Evening star., 1923-01-24
ERIN DEMORAL|zED
ASD|SORDER!GROWS
People Refuse to Pay Debts
and Court DEGREES Often
Prove Worthless.
O'HIGGINS SEEKS PEACE
BY WILLIAM H. BRAYDEN.
BY Cable to The star and Chicago paiy He"'
l,nnrri1hf 1alS

BY WILLIAM H. BRAYDEN.
By Cable to The star and Chicago Daily News.
Copyright, 1875
DIrBLIN. January 24.-Ireland is
not only sick with armed strife, out
is suffering from widespread demor-
alization and the dissolving OF the
common sanctions of life. While the
irregulars are bombing troops and
wrecking trains, many normally de-
cent people are refusing to pay their
debts. They are sued in the courts
and DEGREES obtained against them.
but these DEGREES are often waste
paper and the sheriffs in many dis
tricts have sheaves of them which
they are unable to execute.
Putting down the rebellion is the
work of Gen. Mulcahy. The restora-
tion of civil law is the task OF Home
Secretary kevin O'Higgins, who mas
given the correspondent an interview
as to his plans. Mr.. OHiggins Is
we'll under thirty. He is a nephew
of Governor General Healy and
grandson of T. D. sullivan. once IA
nous as the poet of the home rule
movement. He has shown remark
able ability and unf1inchinS courage
lie is President CoSgrayeS chlef as
sistant in the government ana would
be capable of taking Cosgraye,s
place if circumstances necessitated it
Hence he is especially hated by the
enemies of the Free State and has to
live permanently in the shelter of
the government buildings.
O'Higgins Backs sherins.
Secretary O'Higgins told the cor
respondent that it was his intention
to enable all sheriffs to enforce civil
DEGREES. Everybody who can pay his
debts will be forced to pay. He is
giving each sheriff an. armed guard
of fifty picked soldiers to protect him
in making seizure of the goods OF
defaulters. Even seizures when ac-
complished have hitherto been fruit
less to extract money because in
many places the goods seized could
not find buyers.
Therefore, O'Higgins said he is
taking power to sell seized goods any
where. even outside OF Free State
territory, and this obviously means
that seized cattle could be sold in
Liverpool or in Belfast He believes
that extreme measures on large
scale will not be necessary and that
once the defaulters are convinced by
effective demonstration that the gov
crnment is in earnest they will pay
UP without further trouble.
New Police Unarmed.
Mr. OHiggins expressed great salts
faction at the efficiency of twenty
SIX ne" mag lie ndQ dppOlIteu
for the local courts and said that
they were functioning with popular
sympathy. He has great hopes of his
new police. The old constabulary was
d semi military force fully equipped
with rifles and thereby obstructed in
its civil duties. Hence he has sent
out the new police force entirely
unarmed.
The correspondent asked him wheth-
er he thought II safe to expose these
til ,rr ~
irregulars, AID he replied that the ir-
regulars. he was convinced. would
prefer to see them armed. They would
be encouraged to attack them in the
would try to justify their attacks as
acts of war; - S
Drink Problem Serious. -
The police. according. to o'Higgins.
are standing up courageously to all
intimidations. They are mostly men
who proved their Inettfe in the fight
against the English when many ir-
ripal task of the police will be to
check Illicit drink traffic. Not only
are the licensing laws in many dis
tricts disregarded and drink sold at
of poteen Gllicit whisky, paying no
taxi has become f1ourishing indus
try. O'Higgins attributed some of the
recent terrible outrages to frenzy
'duSeu tHlS powerful drink. HOuf
thousand police are enrolled. Most of
them are at work. with the rest In
training, and he expects that they will
succeed in checking these evils.
Damage Grows Apace.
Secretary O'Higgins. like other min
listers. receives many threatening let
ters and must be conscious of ex-
treme risks. but he ignores them and
goes ahead. The correspondent
thought it significant that he had as
the sole picture in his room a me-
mento mort in the shape of the last
portrait of his friend, Michael Coll
Inns. laid out in death. He would re-
ply to no questions as to the suppress
sion of the rebellion. He said It was
a military matter, but within his own
department he would do all possible
to restore Ireland to normal condi-
tionS. !.
But everybody here realizes that all
betterment plans must fail unless this
rebellion Is stopped. and as yet there
is no prospect of a speedy end to the
conflict Each week seems to bring
a heavier toll of damage than the last.