El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1920-11-18
IRELAND
And The Irish
LEAVES FROM AN
OVERSEAS NOTEBOOK
p


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The Overseas Notebook' contains n
] variety OF material gathered BY fho edffs-
o. The Herald IN Europe during the war
I and after Excerpts viii Be publiahed IN
] this column daily during the next Tsverai
months. Publication OF the Notes" be-
san October IS. Today'n fnatalment con
tlnues the Irish notes.
/ IRELAND may commit suicide but she
cannot whip the British empire, or
even the kingdom Of Great Britain,
I by physical force. Britain does not
intend to concede Independent ration
l atty and complete political separation
I to ireland. The question Of secession
was fought TO a finish in our own coun-
! try. Suppose at some future time the
! citizens Of some compact border group
| OF American states, say Oregon, Wash
/ ington, Idaho, and Montana, were TO
Z ind themselves so entirely out. Of
! sympathy with the rest of the union
I that they demanded separation. would
[ We grant it, Would we not, as
matter Of fact, find a thousand rea-
[ sons why it were better for them to
| stay in, and better for the union that
they should stay IN Wouldn't we
I end every argument with the words
AYou shall not'l
Premier Lloyd George In a speech
IN the house OF commons put the Eng
lish position clearly in the following
words:
self-determination does not mean
thaL every part OF q country which
has been acting together for hundreds
OF years shall have a right 20 say,
I'VE mean TO set up a separate re-
public" That IS the very thing
which was fought for in the civil
!.
II any section in Wales were TO say,
we want 10 SET up welsh re-
public" I should certainly resist IL to
the utmost OF my power. Not only
that, but Britain, IN its own interests,
including the interests OF Wales.
would be absolutely right 70 resist
u. And yet wales has a definite and
clear nationality The same applies
70 Scotland.
II Brittany demanded self-determi-
nation, that does not mean that
France, which has been in favor Of
the principle Of self-determination
ought 20 grant a separate republic
for Brittany.
There must be a limitation to the
application OF this principle. other
wise you might carry liz 20 every I
fragment and every era and every /
locality in every country throughout /
the world.
When you lay down a principle Of /
that kind you must lay lt down with ]
In the Limitations which common /
sense, which tradition. viii permit.
This is a matter in which force, and I
force alone, Is the arbiter. Not until ]
ireland, or some combination Of the l
great powers, forces England to turn I
Ireland loose, VIII she do so. Physi- 4
cal force, that is to say, military force, /
viii not settle the Irish problem as an 1
internal problem of the British king
dom and empire; but nothing short OF I
overwhelming physical force would /
make England turn Ireland loose as a !
separate republic.
An Independent Republic Of Ireland /
IS unthinkable, while the British EN- |
pre- retains its power Of self defence. /
The principal reason may be stated in I
one sentence: England fears that an I
Independent Republic Of Ireland would I
be an armed enemy in active alliance 4
with England's bitterest fees.
Irish cite history In support Of their 4
prophecy that England win set Ireland /
free and eliminate It from the empire. |
They show how Great Britain at one
time and another has had a firm hold /
on many parts Of western Europe, /
military possession and political con-
tros IN greater OF less degree in I
France, Belgium, Holland, Spain and I
Portugal; and how Great Britain has |
turned loose all her continental pos
sessions, retaining only the Channel I
islands as remnants Of her conquests. !
They argue that England might with /
as much justice claim that the physi- 1
cal possession Of Belgium and Holland |
is necessary TO her safety against az /
gression, as claim that Ireland is nee
essary to her defence.
H. q
luton, and argue that ireland has a !
greater population now than the re-
voting colonies had in 1776. They 4
prophesy a ike result.
It Is idle TO develop OF contest these 4
lines OF argument. Readers can do |
that for themselves. I am convinced /
that an Irish Republic is not within
the range Of possibilities in our time.
Other countries have succeeded In
governing united provinces in which,
historically, there existed almost as
much, perhaps quite as much, hostility
one Tor another as exists between Ire
land and England
Something Of the same hostile spirit
exists to this day in Spain between
CASTLE and Catalunya.
Many Of the old Kingdoms entering
into united Italy" were hereditary
enemies through long ages, and today
hate one another cordially.
The score or more Of German states
which confederated to form the empire
waived none Of their old hatred, which
was mutual, and still exists in large
measure.
No two races OF peoples could be
much further apart than the Walloons
and the Flemings in what is now Bel
gum, yet they manage to get along
together within the Kingdom.
Even certain provinces Of France /
are hereditary enemies Of other
provinces, yet we think Of France to-
day as an entity, not an aggregation.
Indeed if we want to get personal,
we might recall what opinions South
Carolina once entertained toward
Massachusetts,, and how Illinois and
Kansas once regarded Utah, and how
Pennsylvania loved Mississippi.
Even Central American republics"
have been several times on the vera