The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1918-05-18
i PROTESTANT
lRlsnMAn's PLEA
FOR JUSTICE
Do Justice to ireland First-Give the
irish Home Rule and Trust to
Irish Honor to do Its Duty.

irish Home Rule and Trust to
Irish Honor to do Its Duty.
The following letter has appeared
in The New York Times of April 20:
During the present crisis in Ireland
I consider it only fair that the Ameri-
can public should know the facts. 1
cannot any longer refrain from ex-
pressing my views. l am a Southern
Irishman, a Protestant, and heir to
considerable landed property, my
home being in County Wexford. Con-
sequently, I have all my interests in
my native country. I have been in
the British Army over nine years and
proceeded to France on active service
in August, 1914. My only excuse for
being in this country now is to regain
my health for renewed service. My
father, retired artillery officer, vol
unteered and went to Gallipoli in the
10th Irish Division. My brother, be-
ing at Oxford University at the COM
mencement of the war, Immediately
Joined the Royal Fusiliers, and has
since died from the effects of service.
1 give this brief account of our fam
lily history in this war so that my fol-
lowing remarks may not be miscon-
strued.
I am tired of hearing people who
ought to know better say, ooh, am
ashamed of Ireland behaving in this
disloyal manner and refusing to &C.
cept CONSUMPTION. Why shouldn't she
be forced to contribute her quota to
people, give blame and praise where
they are due. During the first two
years of the war CONSUMPTION would
have been accepted in Ireland with
practically no great amount of oppo-
sition. The Parliament at Westmin-
ster, however, failed to apply it in
the same manner as they failed to
give Ireland home rule. They were
content to procrastinate, to allow
things to drift along until the Nation
alist Party, to large extent, lost its
hold over the country.
The late Irish leader John Redmond
and his brother William were true
examples of the best types of Irish
men. They have both died for their
country and the British Empire as a
whole - William Redmond, fighting
bravely on the battlefield, while his
brother John died leading his fellow
Nationalist in the hope of trying to
save Ireland to the empire. John Red
mond knew that time was precious
and that Englands delay in granting
home rule to Ireland was simply play
ing into the hands of the enemies of
the British Empire.
Before the war there were two par
ties in Ireland-the Nationalist and
Unionists. The Nationalist policy was
to create in Ireland a government sim
liar to that of our self-governing col
onies, and not separation from Great
Britain, as so many have tried to make
the world believe is the case.
The Unionist policy was to continue
the government Of Ireland from West
minister, policy based chiefly on reli-
gious intolerance, bitter memories,
and generally tried out and found
wanting in every decent essential.
Today there is third party in Ire
land. The Sim Fein, whose policy
is complete separation from the Brit
ish Empire. This movement, which
was negligible before the war, is now
strong and very formidable. How,
you may ask, has this Sim Fein party
become so strong? give the follow
ing reasons:
l. Disgust of the extreme National
lists at the treatment melted out by a
weak government to Ireland and it's
loyal Nationalist representatives.
2. The placing in power Of such
men as Sir Edward Carson and Sir
F. E. Smith-two men VIGOROUSLY an
tagonistic to any form of self-govern-
ment in Ireland, and who before the
war were the leaders of the Ulster
army, pledged to Withstand home rule.
8. German money and propaganda
poured into Ireland from the United
States.
The Southern Unionists have now
practically made common cause with
their fellow Nationalist. But there
still remains about three counties in
Ulster the leaders of which are so
eaten up with religious bigotry and in
tolerance that they put every obsta-
Gle in the way of an Irish settlement.
These are the people who proclaim
their loyalty to the empire from the
housetops, but I noticed in the daily
papers of April is that the first riot