El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1917-04-28

] -tht 10y since Ilt beginning
/ Of the lamentable Irish uprising
/ It has been a year OF sorrow for the
i Irish people. but perhaps less so than
; for the dominant nation-England. Ire
Hand has kept her sons at home. while
England's have been sacrificed on the
laltar Of the war god. Bread has been
dear in Ireland and living difficult for
| the poor. but not more so than in Lon
don and Liverpool
And. on the whole, the prospect for
/ Ireland is brighter. The liberal ele-
/ ment IS more powerful in England than
ever before. The Russian revolution
and the addition Of democratic America
i TO the entente side in the great war are
two important developments which
have filled the Irish leaders with hope.
They expect the end Of the wa. a. the
latest. viii see what they consider jus
tice done TO Erin
Not that the solution is easy Il is
difficult for Irelands friends. as wei
as her enemies.
BY her enemies We mean the reaC-
uonary elements in English officialdOm
VINO think Ireland should stay a vassal.
who deny that wrong was ever done
10 John Bulls other island who
would settle the question strictly IN
accordance with Englaud's supposed
interests without regard 10 Ireland's
Britain cannot bear this weakness
within her vitals forever
But those who would satisfy Ireland ,
Iuu their path about as thOrny as their
opponents. David Lloyd George. pre-
mier Of the empire. is as fair and lib
eral minded. as democratic and toll
Grant leader as amy nation ever had
Yet even he must privately confess
himself "stumped."
Home Rule Bill Calls Halt.
The home a-bs al.
20 be put into effect when the threat
ened rebellion Of unionist Ulster. fol-
lowed by the present war. called q halt
was characterized by a generosity
only careful reading of its provisions
will give one an understanding OF the
whole hearted way in which Britain
intended TO make Up for centuries OF
oppression. On its financial side it
was especially liberal II amounted al :
most. one might say. TO the Substituting .
Of Ireland by Great Britain.
Then came the disaffectiOn Of u /
ster- The English blood. keen bust .
ness men, hard headed. practical thriv- /
ing and efficient They are snip
builders and capitalists They have
made their bleak northern section the
most flourishing part OF the island {
Some Objections.
They object 10 home rule on such 4
grounds as the following
J. Celtic Ireland. being in q ma
Jorlty. would control the government. /
.. This government would be like
Tammauy rule in New York City. or
control
3. The government would put most I
of the taxes on the business classes,
:. O.. UlEer. which would have to sup /
port the agricultural sections.
T. The Catholic church would be /
favored and the protestant cOmmu-
mites OF Ulster would find themselves
against
n faF al
ment. which is becoming relatively
more Important every day. As stated
above, ireland has refused TO help fight
this war-all except Ulster. which has
volunteered amazingly. VIII England
desert the unionists Of ireland. who
have fought, bled and died or the
shelf tossed laius Of Flanders. and
grant a boon to the men who said this
is Britain's war. not ours" and who
openly supported the kaiser and all his
works.
That Is the way sentiment is drifting.
Jf course IL leaves out Of account the
many Irish not of the Ulster brand
who have supported the entente. both
i'm parliament ana in the army, and
the thousands Of Irish troops from out
side Ulster whO-thOugh not approved
u their home villages-have made the
supreme sacrifice just as bravely as
our soldiers in this war But II is
sWaying of feeling to be reckoned with
lister has strengthened her position
since 1915.
And this is the cruS OF the whole
lusiness-the puzzle that ''stumps"
lloyd George-the Irish insist on IL
'ter being a part Of the new Ireland
without any qualification whatsoever
But to turn over Ulster to a Dublin
government. leaving outside the ques-
lion Of the Ulsterites feelings, may
we'll mean a revolution in England it
self
out Of this comes the present deci-
sion Of the government 10 postpone /
matters, 10 let the thing lie as il is
lntn the soldiers come home from the
var Then the veterans will decide !
not the men power now. It has al |
ways been so after great wars It was
o in the United States after 1S65-the |
eterans were in the saddle for decades ,
Hope for New Light.
Perhaps out Of the hurricane Of war,
the privations and the suffering. the
lople zdeeds and the heart searching
hey have gone through. the returning !
warriors viii bring some new light .
'srhaps what seems impossible to pol |
licians may prove easy for cosoldierS
england hopes so.
The outward signs Of the great re
volt are all too visible i'm Ireland today. !
Dublin still lies i'm ruins. where the
storm Of civil war passed over Very
little has been rebuilt
Mentions Troubles Often.
Armed guards overawe every city in
the island Treason-tO Great Britain
has grown since April -. 1916 rath-
az NTag.a - I