The Washington times., 1922-05-28
For The Treaty.
DUBLIN. May 81.


on the conditions Of anarchy and
fratricidal strife his policy 10 pre-
cipitating here he replied: "Oh ye
Of little faith. hold up your heads"
To my mind the men "of little
faith" are those who speak and
think OF their nation as II II werS
some dead thing that could be
wrapped up for all time like a
mummy in a bit of parchment
called a treaty.
The Irish nation 10 q living.
growing organism whose develop
ment cannot be stayed by a for
mula nor cease with the full stop
of document.
You ask what the treaty offers
for Ireland In the future. Ono
cannot answer apart from exist
ing conditions. Mr.. de Valera at
the head OF q fraction of the popu-
lation cannot secure better terms
for the nation. but he has great
power for evil. He can sour the
auspices. he can poison the wells,
he can sap morale, kill enterprise,
lock up capital and foster anarchy.
He can do what the British could
not do-he can kill the Irish nation.
And the Irish nation was the
thing that mattered, not the phrase
or formula used to describe the
mechanics Of its government. The
Irish nation Ia something greater
than republic or free state-ths
Irish nation thinking nationally
not thinking in terms Of murder.
brigandage or civil war. not think
ing in terms Of "wading through
Irish blood" but thinking in terms
Of reconstruction and progress and
national consciousness. All this
could have been secured II Mr.. de
Valera had been big enough to
take his stand with Collins and
Griffith. and advise his people to
o1SNpI AAAAS ~ OoNyB NV aS q tO.oS-
milton Of their full rights. not as
an ideal thing. not as a final
thing. but as affording them an op-
portunity to grow strong. to attain
internal unity. to rid themselves
OF the slave mind born OF vested
interest in the British admins
tration, to solve the Northeast
problem and then to go forward
proudly to the fulfillment Of their
destiny.
For the metaphysical difference
he Processes to see between his
has preferred to throw the country
Into a welter in which national
morale IL giving place to party
spirit or to despair and cynicism,
and In which all the moral elevat-
ing effect Of our six years strug-
gle Is fast running out.
In the existing conditions I can
not prophesy. We OF the prov-
sional government. we who stand
for acceptance Of the treaty sim
ply because we can give the coun-
try no reasonable assurance Of Sc
curing better. are doing and will
continue to do our best towards
reconstruction and development
that will enable Ireland to export
something henceforth other than
her sons and daughters.
But. as l have said. Mr.. dc Val
era and his friends have great
power for evil. One cannot recon-
struct while people are wading
through ones blood. The opposi-
ton we are faced with Is not con-
stitutional: the democratic princi-
pie that the majority should be the
deciding factor in political affairs
IL waved aside; the exploded politi-
cal doctrine Of -the divine right
Of kings to govern wrong is re-
vfved in altered form as the divine
right Of document twoites to shove
their patent medicine down the
necks Of the people at the point Of
the revolver.
Well meaning Irish Americans
who subscribe funds to the oppo-
nents of the treaty are adding
their weight and strength to huri
Ireland in the very hour Of her de-
livery down to a hell Of anarchy
and despair. mo! will not
prophesy. So much depends on
what Mr.. de Valera may DO. and
my experience OF Mr.. de Valera
leads me to the view that It is ut
terly impossible to base any opin-
ion on a calculation OF that kind.
ed that he has set factors at work
that he will not be able to con-
troll whsn--and if-he recovers suf-
ficient sanity to wish to do so.
Get1slz 1;ln.nz,