Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1919-01-07
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Wooster's Rejoinder to Rush.

Silver Creek Neb., Dec, 31,-To
the Editor of The Bee: Mr., John
Rush of Omaha says he always
reads my letters with great pleas
ure, which shows that he is man of
keen perceptive faculties, of a fine
| discriminating taste and sound
Judgment. | am flattered-feel
"chesty;" ] would be less than hui
man if I did not He then praises
my newspaper dope and ends his
compliment that | am usually more
or less logical" Having thus given
myself, conceit and vanity a slap
in the face, and started me on the
down grade to dependency and de-
spair, quite regardless Of danger to
me from an attack of FLU" he es-
says to complete the job by throw
ing several pals Of cold water all
over me in setting up that in my
recent letter to The Bee in regard
to the present demand for Irish in
dependence l did not know what
l was talking about. | am desolate
and undone. Really. Mr.. Editor, do
you not think Mr.. Rush should be
prosecuted on charge Of cruelty
to animals?
Now l admit that I am ignorant
of Irish affairs; but it was not neces-
sary that Mr.. Rush should say all
that right out loud before folks. |
admit that am not familiar with
the story OF Irish warriors and
poets; of her fairies and fables; of
her chieftains and ancient kings; of
her gods COLLINS, superstitiops,
saints and myths: o. her fierce do
nestle strifes, chickering's and bat
ties; and of her constant friction,
quarreling and fighting with her
English neighbors, who, like herself,
were crushed beneath the Norman
heel, And l submit that it is not
necessary that one should know
about all these things in order to
arrive at an intelligent conclusion as
to what, under present conditions, is
best for Ireland, best for the Brit
ish empire and best for the world !:
nor is such knowledge necessary in
order to form an intelligent opinion
even as to what is expeGent
In my letter above referred to, If
l may repeat without particularly
attempting to argue them, / made
three principal points: % that by
reason of their opposition to the
cause of the entente allies in the
late war, the Irish were not in a
favorable position to ask for indie
pendence; (2) that they would not
get it if they did ask for it and, in
my opinion, ought not to have it.
and (3) that appeals to Wilson for
SlpDOrt would ha in vain
When he says the Irish did sup
port the cause of the entente al
lies up to the time Of the track
George, Mr.. Rush admits my first
contention they We're in fact
against England. In that they were
guilty Of a fatal error. The woman
suffragists showed more wisdom,
more patriotism, more practical
common sense, and at the beginning
of the war quit their burnings and
other disorderly work, dropped
everything and stood loyalty and de-
votedly for their country against the
common enemy, and see one result,
even before the war is ended they
have the suffrage and are voting for
members of. Parliament. But the
Irish, unlike. the women Of England.
undertook. as in the South African
war, to make "Englands difficulty
1reland's opportunity" even to the
destruction of the British empore.
If were an Englishman or Ca
madam, an Australian, South
African or even native of black
India, I would never consent to the
independence of Ireland. AS an
American l will not consent. With
the British we have been friends
for a hundred years; we need the
British empire in our business and
independence for Ireland would
mean weakness for Britain and
strength for her enemies. Who can
doubt that with Irish independence
during the late war, we should have
had German submarine nests in
plenty on the Irish coast and that
long before now the kaiser
would have been debating terms of
peace from the palace of Versailles?
CHARLES WOOSTER