Jan. 29.
Mr, Wendell Willkie, defeated Republican candidate for the presidency of the United States, but nevertheless a firm supporter of Mr. Roosevelt's policy of aid for Britain, who is in the United Kingdom for the purpose of seeing things for himself, has declared his {atention of visiting Ireland and seeing Mr. de Valera. That, together with the declaration of Mr, Sean Lemass, Eite's Minister of Supply, that the threat of an invasion had not justifies the publication of the following article entitled "Myopia in Eire which recently appeared in the "Living If one can understand the disinclination of the Free State to permit the presence in Southern Ireland of British troops, it is more Aieult to comprehend the shorisightedness of the leaders of Eire in refusing bases on the Western coast to the British Admiralty. No one will maintain, on the basis of the his {orical record, that the activities of the British in Ireland have invariably been motivated by a disinterested paternalism. Yet the most elementary. logic argues that as between "Britain and Germany, Eire can have but one choice if she sincerely desires survival of her resent independence. Furthermore, it may iso be argued with reason that if she
self-interest, she may not have the opportun-not soon make the choice of intelligence and ity of making any decision. The Nazis' U-boat campaign ig accelerating; and in some weeks, recently, British freighter losses have exceed-fed those at the peak of- the submarine wat fare in the last war. Hire 1s by ro means sel{~ Suflcient; she cannot survive, any more than can Northern Ireland, without her imports fand re-imports from England. Fecent days have disclosed that once again the Germans are concentrating their U-boat and raider campaign in mid-Atlantic, and between 100 and 500 miles west of the Irish coast. The danger to Hire is even greater than the menace {0 Britain, for the latter at least has Weapons to continue the war, and Southern Ireland has none—save the indomitable spirit of her people, unfortunately no longer a high-Jy effective weapon in this era of mechaniza~
"As Mr, Churchill explained last month in the House of Commons, the British Navy needs bases closer than its own ports to the Atlantic areas where the Nazis are lying in walt for British convoys.
Eire could not be in a more exposed and defenceless position. If Mr. de Valera does hot soon persuade his people that the crassest self-interest, at this time, demands that the British Navy be given access to whatever Southern Ireland bases the Admiralty deems vital (primarily Queenstown, Berehaven and Loughswilly),. the time may not be distant when the British may be forced to pre-empt them. For the future relations between South ern Ireland and Britain, such an act of force would be calamitous. It must be plain to leaders of Hire, if the cables are to be be~ Meved,. that the British Government is ready to give Southern Ireland whatever guarantees it can—paper guarantees, that is true. Never theless, as between such' guarantees, and the imminent threat of literal starvation and a Nazi invasion, horse sense would dictate Eire's immediate offer of these bases to Britain.
The case for Hire definitely abandoning what is after all a purely fictitious neutrality could not possibly be made clearer. It is an undoubted fact that should the Germans seek fo invade Eire—a by no means remote possibility,—the United Kingdom would have to go to that country's assistance. It is per-fedly plain that Mr. de Valera would then willingly' accept such aid, and it is equally clear that he would have to do so whether he liked it or not. In the first place it would be the duty of the British Navy to smash whatever lines of communication the enemy sought to establish across the seas. Doubt~ less the men who have been recruited in Eire for its defence would give a good account of themselves, for of the personal bravery of the Irish there has never been the slightest question, but it would be essentially Britain's mission to help Eire.
In the face of that fact, and of the complete economic and political dependence of Eire upon the rest of the British Isles Mr. de Valera's attitude is hopelessly illogical. The downfall of the British Empire means the downfall of Eire. The enslavement of the United Kingdom would mean the enslave ment of the people of Eire. Vague hopes of ever being able to preserve independence in the middle of a German hegemony established over the whole of Europe, which Hitler so clearly desires, cannot possibly justify Mr. de Valera's policy, for they are based upon the certain knowledge that Hitler lias kept faith with no one and intends to continue that practice, Eire suffers the effects of the Ger man blockade of the British Isles: it will continue to do so as long as the British Navy is hampered by lack of advanced bases to deal with the enemy's raiders in the Atlantic, and in the words of the editorial of the Living Age" "horse sense" dictates that Eire should make an immediate move to place the necessary bases at the disposal of the British Government for the duration of the war.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.