Askov American., 1914-12-03

uungiow. County Donegal. ireland .--
This IL the old haunt--shs habitat
of the Hgombeen man" lie Ii our
American city loan shark trans.
planted with al hla blood.sackinE
propAnaities and hia starvation In
dueing qualities Into rural Ireland.
Here conditions are right for his acsiy-
tiles. Where the need Tor money IL
greatest he prUspera best. The poorer
the country. the richer he grows. And
poor enough this country certainly ia.
Wide, iow.lying peat bogs stretch be-
tween great slopes of rising hillsldes
whero the soil shows only between
MASSES or outcropping rocks. No
aeidA are there hero large enough 70
offsr opportunity for work with horsea
eyen IL piowing and cultivating were
not made impossible BY the huge half.
buried rocks, Every enclosure do.
manaa fertilizers a. q condition prece.
dent 70 productions. Nature liz stingy
and hesitates ID let 20 of any product
of value to humans. Tet here and
theirs Ii d cottage upon q barren hill.
aide, around II We ace children that
are net starving nor insufffcientiy
clothed.
s'0cmbeen Man. Passing.
Here was the haunt cir the gombeen
man. Hut as relative prosperity comes
IN he goes out. They tell ua that co.
operation has numbered the days OF
the kombeen man and that he 10 pass.
| 4nso A. ha s.x.s.,.4.4f.4 ss.x.Nss8.3 h4a
business fssfs h- was tho worst enemy
60 rural prosperity to be found upon
the island. Tbs gombeen mar III
worse than the nonresident landlord. Z
says Paddy Gallagher OF punglow.
which 10 an extreme statement when
made by one whose father and family
hava suffered cruelty from many eyic'
tionkt
Seldom was the gomheen man nd
Ealttealy Ia the loan business Fro.
quentiy he was u trader or shop keep.
er. Generally he kept pnblic house,
Often he was dominating influences
politically. and held some oftice. In.
yariahly be was an economic scourga
and made rural prosperity inapossihle
We have spoken of him lin the past
tense. not because ~ has altogether
ceased 10 exist but bacauea coopera'
4 ton seems TO be developing plan
for rural credit which win eventually
| put him out os business
Patrick GaiiaChsr's story.
Patrick Gallagher, now the man,
ager of tho local cooperative society,
probably knows AZ much about the
trials of the poor farmer In ireland as
Il any one. He waa born In little one
room farm cottage and was ut nine
i years Of ago forced to leave home and
Il hire himself out ~ farm iaborer re-
ceising the wage Of three pounds fai
Sir mcnths' work, From these begin
ninks he has risen To NJ d rural nEan
eier ln County Donegal And has RAISED
the condition Of tbs poor farmers from
nblect poverty To comparative comforl
Through his cooperative enterprises
Hero liz what Faady Gallagher says ol
/ the gosnbaen men. speaking from hi
personal experiences aRa verifying
much that he aays from documents
and actount books
Here In one transaction or my owr
with the gonheea man. On the 2stf
of May 1905. my father and bonghl
seven stone of -four and enc hnndret
weight of Indian meal. each. Mi
father paid Tor his st,as. was not II
ii position I'd Day for mine until ths
1 tIth OF July, 1905. forty.foar eays
later The goanhean man then pre-
sented me With d bin for $6sa. | dis
pnted bin right 70 charge me sI.as IN
terest On st.2s FOR onsy forty four aays
md pointed ont ID him fnat nay fathel
bpNght fhe sanaN goods pn she safns