The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1909-08-12
By HUdH SUTHERLAND
CTwelfth Letter.

tleres- County Roscommon, to
CastIebar, the county seat of
Mayo. is less than so miles as
the crow flies. BY the route which I
have just travelled the distance is al
most three times as great Between
breakfast in Castlerea and dinner in
, Castlebar 1 have traversed 20 miles of
country, all OF it in the congested dis
tricts. where lies the most acute prob
lem Of the land.
I have. in fact. covered precisely the
same ground as covered seven years
ago, and 2 great deal more, for the
purposes OF the comparison which 1
came here 10 make between conditions
then and now. / have the record of
those former observations and the evil
dence OF my own eyes during this tour
through the same territory. What has
been accomplished has already been dis
cussed in statistics and extracts from
oficial reports. IT remains now to tell
The story in description of what has
actually been seen
There is no guesswork or vague
~
written indelibly across the face of the
land-peace and plenty where 1 have
seen Wretchedness and want; homes
where there was desoIation; men and
women who had been starving in
swamps or on stony hillsides now liv-
ng in comfort and contentment on
fertile farms that once were grazing
ranches.
Not all the scars OF injustice have
been healed. This could not be accom-
plished in so short space Of time.
saw today some haunts Of misery as
wretched as any OF those which were
described In 1902. But they are to
disappear. All around them the work
has been done. The scenes of poverty
are isolated amid wide stretches of
prosperity. heard the promises
given 10 the patient victims of adver-
sity that their turn is soon to come;
that in time they, too. will know the
blessings OF real homes and the inspir-
alton Of self-respecting independence.
An Official Tour
The tour which seven years ago was
made BY jaunting car was made today
banded to 40. The fact has no real
significance, yet in way it is sug-
gestive Of change. On the former oc-
casion it seemed as though wide ter
ritory had been covered, but on this the
inspection was carried a hundred miles
farther. not only along the main high
ways, but through countless side roads
and little Travelled lanes. The motor
car never illustrated better its EN-
cheney as a saver Of time and labor,
an indispensable adjunct Of our busy
times As the automobile which was
used was the property of the congested
districts board and carried the chief
officer Of that body on an Official tour,
It had vivid suggestion in itself Of
sow modern aggressfveness is undoing
rapidly and thoroughly the wrongs OF
centuries past
That ride 1 took from Castlerea with
sturdy John Fitzgibbon seven years
/. ago left so sharp an impression that
= he scene as we started this morning
was quite familiar The gray, unlove-
~ street.-the. dwellers in small Irish
towns have had too harsh q struggle
30 achieve civic beahty-looked just
he same, except that the brightness
of a July morning gave warmer tints
han the pale sunlight Of November.
But the air was chill. despite the sea-
son. and as the car sped out on the
eastward road, skirting the gray, ivy
covered wall Of private park, a keen
wind sent masses of clouds flying
across The blue and whipped the road
side ponds, that cleaned after the
nights rain.
Nv guide knew in a general way the
route OF the former trip I had taken,
and agreed that so far as practicable
we should follow IT. But there was an
ant coincidence in the fact that our
arst stop was precisely the same.
rhere was q simple reason for this-it
provided an eminence from which we
,ouId get a panoramic view of many
miles Of country. Curiously enough,
} 90. at no point in the trip was there
presented a more vivid picture Of the
changes wrought in ireland during
those few years From that very hill
one may sec the story that justice has
written on the surface of the land.
This may sudice as an apology for
quoting what was written for this
scene seven years ago.
From the top OF a fiery mound,
l. - :, -. <-.I,,,. .