The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1911-10-29
CONTENTED PEOPLE
ON ISLES OF ARA|N
Made Barren Soil Productive
and Are Peaceful
and Happy.
BY THOMAS EMMETT.

SpeC)ai CaDle 10 Inc Irtbunc.
DUBLIN, Oct 2S.--The recent trip OF
the Eighty club through Ireland was a
revelation 10 many OF the Englishmen
who were included in the party, and al
ready these pilgrims are beginning to
tell England the truth about Ireland
ono of the most interesting OF these CON
tribUtIons comes from Harold Spender
md deals with the Aran isles In the Bay
of Galway.
These Islanders struck Mr. SPENCER as
did nothing else in his "trip. and conditions
there have convinced him absolutely OF
the capacity of Ireland for home rule.
The whole Of our welcome was in the
same note-sirnple. affectionaie, sincere
There is no more astounding chapter In
history than the failure OF the Irish land
lords TO hold the hearts OF these Irish
peasants Of the west But is II aston
shing? We were informed that no man
on the island consciously remembers ever
having seen the face OF their present
landlords"
Until the act Of 1881. the family were
known to them bv no other link than
that OF land agents. who watched with
iYnX eyes for every chance 10 raise the
rents on their hard-won improvements
professional eHtortioncrs, as hateful as
the tax farmers of ancient Rome.
But The wonderful peasantry OF this
tsland--a pessantry which speaks little
but Irish, and is almost wholly Catholic
have literally imposed new soil on
the hard. ice -smoothed bed of the glacier
With indomitable toll they have brought
sand and seawced from the shore clay
from the hills. sWepinss from the roads.
They have broken up The surface stones
cf the glacier bed and built houses and
walls with rhe stones. They possess no
fuel OF their own on the island: but the
cntters bring dried peat across the bay
from the shores OF Galway Aran has
little water beyond A few wonderful
springs which seem to we'll UP from the
ocean bed. But In face Of ali these diff
ficulties they grow good crops Of barley
and potatoes, and now that their rents
are fixed and the day of purchase is at
hand. they seem a prosperous and n
happy people.
But other things have contribu,ed," !"
scoffers and skeptics to witness. as we
have witnessed. the workings Of the old
age pensions act along this coast. We
have heard in England Of laxity and
fraud. There Is another side to all that,
You must remember two facts One
Is that The people. In this Atlantic air.
live. To a. great age. The other is that
while 'he Young people represent popu-
sent a population OF 10000 There Is
a disproportlonate number OF old people
in these villages-old people and children
the young men and women have gone
to the Ireland beyond the sea. The
survivors arc supported by fish. pensions
and American dollars.
For the second coutrhutory cause is
the steady flow Of American money into
the postoffices OF this coast 1t Is easy
10 test this Cio-as we went--into the
postoffices and inquire. The postmas-
ters will tell you of the stream Of money
that comes In at Christmas and Easter
to pay the rent and buy the goose. These
people pay their rent once a year They
eat meat little more than once or twice
Both the rent and the meat come from
America,
$50 close is the touch with America
the America 10 which the very sun
seems 10 be travelling when he dips at the
eyentidc In the golden bath OF the At
antic ocean-that sometimes this coast
almost seems to belong to 1t. Stephen
Gwynn, tho member for this district. tells
me that he once went into a postoffice
here and asked for twenty stamps. He
was given twelve two penny halfpenny
stamps. He saJd that he wanted pennies.
we DO not keep any said the post
master, nobody here asks for any penny
stamps They do not correspond with
England. They correspond with Ameri