The Spark

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THE SPARK KEEP THE FIRES OF THE NATION BURNING (C. S. PARNELL) Edited by Ed. DALTON Vol. III. No. 64 DUBLIN, SUNDAY, APRIL 23, 1916 PRICE ONE HALFPENNY RECRUITING ADS. Someone said once that there were three degrees of falsehoods, namely lies, damn lies and—Statistics, I now suggest the fourth degree—Recruiting posters. In the early stages of the war, and against Kitchener's wishes, it was decided by the Lawyer Cabinet of England, to employ a professional advertising agent to draft appeals for recruits and to engraving superintend the advertising campaign. Now, as Jerome K. J. Jerome, will bear witness, an advertising agent for a patent medicine is capable of convincing you that you are affected with every disease under the sun excepting only "Housemaid's knee." So, too, an advertising agent for a "distressful" Empire is capable of arguing that the said Empire is everything that it is not and that its motives are, what they never were and never will be. As I said previously in this paper I am not opposed to recruiting, but I am opposed and will continue opposed to lies, damned lies, and Le Bas' posters. Why cannot the English Cabinet put their lawyer heads together and bring in Redmond, Devlin, Nugent, and K.A.A., and say qut straight "The Empire (England) is in danger, aud unless Irishmen come to its aid it will be burst, flattened out, and spit upon." That would make an honest poster, and I for one would not say even a single word against it. But instead of this straightforward and truthful statement of the position of affairs we have a fellow with the penny-horrible- villian name of Le Bas coming along and covering the Bank of Ireland (Ye Olde House) and Shortal's hoarding at Whitefriars Street Priory with a series of the most outrageous and contemptible falsehoods that ever earned the scorn of thoughtful men. I don't altogether blame Le Bas, he is an advertising agent solely; he isn't like Kevin Kenny, a Catholic young man a "Nationalis," but I blame the English Cabinet, the lawyer tricksters, Asquith, George, etc., the Marconi heroes, who are much influenced by high ideals in their present attitude as is Satan himself. The O'Connor Don writes as follows in the "Irish Times" of March 14th :— "Shortly after the outbreak of war the country was placarded, and is still placarded, with notices to the following effect : 'Join an Irish regiment today, and your dependents will be well provided for.' It was rightly felt that provision for dependents was absolutely necessary to ensure good recruiting. A very large number of young Irishmen enlisted, and I am afraid that a great many were surprised to find that the above promise to provide for their dependents has been very inadequately kept." And in the "Sunday Times" of February 27th, Sir Frederick Milner writes :— "Ever since the war began I have given up my whole life to trying to get justice for these heroes (the wounded English soldiers.) It has been the most heart breaking task a man ever undertoo…