The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1920-11-29
INVESTIGATORS
TO GET PASSPORTS
This Government Will Treat
Irish Committees as
Private Citizens
ENGLAND MAKES
NO OBJECTION
Willing to Have Truth About Ireland
Given the Public - None of the Five
Men Are Catholic Will Approach
Question In Impartial Spirit.
BY DAVID LAWRENCE.

BY DAVID LAWRENCE.
Special Despatch to The Reforner.)
fzs. Copyright 1920.
WASHINGTON, Nov. 29.-The com
mittee Of five Americans who plan to in
ves:igatc conditions in Ireland will have
no difficulty about their passports The
British government has determined to
take 40 official cognizance of the matter
and the British embassy here is treating
the request for the visa" or approval of
passports ia much the same way as it
would at the request of any American
citizens.
Similarly the department of state viii
issue passports TO the committee in the
same routine way that passports are
given to any Americans. who want to 90
10 Great Britain on pleasure or business.
here has been some talk In the last few
days that the department of state might
decline to issue passports on the ground
that the visit of the commission might be
regarded as an interference in the politics
OF another country, but the committee on
the other hand. Is an entirely private af-
fair ard its request for passports does
pot differ from that OF five newspaper
men Or any other group of individuals,
Who want to write about conditions III
another s. Country. Inc department Oh
state will not he responsible for the re
ports CT utteIances of the committee any
more than II IS for the writings of Amer
lean correspondents resluenJ III Ireland
OF anywhere else in Europe.
Of course It was entirely within the
right Oh the British government TO refuse
approval TO tic passports OF the com
mlttee. Frequently during the war the
nlted States government would issue
passports, but the French or British gov
ernments would refuse to approve them
and the wOuld-bC passengers were turned
back at the steamers by the officers of
the ship because none OF the steamship
companies would accept passengers who
did not have their passports approved
IN advance by the consular or diplomatic
representatives in. the United States or
country of destination.
The British government might have
refused to approve the passports of the
investigating committee without neces
sarIiy giving any reasons, but such step,
II was felt, would only aggTavate Irish
Americans in this country and add fuel
TO the flames. On the other hand, even
with those who have no particular preIu-
dIces on the IRISH question, refusal OF
passports might have created the impress
sion OF an unwllinguess to let the outside
world Enuw the truth about Happenings
in ireland. So the British government
determined to make NO incident out of
committee go It's way.
The attitude of the British officials
here Is probably an index OF the position
that Will be adopted when the American
commission reaches Ireland. Every OPP
portunity Will be given the commission
to make It's own investigation nnh N,
cred by the British government. The
members Of the commission are insstent
that they approach the question Impair
tally Mai Oliver j. Newman, who was
in the artillery of the American eNpedl-
tiOnaTy force. was president OF the board
of commissioners OF the District OF 70
umbia under President Wilson and be
fore that a prominent writer and investi-
gator. His ancestry Is English on both
sides Rev. Norman Thomas of New
York is a Presbyterian clergyman. Dur
ing the war he was prominently ldentl-
fed with the efforts of a grOup winch
championed the cause of the conscientious
obiector. He Is a graduate of Princeton
university and while one brother was de
tanned in camp as conscientious OBJ
iector, another who had volunteered on
the outbreak of the war, saw service as
combatant officer in France.
James Maurer Is president OF the Penn
svIvauia state federation of labor, a rad
| zeal labor leader and conspicuous oppon-
ent of Samuel Gompers. His passport
was revoked a year ago when he contem-
plated visiting England and European
countries to make study OF labor con-
ditions and it was generally believed. the
action was consequence of some Of his
| infammatory utterances against Presi-
| dent Wilson and the American govern
ment
Arthur Gleason. a New York writer,
Ewho has recently spent n long time III
| England studying the labor party and
| Dean Robert Morse Lovett. head of the
English department of the university OF
| Chicago, are the other members of the
commission Dean Lovett was one of the
Paeifst GROUP, and was frequently crlti
| cized during the war for his attitude to
ward it, On the other hand, he took nc
part in any effort to obstruct war op
| erations and his own son volunteered
and was killed in action in France. The
snecial committee of five was chosen with
the idea that it would not he subject tC
criticism for religious preiudices rs none
of the commission are Catholics. The com
mittee of five is a subcommittee OF q
larger committee of 100 for the lnvestl
CATION of conditions in Ireland. Oswaro
1 Garrison Willard, editor of Nation, is the
| originator of the movement.