The Washington times., 1922-08-23

Mlcnaek collins, SnOC down Dy
irregulars in County Cork.
Christmas picture card, with just
joke on 1t. and the Irishman who
was the hero of it, and whose pic
ture was in it. took 1t to the
warder and showed it to him, and
the warder thought 1t was a fine
joke. and together they mailed 1t
to an Irishman who was living in
England. They mailed II to him
so that he could get some news Of
his friends in Jail and know that
they were happy.
The Cue Nearly Fails.
And when this Irishman got this
card he laughed over 1t and he saw
nothing more in II, and he left it
lying on his desk. And IL 1t had
stayed on lying there perhaps De
Valera would never have got out Of
jail. But an Irishman from Ireland,
visiting in England, saw the card on
his friends desk and said:
Its a good card. Let me take 1t
back to Dublin and show 1t to the
boys there
80 he brought 1t back to Dublin
with him, and one night Mick Collins
and I were just going to go out to
see some Of the leaders Of the trade
unions in Dublin and find out what
they would do about Sim Fein when
a maid came into the room and said:
"'And here's a card a gentleman
just left for you
laugh over 1t and then l began to
I1N at hA lyAN aAar nA
the times I'd been in Jail myself
and I looked at the key again
they struck me forcibly-and. I
said to Mick:
Mick. said l, come up stairs.
want to talk to you
so we had our talk. And we
arranged for him to stay in Ire
land. And I went over to England
And a day later I walked up into
Lincoln prison in the costume ap-
propriate to a provisions salesman,
and I had a hamper Of delica cies
with me and I asked for the gov
ernor Of the prison.
And a Great Care. Too.
And I said to him:
It's a lot of trouble these Sim
Feiners make in Ireland and in Eng
land said l. and they're bad for
business. said I. but they have
wives, said I, and children. And
I've come from Ireland on a trip
through England to my customers
who buy eggs from me and butter,
and I've brought some little things
along with me that the families of
these men have asked me to bring to
srfx 60 ts, III
TO sweeten the fare that they get
put these things down in this ham.
per, and I've done my duty, now, sir.
and / leave them with you. because,
as for me. sir, l wish nothing to do
with politics either in Ireland or in
England. And / wish you good-day,
sir
And off I went. And the gov
ernor of the prison, or the warder.
or whoever he was, was a kindly
man. And, as we learned later, he
delivered the delicacies all just as
they were, and among them there
was a cake which Mick Collins and
had baked with great care.
And this cake was principally
made OF plaster of paris, and in
the middle Of It there were a little
bunch of keys, every one of which,
so far as we could make II so, was
an imitation OF the key on the
picture card which De Valera had
sent out.
80 then ! waited. I went to the
city where the Irishmsn lived who
first had received the card.
De Valera would send out his an
otu Oh ~, LA
And so II was.
For. on a happy day. this Irish
man told me that another card from
the prison had now come to him.
And I went with him to his house to
get itt But when we got near to his
house he began to behave very
strangely, I thought, and at last
turned to him and said:
you've done something to IT.
And then he broke down and told
me. He was followed by somebody
he thought must be a detective. And
he became afraid and destroyed the
card. and he was trying to remember
what was on It. and he couldn't.
II took him by the shoulders and I
shook him, but still he couldn't re-
member, and he never could, and
there we were! The keys were in the
jail, but was left wondering. What
would De Valera be doing with them
and when would he be doing It! And
when would he have been saying that
was to come and be ready for him?
/ could not know.
80 1t was back to Lincoln was
at once obliged to go. And this
time I went to the priest and-God
forgive me-I said to him:
"'Will you take a message for
me to an Irishman in the jail
whose wife will be dying and he
will never see her in this life again
unless he Is willing to take a pa
role to go to see her, and he will
not take the parole unless he
knows that in Ireland we think Il
is proper for him to take It. And
l want to tell him we have thought
about II and we think he ought to
take IT,
And I wrote the message out,
and in II spoke about the sick
wife, and wrote the message IN
English, but slipped In just one
little phrase in Gaelic. right after