The Rock Island Argus and daily union. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1920-1923, 1920-04-09
Entturial Dtgrat
An Independent analysis Of Leading Csr.
rent Events ~ RedecteA b the f1D-
lic Press q the Country
Irish Self-Determination.

SIN urxinx the new home rule bill as set
tIement Of the Irish question the Lloyd George
government returns to hopeless TASK, as
clarea the New York World Den) The
measure meets with strong favor in no quar-
ter and bitter opposition from every sioe: ine
stand taken By the government Nseh NJ
most apol0Ee1c
"a situation that for the sake OF an parties
calls for epeed correction" the World con-
tinnea. presents insoluble difficulties. not less
throuea the inability Of the Irish people to
come 10 an agreement ON workable plan a
seh- eosernmeot for United Ireland than
through the conflict OF opinions and interests
at Westminster"
The Albany Times Union tDem) gives the
following summary Of the measure:
"Each division Of ireland (n0Gth and soulful
will have its parliament Of 81 and LIS mem
hers respectively, each parliament Will be
CHARGED with the preliminary duty OF naming
20 persons, In any way 1t desires, to form
with a representative Of the British crown the
council of Ireland, and this council will have
power, whenever It can agree on the subject,
to establish united parliament for Ireland.
fixing the number OF members, the manner Of
election, and the limits of the constituencies
But there are strict limits to the power
Of such a body.
sNedther parliament, nor the united parlia-
ment Tin the improbable event that one is OBJ
tained) may make laws respecting the crown.
International relations, army and navy. extra
territorial trade, coinage. cables, wireless,
aerial navigation, lighthouses, buoys and bea-
cons, trade marks, patent rights, and so forth ;
acts OF any Irish parliament are void II they
conflict with acts Of the parliament of the
United Kingdom; and any act Of an Irish par
Lament is void unless it receives the royal
approval within year. Since the British
crown Is but another name in legislative mat
! tiers for the ruling majority in the house OF
| commons it is plain that Ireland will have
home rule only to the extent that it is de-
sired by the majority in the commons. At the
same time Irish representation at Westmin-
ster is reduced from 1O3 to AZ. There is moth
ing in this act to prevent the London govern
ment from imposing martial law whenever it
deems it expedient-"
| So, comments the Times-Union, "the sole
resemblance to home rule that this plan Of
| fers lies merely in the name" The measure
s'has few warm supporters in any quarter.
says the Springfield Republican 0ndJ. which
regards it as doubtful that in its present form
it will ever be carried into effect" while the
New York Globe und) holds that "undouht-
eddy the most serious mistake that Lloyd
George is making in pressing the bill is his
failure to realize that discontinued Ireland
is politically as well as geographically a per
petual~ barrier between the two countries eng
land and America
/, The British premier's resentment at Amer
lean propaganda for Ireland was expressed il
sharp language during his defense Of the bill
in the commons. He compared the Ireland Of
today to the southern states in 1876, ant
said: I'VE claim nothing more than the United
States claimed for themselves, and we viii
stand no less In reply to this the Phladel
phia Record (Ind. Dem.l recalls how maiigT
and how meddlesome was England's behavior
during those trying years. British statesmen
cid all they could to widen the breach between
the two sections, for they knew that two
American republics would be much easier tt
deal with than one"
"Since we are speaking Of analogies ant
recalling this effort to split America" tht
Record goes on, may We not suggest tina
Great Britain has a similar thought in givin{
Ireland over to two parlaments? It is surel,
to Britain's interest to keep the Irish peopl,
fGivided against each other"
The Chattanooga News (Dem.l offers inter
esting figures showing the extent to which
Ulster itself, commonly regarded as hostile t.
home rule, sympathizes with nationalist aspi
rations. Says the News:
! "In the 1918 elections of the tota
popular vote of Ulster. A per cent was fc
lself-determination; 226,704 votes were for ma
tiOnalist or republican candidates, and 242,O4.
for unionst candidates. Five of the nine coun
ties Of Ulster are strongly for self-determina
ton, Antrim, containing the city of Belfast
being the only one unitedly opposing"
Even including Ulster the News adds
"the proportion of the vote of Ireland is 10;
per cent for the Sim Fem program"
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