The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1920-08-03
SINN FEIN MAY
TIE UP ROADS
80 ei7tJATION IN IRELAND HAS
hpssoLvED ITSELF INTO con-
FER BETWEEN GOVERNMENT
and OPPONENTS.

x,,, Aue. z-The Irish railway
,..otion apparently has resolved itself
81 contest between the governmnt
nv cinn Fein, and all the moves on
az az side are calculated from that
mint Of view.
pV :, there is to be a general stoppage
~ traffic each side Is determined
nake the other responsible for 1t
"a ,bere will be an argument as to
s.,tar Il is a strike or lockout. The
vso-rnent has been accommodating
s.A.,snort and has no difficulty In con-
u l,.g any quantity of guns and NUM-
vs. 10 any part of Ireland. It has
.sa-ofore not chosen to force the pace
:. ~ tondering munitions for the Irish
D.oas trains, which on tn refusal of
RI railway men to handle them would
nave meant depriving Ireland of many
= the necessities of life.
Tho trouble which has occurred has
,sen solely on the passenger trains and
soo heen mainly concerned with the
.arr,age of small parties of policemen
= ~ troops who are being used as
complementary to the police. At first
,rben the railway men refused to carry
,sor, the soldiers or police took It
calmly and returned to their barracks.
later on the government issud an or
1er that the soldiers or police should
~ fight in the railway carriages and
,rs,st on being carried. They were
Len directed to present themselves at
me next train starting for their des-
tination.
Hence a series of spasmodic hold ups
- trains all over the country which
cannot be relieved till the police de-
cide to withdraw Wherever the po-
Ire insist on being carried the trains
ceased to run beyond that station, and
the raiIwaymen responsible are dis
missed. But the passenger trains
which do not stop at that station are
unaffected, and run through as usual.
Nm the Midland station line this has
meant that trains from Dublin cannot
get past Athenry and Castlerea, while
trains up to Dublin still run.
The driver fireman and guard start
ing from Dublin convey their train as
far as the point where the police want
10 get on. They refuse to go any
further, and there is regular daily
list Of dismissals.
How small on the whole is the trouble
so far may be estimated from the fact
that the total dismissals after three
weeks or a months conflict is less
than so on all the lines in Ireland.
Business has suffered but slightly. The
situation may be relieved any day by a
decision of the government to send
their men by motor. That would be
hailed however, as a victory for Sim
Fein.
The Irisf, Judges who are now going
mt To hold the assizes have decided
to travel by motor. Usually they go
by train accompanied by an armed
guard Of honor. If they went by train
with the guard they would not be al
lowed to leave the terminus. II they
went without the guard they would
be liable to be held up like any other
passengers at any station where po-
lice wanted to come on board. 80
they go by motor. The barristers IN
many cases are doing the same thing
and as a special concession to the oil
fculties the time have obtained per-
mission to appear in court without
their wigs and gowns which are usual
" carried by the Bar attendants by
passenger trains now liable to meal
culable chances of delay. The dispute
is not at all a Trades Union matter,
and no Union can now control 1t. Inc
funds for the support of the dismissed
men come mainly from Sinn Fem sym
pathizers.
There is no likelihood that the rail-
way men will yield but even II they
wished to do so Sim Fein would NOT
LET them. Sim Fem, for example
thinks that petrol for, the air force Is
munition of war. The railwaymen dl''
not think that, and had conveyed three
thousand gallons to Mullingar. en-
route for the Air Force at Oranmore.
At Mullingar the train was boarded
by an armed party who refused 70 all
low it to proceed with the petrol. Iney
took the petrol out of the train and
carried 1t to the embanHnent and
spilled out the lot 1t is regarded as
an interesting sidelight on military ad-
ninistration that the authorities had
taken no precautions whatever against
risk and had left the petrol to travei
without guard.
Income and surplus profit taxes have