The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1918-06-22
A DECENT RESPECT FOR THE OPINION OF
MANKIND

DECENT RESPECT FOR THE OPINION OF
MANKIND.
When the trainers of the Declaration of Independence
which is the footngcourse of the subsructure
American liberty and democracy formulated that immortal
document they careful say it's initial
that the principal cause for the great proclamation
"a decent regard for the opinions of mankind was
stated of the fundamental principles democratic
government and administration compared the
cries and practices of the monarchal and autocratc
TENS wherein responsibility the people or mankind
at large recognized. This basic principle underles
and permeates all genuinely democratic systems gov
eminent whether organized republics like own
conforming to other formal regime.
England boasts of the essential democracy of it's gov
ernmental SYSTEM notwithstanding that monarchca
form still survives in its external appearance and much
be said in support of that contention But when ii
to the practical application of the prin
cipe to the problems of Ireland find little
this Wanted freedom On the contrary, find sidestep
ping evasion excuses and in the
Of the five six hundred Sim Fen leaders, who have
been thrust into prison for than month with truly
Prussian ruthessness and without any public
presentation of the charges against them Does this show
decent regard for the opinions of manknd which
American fathers wisely emphasized in the first bow
of their young democracy to the nations of the world
Does it not rather show contempt for that good opinion
and autocratic spirit of responsibility such
denim vehemently when it exercised by the
ties of overstretched when presumably innocent
thus deprived of their liberty without due process
law. Have not these accused men, in time of
the right of trial by jury and the privilege of defending
themselves in open court of the crimes and accusations
made against them Has the hardwon privilege of the
writ of habeas corpus been indefinitely suspended
the Kings pleasure? If so, then Englands vaunted
mocracy must be regarded vain and hollow pretense
and her tyranncal the Sim
must be stgmatzed with the brand of autocracy
as that of the German Kaiser.
The presumption of innocence which is universal under
the English and American system of jurisprudence is
tcuarly strong in this instance Most of the Jailed
interned of sterling character high intelligence
and genuine probty and their emphatic denals and
protests are the circumstances worthy of the
full consideration of all who inclined to deal fairly with
matter The whole fabric of the alleged conspiracy
indeed bears the aspect of clumsy frameup" for the
purpose of poisoning American judgment against the Irish
the tiny shreds of evidence that has been
allowed to percolate to the outside world has been quite
conclusively shown to lack substantially truth 1t has
been charged mysterious couapsible boat with
single for its "crew" had been landed from German
submarine the coast of Ireland But the boat in ques
ton found to be of the kind exclusively
featured by the Ford Company in America and is of SO
recent design and manufacture that it almost tmpos
sble for the Germans to have in their possession
This sample bit of the evidence Of which the mares
nest constructed 1t is highly probable that the
vealed evidence" is Of no more convincing nature.
At rate decent regard Tor the opinion OF MANKIND
demands that formal charges be preferred against these
prisoners and that they shall have fair opportunity
under English laws vindicate and estab
lish their they Of the crimes for which
they into prison. This is but elementary
Justice right enunciaed in the Magma Chara which
the of English liberty and our own Constitution
and Declaration of independence which the
stones of American freedom The British statesmen have
evidently paid little attention to that excellent bit of dem
ocratic material which skuly wrought into
the arch of portal bery decent respect for the
opinions of mankind"