Arizona republican., 1920-12-09
BRITISH EMBASSY
 WILL REFUSE TO
 V|SE PASSPORTS .FOR COM|N| TIES
Committees Appointed To Investigate Irish Question VI. Not Be Permitted To Visit Brita.i.
rRepubIIcan A. p. Leaaed wl-.l

lRepubttcan A. P. Leased Wtss
 WASHINGTON. Dec. S.-The special committee of six which the commission of the committee of 100 now holding hearings here on the Irish question had hoped to send to England and Ire land to gather first hand information will not be permitted to visit Great Britain.
 William Macdonald. secretary of the commission, was informed in a letter sent today by R. L. Craigie, first secre- tary of the British embassy. that the proposed visit to British territory is not agreeable to his majesty's govern ment" and that therefore the embassy would not wise the passports issued to members of the committee by the American state department
 Mir. Craigie's letter apparently was in reply to one from Mir. Macdonald. making formal application for wise of the passports.
 Members of the special committee which it had been planned to send to England and Ireland as announced by the commission were: Oliver F. New man, former district commissioner of this city; the Rev Norman Thoas and Arthur Gleason of New York: James Fl. Maurer, president of the PennsyI- vania state federation of labor; William Macdonald and Dean Lovett of the Uni- versity of Chicago.
 Passports issued to the members oi the commission were for travel and study in Europe" or for purposes sim- | ilarly stated, it was said today at the state department. Applications for the passports were made by the committee members individually. and thus the question of whether the state depart ment would grant passports fer Q com mittee as such to go to Englani and ! Ireland was not raised.
 i The letter follows:
 With reference to your application l for wise of the passports of certain gen. | tlemen whom your committee have des- i ignated as their representatives to pro ceed to the United Kingdom to investi- gate conditions in Ireland, am directed | by his Britannia majesty's ambassador 1 to inform you that the proposed visi Ito British territory is not .kyreeable ts l his majesty's government. Vises will l therefore, not be affixed to the pass ports in question. The passport officei
 in New York has been instructed ac
 cordingly.
 This decision has been reached afte, full consideration of the circumstance
 of the case and am to refer you to tn l ambassadors letter of October 22. il which he informed you that he wa unable to believe that the truth coul, be established until there had been period of quiet in Ireland and then cnl, by persons of the greatest experienc in the laws of evidence with power t i compel the production of books. paper
 and records and that any other forr
 of inquiry would, in his opinion, lea
 only to a mass of statements unsup
 ported by facts being made for propa } ganda purposes.
 sir Auckland Geddes had venture to hope that the full meaning and sig { nificance of these observations woul
 have been clear.
 ''In view of the fact that the ambas sador's letter to you of the 23d of Octo Der last appeared in the press, I am { , inform you that this letter will be pub : lished