From all appearances Ireland is in the unfortunate position of not knowing what she wants and being unhappy until she gets it. The last two days have seen one of the stormiest sessions of the Dail Eireann so far--a perfect maze of charges and counter charges from Griffith and De Valera intermixed with epithets of "liar" and "gunman", until both sides finally agreed to publish the documents of the London conference,--"before the elections so that no one is fooled" as De Valera expressed it.

There is, however, no little room for doubt about the interest taken in the conflict among the Irish themselves. On Monday all Dublin joined in a one-day strike as a demonstration against the spirit of militarism,--not a trolley car was moved, not a newspaper printed. In fact it might have been an Old Testament Sabbath from all accounts, save for the crowds in the streets. Furthermore, the response to an appeal from the Irish Bishops for a popular demand for the treaty has elicited little response, apparently because of the cloud of fear which is over the whole land. Even an Irishman, or at least some of them, seem to know when enough is enough.

In the face of this widespread desire for peace, De Valera and his young enthusiasts are carrying on a general policy of guerilla warfare and terrorism. No fewer than three hundred and thirty postoffices have recently been broken into and robbed, while the killings have averaged some five or ten a day. Our American crime waves pale before such a display.

Some critics suggest that the Revolutionary Forces are only corner loafers, quite satisfied with things as they are, who refuse to listen to De Valera or Griffith or any one else. Not that De Valera seems much inclined to stop them. His statements to a correspondent of the "Manchester Guardian" are just the opposite. "If the army could save the nation from the calamities bound to follow the acceptance of the treaty I think it justifiable for them to use their strength to that end." Indeed as a last resort "the army may prevent elections which are only the blinds of an alien government." Perhaps the former "president" of the republic has forgotten the "Rump Parliament" and Cromwell the friend of the Irish.