The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1921-02-04
General Unemployment and Femme
Throughout the Country Threaten
to Reduce Ireland to Level of
Austria
Especial Correspondence of the Reel
procal News SerVice.)

Especial Correspondence of the Reel
procal News Service.)
DUBLIN, Ireland, Feb. 3.-The New
Year has brought to Ireland one of
the most complete depressions of bus
mess that has been known for many
years, including even those of the war.
Quite apart from the special difficult
ties of Ireland herself, the crisis which
has overtaken the financial world in
London as a result of rapidly falling
wholesale prices and a reluctance of
the public to buy until retail prices
are correspondingly reduced, has had
its inevitable reaction here. The
newspa pers have been full for some
time past of the promise of a great
drop in prices and this has naturally
had the effect of discouraging buying
on the part of the general public. In
Dublin, moreover, there has been prac-
tically no realization of this reduction
so far as the average purchaser is
concerned. This fact combined with
the railway stoppage which lasted
over Christmas, and the general dis
turbance of the country reduced the
usual Christmas trade to a minimum.
Business men have been very de-
pressed and many retailers have been
heard to say that they would willing
ly sell the whole of their stock at a
sacrifice if they could find a pur-
chaser for it.
1t was hoped up to the last minute
that some relief might be given by
a temporary relaxation of the Curfew
restrictions in Dublin, which made it
practically impossible for the bulk of
wage earners to get their Christmas
shopping done at all. But these eX-
pectations were never realized. Even
on Christmas day itself military and
police activity was as aggressive as
ever, and those who attempted to eel
citrate the day by dining at the houses
of their friends were obliged to make
their way homeward before ten o'clock.
The collapse of Farrow's bank, an
English financial institution with
branches in Dublin, Belfast and Cork
probably did not hit any great num-
Der of Irish people severely, but the
moral effect Of it, as all cases of bank
failures was considerable, and 1t was
felt that it foreshadowed other dis
asters OF a similar and perhaps more
far reaching nature. Even now II is
believed that when the annual stock
taking of December 31st has been full
ly carried Aout. there may be sensa-
tional disclosures. 1t is not surrris-
ing that in the circumstances unem-
ployment and poverty are on the in
crease and all productive and building
works tend to stagnate. If this holds
good OF Dublin, the remainder of the
county is even worse off. Belfast, as
result of the continuance of the
sectarian strike and the unremitting
pressure of the economic boycott, has
thirty thousand people on the verge of
starvation. Cork is practically In
ruins and for some time to come there
must be a large amount of unemploy-
mmt among shop hands and clerical
workers, although the most energetic
| efforts at restoring business are al
ready being made, As for the small
! er country towns, IL is hard to esti-
mate exactly the amount of damage
which has been done to properly and
| to business. but we know that
throughout the south of Ireland the
most prominent houses have been
ruthlessly burned and the most ener-
getic citizens shot or driven out.
In Tipperary at the present time 1t
! is said that no one in the whole coun-
/ try thinks of sleeping at home and
night after night there is a universal
exodus to the hills. In the absence
OF the inhabitants looting and burn
ing so on at will Unfortunately
large part of the material wealth Of
/ Ireland is concentrated in the large
| general stores of the country market
| towns, and it is just these that are
suffering. But it was always felt un-
til lately that the country was fortu-