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Show anuTioNM ERIN BETTER Barnes Declares Hands of Griffith and Collins Are Greatly Strengthened. By oKORf.l. BARNI s Brltlsli Purluniji-nt IaJer Special N Irelesus tu Tlu. Standord-ExamliK Standord-ExamliK r Copyright, 3!'22I by The Standard-Examiner) Standard-Examiner) LONDON, April 20 The Irish situation sit-uation shows noticeable improvement. The elections definitely are called for 'the beginning of .lune. The will of the people then will be ,jresscd. It ; remains to be seen whether the "gun men" will dofy, a the are thrcaten-I thrcaten-I ing. that will and try to prevent its execution. ex-ecution. It must be remembered, however, that tho elections will arm the pro- ' . visional government with a prop, r I Constitutional mandate tinder which lr can mako short work of tho malignant malig-nant conspiracy of violence which Ireland Ire-land has had to enduro for months The improvement throughout week eon directly be attributed to the courage of Arthur Griffith and Michael Mich-ael CollliiM. The former at Sligp and 'the latter at Rillarney took tbeli In their hands, but their courage a way for them and greatly slrangth-j ..nod Ih.-.lr authority, EVEN OPPOSE PLoI'IjK The efforts of the archbishop of Dublin and the lord mayor to force a truco. between tho warring elements utterly failed because the radicals demanded de-manded establishment of an Irish republic re-public even against the wishes of tho Irish people. This wa.s the position of affairs when Collins went to Kllhtr-ney. Kllhtr-ney. Although It wn in possession of the Irregulars who had blocked th turnpike and torn up tin railway, Collins Col-lins overcoming these obstacles, faced the armed men contemptuously and nde his voice heard. Griffith at Sll-go Sll-go defied the trouble makers. j The one-day strike called fu a pro test against military aggression was satisfactory to this originators. Except for hospital and humane services, , work ceaaed oomjletelj In the south I counties and many of the public offices offi-ces .Including those In Dublin, closed. All sorts of people took udvantago of the opportunity to make common cause with labor against the gun men. lit was a far different celebration than I had been contemplated by the extremists. extrem-ists. Southern Ireland was Isolated Tor a day It was a heay price to pay. j However,. tho gain may be worth tho I price, for the poverty of the opposition opposi-tion to the treaty stood revealed aa against the overwhelming body of Irish opinion in its favor. It wtus not a strike against the provisional government, gov-ernment, but rather a strike to demand de-mand sueh a government and to encourage en-courage it. It will assist Griffith and Collins to continue to assert themselves.. Sympathy with the object of the stoppage has been recorded In resolutions resolu-tions adopted by rate-payers' assocla- tlons, chambers of Commerce, farmers' j organizations and other unions as well l as by tho corporation of Dublin. The lord mayor of Dublin had Indeed lead himself Into untjalfled condemnation for 'bullies of the night " He was supported by a Mk demonstration which is tobe follow d by another for tho coming week The, Dall now Is resuming Its sittings and theso proceedings, past and present, pres-ent, must have a far-reaching effect ' unon tho deliberations of that body. Tho salutary effect of the ebbullltlon ! of public opinion indeed already has i been c vnlene. d by the prompt arre-t I In Athlone of the officer and twenty men alleged to be concerned In last ; Tuesday's murder of the commander I Of the Free State force;. oo |