New-York tribune., 1922-01-22

- ~. }JU.
?" HAT the author of this volume
should have considered it ncc-
cssary to conceal his idcntity
beneath enigmntic initials is
one OF the gravest Of reflections that
ne could make upon the country Of
"h'ch he writes. That he did Thus con-
s'd"r 1T, assume without hcsitot;o,
"tncrwise, he would have been gla
""o eager to put his namc--or would
u be her name upon the title mace
AS an exposition of the results nj
palnstakin% observation and research
as piece Of literary craftsmanship
ana as ar example OF sinvnlar modcr.
at'on and restraint IN circumstances
un'aueiy provocative IF The contrary
1t Is a production OF which anv con.
temporary ennalist might pardonahlv v
De proud There seems to be nothinc
IN IT. either, with a single execution.
which should incline the author +o CO.
crccy. There are no betravals of on
c'a' confidence; there are no viru!ent
personal attacks. There are. however.
some disclosures of Sim Fkin docu-
ments and transactions which NAV bc
resented by Jealous members OF that
organization; and it is not unrcasona-
bic to surmise that it was the fear Of
such resentment and the revenge 10
winch 1t might lead-however unwar.
ranted such fear might be-~that in
daced the author to withhold his name
~ IS history, or the materials 10,
history, Of the administration o.
order, law and Justice in Ireland dur
ing the year 1920; with enough Of th.
antecedents since 1914 to form an en-
tightening background and setting 70,
the grim tragedy; end with appendice,
OF the most pertinent documents j,
the case" The first impression whicl
1t produces is that of orderly an,
painstaking thoroughness. The autho
evidently had access to official records
which he profusely cites, with names
places, dates and all other details
These he presents for the most par
without comment or color, in a singu
larly detached and impartial name,
Indeed, in most of the book there i
nothing to indicate whether the autho
occupied an Irish or an English poin
of view. That is one reason whv
have described it as material for his
tory. A real history should presen
the facts in far more digested form
and should comprise an exposition o
their philosophy as we'll as the balc
colorless annals. But this feature o
the book is to its authors credit. 7
would be presumptuous for anybody a
this early date to essay a definitive his
tory of the last few years in Ireland.
There is much. as there should be
about the Irish intrigues with Ger
many, the Easter Revolt and the almos
lnnumcrable array of outrages perpe
trated by or in the name of Sim Fcin
That some, perhaps many, of these
latter were mere private feuds, or were
| the acts Of common criminals, ant
were not ordered nor approved by Sinr
Fein, the author suggests and believes
That is familiar phenomenon. In the
years when big college football game
were played in New York it was a com
mon thing for young rowdies ant
criminals on being arrested and ar
raigned to plead for clemency, on th'
ground that they were students on /;
lark" when, in fact, they had neve,
been within gunshot of college. Th'
only reproach which Sim Fein incur
on account Of these outrages is tina
it for some reason failed to repudiat
and condemn them; perhaps because
there was only too convincing evidence
that its own members were guilty o
like practices. That that organization
did plan and conduct deliberate cam
paign of killing and devastation is no
to be denied nor questioned. l fame
that responsible members of Sim Fell
will not only admit it, but also see
to justify 1t, as the guerrilla warfar
of other revolutionary peoples ha
been justified.
Much space is given, too, to tn
numerous and often violent reprisal
committed by the Royal Irish Con
stabulary, called, because of their i'm
provised uniforms, "Black and Tans.
Of some of these the author declare
the reports to have been much exag
gerated, in support of which PROPOSE
ton he offers what purports to be au
thentic evidence. Others he frankl.
admits to have been the violent act
of men whose passions could not b
restrained and who had burst all bond
of discipline; acts which he deplore
as blots upon the generally most hon
orable record Of that famous body
nolice. Most of all, he stresses tn
,...4s.o, eoto or taking Qc