Evening journal., 1920-05-07
10000 men IN
Sim FEIN ARMY
Underground" Officer Say
Irish Drill Defenders
in Daylight
MACHINE GUNS PART
OF EQUIPMENT
By WEBB MILLER

United Press stan Correspondent
DUBLIN. April 2i-'rhe secret Sim
Fein Army OF she Irish Republic"
now aggregates more than $4,000
men, according 10 claims made by
Sim Fein officials
Some hitherto unpublished details
Of the organization and equipment OF
this underground army were given
the United Press by a member OF
the Sim Foin cabinet who has been
active In The work OF organization
and holds high rank Ia the army
lie declared That the organization
| Is completely equipped with small
arms, such as rifles and rcvolvers and
"a certain amount OF ammunition"
Most Of the "iroons" had their own
uniforms owing TO the necessity OF
] keeping their equipment hidden. each
man Is made responsible FOR the Gus
/ iodv and cOnccalmcnt OF his own rifle
and uniform. Neither the ofll,ers nor
men receive any pay.
"Our army Is well Organized In
companies. batlallons aud Regiments
on exactly The same lines as any other
/ army The Sim feiner said. Each
town. village and district has It's
I company or battalion. which Is known
by the name az the district For In
stance. here in Dublin there are four
baiialions. I organized and drilled
the South Dublin battalion
TN spite OF The strict surveillance
OF The police and English troops drill
ing Is going on constantly. Almost
every night within a few miles OF
ihe center Of Dublin ] could show YOU
units OF our army at drill. At present
most OF our attention Is centered
upon drilling for guerilla warfare and
scouting
"The men or The Dublin hailallons
are summoned 90 drill by couricrs and
advised OF the time and exact spot
usually an isolated field In the hills
back OF Dublin They slraggle In by
foot OF bicycle In their ordinary
: clothes without arms OF any sort
I. It's too risky TO attempt 10 drill In
( uniform or with arms.
AS a mater OF fact. the drilling
now Is mainly designed 10 keep uT
the Interest and spirit of The men
and maintain the organization intact
'The drilling Is usually held be-
T, fore midnight 10 allow iho men TO gel
home In plenty OF Time without arous-
ing suspicion Sometimes we hold
drills IN broad daylight on Sundays
and holidays In oui-of-the-way places
In the country nearby. plckets ar,
: posted on an roads nearby and sig
: nails arranged 10 warn OF the approach
! OF police or troops
Naturally the names of our ON
GERS are kept secrei. but sometimes
= they become known For instance
> the Lord Ma~or OF Cork was com
mandant OF the Cork organization
which was well known. In fact ~
turned out hundreds Of troops In ful
uniform at his funeral and the Eng
lish troops were afraid 10 interfere
"Of cOurse, our equipment Of arm
Is limited 70 rifles and revolvers
bombs and a few machine guns o
various kinds owing 10 their origin
Many Of the rifles have been cariurcl
from the English and others are sport
. ing riles-in fact. any kind OF a fire
arm that will shoot. Unlike any oiho
/ regularly organized army in The world
we have 90 keep everything hidden
We are constantly adding 10 on
caches OF arms by raids upon polio
barracks and captures from smal
bodies OF English troops"
Ol The Sim Fein cabinet member ex
% planned The present policy regapdinl
% Inc use OF the army. lie declarel
'O that there was no idea among mod
ID crate sim ftlnNI- OF an oltdHllfI
% rebellion or attack upon the Brltisl
O forces.
Il "Our only hope now Is 20 coniinu
.Oi the species OF guerilla warfare In al
% effort 10 make 10 as uncomforiabl
% for The English army OF occupation
% as possible We realize that 10 wOul
% be folly 10 attempt an attack In force
70 The English are heavily armed viii
u tanks and armored ears and heav
% artillery. We would have ltll
70 chance against such a formidabl
% armament.
10 "But they have little defens
N against sporadic attacks upon isOlate
lO outposts and guerilla warfare.
70 '-rhe very existence OF our army
70 a weapon in reserve even N we neve
n use u. It's like this. You may b
% a very big strong man and able Z
- whip a certain little man. but ia
l6 very fact that he will scratch yo
D. up considerably In the scrimmag
a makes YOU respect him 10 a cerial
}. extent. we'd never De- able 20 wi
n now in a regular fight. but WEI
scratch up the other side consider
m ably"