Arizona republican. [volume] (Phoenix, Ariz.) 1890-1930, 1919-12-05
SHOT ON SIGHT IF he
RETURNS To IRELAND
FRESHMAN IS |N!C|TY

Sentenced to be shot on sight by the /
British military authorities if he ever
returns to Ireland, Liam Mellows, rep
resenting East Galway and North |
Meath districts in the Irish Dali
Eireann," or national parliament, ar
rived in Phoenix yesterday morning
for two days visit. Mr.. Mellows is a
member of the De Valera party which
has been touring the United States,
and responsible for the itinerary fol-
lowed by the Irish president on his
trip.
De Valera will come to Phoenix in
the spring if he follows the advice OF
Mr.. Mellows, the latter indicated last
night at the Hotel Adams. De Valera
and Mellows separated in Los Angeles
al week ago Monday. Pleading for
recognition of the government he rep
resents, Mr.. Mellows spoke freely last
night of Ireland's fight for political in
dependence and the right of self
determination by peoples.
Asks Question of Wilson
Mr.. Wilson has said that no peace
can last or ought to last which does
not recognize or accept the principle
that all governments derive all their
Just powers from the consent of the
governed" he said. eff that doesn't
! apply to Ireland, what does it apply to?
we ask America to disavow rule by
might and to- put into effect in Ire
land, purely American principle All
we want of the American people is
recognition. When America was fight
ing for her independence, Ireland was
one of the few countries which ac-
corded her sympathy. Benjamin
Franklin, jeered throughout England
was given a seat of honor in the then
existing Irish parliament. The Irisl
at that time We're called traitors, and
many were tried for treason, because
they sympathized with the struggling
American republic. We ask a return
of that sympathy now"
u was member of the provisional
committee of Irish volunteers in 1918
and first general secretary of the
movement. Later | became general
organizer, and l suppose I organized
1 a little too much, for in July of 1915
! the British military authorities gave
me six days to get out of Ireland and
move to any one of five localities in
/ England which they designated
Refused to Obey
I'VE deny the right of an English
man to put an Irishman out of his
4 own country, so l refused to obey the
/ order. l spent four months In jail
! for that. When my time was up they
| notified me that the order to leave the
! country had not been revoked and
/ that its enforcement depended on my
future conduct.
Times We're pressing in Ireland Just
! then, however, and l kept on with
what l was doing. In March, 1916, I
was rearrested in the west of Ireland
and taken to Dublin under a heavy
escort. l was locked up in Misery
Jail Ga military PRISON. for two weeks
and then sneaked out at o'clock one
morning for fear of a rescue. The
people were all inflamed I was put in
an ambulance with a red cross on it
and taken by boat t. England. They
took me to Staffordshire in the center
of England, locked me up, and told me
l was to be kept there till the war was
over.
Il didn't like the looks of the place
so left it in three days. replaced by a
man who resembled me and who was
sent from Ireland expressly for the
purpose. A week later he was gone
too and everyone thought it was l.
Ten days later we had the Easter ris-
ing-we always call it the Revolution
and 1 held the rank of commandant in
the Irish republican army.
British Underestimated
We had weeks fighting The
only thing that saved us from annihi
lation was the ignorance Of the British
of cur lack of strength. Every time
we moved near them they cleared. For
five days it was free country. They
brought warships into Galway bay and
shelled the shore, killing several ole
men in the fields, and some COWS, and
thinking they were wreaking terrible
havoc.
"a reward Of 1900 pounds, or $500
was issued for my arrest. Then it was
ordered that I be shot on sight"
Describing conditions in Ireland a.
the present, Mr. Mellows said: Ire
land is in a terrible condition. Martha
law prevails. A citizen can't go gu
after o'clock without a permit, no.
can he own a motorcycle or motorcal
except by permission of England. Free
speech has gone by the board News
papers are suppressed, the Irish Ian
guage is under ban, the Germaniza
ton Of Poland, in short, against Which
such a protest was raised, is going OF
, right this minute in Ireland"
, Seven Century Fight
ireland has been called pro- German
because she has maintained a seven
century fight against England. Blu
! America was called pro- French iron
, 1775-17S1 In the fifteenth and six
teenth centuries. when Spain wa
fighting England, Ireland was calle'
pro-Spanish, and in the eighteenth
. century, when France was fighting
. her, she was called pro-French. Nov
, wes are pro-German, and Tomorrow
by any chance America should go t
: war with England we would be calle
American.
, Il wonder If you recall that 1880
, Irishmen volunteered in the Britis
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