Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1892-06-09
PUBLIC OPINION.
AN IRISH POINT AND moral

AN IRISH POINT AND MORAL.
New York Tribune.
A curious and instructive book ha
recently been published on stale sub
ject. The author is an Englishman whC
inherited an estate in Ireland and de
termined to take possession of it, to live
as the tenants do and to make an ex-
haustive study of the condition of the
peasantry. He bought the furniture
and interest of one of his tenants, per-
sonally managed small farm with a
flock of sheep, dressed like the peasants
in coarse tweed and hobnailed brogues,
and travelled about the island with
horny hands and the air of being one of
the people. A protracted residence in
the island under these conditions en-
abled him to fill notch book with fresh
and familiar observations of the manner
of life of tenant farmers and laborers
The book is entitled. "The Irish
Peasant" and it is singularly free from
partisan bias and political prejudice.
One of the authors points we are
anxious to single out because there is a
political moral for Americans, and es-
pecially for Irish Americans, which may
be drawn from it. This relates to the
clothing of the people. He states that
in out-of- -the-way places frieze and
o1A af 70 a&,,
yet worn by the men, and blue cloth
cloaks by the older women; but with
most Of the peasantry shoddy and cheap
inery have supplanted the warm and
durable woolens formerly in use. While
it is not true that the Irish people are
always in rags, as they are commonly
represented, the English-made clothes
seen throughout the island are of the
vilest shoddy. Although efforts have
been made during late years to extend
the manufacture of Irish woolens, COM
petition with the cheap English shoddies
is impracticable. Hence, remarks the
author, "many people in Ireland think
that protective duties ought to be levied
on such fabrics" While it is not con-
sidered prudent to say much about Pro-
lection at present, it is conceded in this
volume that the movement in favor of
it is gaining ground, and that sooner or
later demand for it will arise from the
working classes, many of whom are
thrown out of employment by the cheap
uess of English goods. Woolens, poplin
and tabinet were once largely manu-
factured in the island, but the industries
have declined through competition rom
Manchester. Dublin was once a great
centre of the boot and shoe trade, but
that industry also has been destroyed by
the introduction of cheap English made
goods. The people have the best facili-
ties for buying the poorest grades of
shoddy clothing manufactured in Eng
land, but they have no employment at
home, no industries except potato plant
ing in the bog and cattle herding in poor
pastures.
When political party in the United
States is striving to Overturn the Pro-
tective system in order to facilitate the
introduction of English shoddy clothing
for the working people, this truthful
account of the condition of the Irish
peasantry will bear critical examination.
III cheap clothing were the sole require
ment for the promotion of working
peoples interests ireland would be to-
day a prosperous country. 1t has the
worst shoddy goods made in England
and the prices defy home competition.
But while clothing is cheap, there is no
employment. Manufacturing industries
can not exist under the pressure of
English competition. The people are
forced back upon the land and driven
by starvation to emigrate to America.
These are facts which Irish American
citizens ought not to forget when they
are asked to support the Democratic
party in campaign directed against
home industries The sorry experience
of their own unhappy island ought to
suffice to convince them that other
things are more essential to the welfare
of working people than the importation
of shoddy clothing, With the necessity
of Protection frankly conceded by their
own people in Ireland, how anomalous
Il Is for them to be supporting the Eng