Omaha daily bee., 1921-08-12
&z?AeeSSm
;;&Ar:8GX
Ireland and North Carolina.

St. Peters Rectory, Gunnison,
Colo. Aug. S.-To the Editor of
The Bee: Not until a friend sent
me The Bee, containing Mr.. John
Rush's letter In reply to Mr.. s. j.
Woodruff. was l aware that the let
ter had gone into print with criti-
oisms of my recent statements on
the Irish cause. 1t is true he did
have the courtesy of writing me a
private letter on the matter which
reached me here few days ago in
Gunnison, Colo. where l am on a
vacation to evade hay fever.
l ask the courtesy of little
space to answer only two of Mr..
Woodruff's assertions.
l. He says: There is nothing to
the Irish question except ecclesias-
tic intrigue, an attempt by the
priests and the pope of Rome to
get control of the Protestants of
the north Of Ireland" Yes, the
priests and the pope would like to
convert some of those northern
Protestants from their intolerance
and injustice toward their Catholic
fellow countrymen by the gospel of
Christ. though there does not seem
to be much chance Of success in
that line. But the Irish republic
has tried within the last year a
more successful mode of conver-
sion for those gentlemen, namely.
the economic boycott. The result
was that those Orange braves sent
deputation to the Catholic bish-
op, McRory Of Belfast, suppliantly
begging him to use his influence
WIN the Irish republic to call off
the boycott by the rest of Ireland
to save them from ruin and starva-
lion. The bishop consented to COM
Ply with their request-on condi-
ton that they restore those hun
dreds of Catholic workmen they
mad driven out of Belfast, restore
their homes, which they had burned
or destroyed and also become loyal
!rlshmen like the rest of their fell
low countrymen. This the Protest
ant faction, seeing the side on
Whlch their bread was buttered,
agreed to do. When Mr.. Lloyd
George saw that his foreign garri-
son IN Ireland had been thus quiet
starved into submission and
Willingness to throw in their LOT
with Sim Fein, that foxy statesman
called Mr.. De Valera to the peace
conference in London. He hoped
thereby to divert the derision of
the world from the collapse of his
puppet parliament in Belfast.
q. There Is no more reason why
ireland should secede from Eng
land than for North Carolina TO
secede from the United States"
says Mr., Woodruff. Is that 500
Has North Carolina been robbed OF
her independence as a nation by
the brute militarism of the United
states and held by it in tyranni-
cai bondage for over 700 years2
has the United States sent into
North Carolina--"a soldiery. mad
Tor blood, who put to death indis-
crlmlnately men. women and chill
oren wherever found" as the hon.
est Protestant historian, Dr.. Smiles
says or the army Queen Elizabeth
sent into Ireland? Has the United
states ever sent into North Caro-.
INA force to torture and butch
er lts population, even sucking in.
rants as Lord Clarendon, English
historian, says Cromwell did In
ireland? Has the United States
government inflicted on Carolina
Tor 800 years a penal code. of
which the great French turist
Montesquieu, said: This horrible
oode was conceived by devils. writ
ten in human blood. and registered
IN hell?" Since the world war has
the United States sent barba rous
black and tan army TO frighten the
people Of Carolina into submission
TO our rule? Finally, have the Caro-
linans ever asked for secession
from the United States on the
ground that we treated them un.
justly?
Yet Mr.. Woodruff would have
his readers believe there is a parity
between Ireland and North Caro-
lima. Verify. he must be one Of
Mark Twain's "Innocents Abroad"