Americus times-recorder. [volume] (Americus, Ga.) 1891-current, 1921-07-14

WHAT'S WHAT IN IRELAND
Being Resume OF Events Leading To Momentous
Peace Meeting in London

sim I elm was M1cndpl COlilIlSj llAc
picturesque, daredevil commander of
the Irish Republican army, for whom
crown forces had been vainly search
ing for more than two years.
A romantic touch added to the pro-
ceedings by the f&ct that General
Smuts, Boer premier of South Africa,
who once fought Britain, was instru-
mental in arranging for the recep-
tion Of de Valera, Collins, Griffiths
and the other "rebels."
SHUTS owes his great influence
here to the fact that he has recon
ciled Beers to British rule, by en-
phasizing the free0m they have
under the dominion form of govern
ment. He insisted that the same
thing can be done with Ireland if it
is similarly given control of its own
affairs.
Campaign Justified.
Responsible Irishmen think current
events completely justify the five
year campaign started by the Sim
Fein with the Easter uprising of
1916. The next high spot in Irish
history came in May, 1917, when
Lloyd George prosposed settlement of
the Irish question by having q con
vention of all Irishmen to draft a
constitution for the country.
All he asked was that they sub
NIT constitution for better govern
ment Of ireland within the empire.
Lbs pledged the government 10 carry
11ho effect any decision of the cons
Tvention which secured the substantial
! agreement of it's members.
k%SSSinn FeinerS declined to partici-
pate unless the convention was left
free to decree complete independence
of Ireland; unless the English gov.
ernment publicly pledged itself to
the United States and the powers OF
Europe to ratify the decision of the
convention; unless the convention
consist of none but persons freely
elected by adult suffrage of the peo
pie, and unless prisoner of war treat
ment was accorded to Irish captiye'
in British jails.
n The convention failed, as Sim
II Fefners abstained, as the Ulsterite,
slsasasalal- gEsAsAa~jo join ~with~the res
of Ireland, as the premier himself re
fused to grant Ireland fiscal auton
omy.
The Irish people got their chanc,
to show how they felt when the gen
eral parliamentary election of 1918
was held. Outside of Ulster the Sinr
Fein elected practically all it's candi
dates.
Form Own Parliament.
The Sim Feiners thus elected tC
the British parliament never tool
their seats. Instead, they constituted
themselves the Dali Eireann parlia
ment of Irish people and set up (
complete government with de Vaier;
president, and Griffiths vice-presi
dent. An army was constituted, ant
in many districts Sum Fem court
adjusted cases between Irishmen o.
Sim Fein sympathies.
The urban elections Of January
and rural election of June 1920 fur
ther emphasized the Sim Fein holt
on Ireland.
In July of last year the British
government began its campaign t.
suppress the Sim Fein, resulting il
regular state of warfare between
crown forces and Republicans.
The list of dead on both side
mounted into the hundreds, Will
other hundreds of Sim Feiners wer
arrested and imprisoned De Vaver
was the only prominent Sim Feline
left unmolested, the British govern
ment always saying about him tha
he was the man they would have t
deal with in the event they once NOR
tried peaceful methods of settlement
Hence de Valera lived quiet and fire
while men like Griffith and other
: were held in Jail.