River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1880-07-01
TALK WITH IMMIGRANTS.
An Irishman's story of Perverted
Charity What was Told ofa Priest
In Mayo Countrywide Spain's ship
Load of Human Beings.

Charity--Wh was Told ofa Priest
in Mayo COunty--The Spain's ship
Load of Human Beings.
New York Times
Castle Garden does not often present
such scene was witnessed there
Sunday. Fourteen hundred persons,
representing the very poorest classes of
German, Welsh and Irish immigrants,
who were unloaded from the steamship
Spain, sweltered in the afternoon sun
within the enclosure wondering what
kind of place New York was, and
whether all the poor people of the city
were packed up in cattle-pens, such as
those that surround the new arrivals,
hedging them in from the gaze of the
vulgar mob The most touching fea-
ture of this remarkable picture of real
life was that presented by the little chill
dren, who, in the language of Elizabeth
Barrett Browning, were resting their
young heads against then mothers"
and sobbing sorrowfully under the
stress of fatigue. One beautiful girl of
ten or twelve years was the center of
a German family group, and appeared
to be the life of her faded companions.
L
from her cheeks. The party informed
the reporter that they were going to
Chicago, where they have wealthy
friends who will assist them. Other
German immigrants expressed their in
tention of going west and settling on
farms About 300of the arrivals are
Welsh, and they, too, are going west
ward. They appeared to be well posted
concerning the real condition of things
in the anthracite coal region, where
they have many friends, and
talked as though they had
horror of going there. A man
named Jones, who appeared to
be a sort of leader, said the Welsh
must give up the notion of going in
great numbers to the coal mines. From
what he had read and heard, he said, of
Scranton and Schuylkill, the people had
hard times of it struggling along, and it
would be madness to add to their misery
by going there to make labor cheaper
and increase the scramble for bread
and butter. A great many of the i'm
migrants were Irish, and they appeared
to be the most wretehed and detected.
They, too, were going west, at least the
greater part of them, with a view of set
Ting on farms. A number of them
came from Donegal. Many spoke in
discouraging terms of the practical ben
efits of the Relief committee. A man
who said he was from Foxford, in the
county of Mayo, spoke enthusiastically
of what America had done to alleviate
the awful distress of the poor, but told
the story of the misapprehension of the
charity by local relief managers, who
he said used it to make themselves
rich. He was exceedingly bitter in de-
nouncing a priest, who, he said, was
using the relief money for the benefit
of himself and relatives. The reporter
asked the man if he was a Catholic, and
he replied that he was, but he had no
patience when he saw how Father Mike
O'Donnell was acting. When he came
among us first, he said, eve all had to
subscribe to buy him a horse, that he
might be able to carry spiritual consol-
alton to his parishioners, and now he
owns a stock farm while the people are
starving. Why, sir" added the indig
nant Immigrant, lit was only day
before left home that this same priest
bought forty bullocks and put them ON
a farm that he purchased for little or
nothing from the agent, who
had rack-rented poor family that
lived on it until they could
not pay any more, and were put out.
An instance of this priests conduct is
shown in how he handled the seed po-
tatoes that the land league sent him.
He stored the potatoes in the chapel,
and during the night gave them away
to his own personal friends and relatives.
When the people learned that they
were all gone they were very indignant,
and raised a hullabuloo about it, but
that was all the good it did them.
The Protestant minister, Mr.. jackson,
went to him and asked why he had
desecrated the house of God by making
it storehouse for his favorites, but no
satisfaction was given; the potatoes had
disappeared during the night, and that's
all there was of it." This man spoke
very highly of Mr. Jackson, the Protes-
tant pastor of the parish, and said that
all the Catholic people loved and rever-
ed him. That's So" said another
frieze-coated immigrant, who stood by,
land he deserves every bit of it."
II don't know what's coming over
the priests at home, at all sir" said the
first speaker sorrowfully. Education
spoils them. They come out of college
proud and naughty, and they domineer
over their flocks, using the poor people
like dumb animals to enrich their rela-
tives. The intelligent people generally
rebel against it. and, as a rule, they are
punished severely and denounced as
dogs for daring to protest against
wrong | leave a wife and six children
at home, sir, and a father and mother
who depend on me for support. "And,"
he added, his eyes filling with tears,
II know they can't get bit
of relief until | send it to them. God
bless the Duchess of Marlborough and
the people Of America for what they
are doing to save the starving people,
but they ought to see that somebody be-
sides the priests have the distribution of
the fund IN Mayo, where there IL the
greatest distress. The people are glad
to get half a plate of stirabout once
day, but some of the committees who
have the distribution are so avaricious
as to rob charity of its worth" This
man spoke very earnestly, and frequent
ly expressed wish that the newspapers
might take notice of the matter, and
wake up the priests to sense of their
duty and responsibility in the great en-
ergency. He said that the greatest
distress in the famine districts would be
felt from this time forward until the LIST
of September A good many of the
people were so very poor that they ac-
tually sold the seed potatoes given them
by the Land League to put in the
ground, and in good many places let
their farms go mcultivated for this rea-
son alone, so that when the crops are in
they won't amount to much. Several
of the immigrants thought the worst
features of the Irish famine had not
yet been witnessed, while they were all