The Irish standard., 1917-02-10

D.. 4
war necessities, but the Irish worker
has had none of the munition con-
tracts, none of the temporary pros
perity which the war has brought to
England.
In buying food these unfortunate
people must compete with the wealthy
English buyer who buys up the Irish
! markets to feed Englands troops and
munition workers. The ports of Ire
land are choked with cattle and food
stuffs being spirited away by these
economic jugglers. The price Of food
stuffs and fuel in Dublin at present
are higher than in New York, eggs are
ninety-six cents per dozen. Sugar can
not be bought separately from tea and
even then only in a very limited
quantity, two or three pounds at a
time at twelve cents pound as a
favour extended by the tradesman to
his old customers. Jam forms a
healthy substitute for butter and the
poor depend on it largely in wiuter to
feed their children but England has
stolen the Irish children's jam. At
normal times England sees to it that
there is little employment in Dublin
and anyone losing his work, however
badly paid, knows the dreadful period
of enforced unemployment and starva-
ton he and his dependents must face.
Since the outbreak of the present war
England has put into practice a devil
ish, cunningly planned scheme for the
determination of the Irish race.
Irish manufacturers-the few we
have left to us-have been bought over
quietly by English firms. Barrington's
soap factory has been bought over by
Lever Brothers of England. Pater-
sons still manufacture "Soluis ma Gaed-
heal" ("Light of the Irish") matches
but even in Ireland few know that
Bryant and Mays, an English firm,
now own that Dublin industry and
will shortly put out the "Soluis ma
Gaedheal."
| Every imaginable means of gaining
a livelihood has been closed in Dub
lin. Those employers who have not
been bought outright have received
instructions" and are busy dismissing
their employees and putting the re-
mainder on half wages for full time
work. Guinnesses are closing down
a great part Of their works for six
months for the first time for many
years Ito clean up" certain watts. No
one in Dublin is acknowledgement
wants Irish corpses-either in the
trenches or in the streets of their ma.
tive city. Guinness formed ambulance
corps among their workmen as a "use
full acquisition"-on the outbreak OF
the war these men found they were
| liable to military service and had been
recruited without their own knowledge
and had to go to the front-Guin.
ness repeating the deception on fresh
, patches of men. AS in az, we are not
allowed to attempt to relieve our own
pangs of hunger at our own expenses
Funds could be raised by willing Irish
, hands through concerts and sports OF
| professions at which money could be
collected, but England says mo,
must have Irish blood" so in Ireland
concerts and sports are prohibited
under the Defense of the Realm Act
If Hans Anderson could only show
What the Moon Saw" in Dublin, lie
would draw a picture exceeding in
pathos the story of the little match
! seller" The main streets in Dublin
are we'll lit and paved. The Irish
capital can show some of the finest
boulevards in Europe. made in the
| days of native parliament, but the
side streets are dark and badly kept
BY the dim light of the street lamps
on Christmas Eve, 1916, peepine
moon could have described many
{ human forms, some small and some
big, huddled up in handful of wei
rags sleeping uneasily in doorways
, and open halls. Who are these child
rem and why are they there? These
are our little ones, for many of then
are the children of "the bold Fenial
men," Their parents have beer
simply thrown out of work to force
them into the army which keeps such
an evil grip on the vitals of Irish life
Can those men be blamed who prefer
death by starvation on the streets OF
their native city to a dishonorable
death in the English trenches. Christ
Himself had not more temptations tC
face than His own unfortunates in
Dublin. The last marketable object
left man is his soul and many are
the bids he gets for it who is an Irish
working man.
The proselyter ceaselessly haunts
Dublin streets with his warm sour