New-York tribune., 1908-03-02
A CORNISH H0MILY.
IN old Faith and the NeIU Social.
ism-Efect on Industries.
st. Ives. February Il

L
tition as the main resource for stimulating ii
dustriaI activity keeping workers employed and
cbeaDening the cost Of living The new social
ISM opening with public ownership of water,
gas, electricity and tramways. has taken an ad-
vanced position commanding a broad survey os
the potentiaI resources OF the state for the re-
distrfbution Of wealth and for improving ths
condition Of the masses II is not easy to oo-
tain clear Views of these complex questions IN
foebound. Influenza breeding London. whsrs
there fs cIatter Of insnccre discussion in West
minister and partisans on each side are tunnblinz
over one another in frenzied eagerness TO prov,
that their party is the only trustworthy instr1I-
rnent for financing social questions and upift-
ing working people. Down here in Cornwall
with the winds blowing in from the Atlantis.
one can rid his mind of economic cant and So
ciaIistic cobwebs and see things as they are.
What has unreguIated competition done for
the historic duchy, the southernnost and west
ernnost county Of old England2 Certainly IL
has not increased the population, which reached
it's maximum half a century ago when Fres
Trade was a new policy There was a marked
decline In 1871. and the downward movement
has continued steadily. the census Of 1901 dis
closing a population about one-haIf that OF the
cftv of Liverpool. The farming districts have
been emptied; the ports have lost their COM
rnerce and been converted into fishing havens;
the mining and quarrying settlements have
shr,1nk and CambOrne. the largest town, has a
population Of less than fifteen thousand brisk
walker tramping from Penzance TO Lands End
and back finds three or four tiny. deserted VII
Iages like ST. Buryan, Semen and St Just in =
1esolate silent country and II he strikes across
the hills the next day for ST Ives he sees at
every turn abandoned pits and disused mining
plants Cornwall. with ancient industries ante
d., vglfr
ages and with the most equable climate in ths
kingdom is one OF the most thinly populated
districts In England
A declining population implies lack OF occu-
patton. and this can hardly be accounted one %
the benefits Of unrestricted imports Free Treds
has not brought in any new industries Colo
MES of painters are supplied with cheap models
in the fishing ports; seTpeDtine ornaments are
carved and penny postcards sold for the bene-
fit of trippers: there are motor ornnloIses on
the main roads: invalids are housed in hotels
and lodgings during the winter. and there are
svarms of summer visitors but these scarcely
attain the dignity Of working industries As
for the oIdtirne occupations. not one OF them
shows signs OF prosperity. Nowhere else IN the
kingdom is agriculture a poorer means OF live
lfbood than in Cornwall. where scanty crops ot
wheat and potatoes are raised and there are few
sheep and cattle, and where truck farming ls
improbable owing 70 the long line OF cornIlunt-
cation with London. The quarrtes are nurne--
GUS with granite. china clay and slate as the
chief output; but here. as in Aberdeen, there
are complaints because English contractors or
der material from Norway and the Continent.
and moderate duty granite Will be de-
rnanded II the tariff retorTners every carry ths
country and upset the fiscal system
There may be a thousand more vork11s1 N
the mines than IN the quarries. but only ere is
employed where four were formerly engaged in
an industry which began $ far back the
Bronze Age Scores OF Cornish mines vers
closed after the discovery OF rich surface de-
posits OF tin IN the Straits Settlements. Aus
tralfa and South America, and skilled miners
went to the colonies and the Transvaal by ths
thousand There have been recent signs q In
provement with the reopening OF the famous
Botallack mine. near the Levant mine. and with
increased activity IN the main mining belt from
Redruth 10 CambOrne. but not more than fourteen
mines highly productive. and these have to
be worked at deep levels and with heavy ex-
pense Smelling has declined because IL has
been found cheaper 10 send the 20 Wales
than to bring coal TO Cornwall and the coast
and hilltops are Uttered with refuse heaps and
rusty stacks OF abandoned mines.
Energy IS not lacking when miners are bur
rowing nearly mile under the Atlantic west
Of St Ives and when ten thousand fishermen
are employed summer and winter IN netting
pichards of Lands End and the Lizard; yet
Cornwall IS one of the least prosperous ard
progressive counties in the kingdom. A long
promontory with copper and Tin stored in layers
of granite and slate, and with coasrlins in
dented with deep bays and safe harbors. it has
declining industries and commerce. and were il
for the shoals of FISH running IN from the
SciIly Islands and for the largess OF natural
beauty and the soft. baIUy breath Of a SUB
tropical climate attract invaIids and trip7ers
It's future would be unprOnsing as its bare,
desolate rnoorlands and hiIlsides- Whether
there has been bad management OF mining
properties. or lack Of adaptabfIty in industrial
enterprise. Cornwall has not prospered n an
era Of unrestricted imports and destructive
competition. Attached as they have been u RS
home soil. its hardy sons have been forced 10
take refuge IN the ends OF the earth from lack
Of occupation and OF opportunity for making
, their way. Those who have been left behind n
the stagnant ports and somnOlent villages have
grown even more skeptcal than the exiles about
the saving grace or the old faith in the fres
market and unreguIated competition
Since Cobdenism has failed 70 make n.
duchy prosperous Is there reasonable ground
for hope in the new socialism a substitute
Can the organized power Of the state be brought
/ TO bear upon the fishermen. mirers. qIlrryrlie1
and agricultural laborers Of Cornwall 50 as 20
improve their fortunes? The promises Of So
cialist agitators and competing politicians are
as brilliant as the gorse. furze and heath ve--
| dure which kindIss blaze Of color IN The moor
land wastes and ledges Of cliff in early spring.
/ s1,..r, 1y>