1 12. Boulevard des Capucines Paris, le 6 July 1920 J.C. WALSH Esq. Confidential. Dear Walsh, a certain amount of harm is being done to Irish sym-
pathies in France by the constant attacks, direct and indirect,
on France in the Catholic and the Irish press of America. I do
not think I can do better than go to you in the matter, as you
are so much in touch with this press and America is alleged
to be not the least of the offenders. The French Catholics,
of whom the more wide-awake are by no means ignorant of what is
said in the American Catholic papers and in fact scan these
papers closely, put down the attacks on France to German in-
fluences in the States, with which they say our people are allied.
I want in the first place, to ask you to let those concerned
know with what close interest they are watched here and the
bad effect, from the point of view of Franco-Irish relations,
of the attitude in question, tho' I fancy it is rather ex-
aggerated by my French friends; in the second place, to tell
you that since Clemenceau fell the best Catholic opinion here
has dropped its aloofness from Ireland and became very friend-
ly; I refer to the directors of general Catholic opinion who
for a long time were shy of Ireland, partly because we were in
the way of French amity with England (which is now happily at
a discount) and partly because Sinn Féin was regarded as an
Irish variety of Bolshevism; thirdly, I submit that we are en-
titled to remember how basely Germany behaved towards the men
of Easterweek and how consistently the German authorities have
for many months now been kowtowing to England and seeking to
curry favour with her; I do not myself think there is at
present any chance of a rapprochement in Europe between Eire
and Deutschland, however friendly to two races may be in the
States; fourthly, France is a traditional ally of ours and one whom
the English are stupidly losing no opportunity of alienating,
tho' had John Bull behaved himself he could have had these
people as warm allies, for they were grateful to him and friend-
ly after the armistice and he has thrown that advantage away;
France is becoming more and more friendly to us and I think that
that friendship is capable of considerable development and that
it may be very useful hereafter, if properly cultivated.
Lastly, 2 if you in America take the view so sedulously propagated by the
Cocoa press in England to the effect that France has shown her-
self to be out for grab and imperialism, I wd ask for a little
reconsideration of that matter; the American politician and man
of letters who came here in his hundreds in the spring of 1919
saw only the official, Clemencist France, which was sold to
England, and the sight did not inspire him; but, at that time,
the press was severely censored and French public men gener-
ally were floundering in the conflicting eddies of post-war
international politics; it was difficult for them to orientate
themselves and those who saw clear were silenced; since then
there has been a complete change in public opinion and no one
has a good word for Clemenceau; it is a pity that the two
great countries which hate England do not love and do not in
the least understand one another. I do not think it is realised
in America that the French are now but slowly recovering from
the stunning effects of a trial which was too great an ordeal
for them; I do not think it is realised that a country which
has gone thro' the horrors of German invasion as this land
has must naturally view the future thro' rather grey spec-
tacles; France is afraid of another invasion and when that
invasion comes looks to England to come to the rescue ; being
under that dread apprehension she cannot do otherwise than
look to England as things stand now, for Italy does not count,
Germany cannot yet be conciliated in the teeth of a popular
opinion (natural after such a war) and America is a long way
off and wd look coldly a shily on any new European ad-
venture. Again, it is essential to France to recover what
she can from Germany by way of indemnities, for she is broken
without this reparation and no one supposes that Germany is
going to pay if she can help it; I am not discussing the
question whether she is being asked for too much, but on
every principle of justice it is clear that she has some com-
pensation - and that of a considerable amount - to make;
here again France is obliged as things stand to look at Eng-
land; so that, hating England's universal grah, as she does,
and her constant encroachments, she feels herself forced to
put up with the kicks for the sake of the expected halfpence.
Whether she looks at the matter from the standpoint of
security or from the standpoint of reparation, she must to a
great extent lean on England; and America could have pre-
vented this result. I write in haste just to suggest a line of thought
that recognises the terrible plight this country is in and
involves the making of allowances for her attitude and to
emphasise the value, as I see it, of amity with France, even
at the expense of cordial relations with the Germans who
have no cordiality for Ireland. If these views are well
founded, it is time our Irish and Catholic press in the U.S.
and elsewhere adopted at least a more circuspect attitude
in dealing with this country; if you agree, and if you concur
in thinking that the evil effects now being produced here are
to be deplored, perhaps you will forgive this long screed and
say a word or two in season in the proper quarters. With kindest regards, I am very sincerely yours, G. Gavan Duffy