The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1921-02-16
Report of Investigating Board is In
dictment of Government.


report which is a direct Indictment
| of the government But why they have
delayed their action so long and have
been quiescent in the house of COM
mons without more than a casual in
tervention here and there is best
known to themselves. And perhaps
why they now have done the thing
that ought to have been done long ago
| arises less out Of the urgency of the
situation than out of the questions of
| internal policy. For whatever reason
they have delayed, their delay is de-
| plorable, but now that the requisite
action has been started-an action
that could have probably saved much
pain and suffering, enlightened many
darkened minds and educated thel
careless if it had been more oppor-
| timely taken-it appears that there
| will be sufficiently rapid continuance
| to make a deep impression on the
country.
1t is true that the labor party did
| demand and was refused a judicial
| inquiry by the government, and had
| therefore to appoint it's own commits
sion, whose report is now presented
and is supported by other independent
reports that appear from time to time.
Labor is committed to one course of
action-to the establishment for Ire
land of a constituent assembly on
such lines as will he satisfactory to-
| the asirations of the Irish people, and
| not wound their susceptibilities. All
speeches made for labor must con-
| form to this desired platform
Therefore, when the labor commits
sion went to Ireland to investigate
| conditions, it was in touch with every
school of thought, social, economicj
and religious. Consultations were had
| with the Irish labor party and trade
| union congress, and with the heads
of the Protestant and Roman Catholic
bodies. The-result, is it is a true pres
entation, is an overwhelming case
against the British government.
Brigadier General C. B. Thomson,
| author of "Old Europe's Suicide" for
| merly attached to the supreme war
| council at Versailles, who went to Ire
land as military adviser, presented the
case from a military standpoint, and
| in very measured language, which
was the more revealing because OF its
| restraint, laid a heavy charge against
| the government. The blame, he said
| does not lie so much with the regular
| forces, in fact practically none lies at
! their door, but is principally to be-
( attributed to the so-called auxiliary
forces, the Royal Irish constabulary,
the Black and Tans and the Cadets.
The commission found comparatively
few cases of bad behavior on the part
| of the regular soldiers. On the con-
trary the found Tommy" as popular
as ever, and usually, except when on
| duty, unarmed.
| With the Royal Irish constabulary,
and more especially the Black and
Tans, the case is different. They are.
and this is the finding of a military
| expert whose judgment was sufficient
| ly to be credited to make him an at
| tache at Versailles-they are clad in
| the uniform which should represent
| law and order, but are giving them
| selves over to acts of provocation
! which can only have one result. the
| antagonism Of the Irish people, and
the consequent increase of violence
| They are described in particular cases
as under no sort of discipline at all
and behaving like staggering bullies."
| "Other forms of provocation," said
| General Thomson, were only too nu
merous. Night and day. lorries filled
with armed men careered up and
down the streets and roads. This is
| the way the kings writ runs in Ire
land. England has misused her power,
has planted in nearly every Irish
| heart a burning sense of injustice and
| wrong"
| There is still another force in Ire
| land which exceeds the terrorism of
| the constabulary and the Black and
| Tans, that is the auxiliary division
| or the Cadets. which, according to the
| secretary of Ireland, is recruited ex-
| clusively from ex-officers." Elk gentle
| men, the Irish call them. The commits
| sion saw an example of their attitude:
A drunken cadet walked through the
streets of Cork herding before him a
| crowd of frightened people. Drunk and
| unarmed, he would have been an OBJ
| ject of pity and disgust; drunk and
| flourishing a loaded revolver he was
a menace and a threat of the worst
| kind.
Hearing the tumult in the street
| Mr.. J. Bromley, another member of
| the commission, went down to the
| door to see what he could do and the
| porter counsened him not to go out
lest he should "get a stray one" When
| the labor delegate suggested that he
was safe and would not be shot be-1
cause he was an Englishman, the
Irish porter, out of full wisdom, re-
Piled: Sure sor, and they'll find that
| out-afterwards."
The burning of Cork, according tol
! the calculated judgment of General
Thomson, was premeditated reprisal,
prepared long in advance and held in
| readiness for operation at moments
notice, to be put into execution fol-
| lowing the next act Of violence by thel
| forces of Sim Fem. That act took
place at billions Cross, where a bomb
was thrown into a lorTy. Six hours
| later some of the finest business prem
| ises of Cork were burned TO the
ground 1t was cold, calculating sci
ence, with due regard to the selection