The New York herald., 1921-10-23

SINNFElNLIVE WIRE,
With CHARMED LIFE,
IS MICHAEL COLLINS
Expert on Irish Finances,
and Leader of Islands
Republican Army.
$50, 1000 ON HIS HEAD ONCE
Engineered Famous feeling
Escape, Drove Motor From
Jail as British Cursed.

Special Cable to THE New YORK HERALD
Copyright, 1921, By THE New YoBK HERALD
New York Herald Bureau.
London, Oct. 22.
Elusive Michael Collins-there he
goes" said an official Of the Irish
delegation as burly figure burst
through the door of Is Cadogan Gar
dens, took two leaps down the front
steps, another into a waiting motor
car and was whisked away. And there
wasn't a photographer within miles of
the quiet back street resort of re-
tired British colonels and dowagers
with fixed incomes and more fixed
IDEAS off Sloan street, where the Irish
delegation has it's headquarters.
1T is just Collins's way" the inform
ant explained. They say he Is elusive,
but it Is just that he is busy Back in
Dublin last year l had great many
dealings with Collins in his capacity OF
Minister of Finance. His grasp OF the
entire intricate system, both OF the Brit
,sli Government and Sim Fein finance
in Ireland, is so great and he has han-
died so many matters connected In one
way or another with every department
of the Dali Eireann that l personally
Collins being the leader of the Irish re-
publican army is just nonsense. No man
could mix with army affairs. go on the
expeditions he was credited with and
have time to do the work he did as
Finance Minister.
Then later when ! was the guest OF
the British Government at the Bally
Kinlar internment camp the boys who
were active members of the Irish Re-
publican Army used to come to me and
say That must be all bluff about Col
ljns being Minister of Finance. Sure
any man who is in all the scraps he is in
and is doing all he does with the army
would have no time to monkey with
this finance.
sceptic Is Convinced.
"And they told me tales Of Collins's
other activities which I could not have
believed unless / had heard them thus
first hand. And since we have come
here to London have lived with him
and I know now it's true.
'The man sleeps on an average only
three hours out of twenty -FOUR Three
stenographers have been allotted to him
by the delegation. He started one of
them at seven in the morning and every
Light this week with all three Of his own
girls dropping with fatigue he has
bounced into my office and borrowed
my secretary just to wind up with an
hour or two of more work"
Collins's legendary prowess as the
leader of Irish warfare and as the or
ranizer of the Irish republican army
bids fair to be outdone by the legend
of his prowess as the administrative
worker, as the doer of the spade work
for the Irish delegation and as the
sparkling good humored personal lubri-
cant for the actual meetings OF the peace
conference.
Irish finance has always been a
highly intricate affair. Now 1t Is ap-
parently in a hopeless tangle through
one set of local officials following the
British precepts and others following
the Sim Fein, and through the tossing
of funds from one side to the other In
the bitter game of warfare as carried on
i'm ireland for the last two years. Col
lins. however is credited with having the
entire tangled skein at his finger tips.
Helps Prisoner to Escape.
Only few months ago he had time to
drop It all for few minutes to plan the
famous escape of Francis feeling from
Kimanham Jail. Three pretty little
Irish girls OF the Cumman Namban, %or
Girl Scouts. who were absent from their
ball by Turing three unsuspecting Tom
mics into neighboring house. Instead
or soft Irish eyes the Tommies faced
the blue muzzles OF Colt automatics once
they got inside. They never saw the
Girls again. Stripped of their uniforms,
they were held prisoners while others
wearing those uniforms got to the prison
gates, strolled out with feeling, jumped
into waiting motor car and were
whisked away.
The man who drove that motor car
within a hundred yards of a whole gar
rison of soldiers. the police and a Jail
was a man whose head was worth
$4,000 to any policeman who could de-
liver u. That man was Michael Collins.
This exploit was typical of many which
gave him the reputation of having
charmed life. His rise as an Irish MILL
tant leader had been fairly recent and
few of the police knew him.
Although ne was many times recog-
nized in the streets of Dublin by those
men, and though they probably itched
for that $4,000 reward. they dared not
touch him, for always. behind and before
Collins as he strolled along, there
walked a bodyguard OF ready young
sters with their hands thrust signif1-
cantly int, their raincoat pockets-cvery
one in Ireland wears raincoat--and
they knew that the nrst hostile move on
the part of any policeman meant in
stant death for that policeman and not
for Collins. BY the time n policeman
could summon a sufficient force Collins
and his formation" would be safely out
Of the way.
Collins Gets Little sleep.
Why the police never found out where
Collins slept Is now explained by the
fact that Collins never sleeps in the gen.
orally accepted sense Of that term. He
IL robust physically and seems capable
of any amount OF sustained effort. either
mcntar or physical. That he Is on the
eide OF peace Is one Of the best auguries
Of the entire negotiations. His desire
for peace probably is also strengthened
Continued on Third Page.