Evening journal., 1920-12-04
100000 men
IN IRISH ARMY
Lack of Munitions Prevents
Force From Taking
Field
PAY
SIX PENCE WEEKLY
BY RUSSELL BROWNING.


UNITED Press STAFF Correspondent |
DUBLIN, Nov. Is. by Mail. The !
volunteer Irish Republican Army" |
now numbers over 100000 officers and |
men, according 10 a statement OF
sim Feln igadier-general 10 the
United Press. Lack Of munitions
and artillery prevent this force from
actively taking the field in uniformed |
combat with the British military in
ireland, explained the Sim Fein
leader but the volunteers will CON
tinue TO carry out the openly adopted
policy OF physical resistance TO the
English Army OF Occupation"
How Is this organization maintained
In country where every city and VIII
lase Is heavily garrlsoned by "hos-
tile troops, and the country roads
bristle with armOred cars and mill
tary motor lorries? Where do the Sim
Feinners drlll2 Where do they get
their guns and ammunition. and how
is liasoa effected between widely D.
arated unit52
II Will beiray no secrets 10 answer
these questions in a general way, for
The facts are no doubt known to the
British Army Intelligence In fact, Sir
Harmar Greenwood announced in the
House Of Commons recently that the
entire plans and the names Of the
leaders were known to the Irish Of
zee.
The Sim Fein army is unlque in
that its members actually pay 10 be-
long to II instead Of receiving any
monetary compensation for Their ser.
vices. a sum Of siXrcnce weekly is
paid by each man, plliCer and soldier
alike. No favortsm is shown in the
selection Of officers, and IL Is said
that there is. no singl incident Of a
volunteer refusing TO carry out the
orders Of his superl0r4
Deceniralized aulhcfity for local !
raids and minor 0ffensives by com |
pany commanders under the general |
orders for concerted action o. The |
brigade commander is In effect i'm all |
districts, with the exception Of the /
larger cities, whe-a the higher ead- !
e.s direct all activities In the re |
cent conflicts in county Kerry lmmc- /
Gaiely following the ueath of Lord I
Mavor MacSwiney a general offen-
sivo was ordered, in retaliation. so z |
Sim fein leader told the United Press
for a suddenly intensified activity on /
the part Of The police and military
Eighteen soldiers and policemen were
killed In the resultant lighting. and
about twenty-five wounded.
Although medical examinations is
not generally required of recruits for
The Sim Fein forces, fairly hieh
physical standard is maintained.
Volunteers who are judged 10 be un-
flt for active service are utilized m
the finely developed intelligence de-
partmeni, or consigned 10 duty on
The civil detective and police force
although iull-nedged members are
also used in this work.
Each company Is intrusted with the
task Of securing their own arms and /
In most cases funds with which TO /
carry out their various missions sim |
Fein has large funds, and in the
words OF a prominent business man
OF Cork "can get more where that
comes Om'-nanIrly, popular sub
scription TO the recent Irish Re-
/ publican Loan" and funds raised by
! various Irish societies, but a big eX
pense is entailed in caring for the
! families Of men in jail or who are
| 0eeng from the British authorities.
When a company OF Sim Fein volun- /
teers is seen directing a crowd or
/ functiOning IN any way an observer
is struck with their discipline and
familiarity with drill manual. The /
exact drilling places are closely guard |
ed. but 10 Is still dinlcult 10 under
stand how they are able TO receive
training Of this kind at all in a land |
that is said TO be flooded with British {
spies" Requested information on
THIS subject Of a high Sim fein lead
er. Accordingly a promise was made
To show how 10 was accomplished.
but for obvious reasons no engage
menl was set and the manner in
which / would be shown was left in
the dark.
/ was stopping at the Hotel I'M
peral. Cork, when the following
afternoon my talk with the Sim Fem
ner. was approached by. young
man In The hotel lobby who announ-
ced himself as a Volunteer officer"
A number Of men known TO have been
British secret service agents were
present in the lobby at the time and
he glanced around towards them
rather anXiously.
That's alright. come along with
me" said the young man and With
out more ado slrOlled out Of the hotel
90 waiting car. short ride and
the car stopped in front OF a small
shop. We got out and entered The
shop. The volunteer led the way
out back door into the rear entrance
of another building, thence TO the Op-
posite street, where a donkey cart
was waiting. Il was now about dusk
and we logged on 10 a plain looking
house on the outskirts Of the town.
on entering this house. we passed a
woman in the hallway and a few
words IN Gaelic were spoken, which
opened into a fair sized unfurnished
room Eight young men. several OF
them mere boys, were inside. They
were In stocking feet and were going
through squad drill under the tutelage
OF a youngster who evidently knew
what he was about. Drill practice
on a larger scale than this Is carried
out in the country DISTRICTS in
secluded fields, after nighifall.
The system OF communications used
by Finn Feinners is not officially
known, but IL is known that they are
surprisingly well posted on nearly all .
events Affecting On m ald sometimes I
police or the burning OF an Irish VIII
lage by Black and Tan police In |
distant and isolated section Of the /
country is known TO the Sin Fein lead /
ers before IL has come over the tele- |
graph wires TO the British aulh0ri- |
Ties. When 10 is remembered tnat 81 /
! per cent. Of the people oi South and |
] West Ireland are Sim Fein in sympa-
Z thy, a. evidenced by the last general
election, and that many Of the tele-
/ graphers belong 10 the party. 10 is
easily seen how this can happen.
/ NEWS ODnITIFC