The San Francisco call., 1910-02-13

his case at every point, building up
little by little, a plea upon which the
supreme court of American public
opinion can never give but one de-
cision.
NOT CHRONIC MALCONTENTS
TO my mind" he says, only two
things are necessary to turn publ,
opinion overwhelmingly in favor of The
Irish cause and public opinion is the
reinforcement by which these people
viii carry the last breastWorks OF
sel6shness and prejudice. First
knowledge of Irish history; second, Il
convince the world that the people ar,
not chronic malcOntents, but have {
cause based on reason and justice
Sutherland has dish history at his
finger tips. and lie rocites it, briefly
and accurately to lay the foundation:
of his story. But first he puts before
US plainly the real trouble in Ireland
yesterday and today" He tells of the
sad ireland that he has seen, "of al
countries where white men live, tn,
only one where the number of souls
grows less and less year by year. 81
have Travelled. he says, from end tC
end of the country and back again
from sea to sea, visiting the cities. the
and farms. And there is one picture
which blots out all else. 1t is desola
ton"
An AWFUL CONDITION
He sums up the awful condition o
Ireland as follows
Widespread hatred and
distrust of England. Peace in
sured by an armed garrison A
police force, paid by the Irish
people, but controlled absolutely
from London, scattered over the
whole island. with judicial as well
as administrative powers. Co
ercion" enforced in 81 Of the 81
counties, whereby free speech is
suppressed. trial by jury suspend
ed and public discussion, if dis
pleasing TO officials, results in
arbitrary Imprisonment. In the
British parliament, the balance of
power held by the Irish members,
who are united in q determination
TO Obstruct the government at
every turn. In Ireland the United
irish league, spreading its organi-
zatiOn everywhere, It's platform
embracing the abolition of land
lordism through compulsory sale
of lands, and ultimately the estab-
lishment of national self-goYern-
ment.
Economic-The ration is dying
by inches. Every year the .popu-
lation grows less. In 1900 it was
1900, 600 in 1S47 nearly 100000.
Now 1t is 4,456,0O0. Emigration is
ceaseless. The young and vigor-
Gus of the race are fleeing from the
island as though there were
blight. In the last SO years 5, $780,
600 have fed from the land of their
birth. Nowhere. save in a few
restricted manufacturing districts,
is there condition worthy TO be
called prosperity. Agriculture is
the employment of eight-tenths Of
the population, and agriculture
spells destitution. Hundreds of
thousands exist only through con-
tributions from relatives in Amer
lea and England. In thousands
upon thousands Of families the men
and boys must spend six months of
the year in England in order to
earn enough money to carry the
families through the winter. In a
word, the irish in Ireland are kept
alive by the Irish who have been
driven to other lands
HANDSPRING OF ALL SORROWS
What, then he asks, is the cause o.
all this desolation, this hatred and un-
rest and wretchedness? His answer is
the land. That is the cornerstone, tn,
fountain source, the handspring of al
Ireland's sorrows. And it is at thi.
point that the author reverts to his
tory to make his statement plain. The
land, the loss of it, the need of it was
and is the source of the trouble. "Th,
beginning OF the struggle was IN 1863
when Strongbow, early of Pembroke
the first Saxon invader of ireland, de.
scended on the coast of Wexford and
subdued some of the Irish tribes, estab
fishing the feudal system. Since ther
there has been,a never ending struggl,
of the people against those who ruled
them. But the English policy
was always the same--to seize TIL,
land, reduce the free people to tn,
status of farming serfs and quell theil
efforts 10 regain their freedom by tn,
most stringent laws and exactions.
There it is in a nutshell: EnglanC
seizing the land and crushing the peo
pie; the people struggling; this fol
nearly 500 years. This is Ireland.
story
CENTURIES OF PERSECUTION
When Sutherland visited Ireland il
1902 he beheId the fruits of more thar
seven centuries of persecution, of rob
berry. Seven years later, that is, les.
than year ago, in the summer of 1909
he again went to Ireland, and this tim,
he saw the whole face of the countr,
changed" But at its best the Ireland
he pictures to us is truly in a sorry
way, though relatively happy and pros
porous: and at its worst, what a sight
A country designed by God to be lanC
of beauty and fertility, the home of it'
native people, laid waste, desolated BY
greed Thousands upon thousands ol
acres Of rich, productive soil laid waste
for the grazing of absentee landlords