Great Falls daily tribune. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1895-1921, 1919-07-28
Father Dominion Home
Rule Scheme Declares
Leaders Block Progress
by Attitudes.
British Won't Make an
Offer Until They Know
Celts Will Accept, and
All Are Marking Time.
By JOHN S. STEELE

Chicago Tribune SaDie, copyright
Dublin, July 22-There are many
leaders in Ireland who command the
affection and respect Of their follow
crs, and there are some who. their OPP
ponents admit, are honest men. There
Is only one man in Ireland who com
mands both the affection and respect OF
all parties, including even those disagree
ing with him.
That man is Sir Horace Plunkett, who
for that reason was chosen to be en-
trusted with the task Of working out
settlement which would be acceptable TO
all Irish parties. The convention failed
for reasons that I will give later, but it
was not Sir Horace's fault Today he
stands as high in the estimation of all
Ireland as he ever did.
Sir Horace is father of the scheme for
dominion home rule which now seems to
be the only attainable solution OF the
Irish problem, and the one most likely
to be acceptable to all Ireland. | visit
ed with him to learn Of the progress and
ideals of the dominion movement
In Vicious Circle.
In reply to my question as to the
present outlook of Irish politics, Sir
Horace said:
I'VE are in a vicious circle. Those IN
England, who want no settlement fasten
on the apparent proofs that Ireland will
not accept ANYTHING less than an inde-
pendent republic Therefore, they say
what is the good Of offering dominion
home rule or anything less. On the
other hand, many Irishmen have lost all
trust in the good faith Of the British
government, and therefore they say what
is the good Of making reasonable de-
mands when either they will be brutally
rejected or we shall be offered some
thing we could not accept.
Great Britain won't make an otter
until she is sure the Irish majority is in
favor of the scheme. and the Irish will
not accept until they know the offer IS
bona fide That is the vicious circle.
Have TWO Factions.
IN Ireland today we have on one
side the extreme party in the south,
which apparently has won the adhesion
Of three quarters of the people to the
new demand of complete separation from
Great Britain. At the other end is Sir
Edward Carson, a southern lawyer and
leader of Ulster extremists, whom he led
to the verge Of civil war before the
great war. declaring he will not agree to
any settlement whatsoever, that either
Ireland shall remain as it is, or that, if
any kind Of selfgoyernment is granted,
Ulster shall be excluded.
THE new appeal by dominion home
rulers is seeking to ascertain whether
there is any large body Of moderate opin-
ion in all four provinces which has not
been hitherto active politically out of
which, when faced with grave national
danger. will try to get England to offer
and the Irish people to accept form
Of government which has been success
full wherever else tried in the British
empire. We do not. however, ignore the
physical facts, such as the difference be-
tween thousands Of miles and twenty,
our distance from Great Britain.
Needs Unified Central.
1--WE are convinced that military ne
cessity demands a unified control Of nav
nj and military defense, but in all other
respects we believe that greater freedom
for Ireland will bring fr,endler relations
with Great Britain. 1t is to us incon
ceivable that freedom could be used to
make the situation worse than that ex-
listing. We are convinced that in time
common interests vii! develop, and the
relations will be as friendly as they now
are hostile.
''The difficulty we anticipate with
American opinion is that so far as /
know the history of the controversy
never has been considered with any set
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