Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1902-12-25
SQUALOR In IRELAND
VICTIMS OF ALIEN LANDLORDISM
IN THE EMERALD ISLE.
Poverty Of the People Who Dwell on
the Great Dillon Estate-Huts
on the Bog.

Walter Weaman. in the Chicago Record-Herald.
LOUGHGLYNN, Ireland, December t.
Here we have the Irish question in minia-
ture. In an object lesson. This Is the now
famous Dillon estate. 1t extends for miles
In every direction from this place. Lough-
glynn is a typical Irish rural village Only
one street or road, and the rude houses all
facing 1t. few shops for the sale OF
groceries and dry goods, and in almost ev-
cry one a bar. Men and women standing
about talking There are always men and
women gathered in little clusters on the
streets Of Irish villages. Mud in the road
and pigs In the mud. Geese and chickens
thick. Pigs and geese and chickens freely
enter the houses. The doors Of the houses
are open, and the women can be seen at
work therein, occasionally stopping to shoe
out pig or a hen. Men driving or lead
ing cattle along the thoroughfare. Now
and then boy or girl passes with d.
minutive donkey carrying huge hampers OF
peat. Carts are few. Half the people look
as If they had been drinking. The goods
displayed in the humble show windows are
Of the poorest sort-suits of shoddy cloth
ing for Is -shillings. huge rough boots fcr
s shiIlings the pair. There is a post cff1co
and a telegraph office, the latter served
by a single wire. The children playing
comely. The fair-siSinned, red-halred girl
who Just now drives a fat. yenturesome
porker out of the millinery store is
beauty-a beauty with figure and complex
ion glorious and skirts bedraggled.
Lord Dillon's Lands.
All these people live on the Dillon estate,
and have lived here all their lives. The Dill
lon estate comprises $1,000 acres, and two
years ago 1t was bought by the congested
districts board for $1.440.0OO. The first Dill
Ion was sergeant or something under
Cromwell, and this great tract of land was
his reward for valiant participation in the
conquest. As a rule none OF the billions
have lived on their estate. The present
Lord Dillon, 1t Is said, never came to his
Irish seat but twice in all his life, and then
he remained but few hours each time.
Loughgiynn House, the Dillon chateau. Is
grand old mansion, surrounded by beautiful
forests-the only trees. by the way, for miles
around-and near by is a charming lake,
well stocked with fish. No more inviting
place of residence could be imagined. Yet
Lord Dillon has preferred to live in London.
For years he has known nothing about the
progress of affairs on his estate, except by
report from his stewards and baliffs. If his
tenants were starving 1t was all the same to
him. so long as they paid their rents. If the
season-was SO wet they could get no crops to
forthcoming. And the tribute which they
paid him by virtue Of his ancestors service
with Cromwell amounted to an average of
f25,OC0 a year. then 10000 and Of late
about f1S.0O or $4,000 year.
A Plague Spot.
For a long time the Dillon estate has been
one Of the plague spots Of Ireland. It long
ago became a tradition that II famine and
famine fever were about to visit the island
their first dreaded signs were sure to make
themselves known on the Dillon estate. This
is because SO much of the estate is bog land
In recent years the already sad enough lot
Of the 100 tenants has been made worse by
the tendency to set apart the best lands for
pasturage. driving more and more of the
poor people down into the boys. OF the 49,
600 acres about one-half was bog absolute
ly worthless till the labor Of the tenants put
some little value into it. Then some Of the
best lands were let out as farms to favorite
agents or bailiffs, these half dozen holdings
taking up nearly 1000 acres. Again, the rich
lands surrounding Loughglynn House-the
demesne and the wooded plantati lions and the
lake-took up 1900 acres more Not more
than $1,000 acres were left for $500 tenants,
or an average Of about ten acres per fami-
ly. At last came the era Of cattle raising,
and then most OF the good lands the tenants
had held up to then were taken away from
them. The result was that three years ago
a majority of all the tenants paid less than
$40 a year rent because their holdings were
SO small. and nearly three-fourths Of the
able-bodied men were forced to go away to
England or Scotland every summer to earn
enough money to keep their families from
starvation. Fully five-sixths of the people
kept the cattle in the houses occupied by
themselves and their children.
Measures Of Relief.
Such an accumulation and concentration of
wretchedness was all this that the state,
through the congested districts board.
stepped in and bought out Lord Dillon. That
was three and half years ago. and from
that day to this the board has been trying to
do something to uplift these people. Its
agents, Chief Inspector Doran and his prin-
clpal assistant. Mr.. Edmonds, have labored
night and day to bring about better condi-
TONS They are satisfied, and have a right
to feel satisfied. with the progress they have
made. But what must have been the state
of things before they began their work of
rehabilitation?