The New York herald., 1922-11-26

| Much OF his strange conduct might be
explained by the well authenticated re-
port that drugs were found on him when
he was captured
Talked Self Ont OF Castle.
THE NEW YoRK HERALD correspondent
sat with Mrs. Childers nearly ali one
afternoon. she saying that Erskine would
be here any moment now" At length
he arrived and told her he had been ar
rested and taken to Dublin Castle. His
wife knew It all along but gave no sign
OF the intelligence or her anxiety. She
greeted her husband affectionatelS and
he announced. Il got out myself all
right, but / had hard time talking Jim
out" Jim" was one OF the most valu-
able leaders In the movement at that
time, and Childers undoubtedly used his
status as a former British officer TO
assrre the castle that Jim was not worth
holding.
Another time he called upon Mrs.
Childers shortly after tbs British had
raided the house and asked whether
they had been rude to her. mo" She
said, "and can't say 1 was polite TO
them. II was a silly soldier boy lieu
tenant or something searching for
napers on our desk--of course i was
ying on anything they wanted and they
couldn't move an invalfd--when, after.
he asked me If he could smoke. had
been smoking calmly all the time, but
replied: Sir, / cannot act as your hos
ass in any way. whatever She thought
hat great joke, but chance meeting
with that subaltern some time later re-
vealed that he did not share her humor.
It was through Childers that THE NEW
YORK HERALD correspondent had to ar
IN nj Int wi
Valera when Lloyd Georges proposals
were submitted through Martin III.
Glynn, former Governor of New York
Childers. incidentally. Immediately dis
couraged the possibility OF negotiation,
though he knew that other influential
members of the Sim Fein wanted IL. 1t
has always been felt by some that Child
ers warned De Valera against frank ac-
ceptance at that time. 1t Is certain he
had a tremendous influence upon the one
time President.
He was much the stronger character
OF the two. But while De Valera has a
certain amount of lil1able apr eel for
Irishmen, Childers had not the slightest,
and where the Government could execute
Childers without arousing a single SYM
pathetic protest in Irish hearts II could
not kill De Valera without giving the
irreconcilables a formidable martyr.
Childers Swayed Dc Valera.
II Is further believed that Il was
Childers who stiffened De Valera's reso-
luton to resist after the treaty was
signed. and stiffened 1t again recently
when captured documents showed that
DE Valera was ready to yield. Soon af
ter that De Valera once more formally
proclaimed the Republic to be thS only
oc<tff e. 4 ~
as Childrs's favorite theory.
He believed the continuity Of Irish ma
tionhood had maintained a handful OF
trreconcilables since the time OF Wolfe
Tone. 1t was his theory rather than De
Valeras that this jealo-s, fierce spiritual
oligarchy supervened the Will Of he poo-
rle. momentarly diverted by the threat
of war and the need of peace Never for
moment would he recognize the COM
mercial. geograv hfcal or strategical de-
pcndence OF Ireland upon England In
dependence with him was an affair OF
the spirit. not of miles or money. 1t was
his fierce insistence that deflected Rob
ert c. Barton after the latter signed the
treaty.
He wasn't popular In ireland. lie
was the only man who ever provoked
the utterly self-contained Arthur Grif-
fifth into an open outburst OF temper.
No doubt he faced his fate bravely; but
typical of the mans mind was the fact
that although he refused to recognize
the ProvAional Governments military
court and insisted that the Republicans
were the only legitimate government in
Ireland. he permitted his attorneys to
appeal TO the Master of the Rolls in his
behalf as British citizen, with British
laws stil running in the country.
Dorbtless his wife will persist In sup
porting the Republicans. though physi-
cal limitations severely circumscribe
her activity. Their son Is q fine, clean
boy of II or Is. During the height of
the fighting two years ago THE NEW
YORK HERALD correspondent saw his
mother bid him quiet parting farewell
when he set off on his lonesome bicycle
ride over twenty miles of Irish roads
infested with Black and Tans on the
way back to school, Don't worry.
mother. I'm all right" the boy said
calmly.
However perverted was Childers's In
tellect, however unattractive the father
personally. there Is no doubt his char
acter was OF the stuff heroes are made
OF. Notwithstanding this fact however,
his removal ought largely to help clear
up the Irish situation.
It is like the removal OF the power OF
brave soldier whose mind has gone
wrong through the very excess of his
zeal for duty. II was a mind gone so
wrong as TO lead to complete perversion
of character In his later days he
stopped to many kinds of deceit and
sophistry. which he would have been the
first to decry In his adversaries.