El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1920-11-10

. months. Publication 81 the '-Notss' Be-
gan october IS. Today's instaiment con
I tinuea the Irish notes.
As WAS SAID at the beginning Of
n these Notes" the surface Of Ire
land Is not Ireland. Yet the i'm
prsssions gained during a IS day tour
Of the island last December may be Of
j some slight value as indicating some
Of the conditions out Of which arises
what we gliBly call "The Irish situa-
ton"
From what I saw, and did not see,
I inferred that Ireland over most of
its extent is in an extremely back
ward state. Nv dominant feeling was
one Of regret that the Irishman is
throwing his life away; that he is not
TRYING to use what he has, as other
peoples and nations have done, but by
devoting all his days TO brooding and
hating he is missing even the oppor-
tunuies that are his for the taking.
Through the greater portion Of the
island, especially in the south, south
east, and southwest, the people in con-
siderable part seem shif-less, rather
helpless. aimless or ambitionlsss in the
I American sense at least, disposed to
idle their time away, and careless OF
material comforts Of which they de-
prive themselves through no external
cause but from their own v0lition or
lack of 1T.
Withai. there is a fascination about
Z the region and the spirit Of the people
/ which Is inscparable from consldeTa-
tion Of the proud history, the glorious
I traditions, the fertile geuius Of the
[ Irish nation. One with any knowledge
at an OF the lives Of Iuish patriots and
f scholars, rulers and warriors, states
men and poetss with any background
Of Irish history; with any familiarity
with Irish tradition; with the least
I acquaintance with Irish poesy and
Z literature. cannot estimate or judge
with dispassionate impartialitY what
he sees. One may find It difficult 70
sympathize with much that he sees
and hears, and yet one must always
keep prominent in his mind the basic
truths. Surface appearances may
grossly deceive.
Nv brief tour had a curious effect /
on me in this way; that the more 1
saw Of the south Of Ireland the more I
was inclined 70 give weight to the ]
contentious Of the north Irish in that 4
part Of Ireland called by the Sim ]
Feiners ~Cars0n's Corner or the Ulster I
counties that oppose separation and /
adhere to the United Kingdom; but /
and this Is the nubbin-after I had 1
been in Ulster and had read the papers, ]
periodicals, and pamphlet propaganda I
there and had a little contact with the /
people, ] appreciated as I had not be- I
fore been able to appreciate the atti- I
tude Of the south Irish, and felt that I
the north Irish were the ones most /
needing TO be disciplined The north I
Irish are ImpOsslble-there IS some I
thing even about the superficial as I
poets Of life up there that causes frie- /
ton and displeasure. IF ] had TO live /
in Ireland. I would unhesitatingly /
choose 70 live in the south Of ireland i
OF in the west-anyWher in prefer /
ence TO Ulster.
Talk about tolerance and intoier- /
anee. the south Irish are freedom itself I
contrasted 10 the north Irish There !
are numerous protestants in the three
provinces south and west Of Dublin
and they for the most part get along
peaceablv and in harmony with their
Catholic neighbors; there Is no such
degree Of bitterness, political OF re-
lieious, discernible In those three
provinces as there is in Ulster.
I intend to return 70 this line Of
discussion later on in these Notes,
but first it is necessary to rEprodlce
some Of the general comments that I
recorded as 7 went along.
7 could not help contrasting lfr
lands superficial appearance lack Of
towns, lack Of cultivation, lack Of
planted trees Of forest OF orchard, lack
Of improvements Of all kinds, lack Of
amusements, etc. TO that Of al the
other countries I had been through; \
Italy. for example, where everybody Is
busy and the country is used in every /.
foot, OF Holland. Ireland has her
drainage problems everywhere, not
only in the interior but along the
rivers and lakes and BAYS, but has done
practicaUv nothing to meet them;
Holland was almost entirely reclaimed
from under water. and not only did
Holland have TO drain her lands but
she has to keep them drained every
dav year in and yeaE out; she pumps
the water out Of the drainage bitches
into eahals and uses the canals for
navigation One Of the most fertile
and productive areas in Holland was
formerly under the surface Of a lake.
and not only was the lake removed
but the lake bed has 10 be kept drained
by pumps all the time.
Ireland's vast extent Of waterlogged
lands is not an reclaimable, but i'm
mense areas are; vet nothing has been
done or is being done. Compare with
Germany. where every little field, !
brock valley, and slope has been care
fully and scientifically ditched and put
70 use. In spite Of Ireland's backward
development, with an infinite amount [
Of work 70 do, there are myraids Of
idle men.
Yet, while compared with Europe, /
Ireland looks unused. uncultivated, and
mpeOpled. in the United States we
have hundreds Of thousands Of square
miles worse neglected and with less
reason. What is our excuse?
Ireland has little available fuel, and
depends largely on peat. Yet nowhere /
did I see any evidence that the peat
business was developed OF organized
industriallv or commercially; a good
deal is dug and stacked south Of Cavan
and around other places south Of
Londonderry, but there seems 20 be no
systematic development in an industry
that should be immensely important,
it an seems half hearted. off-and-ou.
hit-or- miss sort Of effort, stagnant
and without purpose.
The railroad service was generally