The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1920-01-09
POLICEMANSHOT
 DEAD WHILE IN
 COURSE OFDUTY
Thirteenth Officer to Meet Death During the
 Year

! 0Cb1
 Another Irish policeman has been shot dead in the discharge of his duty. This Is the thirteenth victim during the present year. The occur renee took place in the course of a raid for arms at the village police station of Ballivor, County Meath. At the same hour, on the same night another village barracks at Dillon's Bridge, in the same country, was at. tackled, but without success and with out casualty.
 Nothing in the present situation in Ireland is more alarming than this prolonged vendetta against the police forces both in Dublin and in the provinces, The immunity from prose cution with which it Is carried on Is one of its gravest aspects. In con- nectfon with the three murders which have taken place in Dublin and the ten in the provinces no one has been punished. Obviously there is in ex- istence 8 secret society of desperate men to whom the taking of life Is na bar to the carrying out of their pur- pose. In almost every instance the object Is to secure arms and am munition- But in some cases the [ policemen have been shot from be- ! hind hedges without any other ap- parent object than to destroy '.an enemy"
 To the Roman Catholic clergy these repeated shootings have been the { cause of bitter heart-burnings. The bishops of the districts in which nur- derS have taken place have not failed l to denounce in the most forcib1e lan- IIr-To of -{xy peace officers, but their words appear I to fall on ears which either hear not or which refuse to be persuaded thai 1 1t is a crime to kill a policeman. The fact cannot be overlooked that 1 among a certain section-one cannot believe that it is anything but a very | small section-of the people there has l been propogated a doctrine that Ire. l land is in "a state of war; with Eng. land; that, Ireland having declared it: l independence. it is the duty of the l British government to remove its gar.
 rison of soldiers and police out of ths
 country, and that, failing to do so
 it is the duty of the Soldiers of Ire
 land' to drive them out This per nicious doctrine is at the root of al l the orgies of crime of which the Irisf 1 police have been the victims. In pur | suance of this doctrine it is held that
 being at war, killing Is no murder that the situation is exactly the sam.
 as it was in occupied France and Ger | many where the taking of life was ex
 cused by the necessity of the time
 Given a doctrine of this kind one cal
 easily understand the tragic occur | renceS which have so blackened tn
 name of Ireland during the past year l That the police have been the objec 1 of attack more often than the mill
 tary is explained by the fact that tn
 police are all Irishmen and as suc1
 they are blamed for remaining a
 their posts and doing the work of tn
 foreign" government
 The people who advocate this polio
 do not pause to think what wouF
 happen If for a moment the Britis Government accepted the theory tha
 "a state of war; exists between Grea
 Britain and Ireland, and instantl
 took war measures against all wh
 opposed their will in the country
 There are from 60,0 600 to sD, 900 troor
 in Ireland at present And what ]
 there to oppose them? F'ortunatel for the country the polin- of the Brit 1 ish Government has so far been to pr down lawlessness by the ordinary civ law with the aid of the Defense of th Realm regulations Its efforts hay } not been effective, but it would nt be surprising if, in case of a viole1 7 outbreak, the government should fin ! it necessary to place the country LIT - der military law
 The position of the policemen fn tf = circumstances which have arisen Is 8
 enormously difficult one They are 3
 of the people, for the most part SOY l of small farmers They have hrifte [ into the police force in order to mal ) a living in their own country rath,
 than to emigrate to a foreign lant 9 for the absence of a career in fndu a trial or other capacity leaves them T ]. alternative. They are, in the view A many people, quite as good Irishme I as those who hound them dow . though they may regard the aspir I tions of their country from a dMerel , standpoint The Royal Irish Co1 - stabulary has always stood higher
 the scale of policemen than any oth :, force of it's kind in the world TT o high moral tone of its individu members has never been qu@uone
 In the present crisis the men ha'
 istood to their posts with amaziI = courage. The British Government h 2 recognized their loyalty, and just nc $ is passing a bill through Parliame $ which will have the effect of makil 't their pay and condidtE~-- of servi e equal to those which have been co 1T ceded to the London police fors 0 Practically none have resigned the posts.
 True it is, the number of recru ,- has fallen off considerably, but this a probably due more to the fact th r. alternative openings are now bel d afforded to young men owing to t T.