The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1922-11-07
DAILY NEWS LETTER
IRELAND IS FLOODED
 WITH BAD WHISKEY
By DANIEL VCONNELL International News Service Staff Cor
 respondent

DuDIlIl' NOV J."1reland is flooOed with "potheen" (moonshineh. Sup- plies of ordinary whiskey have been blended with ''potheen," of which there seems tc be large quantities available, while in some places ''po- theen' in it's crude native form is sold. The frank explanation is that owing to transport difficulties, all the bridges are blown up and roads mined, it Is impossible to obtain genuine and leg ally distilled whiskey In the old days it used to be the custom to place a sod of turf in the window of "she- been" Gan unlicensed house where they used to seel potheen) and turf sellers would do roaring business now if this custom was revived. An other cause of the revival of the po- theen trade is that with the disband- ment of the old police force no polic- ing in the country has been done for the Irish government is sending it's own police force into the country, this illicit trade should be soon stopped.
 Americans undoubtedly gather the impression that Dublin is a city of murder and arson and that all of the old Irish culture has been submerged in the chatter and smoke of war. But this is not so. Irish culture goes on. A little circle of Irish intellectua1s meet three nights a week to discuss Irish literature, Irish history and Irish economics, and follows the trend and
 
 meetings are held while the rat-tat-tat of machine guns continues In the streets. Cosgrave drops in to talk of new wrinkles in government. George Russell, Irish philosopher and poet, discusses modern philosophical the ories. Mrs. Green, wife of the great Irish historian, talks of history. Per- haps Desmond Fitzgerald, Foreign Minister, drops around to listen. Pro- lessor McNeil comes in. Men from Trinity College stop to talk of math- ematics and chemistry. A Franciscan monk, robed in brown and wearing sandals, sits by the f1reside and dis cusses theology. A bit of American tinge is given to these sessions by oc- casional visits from American corre- spondents, some of whom are studying war may go on, but Irish culture doesn't die.
 There is but one man of color in the Irish Free State army. Washing ton is this colored soldiers name. His antecedents are American, but he has been in Ireland for a long time and his aims are those of the Irish Free Skaters.
 Dom Byrne, the American novelist tried hard to write the great American novel in Kingston. The lure of the sea and the ba1nlS air of Irish golf courses was too great. Byrne has closed his Irish home and taken him self to London to finish the novel. Dublin is suffering from many bad epidemics not the worst of which Is body bets upon races held in England man, woman and child. Old wom- en can be seen at street corners open ly studying form of horses. The common investment is a shilling or two, but no races, the prize money of which is only a hundred pounds or so, I have seen three or four times the stake being placed upon horse. In former days betting was prohibited and very heavy fines were inflicted. There is still legislation against bet ting, but the police absolutely take no notice. Betting is done openly, and in fact the police are as big offenders s.s anybody else. Bets of even three pennies are being accepted from chill dren. The scandal is a growing evil, and will be one of the many problems the new government must deal with.
 Christmas will be here soon and every Irishman in America who wants to send a letter to the people in the old country will be well advised to do so early. Nowadays, owing to raids upon mails and bad communications in IrelaEu, letter takes a long time to reach it's destination.
 Athletics in Ireland have fallen to a very low ebb. Never in the history of the country were there such poor set of athletes as there is at present, even though J. J. Olgrady, of Liner ick, created two worlds records throw ing the 16-pound and 2S-pound shot only a few weeks ago. Gone are the days Of the Leahys, who never really started to jump until the bar was at the six-foot height. Gone are the days of the Horgans and other mighty weight throwers- The young men of today are too much interested in pol itics to deyate any attention to devel- opment of sport There was a prom ise of the revival of sport this year when the Tail" team games were to be held in Dublin, and Irishmen from all over the world were invited to compete, but the outbreak of the re- bellion of the Republicans against the Free State goKernnent made the hold