The daily morning journal and courier., 1904-04-11
IN INTEREST OF IRELAND.
ENTHUSIASTIC MEETING HELD
 AT WARNER HALL.

Eloquent Addresses by Professor Pat
 rick J. Hannon of Ireland and the
 Hon. DanieI F. cohoIan of New York
 Great Work Being Carried on in h.
 creasing Industrial Persuits and Edu-
 cational Interests-Address by Ate
 tovnies Piggott and Sullivan.
 There was a representative gathering of the Irish American business men of this city at Warner hall last evening to listen to several eminent speakers on the topic of the advancement and bet terment of the existing conditions in Ireland. The principal speaker of the evening was Prof. Patrick J. Hannon, who is one of the prime movers for re- form in Ireland and who comes to this country solely for the purpose of inter- esting Irish-Americans in the work which is being carried on in ''the old country" MT. Hannon is a speaker of ability and his remarks were listened to with care and attention, he being loudly applauded when he concluded his address.
 MT Harmon gave review of the hardships which the Irish race had had to contend with and the attempts which are now being made, and which have already met with great success, to com bat existing evils. One of the greatest hardships which is encountered by the poorer classes is the curse of having to borrow money at times in order to exist. He cited as an example a case which had come to his notice, among many others He said he knew a labor CT who borrowed ten pounds of a money lender and that at the end of six years. owing to illness, the farmer was unable to pay the interest on time. The lender attached his little home and brought the matter to the courts. It was there shown that during the six years that the farmer had had the money he had paid 47 pounds in interest money on the ten pounds he had borrowed. The speaker cited this as an example of one of the reasons why the Industrial league which he represented had been formed.
 The league has now formed a series of cooperative loan associations in va |rious parts os Ireland where a pcor man can borrow sum of money for a worthy purpose, and the interest on this is only one penny per pound a month. He said that the plan was one which appealed to the honesty of the borrower and that up to the time of his leaving home there had not been one cent lost by the organization. The speaker said that this was, a pretty clear banking record when it was to be taken into consideration that the so- ciety had been in existence for nine years.
 The speaker referred to the great hardship which emigration was working on the mother country. He said that statistics showed that over 4O000 resi- dents of Ireland were coming to this country every year and that this was rehbing Ireland Of her young blood Said the speaker, "The statistics of last year show that 40,4O1 emigrants came to this country from Ireland last year. Seyenty-nine per cent. ranged in age from IS to 25 years, and eight-two per cent were either entered on the books as laborers or servants" MT. Hannon said that this showed the great need of building up the industrial interests of Ireland so that they would stay at home. This the speaker gave as the great work which the society had hopes of accomplishing.
 The society forms branches in various parts of Ireland and starts industrial pursuits which will give the denizens 8 chance to remain at home and have