The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1904-01-09
HARD TINES IN IRELAND.
Depression in Business and Many Said
to be Starving.

Depression in Business and Many Said
to be Starving.
The Dublin Independent of Deem
Der 10Th publishes the following:
'"The distress in the city is simply
appalling" That was what our rep
resentative was told yesterday in every
quarter that he visited in quest of in
formation bearing on the condition OF
the starving unemployed in Dublin
North and south the tale is the same
no food, no clothing, no fire. The
want that prevails in Dublin this pres
ent moment, and has, unfortunately
prevailed for some time past, is really
awful. This unhappy state of things is
principally due to the unprecedented
dearth OF employment for skilled and
unskilled laborers. The building trade
is at standstill, and all work carried
on in the open air has been suspended
owing to the recent extremely inclem-
ent weather. Business generally in
the shops in Dublin was never known
to be duller. You will be told that
by anyone interested in business in the
city. This slackness in trade has pre-
vailed for some months past-through
miserably wet summer and autumn
and those alterations and improve
ments and extensions that are usually
carried OH in many premises about this
time have not been entered on. "Odd
jobs" have been the exception rather
than the rule, as tradesmen too we'll
know, and the calls on the resources
of business people for this and that
benevolent and charitable object have
been SO great and so many that NUM-
bers of them will tell you that they
cannot respond to such appeals with
out making some provision, and they
fear they can only do that by discharg
ing some of their employees and devot-
ing the wages they paid these en-
ployes-during dreadfully dull per-
iod-to meeting the calls OF charity.
A few cases of the general abject
poverty and distress existing in Dub
lin at present that were brought under
the writer's notice will serve to show
the condition in which hundreds and
hundreds of our poorer fellow citi-
zens are living out their unhappy lives.
In room in the house of a place
near Capel street are two families
nine persons in ALL One family con-
sists of widow, a consumptive daugh-s
ter OF eighteen, and two children. The
other family consists OF an aged dying
mother her married daughter, the lat
tcr's husband (out of worll), and two
children. The widow with the con-
sumptive daughter is laundress, and
was engaged up to fortnight ago.
She is a good Woodworking woman,
and found it necessary to stay at home
to nurse one OF her children little
boy suffering from croup-her daugh-
ter being unable to do anything. Pre-
vious to that she had been sharing her
earnings with the other family. The
out-of-work husband, be it said to his
|
ment, but up to the present has not
got anything to do. When visited by
the gentleman who gave this informa
ton to the writer, the poor people,
who had been suffering in silence in
the dark, dismal room, were on the
verge OF starvation. Every article Of
clothing had been pawned. A little tea
and bread had been "lent" by kindly
neighbors, and this, making one meal
a day, was all these unfortunate crea-
lures had to subsist on for days. They
would not beg, and three deaths will
probably result from the privation.
i An instance of how those in need
help each other is given in case
brought to notice in tenement house
i'll street near the Meath hospital,
where a lace maker, once able to COM
nland good prices for her work, kept
three families living in the same house
from absolute starvation. One of the
, bread-winners of one of these families
is Diapers assistant, who was re-
Gently discharged owing to dizziness in
business. The second family is with
out father. Two of the girls were
engaged in local factory that has
!, closed down, and in the third family,
related to the second, the old father,
carpenter, is out of work, and no
longer in receipt of his society money
Some months ago when the lace-mak-
er, who lives alone, was very serious
ly i'll she was nursed back to, health by
members of the families whom she
, now on very small pittance provided
I with only just enough to satisfy the
; pangs OF hunger. The St. Vincent de
, Paul society has taken this case in
: hands.
Just one other instance. In the tor
back room of "a dilapidated tenement
a man, his wife and children, and his
old mother lived together. He hac
been out of employment for sever
! months; everything had been pawned
l including the bed, in order to provide
. food. When visited by a member O
Et!le st. Vincent de Paul society the
libody Of the poor old mother lay or
4 tthe bare boards covered by a shee
l - 80