Evening star., 1919-01-01
E[EcT|0NS,PR PROVE
|RELAND'S UNITY
Sim Fein Victory Real, Aided
by University and
SIums.
FOR ENTIRE SEPARATION
BY WILLIAM H. BRAYDEN.
to The Evening Star and
Chicago Daily News. Copyright, 1918.

4
Chicago Daily News. Copyright, 1918.
DUBLIN, Ireland, December 81
lrelands elections show that the ma
tional unity is more complete than
any one anticipated. The young
party has made as clean a sweep of
the old party as Parnell and his
young men made of the nominal home
rulers in 1885. 1t was a tidal wave.
The Sim Fein victory spared no one,
the only survivors of the old party
being Devlin in BelfastGand Capt.
Redmond. who inhsrits the personal
devotion of Waterford for his father.
Four others of the old party will
return to parliament only by virtue
OF an arrangement made by Cardinal
Logue to protect the Ulster ma
tionalist seats from the unionists.
only one of these four, jeremiah
MacVeagh, has made any mark in
poHcies. Richard Hazelton, who ac-
companied T. p. OConnor to the
United States, came very near win
ming in Louth, but otherwise the Sim
Fein victory everywhere was over
whelming.
Real Sim Fein Victory.
Nor can it be set down merely as the
unconsidered act of new and un-
educated electorate. The National
University returned Sim Feiner as
decisively as the poorest slum dis
trict in Dublin. Twenty-Five seats
were given up to the Sim Feiners
without a contest. The policy thus
triumphant is for complete separa-
tion from Great Britain and the es-
tablishment of an Irish republic. The
Sim Fein leaders would not hear of
any form of home rule or settlement
on any other basis than independence.
They claim to stand in the same posi-
ton as the Poles and the Czecho-
There was hardly an attempt any
where to appeal to the electors on any
social policy or to conciliate the Ia
Dor claims. All this is to wait until
Ireland has independence when the
republic can settle it's problems in its
own way. In some places the nation
aliSts attacked the Sim Feiners as
socialists and bolshevists. but the
Sim Feiners were able to retort that
the archbishops and bishops of the
Catholic Church would not support
them If they were. A Catholic bishop
nominated De Valera and the Arch
bishop of Dublin not only voted for
the Sim Feiner in his constituency,
but made it known that he had done
so.
Not to Attend Parliament.
The Sim Feiners will not attend
parliament. They will sacrifice not
paid to members, but the 150 pounds
(S750) in sheriff's fees for each cleo
tion, repayable only when the men,
Der takes the oath and his seat. The
elected Sim Feiners, several Of whom
are still in jail. will assemble as
sembly, like the claim for a republic,
is. of course. illegal, and in law it is
called treason. II is not considered
probable that the government will
interfere: As the assembly can do
nothing but pass resolutions there is
no probability OF a strike against
taxes. and there are no apparent
means of making such strike sue
cessful.
Such sinn Feiners as have prop
come tax like, other people and will
continue TO do so. The ordinary ma
chinery of the government goes on as !
usual and the Sinn Feiners probably |
will continue to be litigants, Jurors |
and counsel in the kings courts. The |
Sinn Fein victory Is a demonstration |
of discomfort, but how far 1t is a |
real procurement in favor Of sepa-
rations and how far 1t is merely q |
kick against Withholding the home |
rule settlement is matter Of dis |
pute.
There are many who think that q |
home rule settlement would remove |
all the trouble, but there are others |
who think that any form Of home |
rule would place power in the hands |
of men ready to use 1t against Eng
land. Men whose association with |
Germany in 1916 was boasted of by
themselves are now in power. The |
victory of the Sim Fein was hardly
more sweeping than was that Of Sir |
Edward Carson, in the northeast cor
ner of ireland. Belfast and it's neigh |
borhood swarm with artisans. Car
son in industrial legislation has been
a reactionary and has voted steadily
against all labor demands. An at
tempt was made to challenge his po-
sition on this ground, and he and
his candidates were opposed by labor
men, but he was returned triumphant
ly and carried all his supporters with
him. The Belfast workman Is SO much
opposed to home rule that no Ques-
ton Of the self-interest of his class
is allowed to weaken his fight against
it. Coercing such men to come un-
der any Irish government, repub-
lican or moderate, would be tough
job.
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