Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-09-06
BY SHAN O'CUIV.

TT is far cry from the days when
Napier Tandy on asking how was
old Ireland, was told:
L shes the most distressful country
that ever yet was seen,
For they're hanging men and women
for the wearing of the green"
Nobody is hanged for wearing green
now; in fact, green is a fashionable col
or at present. Green is no longer the
antitheSiS Of "EnglandS cruel red IL
has ceased to be the color Of Ireland S
flag The green, white and yellow trl-
color. first adopted by the Young Ire
landers of 1848 to symbolic the union
of creedS, Catholic, EplScopallan ana
Presbyterian. is the emblem OF all Ma,
;ionaliSt ireland today, and is the otlclal
emblem of the Irish Free State. just as
the war song of the Irish volunteers
from 1916 to 1921, "A Soldiers Song,
is the national anthem of the state.
In this land of paradoxes the one flag
and the one anthem are shared by the
governor general as representative OF
King George; by Eamonn de Valera and
the constitutional Republicans. ana by
Mary MacSweiney and those VINO MAIN
tain with her that the Irish Republic
was set up constitutionally by vote OF
the people in 1918 and has never been
repudiated by free vote OF the people.
While nobody is hanged Tor Wnat ne
wears, there are men in jail who claim
to be political prisoners and who have
reSorted to hunger strikes TO assert thelr
claims The governments OF the Free
State and Northern ireland refuse to ad-
NIT the claim. and the old problem,
What is a political offense?" arises In
new form.
More than half a century ago the
late Lord Bryce, one time chief secre-
tary for IreMnd and later British AM
basSador at Washington. Defined a po-
litical offense as one which did not of
fend the conscience of the community
in which it was committed.
Political Change Looms.
This definition Is wide enough to cover
almost anything from rum running in
the United states to the sale OF sweep
stakes tickets in England. 1t certainly
covers many acts which are forbidden
by the laws of the Irish Free State, and
helps to explain certain tendencies
which are manifesting themselves in the
public life of Ireland and which por-
tend political changes OF some conse-
Quence in the course of the next year
or two.
1t is an offenSe in Northern Ireland
and in the Free State for any person,
OlIleT imam TIE lOICtS Oh JIlc SIdJc, W
Grill or to carry arms without license.
But in both states the law is defied-in
Northern Ireland secretly and in the
Free State openly The Irish Volunteers
boast Of their activities throughout Ire
land. and in Thea Free State they take
part in public parades. using in their
public announcements in the press and
on the platform terms relating to mill
tarv organizations which are forbidden
by law. For a time they did this secret
ly, like OTHER Irish Republicans before
1913; now they do it openly. but the law
is rarely invoked against them.
The public conscience is less offended
by the drilling and public parades than
it would be by the falling Of large num-
bcrs of young men and women in the
enforcement of the law. Thus, within
the last month or two Dublin juries
have acquitted two young men who were
charged with reasonable offenseS One
of them was the secretary of the Wolfe
Tone day celebration at Boldenstown,
County Kildare, and the other was to