The San Francisco call., 1909-07-29
By HUGH SUTHERLAND
eighth letter.

4 A. IL fo-AtAs county Mayo, july
I0.-The other evening, as has
~ been written. ] sat with John Dill
Ion. best beloved Of the Irish lead
ers. and talked Of the great work
which has been done for the people
since / visited ireland seven years ago.
lie = is no mere enthusiast, this calm,
studious man Of affairs. His devotion
10 his country is as deep and his spirit
as resolute as in the dark days when
lie was literally a rebel against the
tyrannioal laws and tasted the bitter
ness Of prison for the cause. But q
calmer time has come as the result of
what he and his associates suffered. He
see the things for which he fought
coming TO pass in government policies.
Instead Of defying the laws he helps to
make them. Instead of being a politi-
cal outlaw he is a respected member Of
the governing system-stin unrecon-
ciled 10 its gross defects. stiIl waging
war for the reforms which alone can
revive Ireland's prosperity, leader in
the peaceful revolution which follows
the turbulence of revolt.
Marvellous Betterments
So that when ] asked him how mucif
progress had ben made in the brief
period he spoke with dispassionate con-
viction and not in exuberance.
The whole face of the land has been
changed" he said. and for an hour he
described the marvellous betterments
which had been wrought by the simple
application Of just and rational laws TO
the intolerabIe abuses Of the land sys-
TEN.
The. whole face of the country has
been changed"
Il was a striking phrase-a little too
striking. it might seem, TO be strictly
accurate. I know now that the state
ment was literally true. I know. be-
cause I have seen. I know, because
have Travelled for days and days over
the countryside which traversed seven
years ago, and have seen peace and
plenty where then 1 saw misery and
despair. The face Of the land has, in
deed, been changed, for there are happy
homes and gardens where cattle grazed
and industry and contentment wnere
hopeless poverty held its CHASTITY sway.
Thousands Lifted From Despair
Needless TO say. the work is not yet
done-in truth. only the edges OF the
vast problem have been touched. for it
covers an area Of millions of acres and
the lives Of half million human be-
ings. But the start has been made, and
the work Of q few short years has lift
ed thousands from despair. The justice
of the long fight has been recognized
ma the empire has been pledged to the
remedy. It needs only time and money
10 complete the great task.
That the remedy is the substitution of
peasant proprietorship for landlordism
has been fully explained. For 80 years
this change has been going on. Thou
sands Of tenants-tens Of thousands
have become owners Of their lands by
contracting TO pay annuities for gov
ernment loans instead of rent to land
lords, and in every case the transfer
has justified itself This scheme of gen.
.eral land purchase is, however. so vast
in extent that I shall not do more than
give summary Of the results in a
later article. / shall describe in detail
only one part of the economic revolu-
tion-the most important part, because
the suffering Of the people has been
the greatest. and the most picturesque
and creditable because the improve
ment has been of such marvlous ex-
tent.
Huge and Intricate Problem
To deal with the huge and intricate
problem Of land purchase there have
been in existence for many years two
bodies Of wide powers-the land COM
mission and the estates commissioners
A third body, created TO deal with the
most acute conditions of suffering and
distress. is the congested districts
board. and it is the work OF this or
gsnization which will be more fully
described. It may be taken as fact