The Washington times., 1922-08-13
COLLINS SEES
Z 2MONTHSMQRE
OFSTRUGGL|NC
Leader OF Free State Army As
serts De Valera Has Lost
Influence.
EoIN DEcIEs IS CHIEF
Brilliant Young Fighter Is at
Head Of Forces Fighting
Government.
EoIN DEcIEs IS CHIEF
BY HAYDEN TALBOT.

BY HAYDEN TALBOT.
copyright. 1899. by Star Company
DUBLIN, Aug. 12.-Michael Col
iins gave me tonight the first state
ment he has made for publication
since he became commander-in-
chief OF the Free State army. In
the two hours that the interview
lasted he discussed at length every
phase Of the present situation and
put me In possession of inforna-
ton. much Of which win come as
q stunning surprise to Irishmen
who have cherished the .delusion
that they are in close touch with
the leaders OF either side.
Summarizes Situation.
Here In a summary Of some OF
the principal points Collins made:
1. The official forecast" pub
hshed q fortnight ago In which
victory was predicted within two
weeks by no means squares with
the facts; Collins himself anticipates
at least two months more Of fight
ing. r.r..s....
2. Ever since the "war" began
Collins has been arranging with
his associates in the provisional
government ministry to turn over
all the multitudinous duties. and
with this now accomplished he will
leave Dublin and take active charge
Of operations in the field
B. Liam Lynch, popularity sup
posed to be in supreme command
OF the irregular forces, is in fact
second to Eoin Decies described
by Collins as a military genius
4. De Valera's counsels have vtr-
tually no weight at the rebel general
headquarters.
8. Erskine Childers and Austin
Stack, despite efforts to the con.
trary, occupied subordinate positions
In the Republican army.
6. The national forces do not num-
Der anywhere near" the 10000 quota
allowed under the terms Of the
treaty, although the general impress
sion in Dublin is that 100, 900 recruits
have already passed through the
great training camp at the Curragh.
z. At the end Of the first month
of Collins effort to establish law
and order in every square mile Of
!, the twenty-sfx counties' the cost of
q the Free State government has ex-
.oeeded 100000 Collins is more
grimly determined than ever to
bring peace to all southern Ireland.
He said:
.'.' Respect For Rebels.
ITO attempt to fix a date for our
finishing this Job Is as ridiculous as
It is futile. No man can do more
than hope for a speedy termination
OF this senseless campaign Of rob-
berry. arson and murder. However.
my own opinion may perhaps be in
ferred from the fact that / am plan
ming to be absent from Dublin for at
least two months"
"Irregulars are not to be held
cheaply as fighting men. Those who
DO 30 forget that after all they are
1rtshmen. as Irish as any Of US.
More than that, they have q COM
mander Of exceptional ability, a man
whose brilliance as a tactician and a
strategtst amounts to a genius"
I took II for granted he was refer
ring to Lynch, but Collins undeceived
me. He explained:
TITS lad named Eoin Decies. and
what q lad he Ia.
Il have known him for years and
he Is every inch a natural born gen.
eral. like him immensely, and
anything I may say about the rest
Of them does not apply to him. lie
10 worth all the rest Of their leaders
put together. II we had him with
us, instead Of against us, our job
would be 30 per cent easier. It is he
who has been directing the Kilmal-
lock operations, and II Is he who has
drawn up the plans for the gradual
retreat to the south and the final
disposition of the irregular forces for
the last big stand in County Cork"
Report is Repudiated.
Collins next emphatically repudi-
ated the report, now current in Dub
lin. that the Free State army mum.
bers more than the 10000 quota
stipulated in the treaty. He declared:
1--WE, have nothing like that mum.
Der. We don't need anywhere that
many. As a matter of fact, right
now, down in Cork, there, are zoo
fighting men waiting to join us, and
II had them I'd not want any other
army at ALL"
Every one Of them is a company
by himself, and they will be with us
for the last big showing. There will
be no keeping them out Of 1t, know
them"
Refers to Losses.
Referring to the financial loss re-
sulting from the fighting to date,
Collins left no room for doubt that
this In by far the most serious phase
Of the whole situation. He said:
'Tn the first month OF the fight
ing Ireland suffered loss of O,000..
600 pounds. One way and another Il
is costing us million pounds q
day now. Six weeks ago Ireland
was the only solvent nation in Eu-'
rope. Today her plight-in an eco.
non1ic senBe-is as bad as any Of
them. After we have finished our
job and peace has come, we shall
find ourselves saddled with a crush.
ing debt that no infant state could
hope to pay off without years of sac
rifice and privation. And Irishmen
have done this damage to ireland.
Tor 121 years Ireland was over
taxed by England. A commission
appointed in 1896 placed the amount
OF overtaxation at 2,75o,o00 pounds
q year. II my fears are borne out
by the event and the fighting con-
tinues another two months, the an
nual innterest charge on our debt
win be more than three times this
figure. For more than a century
we made violent protest against the
injustice OF this overtaxation. We
had a term for Il that was not an
exaggeration. We called Il armed
robbery. What can we say now7"