The New York herald., 1922-11-26

Special Gable TO THE NEW York HERALD.
COPYRIGHT, 1899, bv THE NEW YORK HERALD.
New York Herald Rures-
London. Nov. %.
There Is no doubt about the honesty
of Erskine Ch.lders's motives. for In
many ways he was magntfcently
honest. but it was honesty to view
point so narrow that the. result was
almost madness. The very strength Of
his character made that perverted
honesty dangerous.
He was a British officer who did
valiant service in the South African
and world wars. 1t would be wrong
to say now that he hated the British.
do not believe that he did. What
he hated was anything that stood in
the way of the realization Of his and
his wife's dream Of an Irelcnd spring.
Ing independent from Britain, just as
the thirteen colonies sorang indepen1
dent from Britain in 1876.
In the fury of their devotion to that
analogy they refused to admit that
the Britain OF George " differs from
the Britain OF George III. and refused
10 admit that Dublin is eight hours
and Boston eight days from London.
In discussing this with Childers last
year at the time Lovd GEORGES first
proposal to open a conference was put
before De Valera through Martin H.
Glynn OF New York, I said to Chiiders: /:
why not look at this practically? They
are Offering you everything. perhaps
more than a republic could gain. Prac-
tical people do not think you can get a
rep~blic."
Childers strained. his brown eyes
snanred. nervous hands tore through
his sparse gray hair as he half groaned,
half screamed his answer: MY God,
practical people think some strange
thingsi"
That is the best kenyote to Childerss
character. II he had not been thrown
into this comnlex OF the Irish question
he would have been one of the mute. in
glof ious rebels holding down some OBJ
scure British civil service post. cursing
the Government and writing anonymous
letters that got printed That Is where
he started.
After a brilliant career at Haileybury
one OF the select prblic schools, he took
honors at Cambridge In the classics and
law. Then he drifted into civil service
with a post In the committee rooms Of
the House OF Commons. This was at
the time that Herbert Asquith was pre-
pairing the home rule program He was
a nenhew of that Childers who was a
member Of the Gladstone Cabinet, and
Erskine naturally was interested in the
Auquith program. In fact, though the
best-known OF his books is a great spy
novel, "The Riddle of the Sands" his
most permanent contribution to litera-
ture probably Is "The Framework Of
Home Rule"
The South African war found him en-
listed in the City Imperial Volunteers
composed largely OF patriotism fired city
clerks, who made q glorious record in
kopje fighting. He had considerable pri-
vate means, and The Riddle of the
Sands" was the result OF a cruise made
in his own yacht on the Friesian coast
The book aroused England to the dan
ger Of g. German conflict sent regular
navy men exploring the trail he had de-
scrlbed. and these men were captured
and imprisoned, only TO be released as
the result of the Kaiser's clemency.
Tho year 1914 found him deeply en-
crossed In the Irish problem and join
ing with the southerners In their preps
arations to resist the activities OF the
Ulster volunteers raised and armed
through Sir Edward Carson, and now
lSOru carson ana Il. u, NGdlOpcTJ
Smith, now Earl Birkenhead. It was
Childers's little yacht in which several
thousand rifles were smuggled ashore by
Darrell Figgis at Howth for the south
ern volunteers, and those arms formed
the basis for the 1916 EasteH rising.
Served I'm Navy During War.
Childers, however. served Loyalty In
the British navy throughout the war.
commanding the cross Channel packet
Engadlne when the great seapiane raid
was made from her upon Cuxhaven,
Christmas, 1914. Malone. the officer In
command of the planes themselves on
that day. has since been In trouble as
Communist here after his visit to
Moscow.
with the return OF peace Childers set
tied down In an attractive house in
Rathmines in the outskirts OF Dublin.
There, with an invalid wife and their
children ensconced among fine old Ital-
tan furniture and q splendid collection
of books, he gazed out over his garden
and the lovely Dublin hills and dreamed
Of independence.
There Is no one but who can feel sym
pathy with Mrs. Childers at this moment.
She Is the daughter OF the distinguished
Boston family OF the late DIR. Hamilton
Osgood Her ancestors helped In the
Boston Toa Party. She never could get
over the analogy between New England
or those days and the Ireland Of to-day.
a woman Of remarkable beauty. brilliant
intellect and per suasive charm. her af-
Fiction made II impossible for her TO walk
or stand. and II was reclining on a couch
that she talked with her husband and
received friendly visitors and Britieh
raiders alike. She has a fine sense OF
hrmor-whioh Chiiders utterly lacked
about everything hut the Irish cause.
Chiiders FIRST came into the public
prints In connection with the cause when
Desmond Fitzgerald. an able propagnn-
dist and now the Irish Foreign Minister.
war arrested and interned. Childers has
done much writing secretly through the
widely circulated irish Bulletin. and he
succeeded Fitzgerald as the connecting
link between tho worlds press and the
inner Sim Fein. II was Childers who
had to telephone TO get Information and
70 make appointment with the other
leaders. Often as rot Mrs. Childers car
ried on arrangements while her husband
was out. Many times she sent him has
tcnlng away from home on his bicycle
while she waited 60 receive correspond
,nts. He was man OF little charm.
md often, correspondents say. she sent
i'm away deliberately, as he was always
iistrait, and Il was difficult 10 get a