The Montgomery advertiser. [volume] (Montgomery, Ala.) 1885-1982, 1903-01-11
soUALoR I'M IRELAND.


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! Emerald Isle.
Walter wellman in Chicago Herald, from
LOughlynn. ireland.
iature. In an object lesson. This IL the
now famous Dillon estate. II extends
for miles In every direction from this
place. Loughlynn IL typical Irish rural
the rude houses ali facing it. A few
shops for the sale Of groceries and dry
goods. and In almost every one a bar.
Men and women standing about talking.
There are always men and women gath
cred 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 OF a hen. Men driving or leading
cattle along the thoroughfare. Now and
then boy or girl passes with q diminu-
tive donkey carrying huge hampers OF
look as IL they had been drinking. The
goods displayed In the humble show win
dows are Of the poorest sort--suits OF
shoddy clothing for 10 shillings, huge
rough boots for 5 shihngs the pair. There
Is postofice and telegraph ONCE, the
latter served by q single wire. The chill
dren playing about the streets are rag
ged, but polite and comedy. The fair
skinned. red-haired girl. who just now
drives a fat, venturssome poker out of
the millinery store. is beauty--a beauty
with figure and complexion glorious and
skirts bedraggled.
Lord billions Lands.
All these people live on the Dillon es-
tate. and have lived there all their lives.
The Dillon estate comprises $500 acres.
and two years ago II was bought by the
congested districts board for A,440.O00.
The first Dillon was q sergeant or some
thing under Cromwell, and this great
tract OF land was his reward for valiant
none Of the Dillons have lived on their
estate. The present Lord Dillon, 1t 10 said.
never came to his Irish seat but twice in
all his life. and then he remained but
few hours each time. Loughglynn House,
the Dillon chateau, Ia grand old man
sion, 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 invit-
ing place of residence could be imagined.
Yet Lord Dillon has preferred to live in
London. For years he has known moth
ing about the progress OF affairs on his
estate, except by report from his stew
ards and bailiffs. II his tenants were
starving. 1t was all the same to him. so
long as they paid their rents. II the sea-
son was 30 wet they could set no crops
to him It did not matter, " only the rents
were forthcoming. And the tribute which
service with Cromwell amounted to an
average of $1,000 pounds 9 year. then $4,000
pounds and Of late about 1900 or 1900
A Plague spot.
For q long time the Dillon estate has
been one OF the plague spots Of Ireland.
It long became Q tradition that II famine
and famine fever were about to visat the
island their first dreaded signs were sure
to make themselves known on the Dillon
estate. This Ia because so much OF the
estate 10 bog land. In recent years the
already sad enough lot OF the AGO ten
ants has been made worse by the tend
ENJOY to set apart the best lands for pas
turage, driving more and more OF the
poor people down into the boys. OF the
So, 900 acres about one-haIf was bog, abb
soiutely worthless till the labor Of the
tenants put some little value into II. Then
some of the best lands were let out as
farms to fayorite bailiffs, these half dozen
holdings taking UP nearly 1000 acres.
Again, the rich lands surrounding Lough-
glynn House-the demesne and the wood
ed plantations and the la1Ee-took up 1900
acres more. Not more than 1900 acres
were left for 1850 tenants, or an average
of about ten acres per family. 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 $50 a year rent, because their
holdings were so small, and nearly three
fourths of the able-bodied men were
forced to 90 away to England or Scotland
every summer to earn enough money
to keep their families from starvation.
Fully fve-sixths OF the people kept the
cattle in the houses occupied by them
selves and. their children.
Measures Of Relief.
Such an accumulation and concentra-
ton Of wrethedness was all this that the
State, through the congested districts
board, stepped in ard bought out Lord
Dillon. That was three and nalf years
GO and from that day to this the board
has been trying to do something to uplift
these people. It's agents. Chief Inspector
Doran and bis principal assistant, Mr..
Edmonds, have labored night and day to
bring about better conditions. They are
satisfied and have a right to feel salts
fed with the progress they have made.
But what must have been the state OF
things before they began their work Of
A system regulator is a medicine that
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