New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1917-05-23

One does not need to be prophet 10
know that the most famous question IN the
world for the next two years will be that OF
Ireland. The best of the English are rcso-
Iutely determined on n thoroughgoing an
swer. Such men as DR.. Fisher, the Minister
OF Education; william Temple, president OF
the Workers Educational Association;
Graham Wallas, Lord Northclfc, the Round
Table group, Gilbert Chesterton, hassing
ham. Lansbury Asquith, Lloyd George, de-
sire Just and farreaching solution, ana
mean to have it. The grouping OF those
names. representing implacable hostllities Of
belief on every other subject under the SUM-
proves that a mobilization Of forces has
taken place in behalf of Ireland. Carson
and "The Morning Post" will be fattened
out like sand sculpture before that tidal drift.
A country whose basic industry is agrl-
culture has TO import its food. country
made ND Of farmers and underpopulated has
too few farms. and those farms too small
and poor. Such is the heritage left to Ire
land by English statesmen like Sir Robert
Peel
Irish Agriculture
An important study of Irish agriculture
has recently been made by an expert whom
know, who signs himself "Agrcola.' am
not at liberty to publish his name. One Of
the high officials of the British government
in ireland recommended his statements TO
me as giving a just picture of conditions !
summarize his conclusions in what follows
Irish agriculture is backward because
three-ffths of the land is held by one-sixth
of the landholders under terms restricting
or prohibiting tilage. Four-ffths Of all the
crops are used on the farms for seed or for
food to livestock, and only one-fifth is sold
either as human food, as food for non-agrl-
cultural livestock, or as raw material for
industry, such as fax and barley. From
that one-ffth must also be deducted the one
seventh which farmers and their families
use. So farming production is one-seventh
crops and sx-sevenths livestock and produce
for livestock There is room, then, for ex-
tension of the crop area of Ireland, which
would both benefit the livestock production
and increase corn food for the population.
Care must be taken in increasing tillage not
to let cows run dry for want of sufficient
food. But care can be taken to safeguard
livestock and yet to release the acreage OF
Ireland for tillage.
The absence of drainage and of irrigation
is a further hindrance to Irish farming. The
lowering Of river beds, like the Barrow and
the Shannon, is suggested. century ago a
royal commission Of the British government
recommended drainage scheme for the 477,-
784 acres of turf bog in Ireland. Other COM
missions since then have reinforced the de-
mand but the boys still exist, and even IN
recent years have risen on their underwater
and travelled over the adjacent country, in
one instance for distance Of ten miles and
depth Of forty feet
Irish railways were investigated few
years ago by the British government. Their
commissioners found that the Irish railway
problem is the restriction of agriculture. in
dustry and trade in Ireland, because inter-
nal and export transit rates are on higher
scale than the rates charged for conveying
Of commodities which compete with Irish
products in Irish and British markets. The
decadence of Irish industries has been &C
celebrated by the establishment of low through
rates from British manufacturers to Irish
villages, rates which have been much lower
in scale than the local rates from Irish
cities to Irish villages. The Britishcon-
trolled Irish railways favored the British
manufacturer at the expense of the local
Irish manufacturer. The woolen trade and