The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1917-01-06

FENN MUTUAL LIFE
s. A. sTockWELL, GEN. ACT.
3o5 Andrus Bldg.
Phones: N. w. Mic. 1904. Cent. 1904
See Stockwell Soon"
land, they would land there, not as
an army of invaders coming to rob
or destroy, but as the fighting forces
Of government inspired only by
good will toward land and people
for whom Germany only wishes ma
tionaI prosperity and national free
DOM"
That official declaration, couched in
plain and emphatic language, and seal
ed with the life blood of the Irish
martyrs, holds as good today as it did
two years ago, and will hold good as
long as the Irish nation will not itself
forego it's claims to national freedom
by surrendering to beguiling offers of
Home Rule" which, in her sore
plight England is bound to repeat in
the near future. BY that assurance
Of Mr.. Zimmerman, Germany stands
OH record as the foremost moral cham
pion of Irish independence No further
declaration Of the Imperial Govern
ment is needed
1t is another question whether, when
the actual peace negotiations begin,
Germany could venture to insist upon
the realization of her declared inten-
tions with regard to Ireland, by max
ing the restitution of some of the enc
my territories occupied by her troops
subject to the condition of Ireland s
liberation from the English yoke If
the actual military situation should
warrant such a demand, Germany
would, without any doubt, not hest,
tate to make tin her own interest
as we'll as in that of the Irish nation.
Germanys chief aim in this war is
the freedom of the high seas. The
freedom of the seas, however, depends
on the liberation of Ireland, the "key
Of the Atlantic"
This fact makes the question of the
liberation of Ireland equally vital for
the United States whose future de-
velopment is just as intimately link.
ed up with the problem of the freedom
Of the seas as that of Germany
Moreover, I'VE hold these truths to
be self-evident, that govern.
ments are instituted among men, de-
irving their just powers from the con.
sent of the governed" Mr.. Wilson, in
his famous Charlotte speech, has put
himself on record as advocating the
principle that every nation has the
fundamental right of choosing for it.
self the form of government under
which it desires to live-and it is fair
to assume that what holds good for
Belgium and other Small nations
championed by England, must in an
even higher degree hold good for the
Irish nation, misruled, suppressed and
despoiled by England for more than
four centuries.
| Our own national necessities as we'll
as the principles laid down in the
Declaration of Independence and new,
ly emphasized by our chief magistrate
oblige us to raise our voice at the
forthcoming peace conference on be.
half of Ireland No matter whether
our Government will be represented
there or not, the demands of the great
est neutral nation will not pass UNI
needed.
Owing to press campaign, unparal-
lcled for its mendacity and it's skill
the American people have been so
mesmerized by the much exaggerated
woes of the Belgium people that they
seem to have almost forgotten the ter
rible woes inflicted on Ireland during
four centuries of British oppression
and recently resumed with ruthless
cruelty. The Fatherland has al
ways insisted that Germany should
not give up Belgium without forcing
England to relinquish Ireland. But
The Fatherland has stood practically
solitary in this attitude. Let all those
who do not fight Old England's battle
stand together in future. Wherever
the question of peace settlement is
raised. let us ask with one voice the
question: What Of Ireland?" Wher-
with one voice: Belgium for Ireland"
The Daily Intentions.
Jan. Is. Feast of st. Peters Chair
of oil