The Irish standard., 1909-08-14

( ditions of the soil which sustains them
and the climate which surrounds them.
| But now about our human beings. I
shall not go back to the early historic
| times in order to draw comparisons
between the then and the now. I will
only take what l can remember my
I self; and say without the shadow of
I a doubt on my mind that the mon. wo-
men, and children Of today In Ire
land are neither SO strong, so active,
SO enduring, nor so handsome az were
their ancestors Of fifty and sixty years
ago. To what cause do I attribute
this change? To one, and to one
cause only. To the change of food.
Seventy, eighty years ago the people
ate their own Irish food; they did not
send the produce Of Ireland to feed
England, and content themselves with
getting oatmeal from Canada, wheat
from Argentine, Indian meal from
America, bacon from Chicago and but
ter from God knows where. My friends,
food is the first factor we have to
think Of II we want to raise up in this
old land a race Of men and women
who will resemble In strength and
beauty and endurance those old people
whose bones. even. now, when they are
turned UP by the 8rave-digger. in our
churchyards, put in poor comparison
the measurements Of living men today.
Food, I say, is tho first factor-the
food OF our old limestone soil which
and which no soil that has not limo
in 1t can ever build. Is it not strange,
I ask you, that practical men, when
they are dealing with the strength,
the activity and the endurance Of
horses, are quick to recognise these
underlying sources and causes Of ex-
cellence. and that we in Ireland
should be apparently blind to the APP
plication of those simple and patent
truths to our own race of beings
content to take our food from over sea
after 1t has been put through a hun
dred processes which are more or less
destructive Of the life properties that
were originally in it? And in connec-
ton with this food question there is
another point Of the greatest import
ance. The more you turn the surface
of Ireland into grass the more readily
do you give wings to your food to fly
away to foreign lands, and the more
steadily are you bound to decrease your
native population. I live in part of
. Ireland which is chiefly devoted to
grass, and therefore Of necessity to cat
tie. Creameries are now everywhere
to be SEEN What are these creameries
really doing? They are sending the
cream and butter to England and lcav-
ing the separated or creamless milk for
the people OF Ireland to drink-witf
what result? That the consumption
of q slow and subtle poison Is spread
, ing year by year amongst us-tea Ask
your doctor what is 1t that draws your
childrens teeth out of their mouths
and ricketts, their bones. He will tell
you II is scarcity of good milk and guam
, tity of bad tea. sometimes think that
there Is a supreme retribution upon
, this Empire for her treatment OF
\ China sixtv vears ago. when we went
to war with her because she endeavor-
ed to preserve her people from the
evils OF opium, which we continued tt
force upon her. No doubt we poisoned
some millions of Cinnamon by insisting
upon the introduction Of that drug
China is now paying back the poison
with compound interest to us in the
teapot. l was lately told Of small
>. store at a cross roads in Ireland where
o the annual quantity Of tea sold ha6
reached the enormous weight Of fiv'
tons.
g Is there nobody among us to take VI
:, this question of questions-the peo
), pies food and drink, the people,
Z | strength and stamina-a question
( which is of far greater Importance tt
t Ireland than all the other matters o
|, education, law, land or language, will
vi which we are now so literally deluget
; in the press, the platform and tn