers, for their own purposes, guar
antee the independence of little states
as buffers and the like, are something
more than SCRAPS of paper. That is
to say, the Independence of Belgium
and Greece seemed worth having
then. Does anyone think it worth
having now? Surely, OF all sorts OF
dependence the most wretched is that
in which a state Is helplessly depend
ent on a powerful neighbor who &C
cepts no responsibility for her, and
shares nothing with her. but makes
her soil the she'll swept No Mans
Land between her frontier and that
of her enemy when war breaks out.
II the English had a penny worth
of political sagacity instead of being,
as they are, incorrigible Sim Feiners
almost to the last man. they would
long ago have brought the Irish Sep
aratists to their senses by threaten
ing them with independence. 1t is as
plain as the stars in heaven that II
England tried to cast Ireland off, it
would be necessary for ireland, If she
could, to make war on England, as
Lincoln made war on Jefferson Davis
to maintain the Union. Yet here are
these two sets OF fools, on repudiat-
ing an invaluable alliance in the name
of freedom, and the other insisting
on comforting the boon by force in
the guise OF slavery. How Irish on
the part OF the English. How Eng
fish on the part of the Irish!
Fiscal Autonomy.
Sim Fein has one other pseudo
practical cry: Fiscal autonomy. What
il means the dictionary knows, not