The Birmingham age-herald., 1922-02-19
nr RErsrY nAxTER

hS RAA n&A4A Aeh
 Special Correspondent of The Age Herald
 Copyright, 1929, by The Age-Herald)
 Washington. February 1s.-Lent begins a week from next Wednesday. Hence the crowded social calendars. for they are certainly packed. Not that all entertaining will cease with Ash Wednesday. Such state of af- fairs as that is thing of the past. But most of the formal and practi- cally all of the official entertaining does let up for 40 days and 40 nights and there is a good deal to be done along that line within the next ten days. Much however. was accom- plished this week.
 Let's see now, President and Mrs. Harding for one thing, gave the last of their series of state dinners Thursday evening, the Speaker of the House and Mrs. Gillett being the honor guests. Next Thursday the Hardings will entertain at the last of the seasons state captions. the of- ficers of the army, navy and marine corps and their wives Last Wednes- day President and Mrs. Harding were entertained at dinner by the Secretary of the Navy and Mrs. Ed win Denby. The Secretary of the In- LcTlpT anu hTS. tA1pSII b. fdAl VIII entertain them at dinner Tuesday evening. l think that will be the first one of these dinners to have been given on a Tuesday; Wednesday Is the day generally hosen.
 DaugheFty's Dinner
 It does not look as though the en- tire cabinet will entertain for the President before Lent is inaugurated. The Attorney General. Harry M. Daugherty, postponed the dinner he had planned because of the Knicker- booker theatre disaster, and I doubt if it will be given this season. The Attorney General and the President are very close friends and often dine together, but very informally. They play cards together frequently, too, believe.
 Mrs Will H. Hays wife of the Postmaster General, isn't we'll and has not been in Washington since early last summer. Mrs. James Davis, wife of the Secretary of Labor, isn't well either, so they and their formal dinners, if at all, before the late spring.
 The Secretary of Agriculture and the British troops from the southern area. I pointed out at the time the withdrawal began that it involved some risk, but 1t appeared the cor rect thing to do. The British gov ernment had embarked upon policy of trust In the people and this en- a condition of things Tn which the majority and minority would work together in the elsmen- tary task of protecting life and lib- crty during the transitory period from British rule to Irish self-ex- pression.
 Hopes Not Realized
 The imperial government was still responsible, but it delegated it's au- thority to the Irish provisional gov ernment in the hope that that gov ernment would be able to function efficiently These hopes have not yet been realized. There is not the slightest reason to doubt the Wiling ness of Michael Collins and his col leagues. but events so far have but exhibited their inability to impose their will upon the unruly forces nominally under their control. Mir. Collins evidently Is under daily fear of a coup d'etat on the part of the Eamonn DeValera adherents and has appealed to American Irish sentiment to enabzle him to carry on until the voice of the people can be heard at an election.
 Relations Embittered
 Meanwhile the relations between the north and the south have become so embittered that Sir James Craig, Ulster premier, has declined Dublin's overtures for meeting. The only colorab1e pretext arising out of the treaty for friction between the north and south are in regard to the bor- der line. Collins and Craig had ap- peared to have reached an agree nent on it, but a second meeting re- vealed unexpected divergence of views, and if Sir James adheres to lis refusal of further barley then the matter falls, to be decided by commission provided for in the treaty. This commission is to be guided by economic and geographi- cal considerations as well as by the wishes of pockets" of Catholics in the north and Protestants in the south. \
 The disagreements and eruptions in Ireland are sad augury for that unity upon which such high hopes had ben raised.
 But the abiding feeling here is that Ireland must ''dree it's own weir.' There Is patience and sympathy with Irishmen in their troubles. and at the same time an ardent wish that they may speedily rise above futile factional and lawless violence.