The Irish standard., 1906-09-22
hthe Future the Farmers Of Ireland Must
=. Not Only @Thiak Nationally" But
- :: :::. ::::. Act AS Well. s.. =.
The Emigration Agent and the Part He Has
Taken Assisting to De-popu1ate
the Country.

! A vigorous writer in the Monaghan
(1reland) People" has been giving very
frank views on the emigration evil. in
the columns Of that paper. From among
the causes to which he attributes the
unnatural flow Of emigration from Ire
land In recent years we quote the fol-
lowing:
Fi4uratively speaking, the Irish Ia
borers are put through a sieve each
year. the good ones being sent away to
enrich another country and the bad
ones. retatned-they are considered
good enough to keep at home. If the
hiring system were abolished the SAINT
process would be gone through, but
with. this difference, that it is the cap
able and useful men would be retained
and the useless ones, If such there
were,:syent AWAY it.would mean the.
survival Of the fittest and their reten-
tion At, home, I have heard farmers
complain OF the fastidiousness Of their
servants. They (the farmers) say that
what was good enough for the family
won't satisfy the hired boys and girls.
Homemade bread is not tasty enough;
shop. bread must be purchased, and
have even heard (although in isolated
cases) that at haymaking time porter
must be provided instead of the whole
some buttermilk.
But who is responsible for the culti-
walton Of these tastes? It is really the
farmers through letting their land go
into grass instead of cropping it more
extensively with human and other food
stuffs. It is, Of course, hardly just to
lay all the blame at the farmers door,
He has been the victim of circum-
stances-famine, bad laws, and cruel
landlord oppression. These terrible
scourges decimated the country and
the marvel is that as a race the Irish
are not long since extinct. In their
survival against these potent enemies
they have taught lesson in patience
and tenacity to all nations. But they
cannot continue to travel in the mar
row groove of fifty years ago and ex-
pect success in the new and promising
era just begun. In England at the
present time we hear of statesmen and
others who think imperially: in Ire
land the farmers must start to think
nationally" And not only think but
act nationally" Those who permit
this to be borne in upon them must
see the utter uselesnsess Of attempt
ing any reforms in Ireland II the cour
try is still afflicted with disconnected
and unsettled laboring class. Don't
condemn the hired servants fastid-
iousness until you have discovered the
reason for it, and then instead Of ag-
grAvating the disease apply a remedy,
for the laborer is the m Ost essential
factor in the nations progress and
prosperity. Millions Of pounds are lost
annually to Ireland because labor is
not more extensively employed. We
import Indian meal. American bacon,
American flour and American food
stuffs Of all descriptions. while Irish
mills are lying derelict for the want of
hands to work them and mouths to
All; the fertile soil Of a magnificent
country Is thrown into unproductive-
7. ness because the greatest export trade
~ have is human beings-the wealth
producers. The closing decades Of the
nineteenth century marked a new
epoch in the system Of land tenure
Ia ireland.
The farmers have been rescued from
the abyss Of despair into which they
had besnS cast, and for them. bright
star Of HOPE Is in the ascendant. But
let not the rescued turn their back.
upoa those who formed a lower
stratum ct the bottom Of that pit Of
hopelessnsps. That the laborer could
= reached 4 WAS necessary to bring
!. 4 u