New-York tribune., 1920-02-09
About Irish ssBondss,
And a Sense of Hunor
In Which Mr.. O'Sheel Explains
the Basis OH Which For
mer Are Sold

Financial Editor of The Tribune.
Sir: Being a constant reader of your
investment information and having a
high regard for your intelligence and
integrity, l am delighted to observe that
you also possess an exquisite sense of
humor, as shown by the delicious
gravity Of your answer to the amazing
correspondent up" whose inquiry about
Irish republic bonds appears in your
columns on Sunday, February I.
am sure you take as much delight
as l do in the mental picture we can
conjure up of that Irish American fire.
man, without cracking q smile or be-
traying twinkle, serenely informing
the naive Mr.. "P." that the Bank of
England is guaranteeing the bonds of
the Irish republic. l venture to say
stop there. Undoubtedly he supported
this argument by pointing out that the
Bank of England stood behind every
debt contracted by the Continental
Congress between 1776 and 1888; that
the Bank of England guaranteed all of
Napoleon's debts; that the Bank of
England indorsed the honds Of the Boer
republic in 1900, and that the Bank of
England gave its powerful support to
every bond issue of the German En-
pire in the late unpleasantness. Each
of these we'll known facts is as au-
thentic as the Endorsement Of the Irish
needle Streets" so why should our good
fireman forego any degree of the pleas
ure he could derive from "spoofng" the
amusing "P."?
No Obligation Assumed
There is not the slightest excuse
for any one having any misconception
elected government of the republic of
Ireland. Every solicitor for this loan
is explicitly instructed to receive no
subscription without first reading to
the intending subscriber the wording of
the tender-form presented, and that
wording is as follows:
II ........ hereby tender to the
government of the republic of Ireland
the sum of $...... This sum is vol
UNFAIRLY subscribed by me. Neither the
president of the said republic of
Ireland, nor the government of the
under uad rep%S' obaan tn agents are
this sum, or to pay interest on
said sum to me or to my heirs until
the said republic of Ireland is inter-
nationally recognized, or until the lapse
of six months from the date of the
freeing from British military control
of the territory Of the said republic of
Ireland"
Furthermore, we make no pretense
of selling bonds. The face of the ten
der-forms, the prospectus and ltera-
ture we have issued, the posters we
have displayed, all make it plain that
we are offering merely bond certificates,
ka y
redemption value unless and until the
Irish republic secures international
recognition and the English army of
occupation is withdrawn from Irish
soil. If and when that occurs the bond
certificates will be exchanged, within
six months, for gold bonds bearing in
terest, and as the Irish people to-day
are mulcted in taxes in the sum of at
least $160,000,000 annually over and
above what is spent ON Irish govern
ment, it is obvious that the Irish re-
public could repay this $1O,0OO,000 loan
sixteen times over in a single year.
A Gift Unless
1t is emphatically untrue that we
have tried to induce anybody to ex-
change Liberty bonds for Irish bond
certificates under any misrepresentation.
We have asked people to "give Liberty
bonds for liberty" and we accept them
at par, taking care to point out to all
who give them that they are free
gift unless and until the Irish repub-
lie obtains full independence.
At that, who will wager that this
Irish loan won't be repaid before the
defaulted interest on England's debt to
us is paid? SHAEMAS O'SHEEL,
Secretary American Commission on
Irish Independence.
Fehruarv 3 1920