The Washington times., 1919-09-07
CLAIMS PRESIDENT
THREW ERIN DOWN
Report of Walsh Alleges Ex-
ecutiVe Refused to Aid Ire
land at Peace ParIey.

The report Of the secret interview
on the Irish question which Edward
F. Dunno and Frank P. Walsh had
with President Wilson in Paris on
June IL was filed with the Foreign
Relations Committee by Mr.. Walsh
yesterday.
In his testimony before the COM
mittee last Saturday Mr.. Walsh made
reference to the interview and was
directed to file with the committee the
memorandum in his possession re-
garding what took place in the discus
sion with the President.
The report is Illuminating in show
| ing that after the people Of Ireland
had accepted President WILSON'S state
ment of principles respecting the
rights of small nationalities they
found him unwilling to stand up for
these principles at the peace confer
ence or to do anything to help them
achieve the right Of self-determina-
tion.
Refused To Ala EnVOys.
In the interview, as reported by Mr..
Walsh, the President refused to do
anything to obtain safe conduct for
de Valera, PIunkett and Griffiths. the
delegates Of the Irish republic, who
sought to get a hearing at the peace
conference. The President not only
declined to take up the matter with
Lloyd George, as urged by Walsh and
Dunno, but told them they would have
to discuss the case individually with
the members of the Big Four.
The story Of the atrocities upon
the Irish people committed by the
English government was related In
detail by Walsh and Dunno, who de-
scribed also the methods England was
pursuing to starve the people Of Ire
laRd into submission by maintaining
a'blockade. They also showed that the
Lloyd George government had been
false to its promises, and after sane
tioning the holding of a convention to
organize a new government for Ire
land had declined to recognize the
government when formed.
To all these appeals the President
is recorded in the report as having
turned q deaf ear. In return he ac-
cused Walsh, Dunno and Ryan of hav-
ing complicated the situation by maxi
ing speeches in Ireland which offended
the British government
Used Presidents Words.
Mr.. Walsh in the interview retorted
to the President that in their speeches
they had confined themselves solely to
the statements made by him in his
own utterances regarding the prin-
ciples upon which the United States
entered the war. Mr.. Walsh told the
President he believed implicitly in
what the President had said and that
the people Of Ireland had believed
them to be the sole hope Of attain
ing freedom.
At one point in the interview the
President appeared to be annoyed by
what Mr.. Walsh said as to his under
standing Of the Irish situation, for he
replied:
Now, Walsh, II It is your inten-
tion to go back to America and try
70 put me in bad. 1 am going to say
when / go back that we were we'll
on tho way of getting Mr.. de Valera
and his associates over here: we were
well on the way when you made it so
difficult by your speeches in Ireland
that We could not do it; that it was
you gentlemen who kicked over the
apple cart"
To this Mr.. Walsh directed the
Presidents attention to speeches made
by the lord chancellor and Bonar Law,
in which they said IT never was Lloyd
Georges intention to furnish safe
conduct for De Valera and his asso-
ciates.
President Refuses Interview.
In response to a request by Ar.
Walsh that the President have a talk
with Lloyd George and ind out how
greatly he was offended by the
speeches in Ireland, the President de-
cltned to talk about it with Lloyd
George ct. all. He said he had said
all he cared to on the subject.
Throughout the interview the Presi-
dent clearly showed that he vas an
noyed by the insistence OF Walsh and
Dunno that he take some steps to
obtain an audience for the Irish rep
resentatives at the conference. At one
point he demanded: why should
this whole thing be left to me?"
Mr.. Walsh replied:
I'VE are leaving II TO you, Mr..
President, because you are the COM
manding figure in the Peace Confer
ence, and because il was you who
raised high the hopes in the hearts
Of these people that they could come
to you. We come to you because we
are asking you to use your powerful
influence with the other members Of
the committee to get us a hearing"
The President told Walsh and
Dunno that he had been disillusioned
by his trip to Paris, that he had gone
with Every high hopes Of carrying
out the principles as they were laid
down." but that he had been unable
TO get all he went after. AS the
President put IL, There were a lot
of things that hoped for but did not
get"