The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-11-09

of Europe, I was brought in closest pos
sible touch with the rural conditions of
ireland That country is today an object
lesson from which America may richly
profit
Many generations of Irish land tenancy
and absentee iandiordism had succeeded
in so degrading and impoverishing the
Irish peasantry that they had about at
tained the last degree of economic wretch
edness. The Irish farmer had lost all
ambition and hope. He had found that
the more thrifty and industrious he was,
the more he increased his own burden.
Every time that he would better his rented
land by careful husbandry, he would
SIMPLY be raising the rent on himself,
since the rental value was determined
by the productive power of the soil. This
destroyed within him ambition and desire
to make progress The only hope of re-
generation lay In making of the Irish
tenant q land owner and In filling him
with the knowledge that he was working
for himself and that he himself and those
near and dear would profit by every
stroke of work put into land which here
after was his family's for all time to
come"
Irish Land Bill
Mr.. weinstock gives a succinct review
of the far-reaching achievement of Irish
members of the British Parliament in
securing the passage of the Irish land
bill. This bill established royal COM
mission with power to appraise and value
the big Irish landed estates. The COM
mission was to have the power to cut up
the great estates into small farms and
to sell them on remarkably easy terms,
payments coming due In annual Install
ments and spreading over period OF
80 to 60 years.
As will be recalled, the land bill met
with the bitterest opposition in Parlia-
ment but now all fair-minded Brltishers
are glad that this good work was done
for Ireland. AS Mr. Weinstock points
out. the results from the enactment OF
this land measure have exceeded the most
sanguine prediction of its most enthusi-
astic supporters. He says:
"They have completely regenerated Ire
land and its peasantry. Under the laws
provisions over 100000 farm tenants have
been converted into landed proprietors,
all within a period of about decade.
To-day ireland scarcely recognizes It.
self. The change has stimulated every
man and every woman in the land. Hope
fills the air and the outlook for the
hitherto unfortunate land was never Sc
bright as now.
Promises to Become Rich
ireland, formerly regarded as one
Of the most poverty stricken countries
In the world, now promises to become
per capita, one of the richest countries
In the world. History does not offer
such a parallel. the parallel of taking a
people filled with despair. with nearly
all hope gone, with nearly all ambition
destroyed. living in filth. in wretch
edness and misery, and in so brief q
period converting them into an ambi
tlous, prosperous. wide-awake, ener-
getic and progressive people"
An agricultural department was es-
tablished in ireland and 1t has sent out
able and progressive instructors to
give advice to the peasantry Much pas
ture land has been converted into till
age. Modern colleges have been built
with the aid OF state loans. these
buildings taking the place of the for
mer insanitary novels. Mr.. Weinstock
says:
"At a conference held by the Amer