The Washington times., 1921-05-08

The Irish Republic Army, ne saiu' ID
composed in the main of young men
who work during the day and fight in
the evenings and during early morn
ing hours. They do not ask or receive
q penny in pay. Even their uniforms,
which are similar to the field garD Of
the United States Marine, are paid for
out of their own pockets. They de-
pend to q large extent for their arms
and ammunition on raids made on
British barracks and captures from
the armed forces Of the British crown.
LEADERS REsOURCEFUL.
One Of the main objects Of the guer-
rilla warfare waged by the Irish vol
unteers, In which they have been
largely successful, was to destroy the
morale of the British forces of occu-
patton and to break their grip on the
lives Of the Irish. In the early days
Of the present conflict, a chief object
was to capture mails to obtain infor-
nation as to the plans of the British.
Trains and lorries were held up 30
frequently and successfully that the
British authorities turned to the use
Of airplanes. How the Irish met and
ovsrcame this maneuver in at least
one instance illustrates the wit and
resourcefulness Of their leaders.
To guide their air mail pilots, the
British painted a large white circle In
neld which was to be the landing
place, and stationed heavily armed
force there. The Irish leaders learned
Of this and painted a similar circle In
q feld located further back on the
British pilots route. In this field was
stationed q detail Of Irish volunteers
wearing British field uniforms witch
had been taken from prisoners Of war.
When the British pilot hove In sight,
he took observations and seeing the
correct landing sign and what appear
ed to be his British guard on duty
promptly landed. The chagrin of
these Britishers when they learned
how easily they had been duped can
be imagined.
The shootings and hangings Of Irish
prisoners Of war sentenced by British
courts-martial never will break the
fighting spirit OF the Republican
army this former member said.
when Kelvin Barry. the eighteen
year-old student, was executed sew
eral months ago. he said. students OF
Dublin University flocked to the Sim
Fein standard. Prior to that time
most of the students held aloof. And
so it was following the executions
that have followed since. New re-
cruits are going over to the Sim Fein
army every week"
THOUSANDS OF RECRUITS.
Contrary to statements made by
their enemies, he said, the nucleus OF
the Irish Republican army was not
organized during the world war. 1t
was formed many months prior to
England's entrance into that conflict.
"In 1916. during the Easter holt
days, the first acts of aggression on
the part Of the volunteers occurred
when an attempt was made to cap
ture the city of Dublin. In the days
following, England made her fatal
mistake. 1t was during those dark
days that she lost the last vestige
of Irish friendship or sympathy. Irish
leaders were put to death by firing
squads, and these acts of violence so
aroused the Irish people that the Sim
Fein organization gained recruits by
thousands. Many Irishmen in the
west, south, and east of Ireland who
had preferred the Nationalist party,
which stands for home rule without
separation, prior to those executions.
then focked to the citizen army,
which has been growing ever since.
If England had contented herself with
sending the 1915 leaders to prison
until the end OF the war with Ger
organization would have collapsed,
for the people were in no mood in
those bloody days to enter a conflict,
even with their centuries-old British
oppressors.
"The warfare methods Of the Irish
volunteers have been denounced by
Sir Hamar Greenwood. 1t may be
asked in all fairness: What Is the
difference between trench lighting
and ambuscades? In either case the
movements Of the enemy are not
known. yet trench fighting was
adopted by the British against the
Germans. 1t might also be called to
the attention of those few Americans
tics of the Irish that those tactics
differ in no way from those employed
by the American revolutionists be-
fore French aid enabled them to OPP
crate in the field as an army, and
that the shot fired by the embattled
American farmers that was heard
around the world-the echo of which
inspires the Irish patriot of today
also was fired from ambush.
A wOMAN's TRIBUTE.
Mrs. Alice Stopford Green, whose
father was Protestant archdeacon OF
Meath, in q brilliant tribute to the
Irish volunteers. has the following to
say:
at would be hard to find in any
country a body of men equal to the