Western Carolina Democrat and French Broad hustler. [volume] (Hendersonville, N.C.) 1913-1915, 1914-01-22

Dunglow, County Donegal, Ireland.
This is a story Of the grand uphill
fight for self-respecting, economic in
dependence which is being made by
a bunch Of CHEEKY Irishmen in County
Donegal. At the head of this fighting
group is Paddy Gallagher, an organ
tzer and a promoter if there aver was
one. But is a promoter, not of his
own fortunes, but the promoter of
community welfare. This is also the
story of what a godsend a cooperative
organization can be to a community
which has been, in an economic sense,
hard stricken by nature. Nature
seems to have exhausted herself in
the agricultural gifts she showered on
eastern and southern Ireland and to
have reached Dunglow, in County
Donegal, with nothing left in her gift
bag except a few little patches of cold.
unresponsive soil which she scattered
here and there among the huge out
cropping rocks of the barren hiilsides
rising between the wide stretches Of
desolate peet Dogs.
In fact, we are here because Sir
Horace Plunkett has said that this
is the place of all others to visit, if
We Americans wish to see what CO.
operation will do toward helping an
Irish community scratch a living out
of the rocky hills on the bleak north
western coast Of Ireland.
Who Paddy 10.
DoSd1 C-I!orh@@ h@w~ RnR&U
years ago in n Of the poor one-room
cottages on a barren t~hree-acre ten
ant holding-a cottage that had the
wolf always at the door. When Paddy
was nine he was put out to work at
three pounds for six months work.
His father did not do this sort OF
thing because he wanted the little
= half-starved shaver to work beyond
his strength, but because it was either
work for Paddy or starvation for still
younger and weaker children. After
that there was nothing for Paddy but
hard work, and low wages until he
was grown and had startted a family
Of his own.
But his work had tan him into
fNNNA pAdSCS, 1uSO OCOL4dAd o0O AA6
land, and he came>back with the real
ization that life in bungalow was not
what it ought to be. U~neducated,
~ork-worn, without any outlook Of
promise for himself or his family,
something brought Paddy Gallagher
Inc realization that he and his neigh
Dors together might do what each sep
arately could not do So, with the
assistance of the Irish Agricultural
organization society, cooperation was
brought to bungalow.
How 1t Started.
Gallagher, who had been studying
soils and manures, learned that a C
eording to government analysis the
soil of his section needed certain deh-
nlte chemical elements. He asked To-
Cal traders if they could give him any
guaranty of analysis Of the manures
sold by them. He was informed that
ney never got such a thing, knew
Hotnlng about it and could give no
guaranty. He wrote to the agricul-
.ral department about it. They re-
rerred him to the Irish Agricultural
wholesale society. From them he
!earned that this society at that time
uealt only with local cooperative
concerns.
80 this farm boy, with surprising
perslstence, gathered together the
SHlal farmers and pointed out to them
%e advantages to be gained as to
aualty and price by purchasing guar
ouVeed manures direct from the CO
o se a wholesale society. The re-
o. was that the farmers ordered
on lot of fertilizer through a little
cooperative, W. society in an adjoining
s9ooose' They found that they saved
NV On the manures and besides Sc
Irat super-phosphate Of 80 per cent
d,aoeaao of % per cent. strength, and
colVed bone instead of worthless
ti on The battle for co-opera-
W. Was already half won. for there
rs&no further question as to the adj
images to be gained through CO
The "Gombeen Man.
N, tne old methods of buying and sell
tbi. were the cause Of mnch5povefty ii
~Tb ulStrict," said Mr.. Gallagher.
pnh1o Traders have generally kept the
MEN houses. They were gombeen
money lenders. Poor farmers