La Junta tribune., 1908-12-26
FROM FOREIGN CLIMEs
ova seso,AL EUROPEAN ceaaEssonpEnr
By R. W. PATTERSON

Steamship Celtic. White Star Line,
655 miles from Queenstown. Nov.
9Th. 1905.
l desire to write concerning 'he
conditions lin Ireland and the out
look for the future of Ireland. The
mass Of the Irish people are poor
and their condition Is pitiable. They
have little aml liition. neither make
money nor save 1t, and while many
work hard and steady. many more
work as they feel like it and do a
good deal of resting. They are a
happy. .go-lucky sort of people, SO to
speak. Notwithstanding their hard
lot, they enjoy life, are merry and
look upon the cheerful side OF life.
ireland Is a beautiful country, fer
tile, productive and possesses a
good climate and the people who in
habit 1t should be a happy, strong
and prosperous people. The diffii-
culties Of the Irish people are not
numerous but they are they are great
difficulties. The first OF these is
the landlord; the second is whiskey;
the third is religious prejudice and
superstition. The other two which
l will name are rather the result of
the first three-poverty and ignor-
ance. Out Of all these have grown
of ambition and a high, earnest ideal
Of life.
tot NJ ireland ffS q sad
one. 1t Is a history OF wars, strife,
conquest and oppression. The
Danes were her conQuerors. then came
the Norman, then the English and
the turmoil OF internal strife. as well
as the civil wars and foreign wars
waged by the English Her lands
were parceled out among the nobility.
the generals and the great men. who
had devastated the country. as
legitimate plunder or reward for
allegiance and service. Thus the
people themselves were never recog-
nized as having any title to the
lands OF their own country, but
were reduced TO serfs and tenants
The great landowners had no tn
terest In the welfare of the Irish
They leased the lands to the Irish
people upon hard terms. high rents
enforced by iron. merciless laws
: The Irishman was thus deprived Of
his .irthright. had to submit to the
/, conditions imposed and had little
or no voice. either in his own
avocation and the labor OF his body
or In the government Of his country.
Naturally enough, he lost interest
IN his country. ambition for him
self and became a reckless, discon-
tented and lawless people. will
not say citizen; for he was not a
citizen. will scarcely say subject;
for he was not a subject, but slave
and serf Much of what the Irish
man Is is the result OF this condi-
tion of affairs. AS the greater part
OF the great estates were held by
the English and by those Irish land
owners. who were the loyal subjects
OF England and beneficiaries Of this
regime, then naturally grew an In:
tctcidtC n0ki tOWoAoo NhC A|heach
and the English government, hatred
that the world has never witnessed
more bitter. deeper seated or more
relentless. The Irishman was dis
contented. He did nothing for him
self-he had little motive to do for
himself: but he hated and cursed
continually England, the English
people, the English Government and
was ready to rejoice at England's dis
I asters and defeats and even to join
5Nner enemies and bear arms against
1 the government under which he lived
Whiskey is the present curse of
\1ref nd A large proportion OF the
Irish, both men and women drink
whiskey to excess. They drink I'm
til they are drunk. Almost the whole
Irish people drink whiskey. Whis
key robs them of their money, clothe
them with rags, consigns them to the
meanest novels. where they must
live with their wives and their little
ones. Whiskey robs them Of am
bitiion: of their highest moral quail
ties, makes spandthrifts. weakens
the intellect and reduces them to
the level of the brute.
As was riding to Kings Mill,
from which place my ancestors came
one hundred years ago, passed
a beautiful farm. pretty farm house
good out-buildings, an elegant lawn
shrubs and flowers.-everything in
order and cleanly. called the at
tention Of nx driver to thebeauti-
full place. He told me that the man