The Tucumcari news and Tucumcari times. [volume] (Tucumcari, N.M.) 1907-1921, 1914-03-11

Dublin. lreland-Poverty and dis.
!ress and squalor and hunger Is still
present in the slums OF some OF the
larger cities OF ireland But over the
richer rural parts OF ireland has come
intelligent organized industry and en-.
thusiastic energy which make II az
rich and prosperous as the richest
portions OF the great middle west In
America. Rural ireland is unquestion.
ably a r%egenerate Ireland. The process
OF regeneration Is progressing. Pros.
perity Is crowding out poverty and In.
vading even those regions which have
heretofore been considered the natural
strongholds OF poverty.
How Prosperity Came 70 ireland.
There are several contributing
causes for this changed condition. The
Under old conditions the slightest in
dication OF prosperity upon the part
Of the tenant, II IL were only a new cap
or the wife a clean apron. meant a
raise In rent. II was 20 the advant.
age OF the tenant farmer to seem more
miserable than he was. The system
put a premium on squalOr and ragged.
ness and slovenly farming. No one
could safely whitewash his cottage or
plant a tree or cultivate a flower. Now
all is changed. Three hundred thou.
sand farmer tenants are now purchps.
Ing their holdings under a benehcent
law. which permits the purchase of the
land without the advance payment Of
n cent. The only obligation upon the
purchaser is that he pay annually 2%
per cent. upon the value of the little
farm as interest and less than one-half
per cent as al installment upon the
principal Under this law the entire
tenant class are acquiring their homes
by the annual payment OF sums aggre-
eating considerably less than the for.
mer rent.
Plunkett Teaches Cooperation.
There can be- no doubt that rural
Ireland is making a business success Of
farming. But II IL not doing It's bust.
ness In a buslness.like way because OF
any spontaneous impulse on the part
OF the Irish farmer. II IL rather be.
cause business.like Irishmen went
about organizing the business pro.
ccdure Of rural enterprises in "A most
b"usiness-like way The leader Of these
business.likc lrishmon Is Sir Horace
Plunkett. TO him ireland owes more
than Il will ever realize. From the
first his propaganda was educational
Ills proposition was that tho Irish
farmer must be- taught the efficacy Of
combination In industries. lie did not
believe IN subsidies or subvoutions.
nor did he believe that relief would
come through legislation or through
state aid In any form As Father Fin.
lay, professor OF econimics in the Ma.
tioual University OF Dublin. says: The
farmers best resources h. held 10 be
themselves, and In their " lntelli.
gence, self.reliancc and mutual trust.
and these resources II was his pur.
pose 10 develop"
He Encounters Difficulties.
There seemed to BE- most excellent
reasons why he could not succeed. The
Irish pcopl" were dispirited and dis.
couraeed They wer" suspicious and
afraid ~ all new movements. Sir
Horace Plunkett himself belonged to
the dosuisod landlord class. with which
the people had been long in constant
conflict.
As Father Fiulay says: In religion
he was Il Protestant and his appeal
would be 10 a people prcdominantly
Gntholir In a cnuutVy yrh.r. r.Ii.i.,,.
a"ntagonisms prcvadc every sphere Of
social life. In politics-so far as he
was a politician-he was "A Unionist.
and those whom he proposed 20 iniu.
ence were Nationalists by a vast ma.
jority, kcenly suspicious Of any policy
which threatened to divert the mind
OF the nation from the political aims
on which II was passionately bent"
II In not surprising, therefore, that II
was only after more than "A year Of
strenuous efforts and after more than
fifty public meetings had been held.
than In 1889 a body Of Limerick farm.
ers finally consented TO establish a co
operative creamery. II was again over
a year before Il second one followed
suit. by the end OF 1891. however,
seventeen credmeries were at work.
and at the end Of 1898 thirty had been
organized. Thereafter the cooperative
societies were organized more rapidly.
Now cooperation and good business
method prevail throughout ireland.
There are $50 cooperative so
cieties upon the island. With an ag.
gregate paid up share capital OF about
a million dollars their annual turnover
Ia twelve million dollars.