New-York tribune., 1920-03-27
Masked Men Drag Resi-
dent M a gistrate Off
Tramcar Bound for Cas-.
tie; Riddle With Bullets
Britain Will Let
Hunger Striker Die
Refusal to Free O'Brien.
Stated in Commons,
Adds to Resentment
By rank Getty

! UC.J
LONDON, March 26.-Two important
and tragic events to-day added to the
complications of the Irish situation
The hopes of those who believed the
coming Easter might be passed with
out uprisings have in consequence been
lowered, and the possibility of clearing
up the situation without an armed
clash between the opposing factions
the republicans and the government
has, it is thought, been rendered more
remote.
Alan Bell, X. c., the ffty-five-year
old resident magistrate of Dublin, was
dragged from a streetcar and shot to
death by a party of masked men, pre-
sumably Sim Feiners, who escaped
without being identified.
Forty Sim Feiners Arrested
At late hour tonight none of the
murderers had been apprehended. The
government Immediately sent the mill
tary police swooping down on all Sim
Fein Offices and homes in Dublin
Motor lorries filled with armed men
went searching through the city for the
assassins. About two score prominent
Sim Fem leaders were arrested in the
roundup. 1t was said that several of
them had passports and were making
ready to sail~for the United States at
once.
The second event occurred in the
House of Commons this afternoon, when
the. government announced it's decision
n lat ho a. y
O'Brien, who was arrested recently on
suspicion and without trial thrown into
an English prison, die from the eff
fects of the hunger strike he has de-
clared rather than release him
O'Brien has refused to eat anything for
the last week.
Of the two events, the governments
| decision announced by Andrew Bonar
Law in the House was the less
dramatic, but will, it is feared, have
the effect of inflaming the republican
spirit in Ireland into open rebellion
The present state of guerrilla warfare
n,D is considered q! bad enough; but il il
| O'Brien is allowed to die Ireland, it is
thought, will witness shocking re-
prisals, which will culminate in decla-
ration of martial law.
Masked Men Slay Magistrate
| for years has been a bitter enemy of
| Sim Fein and who had been conduct
ing an inquiry into Sim Fein funds
held in Irish banks, was carried out
! under the most brutal circumstances
such as have been equalled recently
only in the killing of Thomas Mac
| Curtain, Lord Mayor of Cork. Bell
was seated in a Dalkey streetcar on
| his way from his home to his office
| in Dublin Castle at 10 o'clock, when
body of armed men, the number of
whom has not been fixed definitely, but
has been estimated as high as twelve
| stopped the tramcar.
| Four men, with their features con-
cealed by black masks, entered the
vehicle, seized the magistrate, dragged
him to the street, and riddled his body
with bullets before the eyes of other
! assengers and passersby. The fact
| that no one went to the assistance
Of the magistrate strengthens the be-
lief thHt they were deferred by others
Of the band. Bell was armed, but had
no opportunity to defend himself, as
he was taken completely by surprise.
After the shooting witnesses called an
ambulance, but the magistrate was
dead.
Magistrate Bell was the man who in
Athenry, arrested Henry George, the
American writer, while he was travel
ing in Ireland. Besides the fact that
he has been marked man for years,
his investigation of banking interests.
of the recent attacks on Viscount
French, Lord Lieutenant Of Ireland,
and in other cases have made him ex-
ecrable from a Sim Fein point of view.
Many Die in Guerrilla War
1t is suggested here that the murder
of Bell was in reprisal for the killing
of Lord Mayor MacCurtain, and only
anotho~ step in the give and take of
guerrilla warfare that is being waged
lnroUgncut the country and which is
costing so many lives. There is always
the possibility of the affair being a
"plant," or that a gang of desperadoes
opposed to Sim Fein or not associated
with that organization committed to-
days crime, but the belief is held here
motive was not lacking.
The murder for the moment over
shadowed the decision announced at
spokesman that the Sim Fem alder
man, O'Brien, would be allowed to
carry his hunger strike through to
death if necessary. Bonar Law, dis.
cussing the case in reply to question
by T. P. O'Connor, the Nationalist
leader, said he knew the responsibility
involved was grave, but, he added, the
Irish administration had decided that
the arrest of OBJ len was necessary for
the carrying out of it's object--to pro-
tect the lives of the citizens of that
country-and that it would defeat this
object if the government were to re-
lease the prisoner now.
William Adamson, the British Labor
leader, Joined with the Irish spokesmen
in an effort to obtain O'Brien's release.
| The fact that the imprisoned man is a
prominent trades unionist has had it's
influence on the attitude of English
labor toward the question of his re-
lease.
The refusal to release O'Rrien fore
shadows the stirring up of Irish re-
publican sympathies in the event of
his death.
Lady Astor Aids Government
Lady Astor was among those who
rallied to the support of the govern
ment, spokesman when he announced
the decision to let O'Brien die if he
wished to do so. When Mr.. O'Connor
suggested that the suffragettes were
~o1oo nod hu Tho eova pvoopt xuhon thew