The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1912-06-15

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ground for maintaining that this is
all one gigantic bluff, for the reason
that the modern conditions of Belfast
and Ulster would be quite sufficient
of themselves to demonstrate that all
this tall talk means absolutely what
the Americans call "hot air." The
popular conception of Belfast is of a
city which turns its back to the rest
of Ireland and its face only to the
great international world, with which
1t carries on a gigantic international
trade. 1t is quite true that Belfast
has great international trade-long
may she continue to enjoy and to in
crease it-she sends her great vessels
and her linen to all parts of the earth.
But Belfast does not turn her back
on the rest Of Ireland-it would be
much truer to say that the greater
part Of her income comes from the
rest of Ireland.
Fitzgibbon Furnishes Example.
1 first realized this central fact in
the Ulster problem when talking to
some friends of mine who have BUSH
ness houses in the west of Ireland.
Take Mr.. John Fitzgibbon as an ex-
ample. You could not imagine more
convinced. a more fiery type Of Con-
naught nationalist than Mr.. Fitzgib-
bon. He had set the seal to his con-
victions by several terms of imprison-
ment, he has been the fearless cham
pion Of the congest of the west and
1t is largely owing to his influence
that 80 many of these congests are
today in possession of enlarged and
good land instead of their wretched
patches of bog and rock, and that the
Birrell land act is for the first time
making serious reforms in that part
of Ireland, which needed it most. But
besides all this, Mr.. F4tzgibbon is a
successful draper in Castlereagh,
small town in County Roscommon.
one Of the counties of Connaught. He
south who went up to the meetings
of Winston Churchill in Belfast, but
before he went to the meeting he
spent his morning going among the
cloth merchants of Belfast and in Civ
ing them good orders and never was
he received with greater courtesy and
warmer welcome. And this at the
moment when all Belfast was sup
posed to he seething with frenzied po-
litical passion.
This is personal instance by which
wish to illustrate the broad fact that
Belfast is doing big business with the
rest of Ireland, doing it every day
and doing it with the splendid energy,
enterprise and business aptitude of
the vrile race and thrifty race which
'inhabit it. Take seeds. Three great
seed houses in Belfast supply the
greater part of the farmers Of Ireland
with seeds. Take clothing. Belfast
supplies the greater part of Ireland
with cloth; take tea and whisky or
food stuffs, again Belfast is the chief
purveyor of the rest of Ireland.
Recently, with commendable enter
prise, Belfast has taken to ready
made clothing-it has driven Germany
out of the Irish markets, and all the
south Of Ireland gets its ready made
clothing from Belfast. And one Of the
signs of this immense intercourse be-
tween Belfast and the rest of Ireland
is that you find the Belfast CONNER
cial traveller In every town and in ev-
cry village, in every hamlet, through
out south and west, pushing his
goods getting orders and treating his
customers with that diplomatic suav-
ity which is characteristic Of the
commercial traveller, and gives him
the right to be classed in the ranks
of diplomacy rather than of mere
trade.