Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1922-01-12
What Next ~, Ireland?
~ ROM the exceedingly close vote by which
the Sim Fein parliament ratified the

= the Sim Fein parliament ratified the
Anglo-Irish compact of pe..ce it might
be inferred that it is still touch-and-go as to
whether there are now to be concord ana
! stable government in the long d1straught
land or tragic outbreak of civil war. While
sixty-four members of the assembly support
ed the terms of settlement, under which Ire
land becomes a free State in the British Com
monwealth of nations, fifty-seven opposed it.
Moreover, Mr.. EamOnn De valera, leader OF
the dissentients, demands that the issue, al
#though constitutionally closed after these
ira any months of conference and debate, De
reopened through a popular referendum Ihe
Irish repu bIic," he contends, twas esta blished
BY the will of the people, it can be dissolved
nly by the will of the people"-an argument
Thich would have seemed more tenable ana
bnsistent had Mr.. De Valera advanced it be-
re instead Of after the momentous negotia-
ms which were commonly understood to be
Inclusive and in which he himself bore re-
bnsible part. If the Irreconcilables for
ON he so zealously speaks prove to be
nerous enough, Ireland still may have
FIX and bitter days ere her longed-for
ngtime of prosperity, freedom and peace.
may well be, however, that the settle
on which the Sim Fein parli> ment was
bst evenly split commands weghtier sup
in the countrys rank and file. Accord
press dispatches, tidings of the ratiica-
we're hailed by the sweep of flashlights
bar of cheers, the ringing of bells, the
ing of joy-fires, not in Dublin alone but
d wide where patriot hearts beat anx-
for news of peace with liberty and
The next week if not the next
few days should show how the tide Of public
feeling lruns. Mr.. Arthur Griffith, particu-
larly devoted and able friend of Irish free
dom, appears to have voiced a widely preva-
lent if not the dominant persuasion when he
cried inl hot rejoinder to De Vale4 in the
midst of Saturdays tense debate: THE
treaty gives ireland what she has not had for
centuriesl; we won save our faces at the ex-
pense of our countrymen's hood"
Blood-drenched indeed would the, Green
Isle be if tine issue now were thrust back to
agitation and put 10 the arbitrament of force.
No longer would it be between Irish and Eng
lish but between Irish and Irish-war more
wasteful and more fierce than all but the red
dest struggles that ever imbrued the countrys
soil. Against such a possibility the major
ind of Ireland, and the heart Of the whole
world, must assuredly turn. Giv-n tranquil
lily and fair chance to work out the prin-
ciples of self-government vouchsaled under
the new compact, this wondrously gifted and
Iovable people will achieve more mayhap in
art and certainly more in the business of life
than amid all the ranges of their sombre and
romantic past If ever human prophecy may
be ventured an Irish Free State such as the
pending covenant provides, an Irish Com
m onwealth as unfettered Canada in OPP
portunity to realize tn blessings of self-gov
eminent, will produce prosperity and content
ment surely and as richly as any political
responsible as well as responsive government
there must be, if the resources of the land
and the genius of the people are to be
brought to harvest. No wonder, then, that
sagacious leaders like Griffith and Collins
urged approval of the treaty and earnestly
!. counseled against rejecting a precious OPP
portunity, like the Indian who
''Threw pearl away richer than all
his tribe"
During the last decade or so Ireland's In
dustry and agriculture and comm cree have
thriven with vigor that reveals much and
augurs more. Crops have grown more plent-
eous, more profitable; mills and factories
! have increased; savings accounts have multi
! piled; con }itions that made for servitude and
hardship and poverty in the past have given
way to a better and happier order. What
tragedy if this fair beginning Of a new age
! this prophetic poisoning after more than
9 seven hundred years of heart-heaviness mix
' ed ofttimes with desolation, should be broken
: and blighted just when freedom comes shin
z ingly forward to quicken it all into newness
: Of life! May Ireland, dear to so many Ameri-
: can hearts, be spared that bitter and needless
: disappointment May the wise counsel which
= has accepted liberal and constructive terms
: or peace prevail, making good-times and
5 free-times secure.