The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-04-23
LETTER TO EDITOR
The Truth About Ireland


 fairness, permit nae to reply. Although your report of the meeting did not mention it, Ma jor Kelly stated at the meeting that I was paid rep resentative of the British government but upon being challenged by a mem. Der of the legion, for which l thank ] him, as whether he (Major kelly) could vouch for the truth of his state | ment, the gallant and chivalrous Sim | Fein gentleman made haste to qualify his statement by saying that while he could not vouch for it, he believed il was so.
 I dislike intensely to speak of my l self personally. but the gallant and chivalrous major whose regiment after fdeciding to keep out of Irish 1 politics" was reviewed by DeValera and Archbishop Hayes from the steps of St. Patricks cathedral in New York | has forced me to it in self-defense. | I have. of course, ; no connection whatsoever with the British govern ment, but I'll say right here that the British government should have had agents in this country to counteract the vicious propaganda of hate and falsehood being spread over the land l by the appointed, not elected, president of gangs whose glories, threats are sIaughters are.''
 My articles published in the Bir- mingham press were solely in the in- terest of truth and justice. as opposed | to malicious misrepresentation l would scorn taking money for merely speaking the truth, but were I Sim Fein propagandist, the mere fact of espousing such rotten cause would 1 be evidence enough to any intelligent person that l would not be above ac- | cepting a part of the proceeds of the sale of worthless pieces of paper frau | dulently called bonds" of the Irish re- public.
 1 Like Major Kelly, l was in the Ameri- can army during the period of the Span | h-American War (Major Kelly knows my regiment-the Fourteenth New Yorlx). but. unlike Major Kelly, l do not dra- matically exclaim that I offered my life for my country, for the simple reason never expected to be killed, nor would care to capitalize my loyalty to the Unied States in the interests of for eign political faction who prayed for a German victory in the late war and who did all in their power to bring it about The one paragraph in Major Kelly's speech l am entitled to comment on is as follows:
 After the part Ireland played in the great war: after the way Ireland has been depressed, unil there is not an in- dustry of importance in ths whole do- minion. cannot help but believe that the articles that have appeared here about the leaders of he republic were written by paid representatives of Great Britain"
 Never was there more absrd para graph.
 The major with incomparable gall draws attention to the part played by the unionist Irishmen loyal to Great Britan and the Allies. and calmly gives this credit to the Sim Fein allies of Germany, who sent their representative Roger Easement, to Germany to persuade the Irish prisoners of war to fight in the German army against the Allies; without success, however, because as there were no Sim Fein soldiers on the side of the Allies. 1t follows there were none but loyal 1rishmen prisoners in Germany.
 EVeryone knows that the great bulk of the Irish soldiers were recruited from the ranks of the Irish people who a.bso- lutely refused to sever their connection with the English, Scotch and Welsh peo- pie. The Ulster city of Belfast alone furnished 46,0OO men for the British army and contributed $40 0000,000 to British war loans.
 There are just two things Major Kelly is entitled to p,ace to the credit of the Sim Fein faction in Ireland. Che is the Dublin rebellion, when Ger man bullets were used to shoot un- armed policemen and British soldiers in the back. The British government was forced by the Sim Fefners to keep on the Irish front nearly as many soldiers, badly needed on the western front as were recruited in Ireland, This the German general staff was Justified In claiming as a. German victory. The other Sim Fein achievement was the excellent spy system in behalf of Germany in Ire land. which almost brought about the destruction of the American destroyer fleet. A German mine laying subma- rine was notified of the expected time of arrival in Queenstown harbor. The night before the flotilla arrived the mouth of the harbor was heavily mined, and the same thing happened on two subsequent occasions when American warships were expected
 The Irish question Is not merely so much an issue between Ireland and Great Britain as between the differ ent factions of the Irish people them selves. Britain's problem is this: Shall she force the large and impor- tant minority of the Irish people who were splendidly loyal to the anles during the late war under the heel of government of Sim Feiners who were traitors to the great causeo If
 
 who laid GOwn their lives in the great cause of freedom will be betrayed. We'll might they say:
 We are the dead. Short days ago We lived felt dawn. saw sunset glow. Loved and were loved and now we lie
 In Flanders fields"
 Did not these loyaf lrishmen, who voluntarily, gave up their lives for the great cause (while Sim Fein fought for the Germans) trust Great Britain and the rest of the allies to Take up our quarrel with the foe, To you from falling hands we throw I he torch be yours to hold 1t high. Is ye break faith with us who die We shall not sleep. though peoples
 grow
 Nor is 1t only protestant Ulster that is opposed to Sim Fein. At a recent nationalist demonstration at Aghabog, Ireland, MT. J. J. Hurley. divisional di- rector of the United Irish League, North Monahan, said; "The picture of Ireland today was not happy one for any Irishman to contemplate. How was it to be remedied? The answer was simple, Ireland must get back to constitutional methods MT. Hugh J. McArdie, county president of the Ancient Order of Hiber nians said; "It was clear that the na- tionalists knew they were on the right with renewed energy to the old stAnd- ards. because the failure of Snn Fem was evident to every man..
 Mir. James King. divisional director United Irish League, said: The people should be proud that they were not