Norwich bulletin., 1921-01-10
IRISH FREEDOM FRIENDS
 HEAR SITUATION EXPLAINED


 HEAR SITUATION EXPLAINED |
 Edward N Coffey of New Haven, speaking here Sunday afternoon in T. l A. B. hall to an audience of 15O at a | public meeting held by George Wash | ington branch, Friends of Irish Freedom, l said that he could not endorse the recent | pFonouncement put forth by de Valera secretary for reprisal by Irishmen ev- anywhere upon all things British as a means of arousing the sympathy of the world for the cause of Ireland,
 In the four years of it's organization in the United States the Friends of Irish Freedom, MT. Coffey said, had done won ders in bringing the Irish question before the American public, but Eamopn de Valera has expressed dissatisfaction be- cause they would not give their allegi- ance primarily to Ireland and secondar- fly to the United States MT. Coffey was warmly applauded when he declared that collectively the Friends of Irish Freedom know they must give their allegiance first to America. It cannot be otherwise. By showing the American people their aiie- glance for America they will the better get the sympathy and support of Amer ica for justice for Ireland, but the aa- tion-wide vendetta against things Bril- ish which de 'VaIera's secretary has ds- clared is the object of the new Irish or- ganlZation which has been formed would l be the means of alienatiDg American | sympathy and support forever Conyiac- 1 ing the great majority of the American | people of the righteousness and justice of the Irish cause, the time will come Said MT. Coffey, at no distant date when the United States will say to England l If you cannot govern Ireland lawfully and peacefully you must get out Of Ire l land"
 ! James J. Finnegan, president of George ] Washington branch, opened the meeting i With few words of welcome After the l singing of America, led by Edward T. | Connolly: President FinnegSn urged all the members of the organization to ex- erclse their prerogatives of petitioning their senators and representatives, in Mritlng' 10 vote for the recognition of | Ireland as a republic l A well rendered soprano solo. Eileen Asthore, by Mrs. Morgan Cronin was followed by the address by Mir. Coffey, 1 who hrst described the deplorable condi- tions now existing in the Emerald Isle which he said equalled the most say. age atrocities that had ever been nerne. trated there. He told of the armored motor cars filled with soldiers which
 traverse the roads firing indiscrfminate. iy upon civilians and of the way the
 n n
 bombed and fired at night If the locai
 nre department responds to put out tb,
 nre, its members are fired upon becaus,
 they are violating the curfew law in an
 bearing on the streets after the curfev
 nour. Not man dares sleep at nigh
 m hls own home, but every night ever,
 man has to get away from his home anr
 spend the night in whatever way h.
 can to be safe. :" l Mir Coffa,y
 . | lort that had been made without success
 to get President Wilson to sunnort tb, cause of Ireland at the peace conferenr ? and then of the committee of three ina
 was appointed to go to the peace con
 terence put could not even get a hear
 ing before the American representa five
 at Paris. But the United States senat ny vote of 60 to 1 instructed tn
 American representatives to. do every
 .hihg they could to get -epresentatiy '. for Ireland Things seemed to be doing we'll in quiet way in America for the Irish cauH. | put then election came along A plan n was drawn u2. which was accepted to J oy the committee on resolutions in /, r, - publican national Nconvention. de@.arIn e that Ireland was entitled to>deterrn.na bf l. own form of government. But when D n Valera heard of tliis plank he repudIate n it unless it could be in direct recornItio il or the Irish re2ublic." This led Senate W Watson, chairman of the resolutions con l, nittee, to withdraw his vote and 1T e question never got before the conventio l. The democratic national convention r.
 jected recognition plank and these tv
 events have proved very disastrous to II .. Irish cause because Sir Greenwood. po,
 ernor of Ireland, has pointed out that n, L- one nation has protested the savage-
 which began in Irelnad after the rejectiC n of these two blanks. Mir. De Valera seen
 no ito have realized what he lost and h, , not been satisfied with the attitude of n ' Friends of Irish Freedom.
 Mir. Coffey went on to speak of pr British sentiment in the United Stat k and said that he had heard Miss Ma VI Swiney state the situation in a senten
 that pleased him: If you are pro-Irlsh V, l. are a hyphenated American. but fl Y, D. are pro-British you are 100 per cer
 American. He claimed that it was { m pro-British influence that had recent a brought out the suggestion from the a ,s sistant secretary Of the treasury to c
 tend the nine billion demand debt
 Great Britain to, the United States for 's years and to collect no interest till { S' end of that period. This proposal he sa ie had come the day after 1t was suggest in the senate that Great Britain be call th upon to nay the interest on the debt a of that the interest be applied to paying [ a. sum needed for bonus to the Americ
 soldiers. -v In closing Mir. Coffey expressed his a n miration for the leaders in the fight tt - is now being made for liberty Tor Il
 land and said he felt sure that the Am,
 ican government will function as 1t s,, ways hasSin behalf of righteousness a III liberty and freedom. -
 H- The meeting closed with two well T, }. dered selections by Edward T. Gonnel in who sang A Little Bit of Heaven a IT. gave-fo an encore Wh:n Irish Eyes 1 lie Smiling
 of
 cd Andrew Jackson. sAveutb orss,dsnt