Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1932-03-20
DE VALERA'S ELECTION
CLOUDS ERIN'S FUTURE
Nation Looks for Prosperity, However,
i'm Face of Discomfort and
Encouragement.

| the peelerS, as they are CalleO IIOLl
the great British police leader, Sir
| Robert Peel, wear their revolvers In full
| public view.
The economic unity Of the British
Isles stands likely to be put to severe
test, If De Valera carries out his pre-
viouSly announced program Of estab-
fishing an Irish Republic England and
Scotland have been Ireland's best
markets, with large industrial popula-
tons ready to buy the good things pro-
duced on the farms of the Emerald
Isle.
Cattle and dairy products find their
way across the Irish Channel in album
dance Now the fish caught of the
west Irish coast are being sold in
France. Under the aegis of the Cos
grave government the grading and test
ing of eggs have been made compulsory.
The strains of cattle have been i'm
proved through the requirements for
better stock. The quality of dairy prod
ucts has been heightened. All this has
had a beneficial effect on the prices of
Irish products afield.
New Revenue Created.
The sugar beet industry has been
fostered since 1925 and this has created
new revenue in the rural areas An
agricultural credit corporation aids the
farmers fiscal policy by giving lift to
cooperative groups. Better education
in agricultural subjects has been given
a boost through substantial grant to
the centers of learning
Duties have been removed on coffee,
cocoa and tea. The Dublin government
has placed protective tariff on furni
ture, shoes, clothing, woolens, soap, but
ter, candles and other goods represent
ing the struggling industries on the
island
The Shannon scheme, under which n.y.
droelectric power is being developed near
Limerick, is looked to to provide squirt
in Ireland's industry when times get
better. The fall in the British pound
sterling has worked to the advantage of
the Irish exporter. Free trade within
the British Empire and the London
governments adoption of tariff system
are deemed vital factors for veal or
woe In Ireland's economic life. De
Valera'S move to cast adritt from the
empire altogether certainly would have
its reaction in London firing an eco
nomic broadside at the Irish ship of
state in the form OF tariff barrier.
The new social order in Erin is wit
Messing transformation The old
landed gentry-the absentee landlords
OF yore-are gone. Their children,
who have settled In Ireland, are ac-
cepting the new regime and aiding in
making 1t q success. Typifying this
change. was the late Maj. Bryan Cooper,
who sat for years at Westminster as
Tory representative for a Dublin con-
stituency. With the arrival of the Free
State he went in with the new govern
ment and became deputy in Dali
Eireann.
The Irish used to come to the United
States In great numbers, but the immi-
grafton law quota system has been a
controlling lever In cutting down this
number sharply. The depression here
and the consequent desire to give Amer
lean jobs to Americans has further
slashed the number of incoming Irish
and other aliens. Indeed, this surplus
of comparatively idle young people in
Erin is credited with filling the ranks
of the illegal drillers. against whom the
public safety act is aimed.
Amalgamation His Aim.
De Valera's banner emblazons the
doctrine that there should be only one
government in Ireland. He wants the
Six Counties and the Free State to
amalgamate. But beyond this there is
little practical talk heard of merging
Ireland's. two governments. It Is admit,
ted that the present system Is uneco-
ncmical. The Six Counties Of North
east Ulster-Antrim, Down, Armagh,
Fermanagh, Tyrone and Londonderry
comprise some 5,237 square miles, about
one-sixth of the total land area Of Ire
land. This area embraces population
Of about 100000.
The Six Counties are represented by
the All-Ireland enthusiasts as being too
small admin tive nit IN Ha
ceptable to all the taxpayers. Linen
and shipbuilding, two of listers major
industries, are suffering depression In
the current business slump Revenues
from these sources for the Belfast gov
errment have gone into eclipse for the
ncnce.
The overhead of the Six Counties
government Is impressive, and when the
inhabitants Of Northeast Ulster are con-
WINGED that the rest of Ireland is govern
mentally capable the merger may come.
But Belfast shows no signs of it yet.
Belfast has its newly completed build
ings Of Parliament and the residence
for its premier Belfast is carrying on
its government full tilt, determined to
march forward.
How Eamonn de Valera, that tall,
gaunt, bespectacled leader, half Span
ish and born in New York City on the
site of the present Chrysler Building, at
Forty-second street and Lexington ave-
nue., Is going to react to these problems
is the question uppermost In the minds
of the Celts this st. Patrick's day.
There he first saw the light half cen
fury ago.
What path Fate has sketched out for
this erstwhile professor of mathematics
in the half century that stretches ahead
and for the nation for which he fought
in soldiers uniform In Dublin Is the
subject of speculation from Cork to
Donegal, from Louth to Kerry.