Sullivan republican. [volume] (Laporte, Pa.) 1883-1896, 1891-04-03
AN EVICTION FIGHT.
BY LUKE SHARP.

AAAo 40 thO oeoAy Va Lilc uOuSe Vi
glnley, its building and its wreck.
A the present moment Maginley him.
self is in Montana. He made his money
in Australia and then came home to Ire.
land and foolishly built house on land.
lords estate. 1t was built where labor
and material were cheap. Stones cost
next to nothing; in fact, the land around
produced little else, and so Maginley spent
$500 in building nice two-story house
with slate roof upon it.
Maginley was in America. Times were
bad. His boys had not been able to
make any money in the Scottish harvest
fields. They wanted an abatement of the
rent, but that the landlord refused to
grant. The money was subscribed and
was offered to the evictors by the priest
of the parish, the celebrated FIR. Mac
Fadden. 1t was refused AS being offered
too late, and the command was given
that the eviction must proceed. l ar
rived on the ground just at the end OF
these negotiations. The police refused
to allow me to pass down the road near
the house to be attacked so strucl.
across the fields, keeping on the outside
of the police cordon-threatened every
now and then when l approached too
near that line-and at last took up a DO
sition on the hillside, just outside the
line of policemen and facing the end of
the house where could see what was
going ON on both sides of it.
/ will now mention little incident
which, although trivial in itself, goes to
account for the hatred with which the
police are regarded in Ireland. When l
took up my position as near to the out
side line as was permitted, the police
man near where l stood thought it would
be the correct thing to stand in front of
me so that could not see what was go
ing on. Imoved up the hin little and
ne moved up in front of me. ! moved
down and he again moved down in front
of me.
81 don't think you have any right to
do that" said.
"You move op," was his answer.
My own impulse at the moment was to
hit the man across the face with my UNI
brella, but l realized the futility of do
ing this to man armed with u rifle, so
| called to an officer, who was standing
near by, inside the Gordon.
"You cannot get inside" said the Of
ficer, anticipating the question that was
usually asked him.
II do not want to go inside,"I said,
"but l want to know if it is any part of
this mans duty to obstruct my view of
what is going on2"
"Not at all, was the answer of the
officer. Then addressing the man he or
dered him to keep his place and had
no more trouble with that man. The fact
is the police are over-zealous in their du-
ties and get themselves disliked-not to
put it too strongly.
Although there were so many people
around the line kept by the police the ST.
lence was most intense. The house
showed no signs of having anybody in it,
yet everybody knew that a number of
young men were locked inside and were
going to defend the place as long as
they were able.
Here certain comic element was in
troduced. One of the officers of the
constabulary looked as if he had just
come off the Savoy Theatre stage after
playing the part of an officer in the
''Pirates of Penzance." He was fine
looking man with heavy mustache and
he had one eyeglass stuck in his eye.
This, which doesn't look at all bad on
Piccadilly, seems rather comical out in
the wilds of Donegal. He strobe into
the open space before the house and
with his one eyeglass cast look up and
down the house as if judging the best
place to attack. Then he walked few
steps further with that pompous STACEY
air of his and again glanced up and
down that house. Finally he walked
down to the other corner and gave the
same glance. 1t looked rather ridicu-
lous when you remember that only
five boys were in that house and this of
fcer had at least $50 armed policemen
at his back. Nevertheless he examined
the house as critically as if Napoleon
were defending it ,'and the Old Guard that
might die but never surrendered were
going to take part in the conflict. Wher
no stood back man with crowbar ad
vanced to the corner OF the house anC
drove his crowbar in between the stones
At the same instant appeared the head
and shoulders of man from out one o.
the second story windows. He had
stone in his hand and he flung it with |