The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1919-07-21
Not To Give Ireland Freedom Would Make
 TraveSty Of Big War
4, GOO ATTEND BIG MASS MEETING AT POLTS TO INACCURATE CAMPAIGN FOR IRISH
 EDUCATIONAL FUND.-

because their fathers took a ship and
 sailed across the ocean. They did not get their brains out of the salt
 air. They got it out of the grand
 old Irish stock from which they sprung"
 He then presented figures and
 facts showing that compared to the other small nations of Europe, by size of territory, business and popu- lation, Ireland. was fully capable of
 exercising her independence as a ma ton. But why go into this at greater length? Supposing, my friends, that Ireland had not got this
 ability to govern herself, could the
 Irish run Ireland any worse than the
 English have run it? The population of Ireland has fallen from 8 F mil
 lions to AZ millions in 75 years, the | only country in the world where the population has decreased"
 In conclusion he said that
 America was pledged that the Ire | land represented by DeValera would be free and they are not going to i put over any League of Nations with Ireland the outside of it. This is not an Irish question but an Ameri- can question. Referring to the protest made by | the Pastors association Philip Troup said: Well it was not an insult to i true Americanism when the United ] States was fighting against the same | tyrannical rule which England is now | imposing on Ireland. It was not an insult to true Americanism when, in | the time of George Washington the 1 Irish people proved themselves the | best of friends of American independ- | ence. It was not an insult to true Americanism when Irish blood and | brawn helped build up our country and defend it against the enemy. 1 (What enemy? from audience, Eng | land.) It was not an insult to Amer icanism when an Irish regiment from this country like the gallant 69th of New York carried the Irish colors
 side by side across the field of F'land- CTS.
 If you want to find real insult to l true Americanism I advise you to read the recent proclamation of Sir ! Edward Carson and find plenty of i'm | pudence in that
 1 We are not fighting England or | Englishmen in this campaign because | if the truth were known the great | majority of the masses in England | are heartily in favor of freedom for | Ireland. The Labor party has gone in favor of self determination for ' l England, not Sir Edward Carson. We
 want to put the liberal sentiment in | America behind those forces of Brit 1 ish liberalism which, except for Sir | Edward Carson will settle the Irish | problem to the satisfaction of Ireland | and everybody else concerned. Its none of our business, isn't it?
 They can't talk that way. We sent our lads over there to save them
 when they were fighting with their backs to the wall. What do they 1 think we were over therre for. Didn't we lay down fairly the platform of
 our ideals and principles upon which we participated in that struggle? Didn't we tell the world frankly that we went in to save the world. for de-
 mocracy; that we went in, not to
 make the Czecho-SIovak and Jugo- slav, the Lithuanian, and Ukrafnian and the rest of the free but to make the WORLD free? The principles upon which we entered this war are
 more binding upon the victors than upon the powers to whom they have dictated their terms.
 You can't apply the principle of | freedom to the Czecho-Slav and the Jug-Slav without at the same time applying them to Ireland. If we do anything else we will make a travesty of the world war.
 I appeal to you to go out in the name of gratitude for the assistance 1 try from its birth to 1918 to appeal | for the support of Americans in their | and Ireland's claim for liberty"