The Washington times., 1922-10-09

with the union came natlOndi
enslavement. With the termination
of the union goes national enslave-
ment-if we will. Freedom from any
outside enemy IS now ours ana no.
body but ourselves can prevent US
achieving it.
I'VE shall no longer have anyone
but ourselves to blame il we fail 10
use the freedom we have won TO
achieve full freedom.
I'VE are now on the natural and
Inevitable road to complete the work
Of Davis and Rooney, to restore our
native tongue, to get back our his
tory, to take up again and complete
the education of our countrymen in
the northeast in the national ideal!
to renew our strength and refresh
ourselves in our own irish clVliiZa'
ton, to become again the Irish mon
and Irish women of the distinctive
Irish nation. to make real the free
dom of which Davis sang. for which
Rooney worked. for which Tom
Clarke and Sean McDermott and
their comrades fought and died
This was Michael Collins consid'
cred answer to my question as to
his opinion of the future OF Ireland.
1t was early in the series OF inter
views that he took up this subject.
introducing it in characteristically
humorous fashion.
Sure, there's not a man on earth
with sufficient provision to dare
guess what the morrow will bring
to Ireland. Indeed few OF us ap'
preciate what is happening today
and a bare minority who know the
truth about Ireland's yesterday.
with the conditions what they
are a man would be rash to venture
a prophecy about the future Of this
country, but for the selfsame reason
it is impossible to tell a compre'
hensive story Of Irelands fight for
freedom-if ever Fins is put at the
bottom of any page Of it.
$50 perhaps after all 1t is as well
to make the end Of the tale fore
cast which may well prove wrong be-
fore the type is set.
THE known facts naturally pro-
vide a basis for anticipating what
the future has in store for Ireland,
and they may be briefly stated for
this purpose. The British have given
up their claim to dominate US. They
have no longer any power to prevent
us making real our freedom. That
much is an accomplished fact.
Anglicizing OF Erin.
THE freedom which has been won
is the fruit of the national efforts OF
this generation and of preceding ones.
The efforts of resistance made by the
Nation were the expressions Of what
had been robbed from the Nation.
But these efforts have not been con.
tinuous. With the Union came up
heaval. The seat of government was
transferred to England.
with Catholic emancipation and
the right 1t gave to representatives
of the Irish people to sit in the for
eign parliament the national spirit
was invaded. People began to look
abroad. The AngliciZation Of Ireland
had begun.
THE English language became
the language of education and fash
ion. 1t penetrated slowly at first.
1t was aided by the national schools.
In those schools it was the only me-
dunn of education for a people who
were still Gaelic speaking.
side by side with this peaceful
penetration the Irish language de-
cayed, and when the people had
adopted q new language and had
come to look to England for govern
ment they learned to see in English
customs and English culture the
models on which to fashion their
own.
The gifts wrung from England
Catholic emancipation, land acts,
local government-where not actu.
ally destructive in themselves of the
Gaelic social system, helped in the
Standardization process.
O'Connell's Method.
"These gifts undoubtedly brought
ameliorative changes, but the people
got into the habit of always looking
to a foreign authority, and they in.
evitably came to lose their self re-
spect, their self reliance and their
national strength.
"The systera made them forget to
look to themselves, and that taught
them to turn their backs upon their
own country. We became the beg.
gars of the rich neighbor who had
robbed US. We lost reverance for
our own nation, and we came very
near to losing our national identity.
"OConnell was the product of the
Ireland which arose out of this per
version, prompted by the young Ire
landers. and urged on by the zeal OF
the people stirred for the moment to
national consciousness by the teach.
ings of Davis. He talked Of national
liberty, but he did nothing to win
It. He was follower and not a
leader OF the people. He feared any
movement of a revolutionary nature.
Himself a Gaelic speaker, he
adopted the English language, so
little did he understand the strength
to the nation of its own native
language. His aim was little more
than to see the Irish people a free
Catholic community. He would have
had Ireland merely prosperous
province Of Britain with no national
distinctiveness.
Generally speaking. he acquiesced
in a situation which was bringing
upon the Irish nation spiritual decay.
This is the plain truth about o'Con.
nell"