Omaha daily bee., 1908-09-20
NOAID FOR The POLICE
Irish Peasantry Do Not sympathize
with 0ficers.
MARKED DECREASE IN CRIME
Reports Just Made Show Irish Are
Most Law-Abiding.
SHOWER BATH FOR TRAMPs
Workhouse Fitted with Apparatus to
Discourage Wanderers.
RELICS OF DAYS LONG GONE BY
Recently Made Antiquarian DiscOv-
cries Relate Back TO at Least
the Fourth Century Before
Christian Era.

of the low pass to which the public respect
for law has been brought in ireland by its
maiadminstration by the British authori-
ties is provided by an incident in County
Longford last week. A man named Nc
Nally met a farmer named McKenna in
the road and shot him down in cold blood.
There was not the slightest justification
for the murder, which had not a shadow
OF political significance. The two men had
auarreled some months before over a game
Of cards and the murder was an act OF
cold-blooded private vengeance.
II Is safe to say that McNally had not
the sympathy Of a single man, woman or
child in the country side, yet for eight
days he was able TO evade capture and to
range at large over the country, solely
because of the assistance given to him by
the Inhabitants of the district who felt
impelled to make common cause with him
as soon as he became a fugitive from the
police. He was supplied with food at the
farm houses at which he called without
any attempt at concealment. He was even
able to secure additional ammunition for
his rifle, and he was warned whenever the
police appeared in the neighborhood. He
was finally captured asleep in a rude shell
ter he had built under some whin bushes,
and when he was taken into Longford the
car on which he was driven was sur
rounded by crowd of hundreds of people
who chcered him and hooted the police.
Moral of the Tale.
Now, these facts will be spread broad
cast by the English newspapers and quoted
as an instance of the innate lawlessness
of the Irish people and of their unftness
for self government. The facts as quoted
unfortunately cannot be denied, but every
one who knows the Irish people will un-
derstand that the moral is an entirely diff
ferent one. There Is no more law-abidine
or peaceful people in the world than the
Irish, and this condition OF affairs is only
the natural result of the governmental pol
icy which places the police In a position
of enmity to the people OF the country
intsead OF In the natural position of their
friends. The police have been used 90
much as instruments of injustice under
the forms OF English law that the people
have come to regard them as enemies and
TO sympathize with any one, no matter
what his offense who is pursued by them
Decrease In Crime.
The law-abiding character of the ITIsf
people is proved by the police statistics
in all forms OF crime and It must be re
membered that a large number OF offensei
which In Ireland are classed as crimina
would be reported as political in any othe
country. There were 9,ilS indictable of
fenses in 1907, compared with 9,465 in 1870
and 9,72s in 1906 while the nonindictabl,
offenses fell by 1.lSS from 1906 The mum
ber OF prosecutions for drunkenness als'
n
fact the proportion OF serious crimes il
Ireland is lower than in any other civilized
country.
Tough on Tramps.
The guardians OF Ballymoney, county
Antrim, have got into serious trouble will
the local government board Oliver theu
rough and ready WAY of dealing wlti
trampB The law says that when a traml
enters the workhouse for a nights lodging
ne must have a bath. but It does not pre-
scribe the kind of bath, and the guardians
relying on this omission, fixed up a mos
effective tramp discourager. They had
cage made. constructed Of perforated iroI
pipe, and on his arrival the tramp wa
compelled to strip and enter II. The work
house master then turned on a tap anC
Immediately 500 Jets of ice-cold water wer
directed on various parts of the tramp
body for two minutes, after which he wa
released and allowed to go to bed. Thi
treatment was so effective that within
month after its adoption the weekly lis
OF tramps accommodated at the workhous
had fallen from eighty to ten. The locs
government board heard OF II, howeveI
and addressed a severe reprimand to tn
guardians for inflicting what was certainl
cruel and unusual punishment of tn
tramps and the guardians have been force
10 substitute an old-fashioned tub for thei
novel bath.
In the meantime many OF the Irish locs
authorities are considering the adoption O
some drastic n cans of dealing with the in
oreasng tramp nuisance A conference o
the subject will be held In a few weeks b
representatives OF the union Of New Ross
Corey. Wexford, Thomastown, EnniscorthS
Shillelagh and Rathdrum.
Interesting Antiquarian Discovery.
couple of interesting antiquarian dis
ooveries have been made recently in count
Tyrone. A farmer named Mccullough @
Crock. hamlet In the moorlands betwes
Cookstown and Strabane, found ston
sword or dagger In an old fort" on hi
land. The weapon. which is said to be tn
only one OF it's kind known. is about thin
teen inches long. and has a rounded handl
and sharpened blade. The place where tn
sword was found is a mound known a
Dunrush. and beside II is large standin
stone with an Ogham inscription. II is G
considerable size and is surrounded by
moat and inside II is a Druid circle con
posed OF hundreds OF stones. IL is believe
20 be a cemetery OF the stone age and III
authorities are taking control OF the exc5
VationE I'm the hope that some valusb
discoveries may be made.
The other find was made at the towT
land Of Lisbeag. near Ballygawley.
farmer who was digging In his field can
across what he though was a rock, bI
which eventually proved TO be a stone sls
seven feet six inches long, three feet min
inches broad and two feet six inches thicl
II was covered with hiereglyphies which al
now being translated by agents OF n
Royal Society OF Antiquaries. 10 which Ii