Askov American. [volume] (Askov, Pine County, Minn.) 1914-current, 1915-01-21

IS & &
Dublin. ireland. Poverty and dis.
tress and squalor and hunger Ii still
present Ia the slnrns 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 Il as
rich and prosperous IS the richest
portions OF the great IniAlle west In
America. Rural Ireland IA nnGuestion-
ably regenarate Ireland. The process
Of regeneration ii prosreasing. Pros
perity In crowding out poverty and I'm
vading even those regions which have
heretofore been considered the natural
stronghoids OF poverty.
How Prosperity Came 10 ireland.
There are several contributing
causes for this changed condition. The
land tenure lave have done wonders.
under old conditions the eiightest An
dication or prosperity upon the part
OF the tenant. II Il were only new emp
or the wife i clean apron, meant q
raise Iii rent. n was To the adyant,
age ct tho tenant farmer to seem more
miserable than hs was. The system
put q premium on squalor and ragged
ness and slovenly farming, No one
could safely whitewaah his cottage on
plant d tree or cultivate flower. Now
all Is changed. Three hundred thou
sand farmer tenants are now purchas.
Ing their holdings under d beneticent
law, which permits the purchase Of the
lana without the advance payment OF
a cent The only obligation upon the
purchaser In that he pay annually 2s&
per cent upon the value or the little
farm az interest and less than one.hali
per cent aa an inataIlment 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 DO no doubt that rural
Ireland In making d business success Of
farming. But II IA not doing It's busL
ness In y business-iike way because OF
any spontaneous impulse on the part
or the Irish farmer. 1t Ii rather be-.
cause bnsinesslike Trishmen went
about organizing the business pro.
cednre OF rural enterprises IN most
business.like way The leader OF these
businessilke IrIshmen III Sir Horace
Plunkett, To him Ireland owes more
than II will ever realize. From the
first his propaganda was educational,
Ills proposition was that the Irish
faruer must be taught the efficacy of
combination In industries. He did not
believe In subsidies or subventions.
Nor did he believe that relief would
come through legislation or through
state aid Ii any form. Az Father Fin.
lay. professor OF aconimics IN the Ma.
tional University or Dublin. says "The
farmers best resources he held TO be
themselves. and in their own inteili,
gsnoe. seifreliance and mutual trust,
and these resources IL was his pur
pose 10 develop
He Encounters Difficulties.
There seemed to be most excslleni
reasons why no could not succeed. The
Irish people we're dispirited and dis
couraged. They were suspicious and
afraid OF all new movements. Sir
Horace Plunkett himself belonged ID
the despised landlord class. with which
the people had been long In constant
conliict.
m Father Finiay says: TN religion
he was q Protestant and his appeal
would be to 3 people predominantly
Catholic til q country where religious
antasonisms preyads every sphere ol
social life. In politica-so far as hi
was . pclitieian--hs was unionist
and those whom he proposed to iniiu
enee were Nationalist BY vast ma
tority. keenly suspicious or any policy
which threatened 10 divert the mind
of the nation from the political aims
on which II was passionately bent
lt IL not surprising. therefore. that 4
was only after more than year d
strenuous efforts and after more thar
tlfty public meetings had been held
than in 1883 body of Limerick farm
ers finally consented to establish co
operative creamery. Il was again Over
a year before a second one followas
suit By the end or 1891. however
seventeen creameries were at work
and At the end Of 1888 thirty had beer
organized. Thereafter the cooperative
societies were organised more rapidly
Nov cooperation and good business
method prevail throughout Ireland
There ara $50 cooperative 40
cieties upon the island With An al
gregate paid up share capital of ahou,
. million dollars their annual turnover
II twelve msliion dollars.