The Washington times., 1922-08-20


came the irreconcilabls elemen.
would still persist.
Personally. I believe It viii per
sist for q time-only for a tims.
and then pass. But It viii not pass
today or tomorrow.
THE MAN OF THE HOUR.
mike" Collins is the man Of the
hour In Ireland today. Arthu-
Griffith. on the other hand. has
very little power. and despite h,s
apparent impassivity, Is keenl5
sensitive to the attacks which have
been made upon him by his ers,
while Republican comrades. Lik.
Parnell, he has a will Of steel; but
like Parnell, he has a "remoteness
which forbids love save by his init
mates. .-.
Collins has passed through three
stages. First, the stage when, az
irreconcilable Republican during
the war with Britain, all ireland
reeled after him. Then came the
Free State stage, when he was sus
pect by the Republicans. Then. tho
stage when, the belief gathering
ground that he was playing a deep
game against Lloyd George, and
that he was secretly "agin the gov.
ernment," several prominent Re.
publicans spoke of him to the
writer as "Ireland's hope"
Now that. absolutely against his
will, events have forced him into
the killing of his former comrades.
he IL the most hated man in Ire
land by the extremists and one OF
the most admired by that greai
deadweight mass of public opinion
concentrated in the camps Of the
farmers and the shopkeepers.
LENIN AND DE VALERA.
"Give us peace to make our NJ
tie profits" this army of shopkeep.
ers and agriculturists have said
again and again to me. "wen
back any government that gives
US that" ~.
1t is this attitude which wins
from the irreconcilables the bit
terest contempt and explains theil
hatred Of the bourgeoise. whose
originally strong Republicanism,
has cooled with their emotions.
This hatred is famed by the
curious new incursion of the 81
w. W." Industrial Workers OF the
World, who, standing for Bolshe-
vism, caring little for ireland OF
nationality, are faithfully follow.
ing Lenin's exhortation to take al.
vantage of national wars in order
to further the cause of the dicta.
torship Of the proletariat.
Some Of these men whom I have
met come from places as far dis
tant As Butte. Mont. and their
mixture Of Lenin and Kathleen-na.
Houlahan would be irresistibly
funny II It were not tragic. The
tragi-comedy of their temporary
unity with the De Valeraites,
with whom they have nothing IN
common, Is one Of the amazing
phases Of the Isle Of Paradox. p
The Republicans. for example,
to a man. are devoted Catholics.
The I. w. WIS believe only in the
stomach as the driving force Of
evolution and regard God as an ex.
ploded myth. .7" e ':.s.. T..
To forecast the more immediats
future, one is fairly safe in saying
that after q longer or shorter pc.
riod of revolt the south will find
the Free state installed. with per-
haps stormy period at the begin-
ming coming from . "constitu-
tional" Republican group in The
Dali impeding the working Of tho
new. state. On the earlier stare
the Cumman-na-Ban will show II.
self specially troublesomeJ
MICHAEL AS PREMIER.
We shall see Michael Collins. II
all goes we'll with him, as premier.
with, Arthur Griffith probably. re
cedipg more and more into the
background. De Valera, like some
of the other extremist leaders,
will probably give up politics. and
he will then 60 back to his teach
ing. .... Lee
Ulster within ten years. believe
from my conversations during the
last three years with leading VI
stermen, will be part Of q united
ireland and will find, through the
big farmers cooperative" bloc
In the Dali Eireann, q natural
bridge between north and south
this despite all Ulster protests 10
the contrary.
Labor. already playing Tor its
own hand. will be against the Free
State in the immediate future ow-
ing to deep dissatisfaction at the
coming OF civil war, which they be