The Irish standard., 1919-11-15
Sat1rdaZ, November Is, 1919

!aneo uwithgly 10 distinguish between the sophis-
ticated and the innocent There were night rides into
the countryside and disastrous endings An organ
lzatlon OF Vlgilantes formed among the respect
able and substantial residents of Cork to put ston
10 TINS unhappy development 1t was not an organi-
cation hostile to Americans not one of offense hit
one OF defense, directed against those few to whom
the noble ideals and traditions of our NAVY meant
nothing and to whom morality was farce These
men did tear the girls away" but the acts were
born OF charity, not of jealousy or lust and were so
few that it were better you had left them unmen.
toned. For this, remember, was later and minor
phase.
Now, make no mistake here. The Irish National
Bureau does not propose to give to every individual
who shouts for Sim Fen clean bill-of-health. In
Slnn Rein ranks, as in the ranks of the American
Navy or any other organization of men, there must
De some whose actions at times bring credit to his
fellow. But that Sim Fein as whole-the mass of
the Irish people-or that Sim Fein leaders ever en-
gagged in encouraged or countenanced attacks on
American sailors is absolutely false
-, You tell OF an American sailor striking an Irish
''hooligan," who. died following the affray. This
young man was no "hooligan," Sir. He was. we be-
heve, the respectable of retired sea captain
And because his assaant was acquitted by an Irish
Jury you would have it appear that the majority of
the Irish people approved of his act That state
ment is an insult to the living and to the dead: The
verdict IN TRUTH was rendered many months after
the unfortunate happening when conditions had
been remed,ed and when the spirit of conciliation
was high May we suggest that it would have been
airer had you told the whole story-that fund was
raised for the father of the dead boy among the big
hearted American shipmates of the man who felled
him, and that this fund handed over to the
father? The money, we believe was turned back to
the donors by orders of someone higher up
You say: "The action of this jury in itself indi-
Gated that there was no sympathy among the decent
Irish eiement-whch constituted the great majority
for this sort of tactics" Again it is very evident
Admiral Sims, that you are entirely unfamiliar with
Irish conditions You assume that "the decent Irish
eiement-whch constituted the great majority"-is
different from Sim Fein, whereas in TRUTH the two
are synonymous May we point out to you that in
the last Parliamentary election in Cork city, there
were cast 20801 Sim Fein votes, 748O Nationalist
votes, and only 25l9 Unionst votes; and that in the
balance OF the county, in the constituencies of North
Cork Northeast Cork Mid-Cork, East Cork, South
east Cork, and West Cork, Sim Feiners were re-
turned without opposition? Hence, not only is it
demonstrated that "the decent Irish element which
constituted the great majority and "Sinn Fen" are
indeed the same, but that the only place in which
american sailors were attacked-Corls City-was
the only place in the entire county in which Union
ism showed itself. In parts of County Cork that
were solidly Sim Fein-Queenstown, for instance
the American sailors were safe Does this indicate
pro- -Germanism of Sim Fein?
You tell that priest of Queenstown who, in his
Sunday sermon, denounced certain American sailors
as betrayers OF Irish wonnanhood, punished by
his bishop by being assigned to duties ata distance
from the American ships. Very true. But will you
note, Admiral Sims, that the Bishop of Cloyne is
known in Ireland as man inclined to English SYM
pdtHleS ana W1tn no great love Fem! 1T
was no surprise when the Lord Bishop approached
the British Admiral, apologzed for the words of
the clergyman and later transferred him. The mis-
take, Admiral Sims was that of the Bishop of Cloyne
and not of the priest.
You continue: Much to our regret, therefore,
we had to issue an order that naval man. British
or American, under the rank of Commander should
| be permitted to go to Cork
OUR regret? 'WE had to issue an order-?'
| Who issued the order, Admiral Sims? It.was not
you, but Admiral Bayly of the British Navy was it
not? He, not you in command at that station
Your post was at 80 Grosvenor Gardens, London,
is. w.
You say: "A. committee of distinguished citizens
came to Admiralty House, to plead for the
resembling of this order. Admiral Bayly cross.
examined them very carefully" Again, it is evident
that Admiral Bayly, an Engshman, was the Judge.
merely "concurred in his decision" Thus we see it
was Admiral Bayly who declared Cork out of
bounds s-Bayly, surly English bull dog, by your
own description of him.
| And if there can be any doubt of the political
animus behind the orders of Admiral Bayly restrict
ing the movements of American sailors in Ireland it
should be dissipated by the happenings at Youghal
In that place held feis celebrate the election
of Arthur Griffith, now Vice President of the Irish
Republic. Many American sailors participated in
that jolfcation. They joined with the crowds,
waving the tricoor of the Republic and singing Sim
Fen songs And thereupon Admiral Bayly declared
Youghal out of bounds. s:ss
And now, sAdmiral SIMS note this, for it is very
important. You say that the reason Admiral Bayly
refused to rescind the order barring boys from
Cork was: Hsss@.ss
"1t appeared that the men who had committed
Ix1..