Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1917-03-17
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Former Pastor Grace M. z. Church
Nsxti my First Sermon" by Rev. M. v. Hisbee.
Hon. ireland Stands

There is in Ireland, as in the United States,
fictitious war prosperity in which fortunes are
made, but in which there is also individual suffer-
ing caused by the constant rise in the cost of
living. But, on the whole, since the greater part
OF the Irish people are agricultura--the country
producing more food than it consumes-they
may be said to have benefited by war conditions.
=. The farmers certainly have been having the
time OF their lives. They have been getting the
highest prices ever known for all they have to
SELL Food and forage and live stock have been
in greater demand than ever before. And the
Irish farmers do so much of their own labor
that the rise in wages does not hit the farmer
badly and the high. cost of agricultural require
ments is far more than compensated by the price
of the product
Taking broad survey Of the effect Of the war
on all the countries of Europe, think it is quite
correct to say that ireland has suffered the least
OF all of them-less than Belgium Serbia and
Montenegro, less than Germany Austria, Bull
gara and Turkey. less than France, Great
trail Switzerland, Holland and the scandinavian
countries
Ireland so far has been spared-whether
wisely or unwisely depends upon your personal
convictions--the great sacrifices in men that are
entailed by CONSUMPTION. 1t has neither been
called upon to give so many lives for the cause,
nor has 1t to lose the productive labor of the
whole OF the flower of its manhood as have all
the other belligerent countries.
Undoubtedly the Irish people, owing to the
fact that CONSUMPTION has not been applied to Ire
land, have been in better position than the Brit
ish people to take full advantage of the prime
conditions of their country's prosperity OF
course, large number of Irishmen are in the
fighting line and the Irish regiments have fought
as they always do but the returns show that at
the end OF the year there were in ireland more
than quarter Of million men of military age
not considered indispensable.
There Is no doubt that, industrally, Ireland
has been in position to make the most of the
extraordinary demands of these years of warfare
The shp-building industry and the linen industry,
for which Belfast is famous, employ respectively
large numbers of the men and the women OF
working families and both these industries have
been put to the test of fullest capacities in yards
and factories.
Nor has Ireland suffered economically by the
curtailment OF commerce as have the European
neutrals, The trade and commerce of Denmark
and Holland, Sweden and Norway have been
interfered with and regulated in order to deprive
Germany OF any excess production Of which they
might be capable Ireland, on the contrary, has
been encouraged in every possible way to pro-
duce on its farms and in its factories everything
that might be of use in belligerent country
and always at increasingly higher prices 1t has
been in this sense Britain's silent partner in the
war. and has derived much profit industrally
and agricuturally from the partnership.