UJHflT COULD GGRfflflDH DO FOR IRCLflDD jffmes K.m?GaiRG ^4 COLLEGIUM BOSTONIENSE *Uy K^y^-— / /> /•-. f. WHAT COULD GERMANY DO FOR IRELAND? Then first will be born the Millennium of Peace— And, oh! what a garland will bloom in the sun When the oak-leaf of Deutschland, the olive of Greece And the trefoil of Ireland are blended in one! James Clarexce Mangav. 1803-1849 Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2009 with funding from Boston Library Consortium Member Libraries http://www.archive.org/details/whatcouldgermanyOOmcgu What Could Germany Do For Ireland? BY JAMES K. McGUIRE Author of l The King, the Kaiser and Irish Freedom.'' * With Introduction by DR. THOMAS ADDIS EMMET BOSTON COLLEGE LIBRARY CHESTNUT HILL, MA88, NEW YORK WOLFE TONE COMPANY 1916 PV35 ^,3 Copyright, 1916 By WOLFE TONE COMPANY -1.69563 Dedicated to the Memory of STofm iHttcjel Centenary 1815 November 22 1915 The imperishable names of all patriots enshrined in American hearts are those of men and women who dared face and contest, in the name of liberty, hostile majorities at home and abroad. John Mitchel resembled Thomas Jefferson in that his writings remain the greatest force in his country for the perpetuation of the spirit of freedom. Sentenced to fourteen years imprisonment (1848) to the convict colony of Van Diemens Land, he writes from his cell in Newgate Prison: "For me, I abide my fate joyfully; for I know that, whatever betide me, my work is nearly done. I thank God for it. The liberty of Ireland may come sooner or later, by peaceful negotiation or bloody conflict, but it is sure. The day is coming of retribution and the world will hear the crash of the down- fall of the British Empire." CONTENTS INTRODUCTION 17 PREFACE 31 CHAPTER I THE GAELIC RENAISSANCE 35 What the Gaelic Renaissance stands for. — Neces- sity for racial unity and conservation. — National- ism not Socialism present key-note of interna- tional affairs. — Ireland's part in the War. — Industrial prosperity to arise from development of agriculture and manufactures. — Improvement of social conditions essential. — How Connemara may be saved. — Economic lessons from Germany. — How the Irish outside Ireland may help. CHAPTER II IRELAND AT THE CROSSROADS 39 Where the heart of the British Empire lies. — Possession of Egypt and Asia-Minor vital to Brit- ain's over-seas dominions. — Asia-Minor in the light of history. — Napoleon's efforts to disrupt the British Empire defeated by Anglo-Turkish Al- liance. — British diplomatic failures in 1915. — How the Germanic-Turkish Alliance imperils the solidarity of the British Empire. — The Turks as fighters. — The Anglo-French disasters at the Dar- danelles. — Overthrow of Russia as a European Power. — Resurrection of the ancient Kingdom of Poland. — How Ireland received the news of Brit- ish military and naval failures. — The effect on the hopes of the Irish people. — How a German- Irish Alliance would ensure European Peace. — The poverty of Ireland attributable to the Eng- lish occupation. — King George's appeal. — The des- perate plight of England. — Irish relations to Eng- 7 8 Contents land in the light of history. — Richness of Irish resources. — What Germany could do for Irish independence and prosperity. CHAPTER III IEISH HOPES IN GERMANY OR ENGLAND f 54 Impossibility of German defeat by the Allies. — The elimination of Russia as a factor in the east- ern theatre. — The campaign of 1915 contrasted with Napoleon's invasion of Russia. — British prophecies of Russian triumph falsified. — Ireland and Poland. — How the two kingdoms stand towards each other. — Irish sympathies with Ger- many. — The Irish Nationalist press of America favors Germany. — The reign of terror in Ireland. — Failure of recruiting. — How England slanders other nations. — Increase in England's standing army of occupation in Ireland. — Why some Irish- men join England's army. — Dr. Thomas Addis Emmet and England's brutal rule in Ireland. — The destruction of Irish industries. — The fate of Sligo. — Housing conditions in Ireland. — Irish and German conditions contrasted. — The passing of "Home Rule." — Ireland to review her position. — German treatment of Poland a lesson to all small nations. — How Ireland remains true to her tradi- tions. — The efficiency of German organization. — Ireland's immunity from attack by Germany.^ — How Ireland regards Germany. — The true sig- nificance of German-Irish understanding. CHAPTER IV THE REAL ROOTS OF GERMAN SUCCESS 84 Bismarck's conception of the State in respect to the worker. — How Germany protects her people socially. — English Acts based on German models. — German social legislation. — Bismarck's concep- tion of German superiority fulfilled. — Physical disabilities of the English workers. — English un- preparedness a revelation to mankind. — Her cocksuredness proved her undoing. — The lesson to Ireland. Contents 9 CHAPTER V THE STATE OR THE INDIVIDUAL? 96 A War of two civilizations. — The English and German concepts of civilization compared. — Eng- land ever the foe of true democracy. — Her treat- ment of Persia, Korea, and Morocco. — Voluntary enlistment contrasted with universal service. — The strength of national solidarity. — Germany's economic strength after a year of war. — English jealousy of German efficiency. — What Ireland lacks Germany can supply. CHAPTER VI THE GATEWAY OF EUROPE 115 Ireland, the Gateway of Europe. — Admiral Mahan's conception of Ireland's strategical situa- tion. — Her geographical position in Europe. — England's lordship of the high seas dependent on possession of Ireland. — Ireland not physically connected with Great Britain. — The area and phy- sical characteristics of the island. — The spacious harbors of Ireland. — The position of Korea and Ireland contrasted. — The occupation of Ireland by Germany would cause England's downfall. — War demonstrated Ireland's commanding position in Europe. — Effectiveness of German submarine war- fare off Irish coasts. — The English conception of Ireland's importance to the British Empire. — Napoleon's view on Ireland's position. — Danish, French and Spanish efforts in Ireland. — Im- portance of control of North Atlantic approaches to Europe. — England's peril from starvation. — Ire- land as a food-producing country and as a center of recruitment for the English armed forces. — Ireland's liberation from English thraldom will mean the setting of the sun on the British Empire. CHAPTER VII IRISH AGRICULTURAL PROSPECTS 128 The English occupation of Ireland. — Her attitude towards Irish economic developments. — Irish ays- 10 Contents tern of agriculture, fostered by England, uneco- nomic and backward. — Scientific farming un- known. — Ireland's dependence on America for her daily bread. — Irish linen mills dependent on for- eign countries for flax supplies. — The richness of the Irish soil. — Possible agricultural develop- ments. — Beet-growing and sugar refining. — How German science backed by American capital could develop Ireland. — Cattle multiplying, human be- ings dying. — Wretched lot of agricultural la- borers. — The spread of cattle ranches eliminates small proprietors. — What Germany has accom- plished for her agriculturalists. — How German methods may improve Irish farming. CHAPTER VIII MEATS AND PROVISIONS 140 How cattle; have displaced, men in Ireland. — Destruction of the Irish dairying industry. — The raising of "lean" cattle an economic weakness. — How the fertility of the soil is depreciated. — Ab- sence of abattoirs in Ireland. — How the dressed meat industry would change agricultural condi- tions in Ireland. — Its effect on the industrial life of the country. — The establishment of leather and subsidiary industries. — How Irish-American capi- tal and experience can help Ireland to better living. CHAPTER IX RECLAMATION AND REFORESTATION 148 The health of the Irish people. — How it is affected. Findings of Royal Commission on Arterial Drain- age. — Extent of waste land in Ireland. — The operations of the bogs of Ireland. — How the floodings of the Shannon, Barrow and other rivers impede agriculture. — The loss to the country through neglected waste-lands. — Royal Commis- sions impeach British Government of neglect. — Reclamation financially successful. — What rec- lamation has done for Europe. — How the Govern- ments of Holland, France, Germany, Hungary and Contents 11 Austria have dealt with the problem. — The urgency of the problem to Ireland. — Need for afforestation. — English purposeful neglect of Irish resources. — Deserted and neglected appearance of the countryside. — English tree-planting in India. — The example of Les Landes in France. — What Germany has accomplished with silviculture. — How the Irish Parliament before the Union dealt with the problem. — Wealth derivable from tree- culture. — Effects of forests on soils, climates, etc. — Subsidiary industries likely to arise. — Need for statesmanship in solving Irish problems. — Ger- man methods. CHAPTER X PORTLAND CEMENT MILLS •. 166 Ireland's immense deposits of limestones and mar- bles. — The growing use of cement. — Only one small factory in Ireland. — The industry discouraged by English officials in Ireland. — How Irish railways cripple Irish industrial enterprises. — Suitable dis- tricts in Ireland for erection of cement mills. — The future of acetylene gas generated from cal- cium carbide a product of limestone. — Need for capital in Ireland. CHAPTER XI POWER AND FUEL 169 Importance of power and fuel in industrial en- terprises. — Attitude of English rulers to Ireland's power and fuel resources. — England's coal and iron resources the basic of her industrial pre- eminence. — How Belgium, Holland and Switzer- land confound British theory. — Swiss prosperity built up on the use of her available water-power. — Ireland's unbridled water-power. — The rainfall in Ireland. — Available horsepower of the country. — The river Shannon's horsepower at Killaloe. — ■ Position and power of Irish rivers favorable to extensive industrial activities. — Cheapness of power, a factor of importance in production. — The turbine engine. — The production of electricity 12 Contents both cheap and easy. — England underestimates Ireland's coal resources. — Report to Geological Congress at Toronto. — Professor Hull's estimate. — Need for scientific survey of Ireland. — Output of coal in Ireland. — The area and position of the Wolfhill Colliery.— The Castlecomer Colliery.— The Arigna coal and iron mines. — Their develop- ment impeded by lack of transit facilities. — The English Houses of Parliament controlled by Eng- lish coal-owners. — How Irish coal-mining is ob- structed. — The duty of an Irish Government. — The due development of the coal fields as sources of wealth, of fuel, of power, of employment for the future Irish nation. CHAPTER XII THE PEAT RESOURCES OF IRELAND 188 The true gold mines of Ireland. — English neglect of Irish peat resources. — How distinguished Irish- men view Ireland's peat bogs. — Their area. — Irish climatic, labor and general conditions favorable to development of peat fuel. — The suitability of Shannon district for such development. — Peat fuel compared with coal. — Ireland's annual coal bill. — Col. Warburton's scheme. — Subsidiary industries that would arise. — How Germany has developed her waste and peat lands. — Their importance to the Empire. — A lesson to Ireland. CHAPTER XIII THE IKISH FISHERIES 201 Ireland buys her fish supplies from England, why T — The Irish naturally sailors. — The records of English and American navies cited. — British rule cause of all Irish economic ills. — Ireland's success- ful fisheries in olden days. — The Dutch fishing fleet in Irish waters. — Spanish fishers off Irish coasts. — English, Scotch and French trawlers now reap the harvests of the Irish seas. — The tragic de- cline in Irish fisheries. — The Irish language passing with the dying Irish fishermen. — The de- struction of Irish fishing industry by English- Contents 13 made laws. — Untold wealth awaiting Irish people in the deep-sea fisheries off Irish coasts. — The rich salmon fisheries of Irish rivers. — Markets for fish in both Germany and America. — Require- ments of Irish fishers. — Power boats, modern gear, curing station, capital, transit facilities, piers and harbors. — How Queenstown could build up a paying industry for her citizens now idle through boycott of port by English shipping. — How Ger- many and other countries have dealt with the question. CHAPTER XIV IRELAND IN OLDEN DAYS 216 World ignorance of Ireland result of studied Eng- lish policy. — Ancient Irish civilization. — The earl- iest inhabitants of Ireland. — Ireland's former ex- tensive external trade. — Irish intercourse with Europe — National love of learning. — Scotland and England Christianized by Irish. — Irish seats of learning founded in capitals of chief European na- tions. — English wilful destruction of Irish records. — Why Europe should know and remember Irish history. — What Germany has done for Ireland's language. — Dr. Kuno Meyer's researches and labors for the Irish language. — The irony of Fate. — Descendants of landlords who harassed the Irish in Ireland, now being sacrificed by England on the continental battle-fields. — Importance of reviving the ancient Celtic civilization. CHAPTER XV IRELAND UNDER IRISH PARLIAMENTS 231 Prior to 1800 A. D. Ireland ruled by laws made by Parliaments in Ireland. — The political Union with England brought about by most brutal methods. — The Great Feis at Tara. — Poyning's Law. — The Parliament of James the Second at Dublin, 1689. — Grattan's Parliament. — How the French Revolution affected the destiny of Ireland. — England's admitted inability and unprepared- ness a factor in winning Free Trade and a free 14 Contents Parliament for Ireland. — The birth and growth of the first Irish Volunteers. — The Declaration of Irish Independence. — England's Act of Renuncia- tion of 1782. — The phenomenal progress of Ire- land down to 1800. — The lesson for the men of today. CHAPTER XVI THE WORLD 's RECORD BROKEN IN FINANCE .... 242 Germany's domestic achievements during the war as remarkable as her military triumphs. — The wonderful stability of the German Empire after a year of unparalleled warfare. — The financial in- solvency of the Allies. — American bankers and munition makers financing the Allies. — Hostility of the American public to the Allies' war loan. — Successful issue of Germany's third domestic war loan. — A triumph in finance. — Failure of English civil heads in domestic statesmanship. — Germany's trained civilian leaders. — Why Germany can fight indefinitely. — National solidarity of German peo- ples during the war. — Financial support freely offered by Germans for support of the cause of the. Fatherland. — The value to Germany of the cap- tured territories. — What Ireland has to learn from Germany. CHAPTER XVII NEW LIGHT ON THE CAUSES OF THE WAR 255 England's misrepresentation of the origin of the war. — How England wages war. — The Franco-Rus- sian Alliance aimed at Germany. — The Entente aimed at Germany's isolation in Europe. — Eng- land's secret understanding with Belgium. — Her failure to protect Belgium on the outbreak of hos- tilities. — English labor opinion on the origin of the conflict. — English hypocrisy unmasked. — Eng- land's efforts to promote an Anglo-American Al- liance. — England's feverish jealousy of Germany. — Her naval and military budgets. — How Irish good nature was imposed upon at outbreak of hostilities. — The cry of "Avenge Catholic Bel- Contents 15 gium" no longer effective. — How Germany stood with Austria. — What Ireland may learn from study of the situation. CHAPTER XVIII HOPES AND FEAKS 274 Why England's difficulty is Ireland's opportunity. — The old gospel of Irish nationalism. — Ireland's hour of destiny at hand. — What the tragic decay of her people and the neglect of her country should teach Ireland. — The patriot Davitt's views on Freedom. — The cardinal doctrine of Irish nation- ality. — The teachings and sacrifices of the Young Irelanders. — The Irish without arms. — How fail- ure may prove ultimately a triumph. CHAPTER XIX HOME EULE UNDEE THE SPOT LIGHTS 288 The Home Rule Act as it is on the statute books. — Its clauses examined. — The worthlessness of the measure. — The helplessness of the proposed Irish Parliament. — How the English Parliament will re- main supreme. — Why the Act will break down and should be rejected. — The sole hope of saving a race lies in separation from England. CONCLUSION CONCLUSION' 306 The heart of the people beats true. — Are they to suffer and die in order that Catholic Ireland be made the Avenger for Catholic Belgium? — The red herring across the trail. — When they cannot save themselves, why try to save Belgium or Ser- bia? — The failure at Antwerp. — The neutrality of Greece violated by England. — No industrial Ireland while England rules. — Will Ireland, in this crisis, produce a chieftain who will lead the clans ? INTRODUCTION BY DB. THOMAS ADDIS EMMET At the request of my friend, the author, I have undertaken to aid his work by an introduction. He has fully accomplished his purpose, and needs no aid. Yet sometimes two handles se- cure a better grasp. The industries of Ireland of the past are a subject to which I have given much time and study ; not entirely from what others have seen, but from my own personal observation among the people, as early as 1871, along the west coast, where I had no other conveyance but my own footsteps to aid me. I had long been trained in my profession as a specialist to be a close observer, and I possessed a fair knowledge of physics and of practical farming, as followed in Virginia at the time of my reaching manhood. In accord with my judgment, I will first con- sider Ireland's political relations with England, as on these must rest every prospect for Ire- land's future. England's title to Irish soil can 17 18 Introduction claim no better right than that existing orig- inally in her connection with all lands — the gain from might, no more nor less than that held by a highway robber. Eome of old, with France and all other nations of later date in their colo- nization, with the exception of England, con- nected with the capture every effort to concili- ate, and to establish the hope that the change would prove one of advantage. With this treatment, Eome 's title after every conquest was soon gained with the consent and pride of the newly-made Roman Citizen, who generally felt more honored by the right gained than that held by the proudest resident in the city of Rome itself. England, represented by her "Governing Classes," the worthy descendants of their Nor- man progenitors, with their greed for gain, as known the world over, with the power, became at once the unscrupulous violator of every com- mand in the Decalogue, as is proven by any knowledge of Irish history. John Bull has been the octopus and land- grabber of the world, to whom truth has ever been unknown as an obligation, save from ne- Introduction 19 cessity. He has been the murderous extermi- nator and cowardly bully of all weaker than himself, as is taught by Irish history. Every fibre in his construction is but an indicator of his ill-gotten gain. Two-thirds of the English people have nothing in common with ' ' The Gov- erning Class,' ' and are but mere sojourners in their own land. With these I have nothing but the kindest feeling, as I came of the same stock, having among them today relatives and many friends. With John Bull we are dealing, but, with all the necessary facts in the possession of the writer, we will leave him to the well-de- served contempt of everyone outside of his own bounds, and to his sympathizers in this country and elsewhere, of the same stock, whose inter- ests he has always cared for, the only thing known to his credit. Elsewhere* I have written : ' ' The charge has been made frequently, and the evidence has never been wanting to show, that England, from the beginning even to our day, has fol- *"Ireland Under English Rule." New York : Putnam's Sons. Second Edition. 20 Introduction lowed a settled purpose in her determination that the Irish people and Ireland should never prosper/ ' As England keeps the account called the taxes and doles out to Ireland, from time to time, only what is absolutely necessary for special pur- poses, Ireland can obtain no redress under her domination. Few, even among the Irish people, after an interval of more than thirty years, can have any knowledge of this injustice; on the contrary, it is being constantly trumpeted abroad that England, for some time, has made every effort to retrieve the past. It is stated how many millions she has generously advanced for the purchase of land for the Irish people, on all of which she received good inter- est, notwithstanding it is Irish money and eventually she receives the principal. It is also claimed she pays Ireland's portion of the pen- sions for old people among the poor. In reply, I can state the fact, which cannot be truthfully denied, that in not one single instance has Eng- land ever paid one penny of her own money for Ireland's benefit, not even for charity. In the life of the late Colonel Edward Saun- Introduction 21 derson, a conspicuous Orangeman and Member of Parliament from Ulster, a quotation is here taken from one of his speeches: "When Eng- lishmen set to work to wipe the tear out of Ire- land's eye, they always buy the pocket handker- chief at Ireland's expense.' ' There exists no future for Ireland but in- creasing tuberculosis and death from starvation for her people, or an absolute and speedy sepa- ration from England. There was no important industry which the Irish people have not fully developed, and after reaching the fullest de- gree of success, England, by aid of her Parlia- ment, has not ruthlessly destroyed. It has been less than one hundred and fifty years since Ire- land made the hats, boots, shoes and all goods from leather, which were unequalled in quality elsewhere, and woolen ware and linen of every description ; the monopoly of the latter Holland held for centuries. Ireland finally made the best cut glass in the world, and considerable of the best china. For years she was the book and music publishing center, while her inks of every description were rated the best, and even the sand, then used in place of the blotting paper 22 Introduction of the present day, could not be found else- where as good. London and Paris were de- pendent on the workmen of Dublin for the mak- ing of the best jewelry; also copper and steel engraving, watch seal making and engraving. Ireland had the music printing of the world; also she regulated the opera for Continental Europe, for it was rendered nowhere better than in Dublin. The judgment of a Dublin audi- ence determined the career of many an actor or opera singer. England finally, from jealousy and greed, destroyed every industry in Ireland. The Irish workmen were driven out of Ireland for want of occupation, and the greater part emigrated and settled in Paris, where they es- tablished every industry for which France is now noted. The natural resources of Ireland are inexhaustible ; for no other land of the same extent has the Creator done so much and man so little. The possible development of industries in Ireland should not be considered before the mighty power to be obtained from Ireland's water-power is appreciated. From the climate in Ireland, and the lay of the land, every stream s Introduction 23 is kept full to the overflowing as it rushes on its way to the ocean over nature 's obstacles placed at every turn. The power thus generated can- not be found to the same extent in any other country. The coal deposits of Ireland exist to an unknown extent, and if means existed for their transportation they would be far more valuable than the English mines, which are now worked at too great a depth to be sufficiently profitable, or, as in Wales, are being extended to too great a distance under the ocean to be much longer used. The capitalists who built the Irish railways were the owners of the English coal mines and had the course of the railroads built to pass at the greatest distance from the coal and iron deposits in Ireland, while every ob- stacle was made by the government to prevent any effort being made for their development. Since the " Union,' ' the government has laid a heavy tax on the use of native coal. This is but another instance of broken faith on the part of the English Government. By the fifth article of the treaty, or the i ' Act of the Union, ' ' it was pledged that coal, salt, hops and other articles were to have been free from taxation, yet these 24 Introduction articles have all been taxed since. In violation of her pledged honor, it should be stated, every other article of this treaty was disregarded by England, as is her custom with every obligation contracted by her, as the truth seems to be some- thing officially unknown unless she is to be the gainer. There seems to be an endless variety of marbles of every description and color. Among them is found a white marble as pure as any from Italy, and which is seen nowhere else in any northern country. The marble is free from the impurity of iron, which, on ex- posure to the weather, becomes oxidized and soluble, leaving cavities for the reception of rain water. This freezes and, on melting, chips off the face of the stone, leaving a surface for the accumulation of dust, etc., darkening the color of the stone, as is shown to have taken place in the Vermont marble of the monument to Thomas Addis Emmet in St. Paul's Church, and in the stone used in the construction of Grace Church and other buildings. There ex- ists in Ireland the greatest variety of colors of clays, as well as the purest white, with kaolin and porcelain clays for the making of the finest Introduction 25 quality of pottery and chinaware to be found in any part of the world ; also the earths for mak- ing bricks and tiles. At the Crystal Palace Exhibition held in New York in 1850 I recollect seeing a collection of Irish building stone of over six hundred differ- ent specimens, all of which, it was claimed, were of equally good quality. Before the close of the seventeenth century Ireland had demonstrated the value of her glass works, whose production was universally ac- cepted as the most beautiful to be obtained any- where. This was due to the superior quality of certain deposits in different parts of the coun- try and to the remarkable richness in the residu- ary salts found in the ash from the Irish kelp, which, grown on the West Course, where the ocean has never been at rest since the Creation, is found, from being in constant motion, to be of mammoth size. It was nearly one hundred years before Eng- land was able totally to destroy this industry, and she is today dependent on the use of Irish kelp and sand for the success of her own glass manufactories. She never equaled the Irish 26 Introduction cut glass, as beautiful, it was said, as any ever produced in Venice, which in my early days was seen in common use throughout the Southern States. Ireland's woolen industries were never equaled, as the wool was remarkably fine. The climate on the west coast of Ireland, in County Clare and County Kerry, had an effect on the quality of the wool which yet exists after so long an interval, as the wool of the mature sheep in this district is still remarkably fine. We may consider Ireland's possibilities in- definitely and not the slightest doubt can be raised as to the success of any industry in Ire- land if the development be under favorable cir- cumstances. When separation from England has been gained, there will be created at once a demand for good food and proper clothing. We have now reached a point where I should, as a medi- cal man, place on record my experience in con- nection with Ireland from 1871 to 1903. Since then my knowledge has been chiefly based upon published medical records, and from these I am led to believe there has been but little change for the better. The people of Ireland have not Introduction 27 been properly fed for over three centuries, but the children were better cared for before the famine of 1847. Since that time they have shared, as a rule, the tea baker ? s bread diet of their elders, and have been fortunate while reg- ularity of gain and a sufficiency for moderate repletion existed. There was never a famine in Ireland but of England's making, to increase the gain of her own people, when more than ten times the amount of food was being taken out of the country than would have saved every in- dividual from starvation. The famine of 1847 was one of profit to her and her people in her demand for the pound of flesh. The United States Government sent the sloop of war " Jamestown' ' laden to her gunwales with food for the starving people of Ireland, yet not a particle of this abundance ever reached those in want. The cargo was placed by the English Government in a warehouse in Cork and rotted, as well as many other contributions from the charitable of the world. In regard to this, Sir Eobert Peel, then the English Premier, stated that ' ' the natural course of commerce and trade would be deranged' ' by such a way of 28 Introduction distributing charity. After the English traders had gotten possession of every six-pence to be obtained, the government yielded to public demand and made an advance as if of charity on its part, which proved to be Irish money, which Ireland had to repay with inter- est, notwithstanding the greater part was paid out to English clerks, who rendered no efficient service by distributing a ticket for a pint of meal to a man dying of dysentery, to be ob- tained at some claimed depot twenty miles dis- tant and the sufferer unable to take twenty steps. Most difficult is it for the writer to con- fine himself to a consideration of Irish indus- tries when there is so much to be considered in close connection, and the direct result of Eng- land's destruction of these industries from her misrule, where a man may live in a half-starved condition for a year without being able to earn a shilling for a day's work. Ireland today contains more persons doomed to die from tuberculosis than any other country, with many demented and half-witted people, as well as many hopelessly insane, when in 1743 the disease was almost unknown in the country Introduction 29 and the first asylum was built by Dean Swift in consequence of his own condition being an indi- cation of a coming need. The saddest condition of all is the sight of so many blind persons. I have myself come upon some out-of-the-way nook along the west coast where all seemed to be in rags and apparently with no other subsis- tence than some kind of seaweed and a coarse grass that any other animal than a goat would reject. Nearly all were more or less blind, and on examining their eyes, I found a condition with which I had become familiar as early as 1850 among the half-starved Irish emigrants suffering from ship, or typhus, fever. From the low condition of their vitality, due to chronic starvation, the clear portion of the eye over the pupil would ulcerate, and if they lived long enough for it to heal, as the scar was not trans- parent, they remained blind for the remainder of their lives. These details, which would be of little inter- est except to the medical man, must be cited to show that the first industry to be undertaken in Ireland is agriculture. Every portion of the country should be planted, under proper in- 30 Introduction struction, to gain the largest harvest, not to feed England, but to be retained with the utmost vig- ilance for home consumption. No price should tempt the people to part with the food within their reach, to be exported as usual. Pay no debts with it as of old, and resist every attempt made to seize it. The first struggle for indepen- dence must be made on this issue, and will simply be one of life or death. With this war and the great demand for food, Ireland, without this precaution, is doomed to suffer from a fam- ine which may easily exterminate the race. At no time has the future welfare of Ireland been in greater danger than at the present. New Yoek, December 1, 1915. The Author is deeply sensible of the appreciation and en- dorsement of Dr. Thomas Addis Emmet, who by common con- sent is the greatest living authority as a writer of modern Irish history, and whose labors and sacrifices have endeared him to all who wish for the preservation of the Celtic race. PREFACE There are two Chinese proverbs which are relevant to the spirit in which the following chapters are written: There's no rock of empire man shall make, But tooth and tide of time shall shake. Chang Jo Hue (Chinese), A. D. 800. The truths that we least wish to hear are those which it is most to our advantage to know. — Old Chi- nese Proverb. England has long held the ear of the world. As part of her commercial policy she has suc- cessfully exploited the prevailing belief that Ireland, as a commercial or industrialized na- tion, is impossible. This little work will prove a revelation to many practical men who have doubted the existence of the really wonderful rich resources of a land which offers the great- est commercial possibilities for development in Europe because, through centuries of neglect, her resources are almost untouched and easy of access. Were Ireland a free and independent nation, withdrawn from the control of England, with Germany as her friend and potential ally, 31 32 Preface deserving the fast friendship of the United States, the Emerald Isle would carve out her destinies and become one of the most important small states of the world. As long as Ireland remains a West British colony used for sup- plying food and animals to feed the English factory workers — and England never intends to let her be anything else — just so long will Erin remain the most backward and poorest country on the continent. Germany is the most vigorous and healthiest of the great nations and the neutral world dis- covers her latent strength at the same moment when the inherent weaknesses of the British Empire, despite vaster wealth and numbers, are pitilessly exposed to a wondering world. The historic wrongs of Ireland find little space in this volume. They are too well known to be described at this time. Ireland is the natu- ral strategic entrance to Europe while her chil- dren tonight are at the parting of the ways. There are nearly 20,000,000 of them in various lands and only 4,000,000 in Ireland. Their kin across the seas, having lived under the sun of freedom, have a right to protest against the sac- Preface 33 rifice of the remaining remnants, deceived by the representations of the ruthless foe of cen- turies. At present Ireland is only food-produc- ing and recruiting ground for England. What earthly hope is there for her people as a race and a nation until the sun shall have set on the British Empire? In this volume are set forth the economic reasons why England will never permit Ireland to experience industrial and commmercial freedom. The reader is asked to study the chapter containing the text of the so- called Home Eule Bill and see what a wretched sham, fraud, and travesty the measure appears in the name of self-government and how effec- tually the country is estopped from the liberties which have made Canada and Australia factors in the empire. Special attention is invited to the chapters on Irish agriculture, manufacture, fuel, water- power, fisheries, reclamation, transit facilities, and various neglected resources. They have been prepared with great care and the facts and data contained therein are absolutely cor- rect and will, therefore, stand an X-ray test, as the author subjected his data to the two best- 34 Preface known authorities on the special subjects men- tioned, in Dublin and New York, for examina- tion and approval. The Author. New York, December 10, 191 5. CHAPTER I THE GAELIC RENAISSANCE War-battered dogs are we, Fighters in every clime, Fillers of trench and of grave, Mockers, bemocked by Time; War-dogs, hungry and grey, Gnawing a naked bone, Fighting in every clime Every cause but our own. The object of the Gaelic Renaissance is to make Ireland Irish and arrest the progress of mak- ing her merely a West British province. The saving of the national spirit is a labor of love for true Celts, who wish to preserve the native language, civilization, music, art and history. The national character is not to be preserved unless the country prospers in a material sense. The nation must create a sufficient income to maintain high standards of living, otherwise the aspirations of a race are sunk in the woes of the severe struggle for existence. This war has brought to mankind the largest amount of human suffering the world has known. We 35 36 What Could Germany Do For Ireland? have been told for decades that race divisions and racial hatreds were dying out ; that the love of country was weakening, as compared with the love of mankind; this was the age of brotherhood and the triumph of international comity and spirit ; there could be no great war of races or combinations of races ; the old align- ments had perished. There was the great army of Socialists, a wide-world party, powerful in Parliaments and Cabinets, with the symbol of the blood of man and the love of all peoples be- fore the world. They would never kill their brothers in battle. There were Christianity and Socialism united to prevent war, and today three millions of Socialists are at grips, engaged in the death struggle. They were Germans first, Frenchmen first, Englishmen first, Aus- trians first — Socialists last. The cry of national defense takes the place, in the grim, hideous world of today, of the lost call that all men are brothers. Ireland should stand alone for Ire- land, and save the submerging of the Celtic race. This is not Ireland's war. Her strength is in living, in saving her youth and preserving the race from death — live to create The Gaelic Renaissance 37 a social order which will lessen the hardships of existence, and learn that prosperity is the only sure test of the success of national experi- ments. The co-operation of new manufactur- ing industries with improved agriculture will increase wages and population. Then Ireland will not depend on the English market. She will consume most of her cattle, butter, poultry and other products. Her people may wear Irish-made clothes, live in houses made of Irish cement, eat food preserved in Ireland, wear Irish shoes, clothes, use Irish furniture, clocks, watches, shirts and gowns, if she prefers her own wares to others. This is what the material development of Ireland would mean if she was really an important country in Europe. The Irish trade-mark, "Made in Ireland/ ' would be seen often outside of Ireland. Labor would be organized into great productive trades, instead of being dominated, in these miserable times, by the distillers and other selfish interests. The slums of the capital, wretched in the extreme, would be cleared away. Trade and vocational schools would occupy the sites of the distilleries. Industrial villages, organized on co-operative 38 What Could Germany Do For Ireland? lines, copied from Germany, would take the place of the gloomy, cheerless Irish villages that give us the heartache to see them. The pitiful cry of wretched Connemara may be answered, her rich resources developed, and her bogs drained and turned into fruitful soil. The ideals of freedom have inspired the men and women of all ages. If the industrial and eco- nomic system of Germany has brought indus- trial freedom and prosperity to all her states, the young men of Ireland can afford to borrow it and profit by her example. And her friends in other lands can afford to inquire into the causes which have made Ireland the weakest country on the continent and to embrace with courage and fearlessness the spirit and prin- ciples and the practical aid of a civilized state, the foremost in modern economic history. CHAPTER II IRELAND AT THE CROSSROADS The nations have fallen and thou art still young, Thy sun is just rising when others have set, And though slavery's cloud o'er thy morning has hung, The full moon of freedom shall beam on thee yet. Striking heavy blows at the heart of British empire in the East, while English statesmen tremble, the triumphant German organization is marching over the world's great trading route from Hamburg to Bagdad, from Berlin to Constantinople. The juncture effected of the German-Austrian forces with the Bul- garians eliminates Serbia and makes clear the road for the Turks on their march to Egypt. All the world knows at last of the disastrous failures and defeat at the Dardanelles, despite the false dispatches of six months from the Straits. The guns of von Mackensen boomed across the Danube and soon their reverbera- tions will be heard over the Suez Canal and echo through India, the seats of British world power. 39 40 What Could Germany Do For Ireland? Let none mistake the significance of the present spectacle of consternation in England. Eecall your schoolboy histories and remember that the power which ruled Egypt and Asia Minor is al- ways the empire that has ruled the Old World. Every conqueror in history, from Alexander the Great down to Napoleon, has believed that the keys of the world are there. The torch that fired the Balkan powder magazine may destroy the Eastern Empire of England. The power of the Persian dynasty rested on the fate of Egypt, and Alexander the Great ruled the world when he took Egypt from the Persians, 332 B. C. Alexandria as a Greek capi- tal was the center of Grecian world power and civilization. Then, 400 years later, the Eoman victories at Actium settled the fate of Egypt for centuries, while the Roman empire ruled the world. The eagles of Napoleon held Egypt in the early part of his reign, and then arrived England, who effected the final conquest of Egypt when Alexandria was bombarded in 1882. British diplomacy has failed in the Orient in 1915 where it succeeded and saved the Empire Ireland at the Crossroads 41 from Napoleon in 1798. When Napoleon sailed from Toulon that year to conquer Egypt he realized that he would win battles there but could not hold the country without the aid of Turkey. The mamelukes of Egypt were at war with Turkey and Napoleon believed by conquer- ing the common enemy that he would receive the support of Turkey. Threatened in the East, the wily English diplomats won the heir of the Prophet to their side and the Christians formed an alliance with the Infidels which defeated Na- poleon. In the light of history the hypocritical protest from London of the unholy Germanic- Turk alliance is very amusing. The situation of 1798 is reversed and the British Empire is at the mercy of Turkey as the French were un- der Napoleon. His armies perished on the sands of the desert in a manner not wholly dis- similar to the way that the soldiers of France and England are perishing in 1915. With trained officers, there are no finer sol- diers in the world than the Turks. They have no fear of death and are noted for endurance. Only a small part of their available fighting men have been engaged at the Dardanelles, the 42 What Could Germany Do For Ireland? Caucasus or in Mesopotamia for lack of guns and munitions. All men over 16 must go to war and military authorities say they will have 1,500,000 new soldiers ready as soon as the mu- nitions and food supplies are received. All this spells tragedy for British hopes in the Eastern campaign and when the news filters through press-censored Ireland, it is bound to infect public opinion so as to create deep in- terest in the problem of what will happen to the Emerald Isle in the event of England losing the war. This war has taught many thoughtful Ameri- cans the danger and menace of British rule of the sea. They realize that if the United States was at war with Japan, or any other ally of England, American trade and commerce on the ocean could be destroyed as fully as English domination of the ocean has shut off the over- seas trade of the German Empire. There never was the slightest danger that Germany would declare war on the United States. We are nearly 4,000 miles away and a vast expanse of water separates the two countries, forming a natural barrier, making the transportation of Ireland at the Crossroads 43 a great army well-nigh impossible directed against a vast country with unlimited resources. The Wilson administration very wisely de- mands a government-controlled merchant ma- rine to insure the development and protection of American trade. And there is a sentiment, partly genuine, partly accelerated, for a large navy to protect American commerce. With a great merchant marine flying the flag of the United States also trading with Ireland, and with the deep friendship of Germany, the young industries of Ireland could be improved, and markets found for her wares. Her strategic shipping position gives her a marked advantage which has often been pointed out elsewhere. England is a relentless enemy where her com- mercial supremacy is threatened. Whatever the outcome of the war, her ambitious project is to establish by treaty with the United States an offensive and defensive alliance of all English- speaking people in the world. She would cer- tainly be the predominant partner, with the aid of her rich colonies, their immense wealth and vast population. Thus she would feel immune from attack at the hands of Germany or other 44 What Could Germany Do For Ireland? enemies. Germany must control Europe from the Baltic Sea to the Mediterranean Sea, from Eiga to Constantinople. She must, if possible, and at any hazard, take over Egypt and the Suez Canal and aim to split up India, the cor- ner-stones of the British Empire. France, brave and intrepid, but slowly bleeding to death, must be left inviolate as to territory if she separates from Eussia, which mad alliance has nearly ef- fected her ruination. Germany will weaken the Eussian autocratic empire, a constant menace to modern civilization and progress in its vast numbers, and take over Courland and leave Po- land and her 15,000,000 of people to set up an autonomous and independent state under the protection of Austro-Germany — a buffer state between the Teuton and Slav empires, always of infinite advantage to the future of the Teu- tonic forces. Having thus insured her position of suprem- acy in the East, the terms of peace should fur- nish her with the only guarantee of para- mountcy in the West which depends on the com- plete separation of Ireland from England and the creation of a new Irish National Govern- Ireland at the Crossroads 45 ment formed to develop the resources of the island and assured of an alliance with Germany and her allies and the good will and friendship of the United States. The stronger position that an independent Ireland occupies in the Western world the more potent ally she be- comes. A populous, powerful Ireland guarding the entrance to Europe would for a long time guarantee that England would not regain mas- tery of the world. A strong Irish nation, reso- lute in national spirit and character, is essential to Germany in successfully terminating the war ; otherwise she has failed to close the main door on her enemies in the West. Germany could well afford as an insurance of future peace to guarantee Irish bonds and securities for the development of the island, issued on the good faith and property of the people. The British and French financing of Belgium brought the latter country into the war against Germany, while the billions of French money invested in Russia brought that country to the side of France. We know that Bulgaria was the key to the Balkan States and that she was financed by Germany. Likewise, Turkey was financed and 46 What Could Germany Do For Ireland? officered by Germany and the result of her grati- tude is seen in the frightful disasters that have overtaken the British armies at the Dardanelles. It is true that Ireland is the poorest country in Europe, but Germany was a poor country up to 1871, yet in 40 years she has shown the world what economic development has done for a poor people by revolutionizing methods of produc- tion and distribution of commodities so that the surplus of the income of the people exceeds their consumption ; so that the part of the world disposed to be fair acknowledges her suprem- acy in solving the great problems of human existence. On October 22, 1915, King George of Eng- land appealed to his subjects in these words : War has been declared in order that another may not inherit the free empire which my ancestors have built. The end is not in sight. More men, and yet more men, are wanted to keep my armies in the field and through them to secure victory. Sensible Celts who would preserve their race must acknowledge that, having no part of a "free empire" to lose, their ancestors having been enslaved and their country impoverished Ireland at the Crossroads 47 and its institutions destroyed by ruthless con- querors, the plain duty of the people of Ireland is to live and defend their own country. There is not a single page in the last 700 years of Erin's melancholy history which can possibly inspire a true Celt to give up his life to help save the tottering government of the persecu- tors and oppressors of his land. We are in- formed by the Belfast Daily News* and the London Times that, in the first fifteen months of the war, not more than 30,000 recruits have been secured in Ireland, outside of Orange and Tory recruits, and that at the present time (De- cember, 1915) scarcely any real Nationalist vol- unteers are going to the front. This is as it should be always if the remnants of the race are to be saved. The blood of the poor Connaught Rangers and the unfortunate Dublin Fusilliers lies on the heads of the Irish party recruiting *"In rural Ireland, where the Hibernians are the ruling power, the recruiting sergeant appeals in vain. He cannot get recruits amongst the Hibernians, and the few Unionists have already gone or have been killed in battle. The West and the South are disloyal. Even the 5th Battalion Connaught Rangers contains few Nationalists. Looking over casualty lists, we find many English in "Irish" regiments. That is how the Home Rulers are fighting for the glory of the Empire." — Belfast Daily News, October 14, 1915. 48 What Could Germany Do For Ireland? agents who lured those lads to the burning sands of the desert in the ill-starred and fatal Dardanelles campaign and the day will come when the mothers of Ireland will voice this sen- timent. With the British casualty list running into thousands daily and the most terrific battles yet to come, the wise friends of Irish na- tionality at home and abroad must see in this fearful casualty rate the vital necessity of sav- ing Ireland for her future greatness among the nations of the earth. Her youth preserved and the young men and wealth of England gone, there will be left a virile people better able, through the exhaustion of England, to cope with their enemies in art, business and industries. If the Teutonic victories shall recast the map of Europe, as now seems inevitable, and Ire- land succeeds in taking a place once more among the nations, then it is vital to her na- tional welfare that her young men avoid enroll- ing in the British army. They should remain at home preparing to build up a strong and free Ireland, resisting conscription to the bitter end. These views are upheld by practically all of the Irish- American societies and newspapers. And Ireland at the Crossroads 49 those who have been prejudiced against Ger- many by a studied campaign of false news and slanderous reports might well be reminded of the powerful situation of the Germanic forces in the enemy's territory and to court the friend- ship rather than the hostility of the strongest nation in Europe. The Associated Press, in a dispatch dated Dublin, October 1, 1915, notes : Ireland is now at work on a large scale in the manu- facture of munitions of war. The work is now well in hand and no less than one hundred and seventy firms in Ireland are engaged in it. Large orders have been placed in Dublin, and one firm has got an order for $100,000, a small figure on the general scale of this war but a good deal of money for a city where employment is scarce and industry backward. Ire- land never has in the past secured a fair share of government expenditure. Ireland's chief industry is, and must remain, agriculture, and one of the most indispensable of war munitions is food. A vigorous campaign is to be waged under government auspices to increase the output of food products in Ireland. But farmers' sons are not enlisting in the army. The only ray of hope for Ireland lies in the last sentence ; all the rest is a disgraceful reve- lation to the world of the depths of the economic degradation to which the country has fallen after centuries of English government. They 50 What Could Germany Do For Ireland? are to be given industries only in the shape of shell factories to kill a people who never harmed them for the benefit of a country which has made their land the most desolate, miserable and backward country in Europe. The govern- ment is to wage a campaign for the output of food products in Ireland at last, but only in order that the army at home and abroad may be fed. A curious irony of fate that England, the de- stroyer of Irish industries, through the neces- sities of war, should fall back on neglected Ire- land for war supplies, and they should be the first industries developed since the British union with Ireland in 1801 ! We are glad to have this historic admission through the valuable channels of the news service on which Ameri- cans rely for information. Elsewhere the writer shows why England will never grant in- dustrial freedom to Ireland and why the inter- ests of Germany after the war demand the free- dom of Ireland and her separation from Eng- land, and why Ireland then, and then only, can be made a powerful and prosperous nation. It will be seen why England intends always to Ireland at the Crossroads 51 keep Ireland as a grazing and farming island, using the sparse population to feed her factory workers. A country dependent on farming and without diversified industries cannot hope to be important or prosperous as a nation. There must be manufactures and commerce to fur- nish life-blood for a nation. The island, to have a position in the world, must have capital to de- velop her great natural resources, the listing and recital of which will amaze the fair reader who has hitherto relied on wrong information. Every statement of fact and figures in this book has been prepared with the most careful atten- tion, and the information is reliable and the figures claimed to be accurate. The writer pleads for a study of a possible social and po- litical organization in a country bereft of people and industries, and its best blood scattered for half a century over most parts of the world. We plead for the saving of the remnants of a race through the outcome of this greatest and most fearful of wars of races. We believe the star of the British Empire is setting, never to rise again in the firmament with the same bril- liancy. Her vast possessions and enormous 52 What Could Germany Do For Ireland? wealth will not save her from taking second or third place in the affairs of nations. The last year and a half has exposed her impotency and inefficiency to the world and no amount of head- lines can conceal the disasters that have over- taken her armed forces in all theatres of war. On the advice of Sir Edward Grey, her For- eign Minister, England declared war on Ger- many, and according to the London Daily Mail of October 15 : Sir Edward Grey made a statement in the House of Commons yesterday on the course of diplomacy in the Balkans. He said in effect: "I could have won a diplomatic victory in the Balkans only if our armies had had a victory to help me. The Germans have vic- tories and that gave success to her diplomats who were working for a Balkan war." Friends of the cause of Irish Nationality are asked not only to consider the past and present economic situation of Ireland, but the depths of the abyss into which she will have fallen in the event of British final collapse and if fate should ordain that she be not separated from the Eng- lish connection. Hence the necessity for fac- ing facts and studying the German social or- ganization, its ramifications, unity, solidarity, Ireland at the Crossroads 53 business methods, and how they may be brought into intimate relation with the people of Ire- land in the event of Germany replacing Eng- land as the dominant European power. CHAPTER III IRISH HOPES IN GERMANY OR ENGLAND Every attempt to govern Ireland has been from an English standpoint, and as if for the benefit of Eng- lishmen alone. — Dr. Thomas Addis Emmet. One thing seems certain at this writing — Ger- many will not lose the war and will either triumph or force a peace which may recast the map of Europe and, perhaps, Asia. She is fighting everywhere in the enemy's territory, always on the offensive, occupying and living off of 400,000 square miles of the best lands of her opponents. Her eagles are flying victori- ously over several capitals. She is conducting the war at one-fourth the cost to her enemies, and her mobilization of industry, agriculture and science at home is truly as wonderful as her military achievements. The news of the unparalleled German suc- cesses is slowly filtering through to press-cen- sored Ireland, so that even the peasants now distrust all English news, and scarcely a hand- ful of recruits can be obtained along the west 54 Irish Hopes in Germany or England 55 coast of Ireland. There is much official uneasi- ness over the escape of German prisoners from military prisons in Ireland, abetted by the growing numbers of German sympathizers. When the writer was in England and Ireland at the opening of the war, the English really be- lieved that the Russians were to take Berlin in- side of three or four months. Colonel Johnston, His Majesty's recruiting officer at Enniskillen, County Fermanagh, told the writer in Septem- ber of 1914 that, in his judgment, the Russians would have their Christmas dinner at Berlin. Poland and Ireland — Warsaw and Dublin — two countries and two capitals, linked together in all Irish historic thoughts of what might have been, so much alike in their history, religion, genius, sufferings and monuments. In no place outside of Poland will her fate or destiny, from now on, be watched more anxiously than among the students of Irish history and literature and the friends of Irish freedom. Early in the present year we said: The rapidity and sureness with which the German armies drove the Russians from Eastern Prussia will mean the taking of Warsaw. With the support of the Austrians, it is certain that Russia not only will be 56 What Could Germany Do For Ireland? utterly unable to reach Berlin, but cannot hope to succeed in an invasion of Germany. In railway com- munications and commissaries' supplies the Russians are inferior and unable to cope with the superior Ger- man methods. These superior preparations, com- bining unexampled qualities of skill and efficiency, offset the vast hordes of Russians; brains, not num- bers, will win. The writer further said : England is bluffing the world but will be found out before the end of the war, when events will determine whether Russia or England is running the closest race for the first prize as the most inefficient unit in the war, aside from her wealth. Most of the world thinks only of the power of money, and has taken it for granted that England would buy her way to victory through alliances and promises of territory, and that the apparently unlimited power of British gold and her command of the seas would soon extin- guish Germany. As the British Empire gar- ners its wealth from three-fourths of the world, twelve hundred million dollars of it thus early have been poured on American shores for muni- tions of war, thus hardening and corrupting millions of our people. Yet this will not avail. The war has cost Eussia $5,000,000,000, com- Irish Hopes in Germany or England 57 pleting, if continued, the financial ruin of France and England, while the whole world is witness to the Russian collapse. Despite the pretended scoffing of the submarines, they have destroyed ships and cargoes to the value of more than a billion dollars. It is time for Ireland to take stock, face the world of the future, a new world and map of nations, and see where she is coming out. One of our most popular ballads contains the lines : I met with Napper Tandy, And he took me by the hand And said how is poor old Ireland, And how does she stand ? HOW DOES IEELAND STAND? We know in America that the overwhelming majority of men and women who have ever taken any interest in the Irish National cause strongly sympathize with Germany as against England. They are not unfriendly to France or Belgium, and they would be more nearly unanimous if the outcome of the struggle was confined to England and Germany. The pic- ture of Belgium has had to be painted and re- painted many times to keep the eye arrested of 58 What Could Germany Do For Ireland? even those Irish- Americans who profess to sup- port England as the belated defender of small nations. With one exception, the weekly news- papers in the United States which make a spe- cialty of Irish news are supporting the German cause as against the British. The largest so- ciety, the Ancient Order of Hibernians of Amer- ica, with 200,000 members, has steadfastly op- posed Mr. Redmond's recruiting campaign. Not a single public meeting has been held in the United States favorable to Mr. Redmond or his recruiting policy since the outbreak of the war. Men who still cling to his organization on this side, the United Irish League, say they are sending no money across this year. The revolu- tionary societies show many signs of strength and have the support of several newspapers. With one or two notable exceptions, the many Catholic newspapers of the United States waste few words in favor of the position of the Brit- ish government in this war. At first their edi- tors were carried away by sympathy for Bel- gium, but as they have come to realize that war was declared on Germany by England, osten- sibly to save Belgium, actually to destroy Ger- Irish Hopes in Germany or England 59 many as an economic factor in world produc- tion and distribution of commodities, they have mostly changed their opinions and sympathies. And their opinion is not likely to be altered by Mr. Redmond's refusal to heed the appeal for peace made by the Bishop of Limerick, in the name of His Holiness, Pope Benedict. This disregard of the Papal appeal, in the name of Christianity and humanity, greatly shocked very many Catholics, for the essence of the Red- mond answer is that Irish Catholic blood must avenge Belgium Catholic blood. The writer has received close to 1,200 letters from the Catholic clergy in the United States alone, and from many Protestant ministers, endorsing the views laid down in his book, "The King, the Kaiser, and Irish Freedom," and manifesting the deep- est distrust of the British Government. Despite the fact that little news is permitted to penetrate Ireland, unless printed in a man- ner designed to excite hostility to Germany, the British army, according to the London Times, has not secured more than 40,000 recruits in the Nationalist sections of Ireland ; that is, in four- fifths of the area of the country. The only 60 What Could Germany Do For Ireland? newspapers permitted to exist are those which endorse the government. Prominent citizens have been driven out of the country and numer- ous arrests have taken place under the Defence of the Eealm Act. Peasants are arriving at our ports in large numbers to escape army service. All literature from America is banned which is found favorable to the German cause. Free- dom of speech and press is denied in all four provinces. Many good people are led to believe that the Germans are modern Huns and Van- dals, merciless barbarians, who, should they land on the shores of Ireland, would murder defenceless women and children. The enormous war patronage of the govern- ment is parcelled out among the party poli- ticians, and their retainers are billeted among the pay-roll men of the government. War sup- ply orders tend to debauch people in Ireland, as well as in America. Newspapers are further subsidized with government advertisements at high rates. A standing army of 60,000 troops is stationed at Irish barracks. They are sorely needed in Flanders and at the Dardanelles, but the government dare not take them from Ire- Irish Hopes in Germany or England 61 land, lest revolution follow. There are many- smoldering embers. Truth penetrates the coun- try through many obstacles and a haze of preju- dices. The geographical situation of the island increases the difficulty of supplying the people with honest information. Few Germans have lived in Ireland, which renders the maligning of that great race the much easier. IRISH HOPES IN ENGLAND Fearing revolution in Ireland, the govern- ment permitted the Irish Home Rule Bill to pass Parliament, and the King signed the Act. This measure is not to go into effect until after the war. Since the passage of the message, the government has disintegrated, through war failures, and a coalition ministry has been formed, with two extremely bitter enemies of Irish Nationalism occupying most important posts in the new Cabinet. Balfour, "Bloody Balfour," as he is known since the cruel coercion days, is at the head of the British navy. Balfour announced that Ire- land will never have a parliament. England's pride and hopes lie in her naval prestige, and 62 What Could Germany Do For Ireland? it is certain that Balfour will have vast influ- ence in estopping the establishment of the Home Eule Parliament. Should his work, at the head of the Admiralty, be crowned with success, he expects to win sufficient seats to secure the re- peal of the bill. All laws in a state of suspen- sion are in danger of repeal or the rescinding of vital enacting clauses. Sir Edward Carson, the malignant Ulster Orangeman, was made Attorney-General of the Crown. Carson led the organization of the Ulster Volunteers, secured a fund from the landlords to arm them, and incited a civil war in Ireland which threatened bloodshed, that was only averted by England's declaration of war on Germany. He scoffs at the possibility of Home Rule, saying that the Ulster loyalists, in proportion to the population, have sent six re- cruits to the front where the Nationalists have sent one. The Ulster Volunteers have obtained arms, while the Irish Volunteers have not been furnished with arms by the government, despite the assurances of Mr. Redmond. The Home Rule Act may improve purely lo- cal conditions and administrations in Ireland. Irish Hopes in Germany or England 63 The measure will increase taxes and burden the country with place-holders. There is not a glimmer of hope in it for an industrial revival or the return of the commerce destroyed by English laws. In fact, the terms of the bill ex- pressly prohibit Ireland from having any con- trol over foreign trade, quarantine, aliens, navi- gation, patents, banks, police, ships or mer- chant shipping. Nothing that might chance to encourage Ireland to become a competitor of England in any industry is permitted. All Eng- lish laws governing Ireland are made as the first fundamental that Ireland shall supply England with part of her food and that Eng- land will supply her, in return, with manufac- tured goods. If Irish flax furnishes a quality of linen which England cannot supply, or Irish whiskey or stout does not find an Anglo-Saxon substitute, such Irish industries will not be in- terfered with. When the Germans .sunk the super-dread- nought " Audacious' ' off Lough Swilly, Done- gal, it marked a spot off a naturally great and deserted harbor, in a county made one of the poorest and most miserable by British rule. 64 What Could Germany Do For Ireland? The conquerors took the land away by force from these poor people and drove them into the wilds and mountains of Donegal to starve. They have been saved from extermination by the faith and courage of a tenacious race ; and as that gifted son of that county, Seamus MacManus, says, he has not found a Donegal man in the United States who has any faith in British promises. Although one of the largest counties in Ireland, scarcely 600 recruits have been secured in that county. None of these hardy survivors of oppression can find any ex- cuse in dying for England. As the Southern Cross of Argentina says, speaking for Latin- American Celts : Ireland would be false to her history and to every consideration of honor, good faith and self-interest if she sent her children to die on foreign battlefields, fighting the battles of the stranger. To all true Celts, for all time, England will remain the Stranger. Prior to the war the regular English army recruited around 40,000 men each year. About one-fourth of these were obtained in Ireland. The London Spectator says that probably nine Irish Hopes in Germany or England 65 out of ten enlisted through hunger and on raw, wintry days. Certainly the class of men in Dub- lin and other Irish towns who joined the Brit- ish army were homeless and penniless, without hope of employment, discouraged, and animated by the thought of being fed and clothed and paid a little in addition. If they had wives, mothers or children, the government would pro- vide a little for them. The writer has seen many soldiers on parade and never such in- ferior men, both physically and mentally, pasty colored, pipe-stem legged, and ill-fed lads as march through the streets of English and Irish towns. And this is the body of luckless Irish- men whom Premier Asquith and Mr. Redmond style "the noblest manhood of the nation." IRISH HOPES IN GERMANY In the first volume of this work ("The King, the Kaiser, and Irish Freedom" ) the writer proved the case by official facts and figures of the destructive effect of British control of the industries and resources of Ireland. In all the storms of criticism which the appearance of the book evoked in many quarters there is no de- 66 What Could Germany Do For Ireland? nial of the charges in history that England de- liberately destroyed Irish commerce and indus- tries for the enrichment of English capitalists and for the removal of a formidable and dan- gerous competitor. Her capitalistic class has been taught for centuries that economic and in- dustrial pressure makes her, in logic, a natural opponent of her neighbor, who must be kept weak in order that her more powerful associate may continue strong. This is why England is always determined to make a truck garden of Ireland and farming centre from which the fac- tory workers of England shall be fed. Ireland is to give the life of her fruitful soil to Eng- land, the live animals and raw materials, which England pays for in manufactured commodi- ties, clothes, shoes, and finished products. She develops no Irish harbors for the benefit of Ire- land, lest such development might create Irish shipping for ports abroad now controlled by English trade. We have shown how the English Parliament enacted laws which ruined the once flourishing manufacturing industries of the country. As soon as Ireland developed an import and ex- Irish Hopes in Germany or England 67 port trade in certain commodities similar to those made in England, repressive legislation was ordered to crush the life out of the young industries. There is no small country in the world where the traveler notes so many de- serted factory buildings, ruins of mills, decay- ing water-wheels, avoided villages and aban- doned docks and harbors — a vast trade de- stroyed that never will be recovered while Eng- lish administration of Ireland lasts. I quote from my notes on Sligo, one of the dy- ing cities of Ireland, and there are many Sligos in that ill-fared and deserted land : One afternoon I was in a small boat on Sligo Bay, a place visited by few tourists. Scarcely a sail was visible in the great harbor provided by nature, ne- glected by man. We were rowed up the Garvogue Eiver by a very old man to Lough Gill. No lake or mountain scenery in Switzerland or Colorado is more beautiful. And yet no boat nor hotel nor sign of habitation on that lake nor near it. Six miles distant was the dying city of Sligo with 10,000 inhabitants, old and poor, the remnants of a stricken race. Sligo has nothing to show at the end of 900 years but the melancholy ruins of a once flourishing town, her aged men and women and their rags. Long since the most of the stalwart youth departed for foreign shores. In the long twilight we saw the Irish Volunteers drilling on the green turf, grim and silent. They speak low in Sligo, almost like a whisper ; the faces seem to have I 68 What Could Germany Do For Ireland? recorded in them the lines of the woes of centuries; and in the silence of the day they eye the great har- bor, unflecked by the white sails of their childhood, and they seem to look across the seas to their children in America. There was a day when the cattle ships for the Continent stopped at Sligo. When the cattle are sold now they must be first shipped on a small steamer to Glasgow or Liverpool. The English mid- dleman must have his profit. Iron is abundant in Sligo, but no captains of industry are there to mine it. An Irish- American dredging contractor who stood near said that with men and money he could make that harbor one of the world's best located shipping ports. "With the map of Europe recast by the war, the interests of Germany demand the separa- tion from her opponents of all strategic terri- tory which will prevent a new alignment of her enemies. The Teutonic forces must first crush Eussia because of her vast numbers and posi- tion along the frontier, making a constant menace, and that can only be done by absorbing the Province of Couiiand into the German Em- pire and by making Poland a free and autono- mous state under German protection. Poland contains 15,000,000 of people — including War- saw, the finest and wealthiest city in Russia — and contains the best land of any large territory in the Czar's domains. All of this territory is Irish Hopes in Germany or England 69 occupied by the Germans. To make Poland a free state will prove to the small states and de- mocracies of the earth the justice of Germany's claim that she did not enter the war for terri- tory or aggrandizement, but for national se- curity. We now turn to Finland, where, like Ireland, the embers of revolution are smouldering. Fin- land is in the extreme of Russia, separated from Sweden by the Gulf of Bothnia. The area of the province is about three times the size of the State of New York. The climate is cold and harsh, but it contains vast mineral deposits and tracts of lumber, with a total foreign commerce of $100,000,000. Finland was an independent kingdom for eight centuries, was conquered by Sweden in the twelfth century, and taken away from Sweden by Eussia in 1809. Sweden has been the most friendly to Germany of all the neutral countries since the war, and undoubt- edly is fostering the Finnish revolution. The taking away from Russia of Poland, Courland, Riga and Finland would cut the claws of the Russian bear at many points where they are sticking out into the seas. And victory for 70 What Could Germany Do For Ireland? Turkey in the Caucasus region would lose to Russian control the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, and revolution might reach across her bor- ders to Persia and Turkestan. In the East, therefore, if these successes are attained, Ger- many would have built up a number of new states, hemming Eussia in much the same way that Germany was ringed around by hostile en- emies before the war. Victory in the East will open a line from the Baltic Sea to the Persian Gulf. In the west, we have shown elsewhere that Ireland is the natural gateway to Europe from America and the At- lantic Ocean, and of unparalleled advantage to Germany in her strategic position if made friendly to Germany by being separated from the British Empire and made a free nation, with Germany as her ally and the United States as her friend. Our friends at Berlin are giving serious consideration to the plan of assisting in the liberation of Ireland, thus insuring her fu- ture on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean, and the guarantees of her friendship have been given to the representatives (now in Germany) of Ireland as a nation. Irish Hopes in Germany or England 71 The Wyndham Land Act and the Laborers' Act have alleviated to a limited extent the con- dition of the Irish peasantry by substituting modern dwellings on farms for the wretched hovels and thatched cabins common in Ireland. But the housing of the people in the cities is ne- glected by the government. In the proper hous- ing of the people, in public hygiene and sanita- tion, the system prevailing in Germany, if ap- plied to Ireland, would reduce the rate of death and sickness, and help to save the many miser- able people condemned to a living death in the poor tenements of Dublin. The evidence taken before the local government board for Ireland on the living conditions of the poor in Dublin is a frightful reminder of the neglect and misery of the Irish capital. The Dublin corporation, in providing for artisans' dwellings, has achieved good results, but is handicapped for want of funds, and so this beneficial work is arrested. The 5,322 tenement houses in the city con- tain 35,227 rooms and 4,331 cellars or kitchens, and of the rooms 32,851 are occupied and 1,560 of the cellars are occupied. There are 20,108 families occupying one-roomed dwellings, 4,402 72 What Could Germany Do For Ireland? families occupying two rooms, 821 families oc- cupying three rooms, and 491 occupying four rooms. It will thus be seen that 78 per cent, of the lettings are one-room lettings. In a special report to the Board of Trade, made in the year 1908, describing the conditions of the working classes in the principal industrial towns in the United Kingdom, Dublin is singled out as a city of one-room tenements, a fact which is fully demonstrated by the following table taken from Table XIX., Page XV. of Volume VIII. of Cen- sus for England and Wales, 1911 : NUMBER OF TENEMENTS OF ONE ROOM, OF TWO ROOMS, OF THREE ROOMS, OF FOUR ROOMS, PER 1,000 TOTAL TENEMENTS IN PRINCIPAL CITIES OF UNITED KINGDOM a +. s c p v £ a ° a *! a g a 53 P .d 69 9 ,a a i 3 a o § o o Q. u > 3 CO c a 1 be C a S H B a £ 1 339 94 200 134 54 18 10 6 2 210 316 462 190 74 35 21 41 3 105 219 189 213 132 97 305 50 4 104 144 66- 159 185 406 165 239 The average earnings of one-fourth of the heads of families living in these tenements were Irish Hopes in Germany or England 73 less than $3.75 per week; one-third earned from $3.75 to $5.00 per week, the balance from $6.00 to $7.00 per week. In Berlin, for every one man in this condi- tion there are sixty-four in Dublin, and the num- ber of single-room family dwellings in German cities is so small as to be negligible. These " homes' ' of the Irish poor have no closets, and are foul, dark and extremely unhealthy. In Germany the government has taken in hand the building of artisans' dwellings. The writer has looked over tenement areas in other cities and found the most unsanitary conditions in Dublin. Nowhere have I seen so many broken down and infirm people trying to live. The earnings do not admit of fire except in the severest weather, and the shivering, emaciated, poorly fed and clothed children wring the heart-strings of the visitor. Contrast these abodes with the work- ingmen's apartments of dwelling in Germany. There we find the art of city planning, which is being copied in America, of which but little is known in Ireland. The rate of growth in German cities is the largest in the world. The Irish cities are badly laid out, de- 74 What Could Germany Do For Ireland? f ective in sewerage and sanitation, and there is a lack of artistic taste — a general air of "well, it doesn't matter; we have no money for im- provements. ' ' Thomas A. Edison, onr foremost inventor, said, on returning from Germany: The workingmen of New York City are not housed as are those in Berlin. What a contrast to the dread- ful tenements which disgrace and deface New York's crowded districts. The workingmen 's dwellings in Berlin are not tenements ; they may be better referred to as apartment houses, beautifully constructed, per- fectly supplied with light and air, safe against fire, and made up of large and conveniently arranged rooms. What place is more dull at night for a stranger than an Irish city, where even one may not hear an Irish song sung. The music halls are small, the seats uncomfortable, the theatres dirty, badly ventilated, and the comedians and musical sketches mostly imported and sung by London cockneys. The smallest city in Germany has a public music garden for the traveler at night. There are municipal and state theatres, good plays and wholesome comedy for all classes. The Irish, the most witty and humorous race, are Irish Hopes in Germany or England 75 devoid of opportunity for such social amuse- ments. Berlin gave $500,000 to a man who had put in $1,250,000, on condition that he give a certain number of plays for school children, the price of admission not to exceed 12y 2 c. The result is the elevation of the dramatic and musi- cal art among all classes of people. Opera is almost a lost art in Ireland, where the Golden Harp is the emblem of the race and where, in olden days, the melodies immortalized by Moore and the songs of her bards and com- posers thrilled the Irish world. Her larks now sing in other lands. WHY GERMANY IS NOT STARVING The signal failure of the British attempt to starve Germany ought to be a lesson that would draw on the memory of the children of the Irish emigrants wherever found. They should con- trast the neglect, and worse, of the British Gov- ernment of 1846 with the German Government of 1915. The Irish famine is the black curse that haunts the memories of our old people and sends over to America shiploads of weakly peas- 76 What Could Germany Do For Ireland? ant boys from the potato fields of Ireland who dread joining the British army. We are told we have bitter memories and in the light of the fam- ine contributions we should forget and forgive British misgovernment in Ireland, for there may come a better day. We will merely say, then, that the government was incompetent to prepare for the famine. In 1841 the population of Ireland was 8,175,124, and probably close to 9,000,000 in 1845, all under the "efficient" agri- cultural rule of England — nearly dependent on one vegetable, the potato. The potato crop of America in 1844 suffered from blight, but no warning came from the British Government of- ficials. The officers dallied, postponed putting forth measures of relief, delayed the plans to divide the crops, although the crop of the year before was a failure, muddling as usual, and in July, 1846, the blight fell on Ireland, and the most fearful horror that can scourge a people — grim, universal starvation — clutched the coun- try in its horrible embrace. One-fourth of all the people were swept from the country ; a mil- lion died of hunger ; a million more expatriated, starving, dying in the holds of sailing ships ; the Irish Hopes in Germany or England 77 bones of thousands lay along the reaches of the St. Lawrence, the bodies of their children fed to the fishes, thrown overboard from the fam- ine-fevered ships hurrying away from that blighted land. The absentee English landlords refused to visit Ireland, although to some of them the famine spelled ruin. Relief works or- ganized by an inefficient government in London came too late — the wretched people were doomed. In the late summer of 1846 mourners or coffins or shrouds were not to be had for the funerals. Horses and carts gathered up the dead for interment in " famine pits." At the opening of the war we were told that Germany would starve, as Ireland, because the blockade would cut off her wheat and food sup- ply. No one talks of starving Germany now! The government ordered that all bread should contain some flour made with potatoes, and bread is cheaper in Berlin than in Dublin. Every ton of supplies from outside may be cut off and Germany will live. She cannot be starved by the British blockade, and Ireland would not have been destroyed by famine if 78 What Could Germany Do For Ireland? German governmental methods of agriculture had been employed. With Germany as an ally of Ireland, she would have chemists and scien- tists in agriculture to save her from such a fate. When the blockade shut Germany off from oil, she was able to substitute alcohol extracted from the potato for her motors. Her govern- ment is too far-sighted to permit her farmers to center on any special crop, and no such disasters in the fields as have been experienced in Ireland could take place in Germany. Herbert Spencer defines organization as the ability to bring all available knowledge and en- ergy to bear upon the problem at hand when needed. This peculiar method of mind is a German national endowment — the result of thorough, patient study. Transfer their methods of production to Ireland, and they will find a way of doing things well which will over- come both Irish and English neglect. The Ger- mans have demonstrated these qualities in every branch of administration. On each sub- urban lot containing two-thirds of an acre, dur- ing the war the owner must grow half an acre of potatoes, on which he usually raises 125 Irish Hopes in Germany or England 79 bushels. The beautiful rose gardens of Berlin were turned into potato farms. Production for the needs of the people was not reckoned in dollars, but in quality and quantity of starch, heat units, proteins, etc. How much does each inhabitant need to eat? The feeding of hogs and cattle must be reduced to save food for the people. All waste land must be cultivated, and 400,000 Eussian prisoners are draining swamps for next year's crops. All this machinery was devised and operated in three months, while Lloyd George was denouncing the British work- ing class for their shiftlessness and intemper- ance. As a result of organization, sacrifice, unity and mobilization of all the people, whether on or off the battlefields, at home or abroad, Germany is conducting successful warfare at one-third the total daily cost of her foes. Her people have demonstrated to the world that they have the ability to organize society as a social unit, incomparable with the rotting British sys- tem of individualism and selfishness. Young Ireland can well afford to seize this opportunity to inquire on which side lies success or failure after the war. 80 What Could Germany Do For Ireland? THE GERMAN NATION HAS NO QUARREL WITH THE IRISH PEOPLE The men at the helm in Germany know that the people of Ireland have no liberty and have no voice in the war which England declared on Germany. The only member of the British Cabinet from Ireland during the war was Sir Edward Carson — an inveterate enemy of the Irish National cause. Although there are fortified places in Ireland — docks, wharves and military barracks — there have been no attacks made on the Irish coasts, and the Zeppelins have not dropped bombs on Ireland, although the war has now lasted nearly a year and a half, and Ireland is a component part of the British Empire and a small partner in Great Britain. There would be every mili- tary reason for assailing Ireland as well as England, but the Germans know that in Ireland, as well as in America, there is a large class of Celts who are not deceived as to the cause or the origin of the war, and who believe that the best interests of Ireland eventually rest in the vic- tories that may come to German arms. Up to the present time the German Govern- Irish Hopes in Germany or England 81 ment has made good the announcement made by the German Foreign Office on November 20, 1914, when the German Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs made the following official statement on behalf of the Imperial Chancellor, ven Bethmann Hollweg : The Imperial Government rejects with the utmost decision the evil intentions ascribed to it. The Gov- ernment takes this opportunity of making the cate- gorical assurance that Germany cherishes only senti- ments of good will for the prosperity of the Irish people, their land, and their institutions. The Im- perial Government declares formally that Germany would not invade Ireland with any intention of con- quest or of the destruction of any institutions. If, in the course of this war, which Germany did not seek, the fortune of arms should ever bring German troops to the coasts of Ireland, they would land there, not as an army of invaders coming to rob or destroy, but as the fighting forces of a government inspired only by good will toward a land and a people for whom Germany only wishes national prosperity and national freedom. The people of Ireland are coming to notice that the fortified British bases in Ireland have not been attacked, although again and again they have heard the sound of the German guns off the Irish coast. The German submarines make it a rule, as far as possible, to save Irish 82 What Could Germany Do For Ireland? fishing boats and trawlers when they are iden- tified. The people of Ireland have much sympathy for France and Belgium. They are the two countries that hold some sections of the Irish race in line for England, but there is no love lost for England in most of the counties in Ire- land. She cares nothing about Servia, Eussia or Japan, and she always respected Austria- Hungary and greatly admired Germany before the war. This is not Ireland's war, and the pity is that any Irishman should have to die to save England. The British control the press of Ireland. Twelve Irish Nationalist newspapers have been suppressed, and of course it is thus very easy to malign the German race and make people swal- low falsities. There are scarcely any Germans in Ireland. The language is strange, and the minds of many people are influenced in Ireland by the unjust charges against Germany, just as we find well- meaning people in America misled by the Brit- ish cables, but the scales are dropping from many Irish eyes and the truth is being seen. Irish Hopes in Germany or England 83 They recall the fact that Germany preserves the Irish language in her colleges, and that Ger- man professors are among the most noted scholars in the language and history of ancient Ireland. They recall that some years ago the German fleet visited Irish ports and the enjoy- ment of the crews who witnessed the national games in Ireland. They are reminded that when the great Hamburg- American Steamship Line proposed to have its steamers stop at Cork harbor, both on their eastward and westward journey, after the English declaration that the principal English steamers would no longer stop at Queenstown, addresses of welcome and gratitude were forwarded to Germany by the municipal corporations and other bodies in Ire- land. For the first time the flags of Ireland, Germany and America were interwoven, and there was deep regret when the British Govern- ment forced the Hamburg-American Line to abandon its intended and advertised sailings from the port of Cork. CHAPTER IV THE REAL ROOTS OF GERMAN SUCCESS In the second month of the war the writer, in company with an English friend, was riding atop of a motor bus, passing through a factory- working-class district in London. He thought the Russians would take Berlin by Christmas and the " Huns' ' would be driven from France and Belgium in short order, and that English brawn and money, with nearly the whole world's support, would soon destroy Germany. He was merely repeating the stereotyped phrases of the day and place. The writer casually reminded him there was a difference in men, as the result of national system, training and discipline, which in the modern art of scientific war might prove more essential than men or money. Just then the factory workers poured forth from the mills. My friend, who had passed much of his life in America, took sharp notice of the men and women, many of them worn and spent ahead of their time, shrunken, colorless, with 84 The Real Roots of German Success 85 stooping shoulders and bad chests, until he sadly admitted that the men were not fitted to cope with trained men. ' i They seem to be badly fed," he said, and he was enwrapped in gloom after he saw the wretched condition of the women and children crowded in the many sin- gle-room family tenements of the neighborhood. More than thirty years ago Bismarck de- livered the ideas of the German Government and put the working-class laws into effect which have resulted in the almost undisputed superi- ority of the Teutonic forces in every branch of labor and endurance called forth by the strug- gles of the past year. Bismarck proclaimed the German doctrine in these words : Give the workingman work as long as he is healthy, assure him care when he is sick, insure him mainte- nance when he is old. Yfas not the right to work openly proclaimed at the time of the publication of the common law? Is it not established in our social arrangements that the man who comes before his fellow citizens and says, "I am healthy; I desire to work but can find no work," is entitled to say also, ' 'Give me work," and that the state is bound to give him work? "But large public works would be neces- sary,' ' exclaimed an opponent. "Of course/ ' 86 What Could Germany Do For Ireland? replied Bismarck. "Let them be undertaken; why not? It is the state's duty." Then fol- lowed state insurance for the sick and aged, in- dustrial pensions, regulation of food prices, re- striction of monopolies, government ownership, and a marvelously complete government system of education, the like of which exists in no other country. There is much remaining to be done in Germany and many of her institutions and methods are properly criticized. Yet it cannot be denied that the government has done much to steadily better the conditions of the workers and their families and, in co-operative effort, has long been ahead of England, where middle- class hatred of national team-work and class consciousness notoriously prevent the English from working together for the common good. An Englishman with wealth is usually arrogant and considers himself virtuous and superior to all poor people, blames them altogether for the misery in which they are plunged, and bitterly resists Lloyd George's old-age pension laws, copied from those which Germany had adopted for decades. The student of sociological legis- lation invariably turns to Germany as the pio- The Real Roots of German Success 87 neer in laws for the relief and improvement of wage-workers. We quote the words of Frank Koester, a re- liable authority and an engineer of renown: In Germany, as a result of her governmental bureaus of employment and the generally more secure tenure of employment of the employed, during a series of seven years ending 1910, the total unemployment varied from a little over one to a little less than three per cent, while during the same period in the United States, based on averages from statistics in certain States, the unemployment varied from 6 to 28 per cent. It is not to be wondered at under such circum- stances that emigration from Germany to this country is only about one-fifteenth of its former figures. The wonder is that there is any emi- gration from Germany. In Germany, one per- son in four is a wage-earner; in the United States the ratio is one to two and three-quar- ters. Thus a much larger number of persons, especially of women, must work here. In Ger- many the wage-earner retires ten years sooner than in America or in England, where he us- ually drops in his tracks first. When the vast totals of privation, discourage- ment, loss of health, hope and savings are con- 88 What Could Germany Do For Ireland? sidered, as shown by the great percentages of unemployment in the United States and Eng- land, even in the best times, the failure of Con- gress to organize the exchange of labor and em- ployment amounts to little less than a national crime. It is a sad legislative spectacle, that of continual struggles for mean and petty partisan advantages while the true interests of the pub- lic are neglected. "Without government organization the chance of the workingman finding work would be much smaller and the risk would be so much greater that he could not afford to insure himself against unemployment. Thus it will be seen that one good system breeds another, whereas in countries like the United States and England, where there is little or no system, and the find- ing of employment is a haphazard proceeding, the establishment of a system of insurance against unemployment would be chimerical. Having exerted its efforts in securing work for the workman and in keeping his employment endurable and healthful, the German Govern- ment does not in his age or extremity abandon its workman. The Real Roots of German Success 89 During his whole life he has been compelled to contribute to sick benefit and old-age funds, to which his employer and government must also contribute, so that whatever the eventuality, it will already be found provided for. Compensation and benefit insurance has been established in Germany since 1881 and has from time to time been extended. The principal forms are sick insurance, accident insurance, in- valid insurance, invalidity and old-age insur- ance, maternity insurance, widows' and or- phans ' insurance. The operation of this form of insurance superseded claims for indemnity against pri- vate employers and substituted, instead of a lump sum for accidental injuries, small pay- ments made periodically. The word pauper is unknown in Germany, the insurance systems having given the workmen by right the assistance which in other countries is extended as a charge against the public. This feeling of security against the eventualities of the future is a powerful factor in the relations of the citizen to the state and to his employers ; 90 What Could Germany Do For Ireland? it makes life more livable for the poor man in Germany than it is in any other country. Thus the insurance systems as instigated by Bismarck and today copied by practically all civilized countries the world over, lend a back- bone of confidence to the whole empire. The wolf cannot approach the door so closely, and whatever may happen, there is a margin of financial safety, a breakwater between the worker and necessity, which does not involve charity. Thus he feels freer to devote his energies to his work and the result is efficiency ; indeed, the highest state of efficiency which has ever been reached by any nation. A capitalist of renown in America, Mr. George W. Perkins, has noted the success of Germany, as contrasted with the United States and England, in dealing with large industrial units. In speaking of the failures of American trust regulating Mr. Perkins said: While these things have been happening in our own country, our greatest industrial competitor, Ger- many, has been pursuing exactly the opposite course. While our so-called statesmen have been haranguing our people on the subject of giant corporations being The Real Roots of German Success 91 a menace to their liberty, to their business, and physi- cal welfare, and have been demanding that we return to the methods of ruthless competition and abandon co-operation, German statesmen have been preaching exactly the opposite doctrine to their people. For twenty-five years Germany and this country have been pursuing opposite economic policies. Our Sher- man Law was passed twenty-five years ago ; and since that time, and particularly during the past fifteen years, our politicians have thrived and grown fat in an effort to force our business men to be business men under a literal interpretation of that law, which, our politicians have told us, means the breaking up of all large business units and the holding of our commer- cial relations to a strictly competitive basis. Twenty-five years ago Germany was the land of the small industrial unit, and her people were leaving the country every year in large numbers, seeking some other land where they hoped to find better industrial conditions. Then Germany gradually changed her system of economics. Her political leaders, her states- men, with great foresight and after careful thought and study, realized that modern intercommunication must inevitably mean centralization, vast expansion in trading opportunities, vast responsibilities for the State, vast additional powers for the man of large mental endowment and of large means. In place of passing laws to repress and repel and prohibit all this, the Germans took exactly the oppo- site course and began to gather these industries to- gether into large units, under the watchful eye of the government or under the actual control of the government in some form. Rapidly, and practically in unison with the mighty growth of intercommunica- tion, Germany has forged ahead during the last twenty-five years, centralizing her various industries, until now nearly every industry in Germany is or- ganized and centralized in some form of large busi- 92 What Could Germany Do For Ireland? ness unit. As a result, great commercial power and vast commercial profits have come to her people. And now, mark this well: While this centralization has been going on emigration from Germany has fallen from what was a very large figure twenty-five years ago practically to zero during the last two or three years. Does not this rebuke the theories of our poli- ticians and so-called statesmen ? For the theory they have been preaching has been that if we permitted centralization and co-operation in business, it would bring hardship and ruin to our people. Whatever may be said or thought regarding Ger- many's attitude in the present war, no thoughtful, studious man, who has taken the pains to study Ger- many's commercial evolution during the last twenty- five years, can for one moment doubt that her states- men have been on the right industrial track ; that they have been long-headed and far-sighted ; that they have cast off the economics of the past and taken on the economics of the future ; that they have discarded old laws and old methods and enacted new laws and adopted new methods, to keep abreast of the new age in which the world is moving and living; and that all this has been to the great material advantage of Germany's people as a whole. Control of the seas so long, wealth from all parts of the world pouring into the laps of her landlord and capitalistic class, idle parasites on the one hand, idle workingmen on the other, in- difference of the wealthy and powerful to the struggles and weaknesses of the masses in crowded cities, so blinded the English nation that her people failed to see the methods by The Real Roots of German Success 93 which German achievements were won. She has sought through charity, rather than justice, to appease her oppressed working people. Con- fident of her supreme control of the waters of the world, England has been lulled into a fan- cied sense of security. None could enter her world. Germany, the cock-pit of Europe for centuries, surrounded by vigilant enemies, has worked unceasingly to strengthen her race and her states. Sleeping with one eye open, the em- pire only forty years young, always on guard, working early morn, late in the day, and always realizing that any national vice or weakness meant insecurity and decay, this young giant of confederacy is a new modern Germany where genius makes war in workshops, colleges and laboratories, exhausting, perhaps destroying forever, the prestige of the mighty British Em- pire. England, with all her alliances, her vast pos- sessions, population and wealth, according to the London Daily Mail, finds herself in a state of "unparalleled danger." Her internal weak- nesses have made her prey for her enemies and her divisions, advertised to the world, along 94 What Could Germany Do For Ireland? with her enervations, have amazed all save those who have known of the nation's cancers. Germany has never been unmindful of the coalition that might be formed against her. And she has conserved the mental, moral and physical strength of her people to that end. Quoting from Bismarck in his famous speech of February 6, 1888, called "We Germans fear God, and naught else in the world," we find these words : The thought, however, that we can have one million good soldiers for our defense on either frontier will be reassuring. In figures the others are as strong as we, but in quality they cannot equal us. Courage is the same with all civilized nations, but our people are trained, disciplined, experienced, who have for- gotten nothing. In addition, no nation in the world can equal us in our material of officers and subalterns to direct such a huge army. This means the remark- able degree to which popular education has spread in Germany, and which appears in no other country. The degree of education which is needed to qualify an officer and a subaltern to command according to what the soldiers expect of them is found with us far more extensively than elsewhere. We have more of the material out of which officers, and more out of which subalterns are made, than any other country, and we have a body of officers which no country in the world can equal. This, and the excellence of our subalterns, who are the pupils of our officers, constitute our superiority. Jhe other nations cannot equal us in the amount of The Real Roots of German Success 95 education which qualifies an officer to fulfill the se- vere requirements of his station, and of good com- radeship to bear all the necessary privations, and at the same time to satisfy the exceedingly difficult so- cial demands which must be met, if the feeling of good fellowship between officers and men, which, thank God, exists in our army to a high and often stirring degree, is to be established without detracting from the authority of the officers. The relations ex- isting, especially in war time, between our officers and men are inimitable, with few exceptions which only prove the rule, for, on the whole, we may say: No German officer forsakes his men under fire; he saves them at the risk of his life, and they do the same ; no German soldier forsakes his officer — we have experi- enced this. The internal condition of Germany at the end of 1915 means that she will long continue to be the best organized industrial nnit. The world has never seen such mobilization of the energies and genius of a great state, and the interests of Ireland are clearly linked with the states and civilizations which are passing England as world powers ; they are the United States and Germany. CHAPTER V THE STATE OR THE INDIVIDUAL From a London Times editorial, August 3, 1915, recounting bitterly the British war failures of the first year, the following quotation is taken : This struggle has taught the allies many lessons, but the most vital of them is that England must win or lose forever her high place among the nations of the earth. The revelations made in the papers issued by the various governments, and still more the unheard of methods with which Germany is conducting this war, have burned into their minds the knowledge that German victory would mean the irretrievable ruin of England, and with it the downfall of European civi- lization. Between the civilization of England and the civili- zation of the German state there exists a gulf that is impassable. One represents democratic ideals of righteousness and human fellowship, the other annihi- lation of the individual before the supreme right of the state. Nothing can reconcile the two. One must succumb to the other. We are determined that it shall not be the one upon which the greatness of our race has al- ways rested and upon which our noblest hopes depend. The war is the supreme test of European civi- lization in all its branches. The broad and al- ways unclosed gulf between the English classes 96 The State or the Individual 97 and masses impairs her right to call herself a democratic nation, and history shows that in actual practice she is one of the most imper- vious of nations to democratic ideals. Out- wardly the English forms seem to the traveler less autocratic and more free than German gov- ernment methods and customs. And the large standing German army at the service of the state, with the narrowness of military life, op- presses the American traveler, and the tourist, on a short trip, returns with the notion that England is more free and liberal than Germany. These are but surface indications. The writer is acquainted with several Americans who have passed part of their lives both in Germany and in England, and each one is a stout advocate of Germany as against England in the war. The Eev. Dr. Thomas Hall, of New York, a noted Presbyterian minister, native of County Antrim, Ireland, after spending years of his life in Germany and England, says the qualities of German civilization are the highest, and that in actual practice the German ideals of adminis- tration are more genuinely democratic than the English. They have made the cities the home 98 What Could Germany Do For Ireland? of democracy, he states, and all will die for that home. The test of a government is not in its forms or name, but in the condition of the people. Mexico boasts of a most flexible, democratic constitution, and her leaders who have shouted liberty the loudest have proven the greatest ty- rants and blood-shedders. Several of the South American republics and Central American states under democratic forms have oppressed the people, assassinated their rulers and beggared the land. Until within the past few years democratic England would not permit an Irishman to own land in his native country. In France we find the Socialist leaders rising to eminence and the control of the government on the backs of the masses, entering the Cabinet, only to be charged by their followers with be- traying democratic ideals and selling out to the capitalist class. In the same year that the British " democ- racy' ' was proclaiming the deliverance of small nations from Napoleon (1814) the same govern- ment issued an order "to destroy and lay waste The State or the Individual 99 all towns and districts of the United States found accessive to the attack of the British ar- maments." The real democrats in the British Cabinet, John Morley, John Burns, Trevelyan, Haldane, were thrust aside by the crushing power of the English commercial classes, jealous of German success in trade. The voice of pure democracy burst forth from the hearts of J. Ramsay McDonald, M. P., the late Keir Hardie, M. P., George Bernard Shaw, Frank Harris and Ar- thur Ponsonby, protesting against the war on Germany as unjust and unnecessary. England as a "pure democracy" destroyed the only two remaining democratic states in Africa or Asia, the Boer Republic and the Orange Free State. Germany has never had a quarrel with a democratic power since the em- pire was formed. The complex changes of civilization have tended to increase the duties and power of the state and correspondingly lessen the power and limits of the individual. If the German state, despite unpleasant forms, brings its population to more contentment and happiness than a de- 100 What Could Germany Do For Ireland? mocracy moulded in Britain, where so many in- dividuals claim the right to starve and live miserably, then some of us may well question the alleged superiority of the system of indi- vidualism which England says she is fighting to preserve. Belgium is not a democracy but a kingdom, in social legislation one of the most reactionary countries, and in her conquest of the Congo ruthless, pitiless in her greed for rubber, and proven to have committed most horrible atroc- ities on the natives. Students of history are fully aware that England has never gone to war to save a small nation. In the light of her black record in destroying so many small nations, and her several unsuccessful attempts to destroy the American democracy, one is amazed to find many Americans sympathizing with England on the queer theory that she is the champion of small nations and the last valiant defender of democracy abroad. Germany, hemmed in on all sides by ambitious nations, desiring to expand, found it necessary to centralize and apparently sacrifice the am- bitious projects of the individual to the good of The State or the Individual 101 the state. This plan has worked out well, has bulwarked and barricaded the national ideal with the feeling of her entire population, so that her national unity and common purpose, isolated though it may have made her in some "neutral" quarters, has proved her salvation in the war. Anxious to court public opinion in America, believing that she is misunderstood and slandered by England, who holds the ear of the world, no matter how important our good will might be, she never forgets, first and last, that the solidarity of opinion of her own people is vital and paramount, and that is the basis of all of her moves in war and economics. Macauley says that "of all aristocracies the English is the most democratic and of all de- mocracies the English is the most aristocratic. ' ' The present government of England in the House of Commons is the shopkeepers, through the shopkeeper's barristers, and in the House of Lords the scions of the houses of landed aris- tocracy, between which houses there is an im- passable class barrier, and yet the merchant, class conscious commoner, is often found aping the nobility, secretly admiring or envying the 102 What Could Germany Do For Ireland? lords, and hoping against hope to receive a title from the king. When you are on the high seas or in the tropics with a mixed company of Germans and English, almost invariably you find the former more liberal and democratic than the English, whose conceit and arrogance are insufferable. I remember meeting one in the West Indies who was hurrying home to vote for Member of Par- liament, and he could vote four times, as he held property in four places. In Germany a man votes once only for the Reichstag, as it should be. There is no restricted property suffrage, which somewhat reduces the claimant 's right to be considered a pure democracy. The scientist, Alfred Eussel Wallace, says the history of no other country affords a paral- lel for England's "hypocritical lack of national morality,' ' as borne out by her history. Indi- vidualism, carried to the extreme, has not made out a good case for democracy when twenty per cent, of all men in England are consigned to a pauper's grave, and where millions of people are part of families which live in a single room. The sad cries of Belgium have appealed to The State or the Individual 103 the individualist's spirit of the English people, no doubt, and the commercial class ministry of Asquith and Grey has succeeded in convincing the wageworker that he is the defender of Bel- gium and all small nations, contrary to history ; and as the London Leader said at the opening of the war: Britain is now supposed to be the champion of small peoples, yet we have the example of Persia be- fore our eyes today. Persia, whose independence was guaranteed by Britain and who has been swallowed by Kussia! The neutrality and independence of Korea was guaranteed by Britain, France and Rus- sia, but Korea was seized by Japan and her queen murdered by Japanese agents. Morocco was divided between France and Spain, with the connivance of Britain, for England, like every other nation, breaks treaties when convenient to herself. The writer does not contend that the English democracy lacks virility in parts, or is wanting in courage or patriotism, or has failed to ac- complish notable reforms for the good of the people, but he does claim, and his opinion is based on close observation of the two races for the past two decades, and a study of facts, re- sults and reports, aided by the opportunity to travel and observe, that England is breaking 104 What Could Germany Do For Ireland? down under individualism and unrestrained competition, whereas Germany is more con- stantly prosperous; works along co-operative lines, steadily advancing; that her centralized system is better for her people in the mass and is turning out stronger men and women, better fed, trained and disciplined children; and that she is superior to England in national unity and execution. The writer would not enlarge on the national vices, slackness, lack of patriotism and selfish- ness, with which traits of national character England is twitted by her own distraught leaders and newspapers. Sufficient to say that the efficiency of the German state system, so despised by the individualists, has not broken down anywhere. The people suffer and die and undergo terrible sacrifices, but the national spirit, resource, character, invention and unity are as fine and as sure as at the outbreak of the war. There are no German weaknesses to be exposed. The training and discipline of forty years have accomplished their work. Under the "pure democracy" and individual system of England, the war has exposed to the The State or the Individual 105 world the instability of relations between the employer and wage workers. The manufacturer wanted to make "big money' ' out of the war and the toiler wanted an eight-hour day and double wages. Many in both classes wanted someone else to do the fighting, and the result has been a poor army made up of volunteers, while the able-bodied and skilled men in great part have remained at home to profit, if pos- sible, by the large profits and unusual wages paid to workers. In Germany, whose every man, fit, mentally and physically, must serve in the army, none can remain behind save those who are absolutely necessary for the welfare of the people at home. The average German regards great war profits from his country as a crime of sacrilege, and the largest manufac- turers have given up most of their profits, either to the government on the war loans or to the various relief funds. There has been no sudden jump in war munition fortunes or in the wages of labor, or any army contract scandals, as in England, where manufacturers have been sentenced to imprisonment for actually selling war supplies to the Teutons. In Germany, the 106 What Could Germany Do For Ireland? available young, unmarried men are at the front, in sharp contrast to the single men of England, who, in great part, have permitted the married men to lose their lives in the trenches while the wives and children will be left to struggle for existence after the war. In a coun- try where individualism and sharp competition survive as a system and produce a multitude of unfit, the toll and reckoning is paid when a great war demands the life-blood of the people. The Russian peasant, without skill or educa- tion, victim of centuries of bad government, falls like chaff before the trained and educated Teutons. While the English factory worker or farmhand recruit, worn out by his system of production and economics, swells the cas- ualty lists out of proportion to the size of the army. This lamentable exhibit is not due to lack of courage or intrepidity. They are brave, but they are not equal to their more hardy and scientific adversaries, because their country has sacrificed the minds and bodies of the men to individual money-making. And the mothers and women and children were not protected in the fierce struggle to control the world's mar- The State or the Individual 107 kets. London is the only place I have seen in Europe or America where labor is such a plen- tiful commodity that it can be hired by the one or three hours. In this period of war all labor is employed, and small wonder is it that the submerged, finding at last a steady job at princely wages, reject the appeals of the re- cruiting sergeant. Great sacrifices have been made by a limited number of people in England during the war, but there has been no national sacrifice as in France or Germany. They must not forego their pleasures and amusements or luxuries, even though they are told over and over again by press, pulpit and government that the very existence of the empire is in grave peril. At the end of the first year of the war the annual expenditure of the island of England alone for jewelry was $125,000,000, for alcoholic liquors $900,000,000, gambling $125,- 000,000, tobacco $150,000,000, golf $25,000- 000. A race horse sold for $200,000 and $20,000 was paid for two antique snuff boxes. In Germany the spirit of thrift is universal and the man or woman guilty of extravagance, 108 What Could Germany Do For Ireland? of failing to share or to give, is shunned and ostracized in all cities and villages. In the United States we no longer hear the cry that this is the Kaiser's war. Those voices have been stilled in the presence of German unity. Rome, in the greatest days of the em- pire, never showed the universal spirit and soli- darity of the German nation after sixteen months of the deadliest war the world has known. The proletariat of France never rallied to the colors of Napoleon with the unanimity shown by the Socialists of Germany or the brave Bavarian Catholic troops, united in de- fense of the Fatherland. A large section of the American nation, including most of her wealthy men, opposed the illustrious Washington and allowed his troops to starve and freeze. Would that Ireland, in her long and bloody history, could have given proof of such national unity ! From the Baltic Sea to the River Elbe, from the banks of the Rhine to the banks of the Vistula, in every home, from the head of the house and mother down, lies the spirit of self-sacrifice, and the motto is, "one for all — all for one." Dr. Karl Helfferich, Secretary of the The State or the Individual 109 Imperial Treasury, has prepared a signed statement on German economics and finan- cial affairs, as he views them at the end of the first year of the war. His statement fol- lows : The economic and financial features of the first year of the war are, in my opinion, the following : First. — The British starvation war has failed. Once and for all it has been proved that our domestic pro- duction of foodstuffs, bread card system and maxi- mum prices assure even to the poorest the necessary supply of food, and that at prices lower than prevail- ing in Great Britain. Second. — Nor can we starve in raw materials. The difficulties cast in the way of the importation of raw materials, in violation of international law, are un- pleasant for us, but are not fatal. We have in our own country an ample supply of the most important raw materials — coal and iron — and of others we have on hand, manufactured or unmanufactured, great sup- plies, which, with the economical employment thereof insured by our methods of organization, are virtually inexhaustible. Third. — The specter of unemployment has been banished. There is more work than workers. The war has proved itself to be a greater employer of labor than our export trade was. Fourth. — So far as finances are concerned, Germany will carry the war through for an unlimited time. "We produce in our own country virtually everything needed for war. Thus expenditures for war purposes resolve themselves into savings; these, again, are at the empire's disposition as payments on the war loans; and deposits are flowing into the banks and savings institutions more plentifully than in times of 110 What Could Germany Do For Ireland? peace. The total of deposits today, after over $3,000,- 000,000 have been paid on war loans, is higher than at the outbreak of the war. The gold reserve of the Reichsbank has almost doubled since the war began. Notes and deposits in the Reichsbank covered by gold are 33.5 per cent., as compared with 26.7 per cent, in the Bank of France and 21.7 in the Bank of England. Fifth. — The confidence of the German people in our financial strength is as unbounded as their confidence in our military superiority. After twelve months of war, Imperial 3's are quoted at 70, which is 8 points below the quotation in March, 1914; the minimum price of British Consols, 65, is 11 per cent, below the quotation in March, 1914 ; 3 per cent. French Rentes, at 69, are 19 per cent, below March, 1914. "Work, skill, discipline, organization, economy, and last but not least, the categorical imperative of patriotism have upheld Germany in the first year against enemies, and will help us further to win the war. Thus we see that militarism is but one of the arms which account for German victories. Only in the last few years has England taken steps to save the poor, and all students of social legis- lation know that Germany is far ahead of England in all works to ameliorate the working, living and housing conditions of the people. Friends of Ireland must seriously consider at this period the leadership of Germany in the qualities of organization, co-operation,, getting things well done^ and apply to Ireland, with German aid, a system of organizing her re- The State or the Individual 111 sources and developing her industries, thus breaking away from the chains that will bind her to an exhausted England, perhaps an eco- nomic corpse after the war. Ireland is too poor to pay her allotted share of the huge war debt and her misery will increase. While Germany rolled up wealth along with England in times of peace, poverty and misery increased among the English and lessened among the Germans. The writer has seen men and women in the streets of England digging in the garbage cans for food. English snobbery and hypocrisy will not forgive the Germans for greater success in solving sociological prob- lems. Charity, not justice, for the poor is the only remedy applied to them in England. Rarely do you find a rich man in that country who does not condemn the poor for their mis- fortunes. That a man should not be able to provide more than one room for his family sets him down as a disgusting failure. They were almost on the verge of social revolution when the war broke out, and many competent ob- servers believe that Asquith went into the war to save the destruction of the home government. 112 What Could Germany Do For Ireland? They blame the Germans for preparedness in the art of war, bnt why should they blame them for their superior science? The Germans have done wonders in electricity, chemistry, surgery, water-power and food products, while the Eng- lish have been standing still. They are the solid foundation on which Germany stands not to lose this war. That is the spirit which possesses every German household from the master down to the family cat. Success and superiority in nations as well as individuals always excite hatred and jealousy. Mr. H. G. Wells, the eminent English critic, said before the war : We in Great Britain are now intensely jealous of Germany. We are intensely jealous of Germany, not only because the Germans outnumber us and have a much larger and more diversified country than ours, which lies in the very heart and body of Europe, but because in the last hundred years, while we have fed on platitudes and vanity, they have had the energy and humility to develop a splendid system of na- tional education, to toil at science and art and litera- ture, to develop social organization, to master and better our methods of business and industry, and to clamber above us in the scale of civilization. This has humiliated and irritated rather than chastened us. The absence of factories and commerce from the greater part of Ireland accounts for the The State or the Individual 113 failure of her immigrants, as a class, to gain much of a footing in the business world. The young men who are forced to leave the island and make their way in strange lands, with few exceptions, lack commercial training. How often do we hear people say that they rarely find a Celtic name over the shops and factories of American cities ! A race of business men is not made in a single generation. The Irish im- migrants turn- to the police force, politics and those pursuits we see them in the oftenest be- cause they and their fathers were never fur- nished with the opportunity in Ireland to learn modern business. Commerce in a large way is a dead art in all but one county (Antrim) and the immigrant class cannot be expected to cope with conditions wholly unfamiliar to them and their day and generation. They need the ex- perienced and efficient brains of the trained Germans to help them get a start in the race. They are adaptable and learn easily, but they are without the wealth, tools and scientific knowledge necessary to develop the long-ne- glected resources of the country. The individ- ual needs the protection of the state, and in the 114 What Could Germany Do For Ireland? German co-operative system, as against the English rule of the survival of the fittest, lies the only hope of the Celtic race ever making practical use of their natural resources. The national health insurance laws have bene- fited the city workers of Ireland, but as most of the people depend on agriculture, the latter class have shared little in its benefits. The laws are only three years old, copied from Ger- many, whose people have been protected by in- surance laws for thirty years. In Germany the government insures all of its workmen against the certainty of death, which is not allowed in Ireland. CHAPTER VI THE GATEWAY OF EUEOPE IRELAND IS THE GATEWAY OF EUROPE The late Admiral Mahan of the United States Navy is conceded to have been one of the fore- most writers of his time on naval warfare. He is the authority for the statement that ' i Ireland, by geographical position, lies across and con- trols the communications of Great Britain with all the Eastern World, save only that consider- able, but far from preponderant, portion which borders the North Sea and the Baltic. ' ' In his opinion, were Ireland independent and hostile to England, her position would manacle Eng- land. From that standpoint he concluded that England could not afford to concede Home Rule to Ireland without undermining her own stra- tegical position. Glancing at the map of Europe, it is easy to see that Ireland is the natural connecting link between the Eastern and Western Worlds. To the east lies the continent of Europe, of which "5 116 What Could Germany Do For Ireland? it is the most westerly part, whilst to the west of Ireland, directly facing it, lies North Amer- ica, comprising the United States and Canada. The promontories of Ireland on its north, west and sonth coastlines are visible at an immense distance ont at sea, and its commodious harbors on the south and west stretch out wide into the Atlantic, inviting a union between the Eastern and Western Hemispheres. Ireland enjoys a commanding position on the globe — a fact so early and long recognized by England that it has influenced the policy of suc- cessive British administrations during the past seven hundred years in respect to Ireland. The possession of Ireland by England has placed the dominion of all the seas in Britain's hands, and has enabled her to build up the vast mercantile marine that now carries the goods of the world, to the enrichment of the British Empire. The importance of Ireland's position was known to the Danes, who attempted, but failed, to subju- gate Ireland to the rule of the Vikings more than eleven hundred years ago. In the early years of the Christian era, when the Roman Empire dominated the then known world, The Gateway of Europe 117 Agricola laid plans for the conquest of Ireland. The Romans conquered Britain, yet hesitated to attempt the enslavement of the then powerful Celtic nation, so that Ireland never passed un- der the dominion of the Caesars. Ireland is not physically connected with Eng- land or with Scotland. It is an island — the sec- ond largest and the most westerly in Europe ; its boundaries are clearly denned and marked out by nature. Ireland's frontiers are far more definite than the boundaries of the large ma- jority of the remaining European countries. The mighty Atlantic laves the northerly, west- erly and southerly shores of Ireland, whilst on the east Ireland is divided from England, Scot- land and Wales by the North Channel, the Irish Sea and St. George's Channel. Within 100 miles of the west coast of Ireland, a depth of 1,000 fathoms is obtainable in the Atlantic, and within 200 miles of the Kerry coast, the south- west corner of Ireland, the abyssal depth of over 16,000 feet is recorded. The fusion of England, Scotland and Wales into the Commonwealth of Great Britain ap- pears perfectly natural, judged by the physical 118 What Could Germany Do For Ireland? connection that unites all three countries, but no such connection joins Ireland to any or all of these countries. The total area of Ireland (32,500 square miles) is 20,371,125 statute acres, of which 120,- 329 acres are under water. In addition, some 481,293 acres are under the large rivers, lakes and tideways of Ireland. The coastline is mountainous, indented with a multitude of natu- ral harbors, bays, creeks, etc. The interior of Ireland is, with few exceptions, practically a level plain of meadow and heathland. The soil of Ireland is fertile in the extreme — a fact well recognized by all authorities. Despite its north- erly situation, the climate of Ireland is mild and agreeable, caused in part by reason of the fact that its southerly and westerly shores are laved by the warm waters of the Gulf Stream. Ire- land's chief harbors on the south, west and north are Waterf ord, Dungarvan Bay, Youghal, Cork, Bantry Bay, Smerwick, Dingle Bay, Va- lentia, the Mouth of the Shannon (the largest river in the United Kingdom), Galway Bay, Clifden, Clew, Blacksod and Sligo Bays, Lough Swilly and Lough Foyle. All of those are deep, The Gateway of Europe 119 natural harbors and afford safe anchorage for shipping. Some of them, particularly Cork Harbor, Bantry Bay, Galway Bay, Blacksod Bay and Lough Swilly, are so wide and deep and so easy of access that a mighty fleet can ride with safety on their expansive land-locked waters. The European-Asiatic continent has at its ex- tremities countries whose strategical impor- tance is recognized by all authorities on naval and military matters. These are Korea on the east and Ireland on the west. It is considered vital to the future growth and development as a first-class world power of the Japanese Em- pire that Korea should remain under the domi- nation of the Mikado. Ireland is even of more vital importance strategically to England than Korea is to Japan. The occupation of Ireland by a world power, such as Germany, and its con- version into a naval and military base, would bring about speedily the downfall for all time of England from the rank and status of a first- class world power. That such would be the con- sequence to England of Ireland's passing into the hands of some other great power cannot be 120 What Could Germany Bo For Ireland? disputed. England would be flanked on her western side, but not merely that alone. Did Germany possess Ireland today, England would be enclosed and her situation would be hopeless in the extreme. The present war has demonstrated, in a man- ner never before so clearly recognized, the im- portance of Ireland's strategical situation in the event of an outbreak of European hostil- ities. By reason of the disposition of her nu- merically superior fleet, England (in the Eng- lish Channel and the North Sea) has been able to arrest all sea-borne traffic intended for Ger- many. On the other hand, Germany has been able to inflict serious damage on English ship- ping by her submarine warfare waged from off the coast of Ireland. The destroyed tonnage is conceded to be an amount of 640,000 tons dis- placement, which, at an average present value of $150 per ton, means a loss of nearly a billion dollars in vessel values, to say nothing of the loss of the cargoes. The largest number of English vessels destroyed in the present war were torpedoed and sunk by German under- The Gateway of Europe 121 water craft operating off the south, west and north coasts of Ireland. What are the geographical conditions that mark out Ireland's situation on the globe as of such high strategical importance? Let us ex- amine this question from the English point of view first. The history of England in its rela- tion to Ireland clearly teaches that English pol- icy in regard to Ireland has always been di- rected towards keeping Ireland under British dominion, and at the same time to bring about an economic situation in Ireland that would keep Ireland weak and dependent upon England in all matters affecting her existence. In Henry VIII. 's view, "Ireland as a subject or indepen- dent ally of a Continental power would menace the existence of England.' ' English statesmen of all generations were and are still largely ob- sessed with the idea that Ireland can never be a neutral country, and that the passing of Ire- land out of the control of England and into the hands of another European power would mean that in the event of war in Europe in which England happened to be engaged, the loss of Ireland would weigh with double effect against 122 What Could Germany Do For Ireland? England. The ruling classes in England have always and do still believe that Ireland, owing to her situation and physical formation, will ever be subject to some one power or another, and that she must always remain in vassalage to that power who succeeds in wresting the su- premacy of the seas from England. To accede to Ireland's demand for autonomous govern- ment would mean, in their opinion, that England would of necessity have to re-conquer Ireland in the event of European hostilities. It is only necessary to make a cursory survey of an outline map of Ireland to realize that her coastline is among the least defensible in Europe, and that it has been so shaped by the forces of nature, operating through countless ages, as to be most exposed and vulnerable to invasion, particularly along her south, west and north shores. This weakness of the country — her insular position — invites attack from any and every nation aspiring to sea power. In addition, Ireland possesses some of the best and safest naval harbors in the world, where abun- dant refuge may be obtained at all seasons — a fact not unknown to the German Admiralty as The Gateway of Europe 123 well as to England. These harbors offer an al- most irresistible temptation, an invaluable prize to the power that desires to possess and retain mastery of the high seas. Furthermore, on her eastern shore Ireland is not distant from England at any one point more than 60 miles, whilst she is, at one point, only 13 miles distant from Scotland. The internal communications in Ireland, her roads, railways, telegraphs, etc., are such that in the hands of an invading force they could be rendered of prime importance for transport and other civil and military require- ments. Again, none are so well aware as the British authorities that Ireland lies right across England's doorstep and that Ireland flanks both routes to the Atlantic. It is the knowledge of these facts, and also of the potential resources of the country, that has influenced and guided England in her dealings with Ireland all through the last 700 years. Such knowledge has also been possessed by the world's greatest military genius, Napoleon, whose lasting regret was that he had not invaded Ireland and left Egypt and India out of his calculations at the start of his marvelous career. Napoleon's con- 124 What Could Germany Do For Ireland? cept of Ireland's part in world affairs was dif- ferent from that of the English. He has left it on record that it would not be to the interest of France to make Ireland a subject state. He stated that if called upon "to choose between Ireland independent and Ireland dependent upon an oligarchy in England, ' ' there could be no hesitation in his choice. His genius for mili- tary matters enabled him to see clearly that "the windward position of Ireland and its ports, like the chosen spot for the frontier ports, or a frontier fortress, points her out to be the barrier for the peace of Europe.' ' "But," he added, "to render Ireland impreg- nable to the ambition of an English oligarchy she must be strengthened internally and to her utmost capacity. How can she be so strength- ened? Never by being subject to the provincial government of any nation." To demonstrate fully France's belief in the strategical impor- tance of Ireland it must be remembered that on three different occasions she sent naval and military expeditions to Ireland to wrest that country from the yoke of England. When en- trusting to General Hoche, in 1796, command of The Gateway of Europe 125 the forces appointed to make a landing in Ire- land, the French Directory of that day stated that the practical result to be gained from the successful issue of the enterprise was "to de- tach Ireland from England; that is, to reduce the latter to the position of being no longer more than a second-rate power, is to deprive her of a great part of her superiority on all the seas." Spain, too, in the days of her greatness, recognized to the full the source of strength and protection which Ireland's situation is to England, and despatched naval and military aid to the unconquered Irish who battled in Ireland for possession of their own land. The present war has also disclosed the im- portance of controlling the North Sea. The food and military requirements of the Channel powers can be arrested effectually by the power that masters the approaches to the North Sea. England, by reason of her location and also by reason of her superior naval strength, has suc- ceeded in blockading effectually the routes from the Atlantic to German North Sea ports, whilst at the same time securing for herself practically unrestricted commerce with the outer and neu- 126 What Could Germany Do For Ireland? tral world. But it must be placed on record that Germany's use of the Irish coast for sub- marine warfare on British shipping has ham- pered to some extent England's freedom of the seas, and at the same time has inflicted moral damage on England's much vaunted reputation as Mistress of the Seas. England's peril, it must not be forgotten, is not so much invasion as starvation. She has become almost exclusively a manufacturing community. Agriculture has been so neglected in England that her people are mainly depen- dent upon Ireland, Denmark and America for the great bulk of their food requirements. Eng- land, enclosed between a hostile Ireland and a hostile European power, such as Germany, would be in a position of grave peril as regards her food supplies. All avenues of approach to her shores by sea would be cut off and her in- sular position and deficiency of home-raised foodstuffs would render a protracted resistance on her part highly improbable. This is Eng- land's most vulnerable point, and her continued occupation of Ireland alone saves her from such a plight. Indisputably Ireland is the gateway The Gateway of Europe 127 of Europe, but she is also the keystone of Brit- ish power and dominion on the high seas of the world. When Ireland passes out of English possession the sun will have set forever on the British Empire. CHAPTER VII IRISH AGRICULTURAL PROSPECTS Great Britain, holding the ear of the world, has convinced investors and historians that Ireland is only snited to agricultural pursuits and by nature can never be adapted into a manufactur- ing nation. So the government sanctions a De- partment of Agriculture and frowns on the proposition to create a Department of Indus- tries, lest factories might arise in the country. The cattle raised in Ireland must be brought across the sea to English slaughtering and packing houses. This Irish meat, when it comes from the abattoirs of England, is christened on the menu prime " English beef.'' Despite the century-old effort of the govern- ing powers to confine Ireland to farming, they have likewise badly bungled the system of agri- culture throughout Ireland. Continuous crop- ping is almost unknown, and as a rule, winter dairying is not carried on to any important ex- tent. Such foodstuffs as are grown mostly have 128 Irish Agricultural Prospects 129 to be exported, and the farmer is then compelled to buy inferior, imported foodstuffs, both for his family and cattle. Scientific farming, as we find it in Denmark, Holland, Belgium and Ger- many, is rarely found in any part of Ireland. There is a great migration of farm laborers to England in harvesting seasons. Americans will recall the Irish farm hands in England last sum- mer, who fled to the shores of this country for fear they would be drawn into the British army. The telephone that we see in nearly every farmhouse in Kansas and Nebraska, and in rural New York, is hardly seen in rural Ireland. Not one out of a hundred Irish farmers has seen motor-propelled farm machinery. There are not more than three or four agricultural credit banks in the country. The marketing and transporting, as well as the handling of prod- uce, is crude and antiquated. If our Irish farmers could but employ the German scientific methods of agriculture on as fruitful a soil, with its copious rains, as exists on earth! The soil of Germany is poor indeed as compared with the rich and fertile soil of Erin, but it is in the special and scientific culti- 130 What Could Germany Do For Ireland? vation of the land that Germany excels. Noth- ing is wasted that human energy and invention can save. Within thirty years Germany, with- out increasing her acreage, has increased her yield of wheat 57 per cent., and other crops from 50 to 80 per cent. She has become the third agricultural country in the world. Irish potato growers will be interested to know that Germany leads the world in potatoes, and will have a crop of at least 40,000,000 bushels this year. Although England has ordained that Ireland shall live and die an agricultural country, yet the people of Ireland depend on America for their daily bread, and have been so dependent for the past half -century. The wheat crop of Ireland will not furnish the people with a suf- ficient supply of bread to last six weeks. They had to buy $35,000,000 worth of wheat and flour last year, although the soil of Ireland raises as good wheat as is grown anywhere. Since the British union with Ireland, the wheat, rye, pea and bean crops have fallen to a mere fragment of its former enormous production. The linen industry was due to the fine quality of Irish flax Irish Agricultural Prospects 131 cultivated in the soil. In 1851 there were 140,- 536 acres devoted to flax; in 1913 the acreage had been reduced to 59,305. In consequence, the war blockade on flax imports has brought par- tial ruin to the Belfast linen industry. The im- portation of flax from Eussia into Ireland has been shut out by the German blockade of the Baltic Sea. Flax could be grown in many parts of Ireland, but the farmers are without flax seed. Lack of preparation is notoriously a British characteristic, as the world has found. The loss of flax alone will lose Ireland $15,000,- 000 this year. The cultivation of the sugar beet root, as well as hops and hemp, has been talked of in Ireland for twenty-five years, but has not gone beyond the experimental stage. In the year 1900 the writer was in Ireland, and in a printed paper urged the cultivation of the sugar beet and the aid of American capital in building a beet sugar factory. The Beet Sugar Association in Cali- fornia was interested, but nothing came of the agitation. The writer is of the opinion that the sugar-making industry in Ireland would sur- pass the flax and linen industry. Experiments 132 What Could Germany Do For Ireland? made in Ireland have shown that with the neces- sary attention to proper cultivation, crops of sugar beet comparing favorably in yield with Continental crops can be grown in Ireland. For example, in spite of somewhat adverse weather conditions in 1912 and again in 1913, an average yield of over ten tons (factory weight) per stat- ute acre was obtained from demonstration plots in Ireland. Further, the sugar content of the roots was equally satisfactory, being 18.5 per cent, and 18.2 per cent, in the respective years. In quality, purity, proportion of juice, and weight of yield, it has been shown that Irish-grown beet can equal, if not surpass, the great Continental sugar fields. The introduc- tion of beet cultivation and sugar refining into Ireland would revolutionize agriculture in Ire- land. The soil is capable of growing more roots per acre than Continental soil, and the per- centage of saccharine in Irish roots is greater than in roots grown abroad. Great Britain and Ireland are great sugar consumers. Therefore a home market is available; freights would be saved. Eefining could be carried on at a lower cost than on the Continent, and coal, coke and Irish Agricultural Prospects 133 limestone are cheaper and more available. Ger- man chemists, supported by a friendly gowern- ment and capital supplied by experienced Amer- ican beet sugar factory investors, would launch the sugar industry in Ireland. Germany leads the world in this industry, producing in the year 1913 some 2,700,000 tons of beet sugar. Her success is due to chemistry and scientific, im- proved cultivation, and the invention of sugar producing and refining machinery. Take Waterf ord in Ireland, for instance, the constitu- ency of John Redmond. The beets could be grown on the lands adjoining the Eivers Suir, Nore and Barrow, and brought on barges to the factory at Waterf ord City. The pulp and waste produce could be returned to the farmers at the minimum of freight cost. Waterford, by sea and rail, could supply the important sugar dis- tributing centers in Ireland, and is within a few hours' steam of the English and other markets. In Germany during the past forty years im- proved processes have "doubled the yield of sugar per pound of beets, while the the crop is 50 per cent, greater in tonnage per acre." Transform the grazing lands into cultivated 134 What Could Germany Do For Ireland? farms and break down the British policy of large ranches for raising cattle sent to England to be killed. The human beings of Ireland have been reduced from 8,500,000 to 4,000,000 in seventy years, but the lowing beasts of the fields have increased from 3,000,000 to 5,000,000 head; likewise, sheep and poultry. Ireland is long on animals and short on men, women and children. The agricultural laborer in all countries is the poorest paid, but in Ireland we find a worse state for him than anywhere else. According to the official figures of the year 1914, the plow- man in Leinster and Connaught averages from $3.00 to $3.50 per week ; in Ulster and Munster, from $3.50 to $4.00 per week; cattlemen, from $3.00 to $3.50 per week; farm laborers, from $2.65 to $3.50 per week. How a man can sup- port himself, to say nothing of his family, on less than $4.00 per week we leave for the Irish Agricultural Department to answer. Germany, with a poorer soil than Ireland, supports a vast population, with a wealth per capita for each farmer more than nine times as great as the wretched average of Ireland, de- Irish Agricultural Prospects 135 spite the admitted benefits from the new land laws. The war has shut off the sale of Irish land scrip, and the high interest rate paid on war loan bonds are attractive to investors and kill off all hope of investment in the land stock of the Irish Government. And all this loan for the purchase of land will have to be returned to the government, mostly from the lean years that will follow the war. The wealth of the island is in the hands of others than natives, and a few hundred foreigners own nearly 40 per cent, of the country. In Germany 98 per cent, of the wealth of the empire is owned by the middle and humble classes, and scarcely 2 per cent, is controlled by the rich. She has 5,500,000 farmers, 3,000,000 of whom occupy small farms of 5 or 10 acres, and make them pay. For agriculture she has 250 training schools, eight agricultural colleges, attended by 15,000 students, and there are 4,500 night schools instructing scholars in agricul- ture. When England announced that her fleet in the Pacific Ocean had shortened the war by tak- 136 What Could Germany Do For Ireland? ing away from Germany the Chilian supply of nitrate, which makes gunpowder, the German students produced nitrogen from atmospheric moisture, and confounded their enemies. Among the farmers of Germany there are 16,000 savings and loan associations, 3,500 dairy associations, 2,500 purchasing societies, and 3,000 other societies devoted to farmers, accord- ing to F. Koster, M.E., who adds : These societies assist the farmer in every possible way, technically, in disseminating knowledge of all kinds; commercially, in purchasing his supplies, in lending him money on his growing crops and other- wise, in taking his products off his hands as rapidly as they are ready for market, in marketing them, in manufacturing them into higher forms, in disposing of by-products; and sociologically, in improving his opportunities for recreation and advancement in all ways. They are all mostly of a co-operative nature and the middleman being eliminated, they secure for the farmer the most for his money and the most money for his crops, as they not only pay him the full prices to which he is entitled, but if profits accrue, from whatever activities, they are distributed in the form of dividends. Such societies and organizations enable the far- mers in a neighborhood to purchase expensive machin- ery, such as electric plows and harvesting and thresh- ing machinery. Such machinery is used in common and thus, at the lowest possible expense, the greatest possible results are accomplished. Electric plowing, Irish Agricultural Prospects 137 which means plowing on a large scale cheaply, has been a feature of German agriculture for fifteen years, but no electric plow has yet turned a furrow in the United States. The use of power machinery is further encouraged by certain societies and by the government by the erection of power plants utilizing waterfalls. Cur- rent so generated is distributed over wide areas and sold cheaply, and if any profit is made, dividends are paid to the members of the association. Farmers thus have their power, light and heat at cost when within reach of such a plant. This is a great advantage and enables crops to be produced with the minimum of expense. This provision of cheap current enables the installa- tion of narrow-gauge tracks, which are very numer- ous on German farms, thus saving the farmer the great expense of hauling over roads to market. Note the position and size of Ireland on the map, only a few miles from every farm to a good harbor, if there were facilities of trans- portation and farming done in the most modern manner. I have spoken of the existence of so few agri- cultural banks in Ireland as an evidence of the lack of co-operative spirit so essential to all real modern success. The German farmer has elim- inated the money lender, the banking parasite, as well as the middlemen selling his products. Credit banks and selling associations have 138 What Could Germany Do For Ireland? brought the profits direct to the associations. The English middlemen have been the curse of Irish farming for many years, as the English Government has seen to it that the island can- not have direct shipping to countries other than England. German science has found the means of suc- cessfully extracting nitrogen from the air, a discovery of infinite value to Ireland. The Ger- man system of agricultural co-operation, if in- troduced into Ireland, would soon double the farm wealth of that fertile land. In 1890 there were 3,006 of these German farm societies, which in 1914 had risen to 36,032 societies in the association called "Keichsverbund." Their functions varied, but all were devoted to the in- terests of the farmer, both as producer and con- sumer. They included 17,000 societies to regu- late loans and savings. They did away with the middleman and the truck system by establishing clearing houses, making the farmer independent of banks and usurers. Eecently the U. S. Comp- troller of Currency pointed out the extortions practiced on cotton planters by certain Southern bankers. The German farmers buy their im- Irish Agricultural Prospects 139 plements, feed, seed, fertilizer, etc., in vast quantities at a great saving through their pur- chasing societies. They get the best goods, properly inspected, for the least money. They have co-operative societies to sell their grain, milk, eggs and butter. In 1909 there were 119 farmers' societies which were developing elec- tric power among their members, a thing un- known on Irish farms. CHAPTER VIII MEATS AND PROVISIONS We have shown the wasteful and unscientific methods of conducting the live stock trade in Ireland. Travelers are amazed to note the ab- sence of slaughtering and packing houses in a country where cattle are so plentiful. We are told that Ireland should not worry over the lack of a dressed meat and provision business when she receives close on to $100,000,- 000 per annum for the live stock she sells to England ; it matters not that cattle are fast dis- placing the human beings on the land. In 1851 there were 3 persons in Ireland to every head of cattle. In 1913 there were more cattle in Ireland than human beings. The changes in this period involved the displacement of 100 persons ofT every 1,000 acres of land in Ireland, to make room for 99 extra cattle and 76 addi- tional sheep. The British Government in its reports takes great credit for this displacement of people with animals. They do not apply the system of substituting animals for men and 140 Meats and Provisions 141 women in their own country. In England, for every 1,045 persons there are 156 head of cat- tle, while in Ireland for every 215 persons there are 242 head of cattle ; but we are told that this is an odious comparison, because England is mainly a manufacturing country, while Ireland is partly an agricultural country outside of the locality in and around Belfast. We shall see from the following official table, however, how the cattle raising traffic assists in the economic destruction of Ireland by forcing a serious decline in the rural population. Only as far back as 20 years nearly a million persons were engaged in Irish agriculture, as compared with 750,000 at the present time. The number of farm laborers has been reduced 62,- 000 in 20 years, and notwithstanding the benefi- cent effects of the land acts, the farmers hold- ing between 1 and 30 acres have been reduced. This condition is brought about by the pass- ing of the land from the possession of the small owners into the cattle ranches, whose size in- creases from year to year. This situation is found to exist only in localities throughout the world where other industries are dead. 142 What Could Germany Do For Ireland? About twelve and a half million acres of soil were devoted exclusively to cattle raising in 1913. On these lands were five million head of cattle, of which 32 per cent, were milch cows and heifers in calf, whereas 60 years ago the proportion of milch cows to the total number of cattle was 45 per cent. This fearful neglect by the government of Ireland's dairying industry — the most profitable end of a live stock indus- try — deserves condemnation. While the dairy- ing industry is sacrificed for stock raising, the government encourages bounties and premiums for the export of live stock. The British meat supply must be conserved, regardless of any disastrous effect on the Irish neighbor. Men and women are employed about a dairy, but a herder and a dog are all the labor necessary for ranch cattle. This sacrifice of a country's re- sources is never tolerated in any part of Ger- many, where the farming industry, the most necessary, is developed for the common good. The low wages paid in the cattle industry tend to dispense with rural workers generally, and help to keep wages at a low level in the country districts. Meats and Provisions 143 It appears that Ireland received close on to $32,000,000 for 355,000 fat cattle exported to England in the year 1913, whereas for the re- maining 755,000 cattle of other descriptions ex- ported she received only approximately $46,- 000,000. It is evident, therefore, that had Ire- land's exports consisted of fat cattle exclu- sively, her cattle raisers would have received at least $20,000,000 per year more, or probably nearly $200,000,000 more in the last ten years. Ireland is not permitted to fatten the cattle she exports to England, and these unfinished cattle, which are fattened subsequently for slaughter- ing purposes, form the bulk of her live stock ex- ports annually. Thus the English have the more profitable end of the business. Cattle raisers in Ireland have to forget the fact that the frame of the beast is formed at the expense of the soil, and only when its growth is done and it has be- gun to form fat will it return to the soil the ma- nurial value of the food it consumes. Some of the richest soils in Meath and Limerick have been greatly depreciated in their fattening ca- pacity owing to this cause, and they are badly in need of that germane potash which has so won- 144 What Could Germany Do For Ireland? drously replenished the soil of Germany. Thus we see the lean cattle producers suffering from this economic abuse, and the fertility of the soil depleted. Of course, such cattle shipped to England do not bring the price of good beef. All authorities are agreed that from the time the cattle are taken off the fields until they are actually slaughtered, a shrinkage takes place in their flesh in the transit. In the case of Irish cattle brought from a distant farm to market, then unloaded, thence shipped on a sea journey of several hours, and then unshipped at an Eng- lish port, consigned over rail again to the slaughter house for conversion into beef, it is evident that not only a loss in weight has oc- curred, but also a depreciation of quality, which results in Irish cattle bringing low prices on the English market. This depreciation in quality averages $5.00 per head, or a loss to Ireland of at least $5,000,000 per annum. In addition, the Irish producers lose the profits from the ma- nure, which is an important business ; also the hides, hoofs, horns, intestines, blood, and every particle which is nowadays saved in the great packing houses. Meats and Provisions 145 In Germany the cattle are invariably slaugh- tered at the most convenient location to where the animals are raised. These wasteful methods of disposing of cattle cost the people not less than $15,000,000 annually on the live cattle ex- ported from the country. In ten years' time that would be $150,000,000, and if saved, would have enabled the farmers to have acquired and paid for more land for dairying purposes. Take the great American and German slaugh- tering houses and put them in Ireland — there would be the end of the English dressed beef business, made out of Irish cattle. The pack- ing house industries would furnish badly needed employment in Ireland, and do not require a great amount of skilled labor. If the cattle were saved for Ireland, there would be a tanning in- dustry, converting the hides of cattle into leather. There was a day when Ireland had an impor- tant leather producing industry. You find the ruins there of hundreds of tanneries. There are not a dozen tanneries in the whole of Ireland today, and they are small and obsolete in their methods. If Ireland could adopt the German 146 What Could Germany Do For Ireland? system of abattoirs and tanneries in fixed lo- calities, with proper transportation, she would preserve her own meats, make her soups, and save the valuable by-products of this great in- dustry. There is ever present the ominous dangers of cattle diseases. The way the business is con- ducted leaves the cattle raiser helpless, or nearly so, at the outbreak of foot and mouth diseases, all of which attacks are met in Ger- many with the greatest skill, prompt remedies, and the narrowing of districts where the disease breaks out. One epidemic in Ireland a few years back cost the country some $50,000,000, and for years afterwards lowered the price of Irish cattle abroad. Competitors find it an easy matter, with an inefficient government failing to protect the industries of the island, to circu- late stories as to the bad quality of the Irish cat- tle subject to disease. The salvation of the cattle trade in Ireland lies in new economies, in a change of government, in the complete separa- tion of the island from English rule, and con- verting the business into a dressed meat indus- try, such as has been successfully done in Ger- Meats and Provisions 147 many and the United States. This matter af- fects many classes throughout the country, and requires the firm hand of an independent gov- ernment to deal with it. The cattle traders of Ireland are financed by English dealers, and they will never consent to let them initiate pro- vision in packing houses. A free and firm gov- ernment can only bring this relief to Ireland and see that the business is conducted along co-operative lines. There are three or four small abattoirs in Ireland, but feeble affairs as compared with the great factories in Germany. Ireland is splendidly situated for the develop- ment of this great industry. Her pasture lands are among the best for fattening ; her cattle fed from her own land make as good beef as can be procured. The largest meat consuming mar- ket in Europe is at her doors. She needs free- dom, organization and capital, supported by a firm government, sworn and determined to do justice to all. Only in this way can she convert the present uneconomic and nationally danger- ous cattle traffic into an industry of great na- tional importance and immense value to the Irish nation. CHAPTER IX RECLAMATION AND REFORESTATION Lady Aberdeen of Scotland, wife of the ex- Governor-General of Ireland, during the early days of her husband's late administration of Irish affairs, " disco vered" that Ireland was afflicted with tuberculosis. Out of the fullness of her great heart, and to testify in a marked and public manner her great concern for the poor people of Ireland, "her ladyship" forth- with proceeded to enlighten an otherwise ig- norant world of the declining state of health among the remnants of the Irish, and how very necessary it was that preventative action should be taken to check the ravages of the white plague in Ireland. America, in common with all other countries, was informed of this latest affliction that had befallen the poor people. To make assurance doubly sure, Lady Aberdeen widely advertised that the Irish laces offered for sale in her lace shop in Dublin (for "her ladyship," as is well known to the merchants and people of Dublin, is of a truly commercial 148 Reclamation and Reforestation 149 disposition) were thoroughly disinfected before being sold at home or abroad. The unfortunate effect of this benevolent solicitude for the wel- fare of the poor Irish was that it ruined an- other Irish industry, and that, too, the one car- ried on in the homes of the cottiers all over the country. In support of this statement it is only necessary to quote the official returns of Ire- land's trade in laces during the period of Lord Aberdeen's late vice-royalty in Ireland. These returns tell us that in 1909 Ireland exported lace valued at $500,000. In 1913 Ireland's lace exports had fallen to $327,500, or a loss to the cottage lace-workers of Ireland, that year, of $172,500. A truly creditable achievement in the interest of the health of the Irish people! At the time that Lady Aberdeen made this wonder- ful discovery, her husband had in his posses- sion, in Dublin Castle, a report written to him, as head of the Irish Government of the day, dealing with the necessity for arterial drainage in Ireland, drawn up by a Royal Commission appointed by Lord Aberdeen's predecessor in office, Lord Dudley. This report, commenting on the prevalence of tuberculosis in the rural 150 What Could Germany Do For Ireland? districts of Ireland, said, in effect, that arterial drainage would react favorably on the public health ; there would be less pulmonary disease, less rheumatism, and less predisposition to dis- ease generally. But neither Lord Aberdeen nor the government he represented took any steps to put the findings of this or previous Eoyal Commissions on the same subject into effect, and accordingly it must be inferred that kind- hearted Lady Aberdeen failed to influence her husband to concern himself with the health of the native Irish. It is unquestioned that the undue prevalence of tuberculosis in Ireland is attributable in part to the dampness of the cli- mate of Ireland, and that raising the mean tem- perature of the country generally would result in better health among the people and eradicate to an appreciable extent the predisposition to contract disease that the Irish of today, to judge from Irish vital statistics, suffer from. Sir Bichard Griffith, in his "Survey of Ire- land,' ' compiled between the years 1809 and 1814, estimated the area of waste land of all kinds — salt marshes, bogs, mountainous and upland wastes, dunes — to be 6,000,000 acres, Reclamation and Reforestation 151 half, roughly, suitable for planting and half for reclamation for agriculture. Considering the utter neglect of the country since the British union, it is safe to say that the area of waste land in Ireland is now very much larger than it was at the time Sir R. Griffith made the sur- vey just referred to. Unlike most countries, Ireland's mountains are located in the maritime counties, leaving the interior flat and of low elevation. As a consequence, the rivers of Ire- land are sluggish, the fall being slight. An- other characteristic is the number and size of the lakes. Lough Neagh, covering 153 square miles, is the largest in the United Kingdom; the Fermanagh lakes are traversible for a length of 40 miles; the lakes or expansions of the River Shannon (224 miles long) ; the chains of lakes in Connemara and Cavan, and finally, the widely known lakes of Killarney. There are the bogs of Ireland, distributed through every county and covering a seventh of the en- tire surface of the country. These act as mighty sponges filled with water, always send- ing up vapor. The humidity of Ireland is re- markable for a country so geographically situ- 152 What Could Germany Bo For Ireland? ated. This is due partly to the Gulf Stream, partly to the prevailing southwesterly winds that come over the Atlantic laden with moisture, and more especially to the great lodgment of water all over the country. In summertime the evaporation is excessive; the vapor constantly ascending from the midlands of Ireland forms clouds that diminish the amount of sunshine, affect vegetation and seriously impair the gen- eral health of the community. It is known to scientific agriculturists that the greater or less dryness of a soil influences the nature of the vegetation it tends to nourish. The presence of water affects the character of the natural vegetation, renders soil unfit for the cultivation of plants sprung from a dry situation, prevents the rays of the sun from warming the substance of the soil, and accordingly, retards vegetation. Dealing with the Irish aspect of this question, Sir R. Kane tells us that : The question of drainage becomes of very consider- able importance in relation to the lands of the lime- stone plain, in which, being situated at such moderate altitude, and with so gentle an inclination of surface, the rivers and lakes, on any considerable fall of rain, are apt to overflow their banks and, flooding con- siderable districts, destroy a serious amount of agri- cultural produce. Reclamation and Reforestation 153 He tells us that the Shannon, above Lough Berg, flooded, at ordinary rises, 32,000 acres along its banks. One of the numerous Royal Commissions on this subject stated that "the upper portion of the catchment area of the River Barrow, extending down to Athy, con- tains an area of 408,000 acres, of which 46,000 are flooded or injured by floods." In County Fermanagh a low estimate places the area in- jured by the flooding of the lakes at 12,000 acres. In a word, practically every river or lake of any dimensions in the country floods annually thou- sands of acres of cultivable soil in winter time, thus retarding tillage operations, and when such floodings occur in summertime, the loss to the farming community and to the general pros- perity of the country is almost incalculable. It is demonstrated that arterial drainage is a vital necessity in a country like Ireland. Let us see what the British Governors of the country have accomplished towards that end. In the Airport Commission of 1887 the following indictment of British administration in Ireland is to be found. The Dudley Commission of a few years back fully endorses this finding: 154 What Could Germany Do For Ireland? There is no system in Ireland for the conservancy of rivers, nor any department of government charged with the subject, and in many cases where the proper regulation of a river is a matter of public concern, it is under the control of no one, and is often ob- structed and neglected. We find drainage districts formed without any regard to the interests of the larger river basins in which they lie, and so arranged as to escape their share of what should be a common responsibility. On the other hand, the boundaries of such districts are often so arranged as to impose on their promoters responsibility which ought to be shared by others, and to force these promoters to con- fer benefits on their neighbors towards the cost of which the latter contribute nothing. (Here follows an elaborated description of other anomalies existing in Ireland. The conclusion arrived at was:) Some of these evils arise from the changes of policy during the operation of the Act of 1842, but for the most of them, the present system must he held responsible. The Dudley Commission endorsed the Allport Commission's observations on the River Bar- row district, and added: "Altogether, the con- dition of this district may be described as de- plorable. ' ' Asking what was done in the inter- val between the two commissions that were ap- pointed to deal with the problem, the Dudley Commissioners answered their own question in the following passage : Nothing, save the making of surveys, maps, plans, and estimates, has yet been done either by the State or by any combination of owners towards the curing or even the mitigation of the evils complained of, Reclamation and Reforestation 155 whilst we had abundant testimony that the flooding and the subsequent injury are growing greater year by year. The case of the River Bann differs from others in Ireland, once similarly circumstanced, in that no expenditure by the State has ever taken place, although the task of clearing the main outfall is mani- festly beyond the reach of private enterprise. How serious the condition of the country when these two British boards were compelled to report as they did ! If the English Govern- ment has done nothing for the arterial drainage of the country, it is consoling to know that pri-' vate enterprise in Ireland has alleviated some- what the condition of things. Also, this failure of England to mitigate the evils of inundation, etc., is in marked contrast to the policy and ac- tions of the Irish Parliament in pre-nnion days, which passed acts and provided money "to en- courage the draining and improvement of the bogs," and thus attempted in a statesmanlike manner to discharge a national duty. Reclama- tion as a public work in Ireland has, notwith- standing all the blundering and difficulties in the way, proved remunerative. To reclaim a million acres would cost, roughly, $50,000,000. From such an expenditure a considerable re- turn might be expected. Also, such work would 156 What Could Germany Do For Ireland? facilitate and improve tillage, would give em- ployment, wonld increase the value of the land, and by raising the mean temperature of the country would contribute powerfully towards improving the general health of the race. One has only to look across at the Continent of Europe to see the transformation effected there by scientifically directed reclamation. Holland, now one of the richest agricultural countries in the world, much smaller than Ireland, consists largely of reclaimed land, much of which has been carried out at enormous expense and with great daring, such as pumping out lakes and seas. The transformation of Lake Haarlen into 45,000 acres of meadowland was a work that cost $100 per acre, but the government sold the land to tillers at that figure. Holland* has ex- pended close upon $1,500,000,000 on reclamation work ; France has spent $140,000,000 ; Hungary some $1,100,000,000; Austria some $1,000,000,- 000; Belgium some $80,000,000. In Germany, immense stretches of waste-land have been *England has narrowed down the exports of Ireland to countries, outside of England, so that the total direct oversea trade of the island is hardly $7,000,000, or about $2 per capita. The foreign trade of Holland, hardly one-third the area of Ireland, with countries other than England equals $60 per, capita or thirty times as great as that of Ireland. Reclamation and Reforestation 157 brought into tillage, and it is stated that the area of land given over to grain cultivation has been doubled in the past forty years by these methods. Reviewing the progress made by all these nations within recent years, it cannot be disputed that their respective governments had the best interests of their countries at heart in undertaking, at the public expense, reclamation works of the character indicated, which is now being done in America. Each of those govern- ments was actuated by the belief that in im- proving the soil of the country they conferred an advantage on every interest in the country; they assisted agriculture, and by improving the waterways of the country they contributed ma- terially to the development of traffic. It will not be disputed that principles common to all progressive countries on the Continent may be adapted to Irish circumstances, and with every possibility of equal, if not, indeed, greater, success in their practical application. No coun- try in Europe so sadly needs reclamation as Ireland, and it must be the first concern of an Irish Government to undertake such work for the ultimate benefit of the land. 158 What Could Germany Do For Ireland? Side by side with this work, and, indeed, as part of it, the re-afforesting of Ireland must likewise be undertaken. Ireland was so covered with timber at one period of her history as to be known by the name of ' ' The Isle of Woods.' ' Her peat resources attest to this fact today. Yet no country in Europe is at the present mo- ment so bare of trees, and no country could be so benefitted by sylviculture as Ireland. Such work would not alone give immediate employ- ment to thousands of workers, but would ulti- mately prove profitable to the whole country. The late Professor W. K. Sullivan, President of University College, Cork, in 1855 urged the English Government to plant the mountainsides of the country, but his advice was not heeded. At the same time a Danish forest conservator, after a survey of Ireland, stated: "I think the question of planting Ireland is one of vast im- portance to that country, and that instead of having five millions of people (since reduced to almost four), she ought to have five and twenty. ' ' In India the British Government car- ried out a different policy, and the State For- ests there today cover an area of 250,000 square Reclamation and Reforestation 159 miles. The Irish Parliament, before its absorp- tion into that of England, granted bounties to promote tree cultivation throughout Ireland. When the union became a fait accompli, the bounties and tree propagation were discon- tinued by the British Parliament. Unquestion- ably the British Government is largely liable for the deforesting of Ireland. Lord Castle- town, President of the Irish Forestry Society, has stated that there is a purely Irish fund of about $150,000 a year "quit rents" sent over from Ireland to enrich the woods and forest de- partment in England. A reminder of the finan- cial plunder of Ireland on which the mighty British Empire has been upbuilt ! There are upwards of 2,000,000 acres of land in Ireland serving no economic purpose that are admirably suited for planting. Indeed, for- estry is one of the most important directions in which the state can increase the wealth of Ire- land. All the waste-land in Ireland is capable of growing one kind or another of timber. In this respect a Director of Forests, under an Irish Parliament, would have the experience of forest conservators all over Europe to guide 160 What Could Germany Do For Ireland? him as to the description of plants to be culti- vated in the different districts and soils of Ire- land. The story of the reclamation of Les Landes in France since 1850 is one that any people might feel justly proud of, where a dis- trict comprising close on 2,000,000 acres of un- cultivated, uninhabited waste has been con- verted into one of the most wealthy and pros- perous in the whole of France. The Director of an Irish Department of Forests will find con- siderable information and guidance in a study of this brilliant exploit of the French people. Eoundly speaking, the value of the forests of Les Landes to France today would approximate $60,000,000. The story of Germany in this re- spect is even brighter still. In all Germany to- day there are some 35,000,000 acres of forest land, of which the various states own some 11,- 000,000 acres, whilst the towns and communes own close on 6,000,000 acres. Prussia owns over 1,000,000 acres of forest, from which she derives more than 100,000,000 marks net every year, which goes towards lessening taxation. From a publication issued from the Department of Agriculture, Washington, the following is Reclamation and Reforestation 161 taken, as it deals with the German forestry sys- tem: Forest experts of all nationalities agree that Ger- many is in an enviable position as regards her lum- ber supply. No nation in the world makes more thorough utilization of its forest resources. German forestry is remarkable in three ways: It has always led in scientific thoroughness, and now it is working out results with an exactness almost equal to that of the laboratory; it has applied this scientific knowl- edge with the greatest technical success; and it has solved the problem of securing, through a long series of years, an increasing forest output, and increasing profits at the same time. Starting with forests that were in as bad shape as many of our own cut-over areas, Germany raised the average yield of wood per acre from 20 cubic feet in 1830 to 75 cubic feet in 1908. During the same period it trebled the propor- tion of saw timber secured from the average cut, which means, in other words, that through the prac- tice of forestry the timberlands of Germany are of three times better quality today than when no system was used. In a little over half a century it increased the money returns from an average acre of forest sevenfold, and today the forests are in better condi- tion than ever before. Truly, Germany could teach Ireland many useful lessons as to tree culture. Let us see how Ireland stands in this matter, as compared with the other parts of the so-called United Kingdom. Of the total area of Ireland less than 1.5 per cent, is under woods. In England they 162 What Could Germany Do For Ireland? form 5.3 per cent. ; in Scotland, 4.5 per cent., and in Wales, 3.9 per cent, of the total areas. Here we find Ireland again treated differently from each of the other countries in the Union. In 1880 there were 339,858 statute acres under woods and plantations in Ireland. In 1913 there were only 297,809 acres returned as being under woods, etc. Eight down through the years a continuous diminution of the area planted in Ireland has taken place. In 1913 close upon 600,000 trees were felled in Ireland, represent- ing an area of close on 1,500 acres. As against this clearance, only some 1,150 acres were planted. And there is no authority to prevent further felling, or to insist upon planting two or more trees for each one felled. The great bulk of the timber felled each year in Ireland is exported in the rough to England, where it is largely used for mining purposes. Ireland re- ceives, on an average, each year for the timber she exports $1,250,000. As against this, she im- ports timber and manufactures thereof to the estimated annual value of close on $9,000,000. In addition to this amount, furniture to the an- nual value of $2,500,000 is also imported into Reclamation and Reforestation 163 the country. That is to say, Ireland at present exports the raw material, timber, and subse- quently imports it in manufactured products. A truly wasteful and uneconomic procedure ! It is inconceivable that Ireland, under any other form of government than that under which she groans today, would continue conducting her economic affairs along such destructive lines. An examination into the ages of the woods now standing in Ireland shows that there has been a considerable, nay, a serious, falling off in planting in the past twenty-five years, and that it is inevitable that a shortage of timber must occur in the next half-century if the present rate of felling be maintained. In its own in- terest Ireland must recover its forest area. To plant the entire area of some 4,000,000 acres would cost not more than $100,000,000, and the undertaking would be profitable commercially. The calculation on which this is based takes no account of the element in developing industries connected with forest cultivation, of which both Germany and France are such inspiring models. The wealth of both these countries de- rived from industries carried on in connection with and arising out of their respective forests 164 What Could Germany Do For Ireland? is practically incalculable. But scientific for- estry carried out on a national scale would have other beneficial effects on Ireland. Were the western coast of Ireland planted with a shelter belt of timber, it would protect the lands from the violence of Atlantic storms, which carry with them inland many ingredients injurious to agricultural produce. The planting of moun- tains would tend to equalize the rainfall and temperature, and would prevent upland soils being washed away by torrents, thus preventing rivers being silted up and lowlands flooded, as so frequently happens, with highly injurious ef- fects to cultivation. Plantations along river banks would encourage increase in fish by reason of the shade afforded, the steady supply of water thus promoted, and the food they bring for the sustenance of trout and salmon fry. Forest game could be propagated and the state derive rent from such preserves. Then, again, the waste-lands so planted would, in the course of time, and by reason of the falling leaves, be- come enriched and their grazing would thus be- come another source of revenue to the state. The greatest value of all to the state would be the timber so planted and its by-products (bark, Reclamation and Reforestation 165 charcoal, leaves, fallen timber, resin, pitch, turpentine, etc.), the immediate agricultural products, and the series of wood-working indus- tries, including basket-making from osiers, for the growing of which both the soil and climate of Ireland are admirably adapted, and which would bring a return in three years and pro- vide large, constant and remunerative employ- ment in rural districts. The manufacture of paper from wood pulp could also be undertaken. Such a policy, when put into effect by a national government in Ireland, will work untold good for the whole community and will remove the reproach contained in the following only too accurate description of the physical appearance of the Irish countryside of Sir E. Kane's day and ours: There is no feature of an Irish landscape more characteristic than the desert baldness of onr hills, which, robbed of those sylvan honors that elsewhere diversify a rural prospect, present to every eye a type of the desolation which has overspread the land. In the scientifically planned and nationally conducted reclamation and afforestation of Ire- land the future Irish State will find ample wealth to promote the industrial development of the entire country. CHAPTER X PORTLAND CEMENT MILLS We find vast deposits of limestone in many parts of Ireland. There is little timber and the houses are built of limestone. There are fine marble beds, black marble, pure white near Connemara, and Cork County contains various colored marbles. Over the vast area of this limestone formation, close to the best harbors, the opportunity for mills making portland cement are many. In the old days of sailing vessels limestone was largely exported from Ireland. There is one very small portland cement mill at Wex- ford. The Department of Agriculture has frowned on the making of cement in great mills in Ireland, as they have the material to make it cheaper, and that competition would hurt the British cement industry. A mill, such as the Universal or the Atlas of the United States, turning out 50,000 to 75,000 barrels of cement a day, would be welcomed in Ireland, but Eng- land would never tolerate the invasion. Cement 166 Portland Cement Mills 167 mills located near unused coal lands and low railway service would employ 50,000 hands and support 400,000 people. The railroads in Ire- land are controlled by the same capitalists who own the railroads of England, and they would not be inclined to favor industries whose devel- opment might tend to reduce dividends on the English railways. With German aid, we should hope to see the railroads in the hands of the Irish National Government. The Wolf hill Colliery, Queen's County, is favorably situated for the successful manufac- ture of cement, inasmuch as it is adjacent to the Barrow navigation, which runs south to Waterford, through Kidare, Carlow, Kilkenny and Wexford; thence the cement could be carried up the Eiver Suir navigation to Clon- mel in Tipperary. From Athy north, the Grand Canal connects with Dublin on the east and the River Shannon on the west, whence traffic is carried over the latter navigation to Limerick on the southwest and Carrick-on-Shannon in County Leitrim. It would seem that portland cement manufactories established at Cork, Athy and Belfast would be capable of meeting 168 What Could Germany Do For Ireland? the domestic demand in Ireland for cement, and at the same time supply the much larger exter- nal market in neighboring countries. With modern, well-maintained plants, cement manu- factories in these places would be successful. Ireland, therefore, not only possesses abun- dance of suitable cement-making materials, but such materials are conveniently placed, and are of such a nature as to admit of manufacture by the most economical methods as regards fuel consumption. Indeed, with the due and proper development of coal mining in Ireland, and with the proper and scientific treatment of her peat resources, Ireland will be more than favorably situated for the manufacture of this commodity, the possibilities of which are but now being- realized by engineers the world over. There are but two small factories in Ireland for converting limestone into calcium carbide, from which acetylene gas is generated. Many of the English and Scotch carbide factories draw their limestone supplies from Ireland. Under scientific direction there is certain to be a future for the development of this industry in Ireland. CHAPTER XI POWER AND FUEL Power and fuel play so important a part in all industrial effort that at the risk of being weari- some, we continue to refer to these all-impor- tant factors. In dealing with Ireland it is of vital impor- tance to ascertain accurately the extent to which both power and fuel are available for industrial purposes. English writers argue that Ireland's deficiency in both these forces is mainly re- sponsible for her present backward industrial condition, and they have advanced this as a reason to justify English economic policy in regard to Ireland. The possession of coal and iron is the chief source of England's indus- trial pre-eminence. Englishmen have come to believe that countries not possessing coal or iron cannot become manufacturing nations. It is only necessary to look across at Europe to see that such a contention cannot and does not hold good. Belgium, Holland and Switzerland 169 170 What Could Germany Do For Ireland? are countries smaller in area and with fewer natural resources than Ireland. It will not be disputed that all of those countries have pros- pered exceedingly as manufacturing nations within recent years, although Belgium is with- out iron and neither Holland nor Switzerland possesses coal ; and of the three, Switzerland is the least favorably situated for the development of industrial greatness, inasmuch as she has no seaports. It has been written of Switzerland : With an ungrateful soil, a scattered population of 3,000,000 souls, a limited amount of capital, no sea- ports, no coal, Switzerland has risen to an eminent position among manufacturing nations, and sends products worth $150,000,000 yearly to France, Eng- land, Germany and Belgium. Laboring under such disadvantages, why have the Swiss progressed as a manufacturing people? The answer lies in the fact that they have turned to advantage, for manufacturing purposes, the numerous rivers and waterfalls of their country. In 1898 there were 1,570 mills worked by water, representing 54,000 water- power, while steam-power used by factories represented less than 30,000 horsepower. We Power and Fuel 171 see, therefore, that the possession of either coal or iron, or both, is not absolutely essential to promote successfully the industrial develop- ment of a country. England, influenced by her coal interests, has maintained that Ireland does not possess either coal or iron in paying quantities. That Ireland does possess rich coal and iron resources, we intend proving later in this work. What the writer is concerned with just now is to examine Ireland's power resources and to ascertain whether she has that within herself which would justify her embarking upon an industrial career. We have seen that Switzerland has built up her industrial prosperity with the aid of her water- power. Has Ireland water-power in sufficient quantity to enable her to compete successfully with those manufacturing nations, such as Eng- land, where steam-power is mainly employed? When in Ireland, nothing so impressed the writer as the vast quantity of water rushing, unchecked, to the sea, with scarce a fraction of it employed for industrial purposes. And yet, practically all over the country, even in the most out-of-the-way places, one comes upon the ruins 172 What Could Germany Do For Ireland? of mills which formerly were worked by water- power, showing that at one period the Irish people utilized the now neglected water-power of the numerous rivers. The average quantity of rain that falls over the entire surface of Ireland has been computed at 36 inches. The area of Ireland we know to be more than 32,000 square miles. From a cal- culation of the area and the rainfall we ascer- tain that over 100,000,000,000 cubic yards of water are precipitated on the island every year. All this mass of water, however, does not find its way to the sea. A large portion goes back in vapor to the atmosphere, and it may safely be assumed that 12 inches finally arrive at the sea. This, in its course to the sea, becomes available for industrial purposes, with a force proportional to the height through which it falls. Dealing with the subject in his masterly work on "The Industrial Resources of Ire- land, ' ' upon which has been freely drawn in this chapter, Sir R. Kane said : By calculations founded on such principles, we ar- rive at the conclusion that the average elevation of the surface of the country being 387 feet, the water which flows in our rivers to the sea has an average fall Power and Fuel 173 of 129 yards, and now finally, we may calculate the total water-power of Ireland. We had for the total quantity of rain falling in a year 100,712,031,640 cubic yards ; of this, one-third flows into the sea ; that is, 33,237,343,880 cubic yards, weighing 68,467,100 tons. This weight falls from 129 yards, and as 884 tons falling twenty-four feet in twenty-four hours is a horsepower, the final result is that in average we possess, distributed over the surface of Ireland, a water-power capable of acting night and day, without interruption, from the beginning to the end of the year, and estimated at the force of 3,227 horsepower per foot of fall, for the entire average fall of 387 feet, amounting to 1,248,849 horsepower. But mechanical power is never thus unintermittingly driven, and if we reduce this force to the year's work of 300 work- ing days, of twelve hours each, we find it to repre- sent 3,038,865 horsepower; that is, more than three millions of horsepower. ... It may be consid- ered as decisively established that there is derivable from water-power in Ireland, of which I have here noticed only one source, an amount of mechanical force sufficient for the development of our industry on the greatest scale. It has been ascertained that it requires the drainage of just ten square miles of country to give water for an average horsepower per foot of fall, and on this basis the power capable of application from individual rivers may be ascertained. Mention has previously been made of Ireland's numerous and expansive rivers. The Shannon, 224 miles long, we know to be the 174 What Could Germany Do For Ireland? largest river in Great Britain and Ireland. It is navigable practically to its source. Its catch- ment area is spread over 3,600 square miles of country. At its source it is only 146 feet above sea level, falling but 50 feet in 150 miles until it reaches Killaloe, where, in a space of 15 miles, its waters present a difference of level of 97 feet. Between Killaloe and Limerick, Sir R. Kane estimated that the Shannon gave 33,950 horsepower in continuous action, day and night, throughout the entire year — and this is not the whole power of the river. After considering the distribution of the falls on the upper and mid- dle Shannon, the area of the catchment basin of the river at each fall, he arrived at the fol- lowing calculation: The total continuous power is, therefore, 4,717 horse, which, added to that of the river from Killa- loe, 33,950, gives a force existing between Limerick and Lough Allen of 38,667 horsepower, supposed in constant action. . . . The area of the basin of the Shannon above Killaloe is 3,613 square miles, and as 36 inches of rain give 0.3 continuous horsepower per foot of fall for every square mile of basin, the total power of the Shannon, without evaporation, should be 1,084 horsepower per foot of fall. Its aver- age is found to be about 350, and hence the Shannon transmits annually to the sea 11.6 inches of water collected from its extensive basin, a result remark- Power and Fuel 175 ably in accordance with that of 12 inches (one-third of the rain) which I have taken as the average of Ireland. And that is but one river. The Lee, the Blackwater, the Suir, the Nore, the Barrow, the Slaney, the Liffey, the Boyne, the Newry, the Lagan, the Blackwater (Ulster), the Bann, Up- per and Lower, the Foyle, the Moy, and the Corrib — to name only a few of the numerous rivers which Ireland possesses — all contain water-power ample enough, once scientifically conserved and harnessed, to render the prose- cution of manufacturing industry in Ireland a profitable undertaking, even were the country not possessed, as the English maintain, of abun- dant fuel resources. It is, of course, right to say that the vast inequality of force at different seasons is the most striking disadvantage of water-power, but this can be removed. The provision of reservoirs will ensure a steadiness of supply. Such work could be undertaken in conjunction with the drainage and reclamation schemes referred to elsewhere in this book, and with marked advantage to agriculturists, mill ow T ners, navigation companies, and the other in- 176 What Could Germany Do For Ireland? terests affected. Water-power is cheaper than steam-power, wherever it is available. In Eng- land this fact is recognized, for wherever water- power of any force is available in that country it is harnessed to industry. The advent of the turbine engine, so largely availed of in all parts of the world today, renders the rivers of Ire- land an asset of prime importance for the crea- tion and development of manufacturing indus- try in Ireland. The widespread utilization of her water-power for the production of electric- ity cannot fail to have a direct and powerful influence in the industrial development of Ire- land. Here, then, apart from Ireland's coal and peat resources, is practically a never failing source of continuous power, and source of wealth for the future Irish nation. With the aid of this mighty force, with which nature has so prodigally endowed the country, and utilized, as it can be, so cheaply and so easily for mechanical and electrical power, Irish manufac- tures can compete successfully with the prod- ucts of England and other manufacturing na- tions. Power and Fuel 111 THE ELECTBIC SUPPLY IN GERMANY The development of the supply of electricity in Germany may be seen from the following tables : The number of electric plants for general supply ; that is, to generate electricity not only for individual need: 1891, about 30 plants with 8,000 K.W. capacity 1895, about 150 plants with 40,000 K.W. capacity 1900, about 600 plants with 250,000 K.W. capacity 1905, about 1,200 plants with 650,000 K.W. capacity 1907, about 1,600 plants with 900,000 K.W. capacity 1909, about 2,050 plants with 1,200,000 K.W. capacity 1911, about 2,700 plants with 1,500,000 K.W. capacity 1913, about 4,100 plants with 2,100,000 K.W. capacity "Whereas formerly a central plant in general supplied only one town, plants have sprung up recently which supply electricity for a number of townships at one time. Number of towns supplied with electricity : 1891, about 35 towns 1895, about 170 towns 1900, about 800 towns 1905, about 2,000 towns 1907, about 3,300 towns 1909, about 4,600 towns 1911, about 10,500 towns 1913, about 17,500 towns 178 What Could Germany Do For Ireland? Districts were supplied containing : In 1896, about 8,000,000 inhabitants In 1900, about 17,000,000 inhabitants In 1907, about 25,000,000 inhabitants In 1911, about 40,000,000 inhabitants The development of the electric supply is tending more and more to replace the many small plants by a few large overland central plants. Eight hundred and fifty townships are supplied by the central plant of Groeba, for ex- ample. The districts which are supplied by one plant are extended further and further and the plants within its confines are shut down or are turned into sub-stations. The tendency is to- wards a uniform supply for entire Germany with a few large power plants. This develop- ment is therefore very important, because only in this way is it possible to make the electrical power cheaper for the consumer ; electricity can always be supplied much more cheaply by large power plants than by small ones. This is espe- cially true when water-power, peat, coal beds with not very high-grade coal, and waste gas can be used. The influence which this develop- mment has had on the reduction in the cost of Power and Fuel 179 electricity in Germany may be seen from the following figures : The average price at the K. W. hour amounted to LIGHT POWER In 1900 1911 1900 1911 Breslau 61.68 40.40 20.00 17.07 Strassburg 47.20 34.98 15.50 9.65 Stettin 49.00 36.55 32.94 17.14 Of the 1,530 electric plants existing in 1907, 526 used water-power exclusively or in conjunc- tion with other power. COAL England has considered her own interests solely in deceiving the world with the statement that Ireland's fuel resources are of so limited a capacity as not to justify their commercial development, and she holds the purse-strings that control the supply of capital for Ireland, which country possesses two sources of fuel am- ple enough to satisfy the requirements of the Irish nation for three hundred years to come. No doubt the large and constant market for her coal in Ireland has, to a great extent, influenced England in her policy of "wet-blanketing" coal mining in Ireland in the past hundred 180 What Could Germany Do For Ireland? years. In his work on the fuel and other re- sources of Ireland, Sir Robert Kane wrote of the coal formation of the country as follows : They (Irish coal districts) are seven in number; of these, one is in Leinster, two are in Munster, three in Ulster, and one in Connacht. These districts dif- fer materially in their product, according as they are situate to the north or to the south of Dublin. Those to the north yield bituminous or naming coal; those to the south yield stone coal or anthracite, which burns without flame. In a report made to the International Geo- logical Congress at Toronto in 1913, the British Department of Agriculture for Ireland esti- mated the coal reserves of Ireland to be as fol- lows: Actual reserve 180,506,000 metric tons Probable reserve 110,840,000 metric tons Making a total of 291,346,000 metric tons of coal in reserve in the whole of Ireland. In ar- riving at these figures the Department 's experts were careful to state that they bad, of purpose, omitted to include an estimate of several dis- tricts, because, in their opinion, the coal of such tracts was unworkable, or would not pay to work. Furthermore, this report on Ireland's Power and Fuel 181 coal deposits stated that it was possible the ex- perts who had compiled it had underestimated the quantity of coal in certain districts, because they had not the facilities to make more exten- sive surveys of such districts. Thus does this British Board in Ireland faithfully serve the in- terests of its master, the British Government, despite the fact that it is the Irish milch cow that has to provide the money to pay the sal- aries of the officials and the general cost of the maintenance of this miscalled " Irish' ' Depart- ment of Agriculture. As against these figures, admittedly inade- quate, of this British Departmental Board, it is interesting to submit the estimate of Ire- land's coal deposits made by Professor Hull in 1881, who estimated the net tonnage (actual re- serve) available for use in the Irish coal fields at 209,000,000 tons of coal, in which estimate Sir E. Kane concurred. And we know that the out- put of coal from Irish mines has very consider- ably decreased in the past half-century. And let me submit this extract, taken from a state- ment issued in September, 1915, to show how faulty, in the case of at least one coal region in 182 What Could Germany Do For Ireland? Ireland, the official estimate has been proven to be. The following is taken from a statement issued by the Wolfhill Colliery, Co., Athy, which Mr. Parkinson is very patriotically mak- ing a practical endeavor to develop against mighty odds: It appears that the Irish Department of Agricul- ture, in a report to the International Geological Con- gress at Ottawa, in 1913, estimated the coal reserves in the Leinster coal field at 152,920,000 tons, whilst Mr. A. McHenry, Geological Expert, put the reserves at 219,000,000 tons. This calculation was made some years ago, and it is worth mentioning that within the last three months Mr. T. Hallissey, Geological Expert to the Department of Agriculture, has discovered by actual investigation that the coal field extends one and a half miles in a northwesterly direction beyond the line where heretofore it was believed the coal termi- nated, so that it is not unreasonable to assume that, therefore, there is considerably more coal in the dis- trict than even the experts know about. Here we have it stated that one district alone contains practically a greater reserve of coal than that given as the actual reserve of coal for all Ireland by the British authorities. The writer has not at his disposal further material to disprove the fallacious figures given by the English officials of Ireland 's coal deposits, since no scientific survey of Ireland has been made, Power and Fuel 183 such as has been made in all progressive coun- tries the world over. One of the earliest duties of an Irish Government must be to initiate and conduct a thorough, scientific survey of the whole island to ascertain with accuracy and definiteness the available wealth that lies em- bedded in the soil, the bogs, the rivers and the mountains of Ireland. Such a survey will demonstrate that Ireland's mineral wealth com- pares more than favorably with that of other countries of similar area in Europe, and that, in point of fact, her natural resources surpass those of many countries that today enjoy the blessings of domestic and political liberty. The output of coal in Ireland in 1911 was scarcely 84,000 tons, valued at less than $250,- 000, and the number of men employed was only 790. As to the possibilities of development, granted certain necessary conditions and facil- ities, I shall only deal now with the most largely worked mines in modern Ireland. The Wolf hill Colliery, in Queen's County, is about ten miles from Athy, the nearest railway station, and covers in Kilkenny and Queen's 184 What Could Germany Do For Ireland? County close on 20,000 statute acres. The Great Southern and Western Railway would not con- nect the mines with Athy by a spur line, and so it costs over a dollar per ton to cart the coal to the railway station at Athy. This constitutes a heavy handicap on the project, especially when it has to compete with coal brought from Great Britain at cheap through rates. Furthermore, to rail the coal from Athy to Dublin costs al- most $3.00 per ton, while in most other countries the transit charge over a like distance would be about half this figure. The chief difficulty that this company labors under, then, is lack of proper transit facilities. To build a line of rail- way from the pit's mouth to Athy will necessi- tate an expenditure of close on $250,000, and at this figure would prove a profitable undertak- ing. The present output of 50 tons per day would be quadrupled in a short time, and in less than three years the output could be brought to 1,000 tons daily. The construction of this line of railway would encourage the investing of capital on the building of miners ' cottages, so that skilled labor could be brought into the dis- trict, and would mean a saving to the company Power and Fuel 185 of at least one dollar per ton in cartage and freight charges. Besides, it must be remem- bered that every ton of coal raised in Ireland means Ireland richer by at least $5.00. After the construction of the line of railway there would be likely to spring up in the district the manufacture of bricks of various kinds from the different clays found in the mines and the manufacture of carbide of calcium and of port- land cement. Calcium cyanide, a fertilizer equal to nitrate of soda, could also be produced, and nitric acid likewise could be manufactured for smokeless powder and explosives generally. Wolfhill coal is a sound commercial product and the reserves are large. It only requires ef- ficient transit facilities to promote its develop- ment and to create additional industries, all of a paying character, in the district. A line of railway connecting Mr. Prior Wan- desford's collieries at Castlecomer with the Maryborough-Waterford branch of the Great Southern & Western Railway would open up this whole district and be the means of develop- ing these important mines for the good of the whole community. The same story may be re- 186 What Could Germany Do For Ireland? lated of the valuable Arigna coal and iron dis- trict, which, under a paternal government, will in the future become the heart of industrial Ire- land. A line starting at Collooney in Sligo and running up through the Arigna Valley for a dis- tance of some four miles would greatly facili- tate the marketing on competitive lines of the immense mineral wealth of this district. The project to connect the mountains of coal in North Eoscommon, at the junction of Sligo and Leitrim Counties, with railway facilities has been under discussion for very many years, but has never been brought to a head. Only in Oc- tober last a paragraph appeared in an Irish paper stating that it was feared the directors of the Arigna Coal Mines would be compelled to close down the work owing to the absence of such facilities. But enough has been stated to show the disabilities under which coal mining in Ireland is conducted. To get permission to construct a line of railway in Ireland, it is neces- sary to get a bill through the House of Com- mons in England, and subsequently through the House of Lords. Both legislatures largely rep- resent the coal owners of Great Britain, and it Power and Fuel 187, is not to the interest of these people to facili- tate coal production in Ireland, as thereby the market for English coal in Ireland would be- come less valuable every year. The coal mines of Ireland must receive early attention from a truly Irish government, so that their value to the nation may be forthcoming, both as a source of wealth, a source of power and a source of large and remunerative employment for the people of Ireland. Ireland's remaining fuel resource, peat, we will consider in the succeeding chapter. CHAPTER XII THE PEAT KESOUKCES OF IEELAND The late Sir Richard Sankey, when president of the Irish Board of Works, said : The bogs are the true gold mines of Ireland, and (properly used) will enable her to compete with Eng- land and Scotland in every form of industry. A brother officer of his, Colonel F. T. War- burton, than whom no other living Irishman has done more to promote the development of the peat resources of Ireland, writes: "All efforts after industrial development in Ireland will be in vain if they are not based on peat, the one means nature has accorded for their resurrec- tion." Writing in 1855, Anthony Marmion, dealing with the resources of Ireland, stated that: Independent of the coal mines, Ireland possesses two other sources of fuel — turf, or peat, and lignite, an intermediate species between wood and coal. The total area of the turf bogs of Ireland is estimated at 2,830,000 acres, something more than one-eighth of the entire area of the island. Of these, 1,576,000 acres are flat bog, and 1,254,000 acres are mountain bog, scattered over the hilly districts near the coast. The 188 The Peat Resources of Ireland 189 turf bogs, so long neglected, are now undergoing ex- periments which, if successful, will render them as valuable as the mines of California or Australia. At an earlier period, Sir E. Kane, in his book published in 1844, surveying the forces of eco- nomic greatness in Ireland, wrote : The last of our sources of fuel that I shall proceed to describe is of comparatively modern formation, and is considered most specially characteristic of this island; it is our turf. Our bogs may become, under the influence of an enlightened energy, sources of in- dustry eminently productive. It is a fuel of excellent nature. We see it, in ordinary use, spoiled by its mode of preparation. It is here my duty to point out how it can be properly prepared, and economi- cally used. Its importance to Ireland will, I trust, justify me in entering into some detail as to its na- ture, its composition, and its preparation. The ex- cessive moisture of this climate, and the tendency to the growth of certain mosses, are the primary causes of bogs. When ignited, the turf gives off inflammable gas, much water, and leaves a light, easily combustible charcoal. Turf contains much less nitrogen than coal. Hence the liquor obtained in distilling turf contains no free ammonia. The calorific power of dry turf is about half that of coal. The employment of turf as a source of heat in industry is extending. There is in our bogs amassed a quantity of turf, which, if the peculiar characters of that fuel be suitably attended to, may become of eminent importance to the country. Turning to an official publication issued in 1902 by the Department of Agriculture for Ire- 190 What Could Germany Do For Ireland? land, and entitled "Ireland: Industrial and Agricultural, ' ' the only reference to this source of wealth located in this work of more than 500 pages is the following cryptic sentence: The many schemes for utilizing peat as fuel on a commercial scale have not met with much success, confronted as they are by the nearness of the coal fields across the narrow channel on the east. The vast peat resources of the country, constituting almost a seventh part of the entire area of the island, are dismissed with that sin- gle sentence by this miscalled " Irish' ' Depart- ment of Agriculture. They want no future for Irish peat, owing to the fact that England possesses coal. And yet, as Colonel Warburton, alive to the hostility of English officials towards Irish industrial en- deavors, writes: Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Germany, Russia, Hol- land, parts of Austria, and Canada have made a per- fect success of peat fuel in competition with coal for the purposes of manufacture and ordinary household consumption, through the employment of a new method, dating from the beginning of the century, under conditions far less favorable than those which exist in Ireland, where the method has not been tried, partly because of the want of knowledge on the sub- ject by the Irish people ; partly because of their pov- erty; partly because of their having witnessed the The Peat Resources of Ireland 191 total failure of antecedent methods, their consequent disbelief in peat fuel, but principally because of the suppressive measures adopted by the British Govern- ment, and that part of it called "The Department of Agriculture for Ireland," which has, in the interests of British coal proprietors and British industrialists, to suppress Irish industries competing with their own, sometimes by statute, and in latter days by taxation and underhand means. In Germany, we know, the peat resources of the country have been wonderfully developed. Gases generated from peat and lignite are dis- tributed through local stations to manufactur- ing plants and transportation systems. One of the by-products obtained is ammonia. In the extensive moors of Germany the utilization of peat for these purposes has opened up a source of power of great extent, and largely as a direct consequence of these developments, great stretches of formerly worthless lands have be- come valuable cultivated soil. Even Russia, prior to the outbreak of war, had begun to de- velop along scientific lines the vast peat deposits of her empire. Peat authorities have shown that Continental peat competes with soft coal at $4.00 and $4.50 per ton. Imported bituminous coal in the in- 192 What Could Germany Do For Ireland? land parts of Ireland invariably retails at from $7.00 to $8.00 per ton. Since the war, coal in the interior brings $10.00 and upwards per ton. But we must calculate on the normal prices. At Irish seaports, in normal periods, imported soft coal sells at $6.00 per ton. On the Continent, as is well known, the greatest enemy of peat fuel manufacture is frost. There the manufacture of peat fuel is limited to the months of June, July and August. For practically the remain- ing months of the year the bogs cannot be worked as, usually, they are frozen deep and cannot be cut until they thaw. Frost disinte- grates the peat, whether raw or shaped. Eain, on the other hand, once the bricks are formed and laid on the drying ground, closes up the outside pores. When fine weather returns the rains run off the bricks and their natural and inexpensive process of moisture exudation, tem- porarily arrested, is resumed. There is little or no frost experienced in the Irish climate. In the past eighty years, authorities state, there have been only four years in which the manufac- ture of peat fuel would have been retarded by frost. And the rainfall in Ireland is no greater The Peat Resources of Ireland 193 than that of England. In some parts it is con- siderably lower than England's average. Elsewhere in this book I have quoted the of- ficial returns for wages paid to rural workers in Ireland. Nowhere are they more than $4.00 weekly ; indeed, they are in some districts as low as $2.50. The wages paid on the Continent and in Canada to rural workers are considerably higher than this, so the manufacture of peat fuel in Ireland would have an initial advantage over other countries carrying on the industry. Of course, in time, wages in Ireland will in- crease; indeed, they must do so speedily if the country is to retain sufficient agricultural labor for its growing needs. Manufacturers in the north of Ireland com- plain that because of the high price they have to pay for imported coal, they cannot pay the Eng- lish rate of wages. As the higher level seams become exhausted in England, coal is certain to advance in price. Labor in the open fields, making peat, is far more effective than coal-mining labor, with which it must be compared. Peat being at the surface, there will be no increase in price from 194 What Could Germany Do For Ireland? that cause. Besides, the labor required for turning and piling the bricks is of so slight a character that women and youths can be re- muneratively employed. A family so employed would live in what they would call a state of affluence, as compared with their present often wretched condition. There would be no need to centralize labor, with its attendant evils. Every bog in the lowlands would become a source of employment, small plants being provided, suit- table to the local consumption, etc. Peat suffers from the disadvantage that it is slightly bulkier than coal and, consequently, increases the cost of freight and space required for storage. Ire- land is favorably situated for water delivery. The Eiver Shannon divides it from Boyle to Limerick, and the Grand Canal from Limerick to Dublin, and again, from Dublin to Water- ford, via Athy and the Barrow navigation. As against coal, however, peat loses far less through wastage or handling than bituminous coal, so largely used in Ireland. Peat fuel im- proves by keeping, whilst coal deteriorates; it is free from sulphur and is superior to coal for the manufacture of iron and for smelting pur- The Peat Resources of Ireland 195 poses. Peat is far more sanitary than coal, is easier handled, is cleaner in use, gives off no dust, and, what is of far more importance to Ireland, is cheaper by nearly one-half than coal imported from either England or Scotland. Cheap fuel is indispensable for manufacturing purposes, and if Ireland is to revive success- fully her industries destroyed by British laws, her factories must have cheap coal. Peat fuel, taken from the bogs of Ireland, will satisfy their requirements in all respects. Practically all of industrial England, Wales and Scotland surround the coal fields of these countries. Cheapness of fuel at the pit's mouth has caused congestion in those centers. Ireland's bogs are located in every county in Ireland, and conse- quently the same reason for the congestion of industries in any one district will not arise. Ireland, with her manufacturers working apace, will thus be enabled to enjoy widespread pros- perity, and at the same time her workers will be enabled to live in healthy, natural surroundings and to raise up their children near to nature and close to God. The River Shannon possesses superior ad- 196 What Could Germany Do For Ireland? vantages for the erection of peat fuel manufac- tories along its banks. Some fourteen towns, with a combined population of 100,000 souls, can be reached by means of its navigation, and the Grand Canal to Dublin, with its 250,000 people, also can be reached. And water car- riage is far cheaper than other forms of trans- portation. We know that Ireland annually pays over to England a sum of approximately $17,000,000 for her coal and coke requirements. Her coal mines and bogs are severely neglected, so that English coal owners may hold their grip on this constant and remunerative coal market. The successful working of Ireland's coal and peat will result in saving these millions of dollars and will provide for her people steady employ- ment in their own land, and thus save the rem- nants of the race from emigrating. In a scheme prepared by Colonel Warburton for the erection of a peat fuel manufactory near the Shannon, he states that ' ' peat fuel equal in caloric value to coal can be sold at a profit of $1.00 a ton at the rate of $4.00 a ton of 4,000 pounds, the increased weight on 2,240 pounds The Peat Resources of Ireland 197 being necessitated by the lesser specific gravity of the fuel, just as soft coal ordinarily used in English manufactures necessitates greater weight than anthracite coal. ,, He estimates that $25,000 is required to equip a plant for the annual production of 10,000 tons of 4,000 pounds, selling at $4.00 a ton. This would en- able the company easily to pay 20 per cent, on capital invested. With the employment of a larger capital than the amount mentioned in Colonel Warburton's plan, it is certain that many economies could be effected, such as cheapening the cost of machinery and savings on materials purchased in large quantities. Other purposes to which Ireland's peat may be applied are the production of electricity and of gas, the manufacture of paper, peat-moss lit- ter, which is largely imported into Ireland from the Continent, oil, and a variety of other indus- trial purposes. Germany can teach Ireland a great deal as to the proper utilization of her peat resources, which, in Sir R. Sankey's words, * ' are the true gold mines of Ireland. ' ' In water- power and in coal and peat fuel Ireland pos- sesses sources of natural wealth which, if prop- 198 What Could Germany Do For Ireland? erly applied, cannot fail to place her in the fore- most ranks of the manufacturing nations of the world of today. The sub-soil, after the cutting of the peat, could be cultivated. It will be interesting to see how Germany has dealt with this problem. Modern chemical science has been extensively applied by Germany to the development of her moorlands. By means of the Rimpan-Cunran system the productivity of the cultivated moor- lands has been increased to such an extent that its profitableness is assured. The Society for the Furtherance of the Cultivation of the Moor- lands of the German Empire has performed efficient service during the past two decades and has endowed scholarships for the study of the cultivation of the moors. The Central Moor- land Commission of Prussia has worked out the problems submitted to it by the Ministry of Agriculture. This Commission founded the Moor Experiment Station in Bremen, the func- tion of which is to promote the science and the technique of the cultivation of the moorlands in all directions by means of chemical, physical and botanical investigations. There have been The Peat Resources of Ireland 199 numerous commissions appointed at enormous public expense to consider the Irish peat prob- lem, but nothing practical has so far resulted to the country. At the end of November, 1914, an ordinance was issued in Prussia which provides for the formation of compulsory associations that are to be established for the cultivation and utiliza- tion of moors, heaths, and similar regions un- der their owners. These regions are to be trans- formed into fields, meadows, and pastures, and cultivated according to a uniform plan by means of drainage and the building of neces- sary roads and ditches. The Kaiser has on all occasions personally identified himself with efforts to turn the moors of Germany into sources of strength and nour- ishment for the empire. On the Prussian State Model Farm at Wiesmoor in Aurich, an electric plant has been installed, in which the peat burned under the boilers gave the power for running the dynamo machines. In 1914 the maximum achievement of this plant amounted to 6,000 horsepower. It supplied a large part of the surrounding country with electricity, and 200 What Could Germany Do For Ireland? when completed, will supply entire East Fries- land and the Grand Duchy of Oldenburg (a ter- ritory of 3,700 square miles) with light and power. Also, the electric power so derived is used at the same time for the cultivation of the moors themselves, for peat-cutting machines, plows, etc., are all driven by electricity and the expensive human labor is thus relieved for other purposes. It has been clearly demonstrated that the peat layers can be used to great advan- tage for the generation of electric power. Tech- nical improvement of the plant has made it pos- sible to reduce the consumption of peat to two kilograms per kilowatt hour (one kilogram is equal to 220 pounds). The German scientist Mond has succeeded in gasifying peat containing over 60 per cent, of water in generator furnaces, and at the same time produced substances such as sulphate of ammonia, important for both industry and agri- culture. The gas produced is used for driving highly efficient gas motors, which, for their part, set electric dynamos in action. The profitable- ness of such a plant is assured by the produc- tion of quantities of sulphate of ammonia. CHAPTER XIII THE IRISH FISHERIES In the five years, 1909-1913, Ireland purchased from England fish (fresh, cured and shell) to the estimated value of more than $8,000,000. We may be asked what is remarkable in that fact. Let us glance at a map of Europe and inquire why, situated an island, in celebrated fishing waters, Ireland should have any neces- sity for procuring her fish supplies from Eng- land or any other country, instead of from the hidden depths of the mighty Atlantic that foams round her shores. Why must this natural home of fisheries enrich England every year by some $1,600,000 paid for fish food for the Irish people, to the utter neglect of her own fishing resources ? We have been told that her sons are not hardy sailors. How could these island people avoid seafaring? The people are cut ofT by an expanse of water from all contact with outside countries. Ireland is not only a mari- time country, but, by virtue of necessity, her 201 202 What Could Germany Do For Ireland? people are possessed of all the instincts and attributes of a people born and bred within sound of the waves washing their sea-girt homes. Replying, in 1883, to an argument based on this fallacy, the then President of the Uni- versity at Cork (the late Professor W. K. Sul- livan) wrote: The Irish are naturally sailors. Among the best fishermen of the United Kingdom are three essentially Celtic peoples — the Cornishmen, the Manxmen (who still speak an Irish dialect), and the Gaelic-speaking fishers of Argyle and the Hebrides. The Bretons, the most daring and enterprising fishermen in Europe, are Celts, and their descendants in Newfoundland, and those Irish who emigrated there, are among the hardiest fishermen in America. We point to the British navy, where in every rank up to that of Admiral, Irish-born men have at all periods asserted and established beyond question their superiority as sailors. Those who would wish to learn something more about the Irish as sailors can read the history of the United States Navy, from its father, Commo- dore John Barry, down to Admiral Mahan, who died only a few years ago and who was classed as the most gifted naval strategist of his time. It may be urged that the Irish waters have The Irish Fisheries 203 not fish in abundance to justify the carrying on of a fishing industry in Ireland. Later in this chapter I hope to indicate the great wealth that lies hidden in the Irish deep-sea and inland fish- eries. Just here, and by way of reply to the question raised, I need only point to the fact that great fleets of fishers come year after year to Irish waters from Scotland, the Isle of Man, Wales, England, Brittany and Denmark, gar- nering the rich harvests of the Irish waters for the enrichment and nourishment of their respec- tive peoples, and to the further impoverishment of the fast dying Irish fishing industry. Also, the great seaports on the west coast of England are mainly dependent for the fish landed on their wharves from the harvests of the Irish seas. There must be a cause, however, it will be urged, and there is. The principal cause of all Irish industrial ills and the present decay in all branches of human endeavor within Ireland, is British Rule in Ireland. It is a fixed, immov- able principle of the English direction of Irish affairs that the country should not be permitted to become a formidable competitor of England. 204 What Could Germany Do For Ireland? This has ever been the attitude of the conqueror towards the conquered. History holds no rec- ord of a subject race prospering exceedingly under foreign domination. England's view is that so long as Ireland exists she must hold her in subjection, to enable her to retain and main- tain her supremacy of the seas. A truly pros- perous Ireland could not for long be held in subjection; she would soon assert her right to direct her own affairs, internal and external, and, as all who have given some thought to naval affairs know, this for England would in- evitably mean the passing of the Trident out of Britannia's hands for all time. That Ireland at one time enjoyed an exten- sively conducted fishing industry is a matter of history, amply borne out by the trade records of Ireland, down to the amalgamation of the customs of both countries, a century back. There is no country in Europe so admirably situated for the successful conduct of an exten- sive fishing industry as Ireland. She is located in the center of the richest fishing territory in Europe, has numerous natural harbors, up- wards of 100 rivers and numerous lakes, all f re- The Irish Fisheries 205 quented by salmon and other fresh-water fish, and, furthermore, is within easy reach of some of the best fish markets in the world. Writing in 1855 of the west-coast fisheries of Ireland, Anthony Marmion, in his work on ' ' The History of the Maritime Ports of Ireland," said: From Cape Clear in the south to Malinhead in the northwest, the coast is studded with numerous banks . . . abounding with fish of the most valuable de- scription, such as ling, cod (equal to those of the North Sea), haddock weighing from 15 to 30 pounds, etc. The sea along the coast is often speckled with marine animals of a larger size, such as the Green- land and spermaceti whale,* the sun-fish, etc., pro- ducing oil of the most valuable description. Here, then, is a field open for the employment of 100,000 Irishmen, whose operations would give sus- tenance to millions of people. This coast was the principal fishing ground of the Dutch in the palmy days of their naval superiority, when their Admiral Van Tromp, with a broom at his masthead, contemp- tuously swept the seas for a considerable time with- out molestation. Those enterprising navigators, in 1615, had 2,000 fishing vessels with 37,000 men, and the produce of their fishing for one year previous thereto amounted to close on $10,000,000. (Note, this ♦It is interesting to know that two whaling stations are working at Inishkea and Blacksod on the west coast of Ire- land, two whalers working from each station, In 1913 the number of whales landed at Inishkea was 49, and at Blacksod station 65. The whales caught included Sperm, Fin, Blue and Hampback varieties. The total production of oil was 3,900 barrels and of whale bone about 4 tons and 175 bags, and in addition a large quantity of manure. Close on 70 hands were employed at the two factories. 206 What Could Germany Do For Ireland? amount would be equal to from 40 to 50 million dol- lars today.) In 1618 they increased to 3,000 vessels and 50,000 men, with 9,000 vessels to transport the fish to various countries, and computing those occupied in the curing and sale of the fish, it must have given employment to 150,000 persons, and was the great nursery for producing skilful and experienced sea- men to man their navy. Although Blake's victories tended to destroy their fishing on the Irish coast, Eng- land did not profit by the lessons of the Dutch, and with Ireland for centuries in its hands, has never attempted, on a large scale, to explore the vast treas- ures of the deep sea that washes the western shores of Ireland. That was in 1855. England has since learned the lesson and every season now explores those treasures referred to by Marmion in her own interest and for her own profit, English, Scotch, Welsh and Manx trawlers now infest Irish waters, and are not deterred from poach- ing within the limits by the one small steamboat that patrols the whole Irish coast, to protect the interests of the poor and ill-equipped Irish fishers. The following table is instructive, as it shows pithily the tragic decline in the Irish fisheries within the past seventy years : The Irish Fisheries 207 Year. No. of Vessels Men and Boys Quantity of Fish Landed 1845 1852 1911 1913 19,883 13,227 5,515 5,093 93,073 58,822 20,098 18,074 989,484 cwts. 676,392 " The following table will show the extent of the fishing industry carried on at the places mentioned in the year 1851 : District No, of Vessels Men and Boys Claddagh 1,083 3,337 Youghal 574 2,786 Sligo 475 2,724 Wexford 448 2,059 Waterford 384 1,578 Dundalk 283 1,235 Arklow 200 950 Furthermore, the records tell us that pre- vious to 1835 Cork exported annually upwards of 20,000 barrels of herrings. It was the only place then known where fish were cured and packed to stand a warm climate. In 1654 some 120,000 barrels of herrings were cured at Wex- ford, of which number 80,000 were exported to England. Marmion relates that ' ' at Killala, in 1782, as if to usher in the dawn of free trade for Ireland, the coast swarmed with herrings ; 208 What Could Germany Do For Ireland? 23 millions were caught off the Rosses, and the Commissioners of Fisheries were assured as many could have been taken as would have loaded every vessel in Great Britain." Of the inland fisheries, we know that salmon was the daily fare of the whole people of Ireland. The salmon fisheries of the Suir, Nore and Barrow, all three rivers flowing into Waterford harbor, exported 20,852 salmon, weighing 151,645 pounds, to Bristol in the year 1844, independent of the large quantity sent to Dublin and con- sumed at home. In 1843 some 21,660 salmon were taken on the River Bann, the great bulk of the catch being exported. At Sligo some eight tons of salmon were taken in 1845, and a similar tale of successful fishing could be re- lated, at that date, of every other river in Ire- land. Marmion, in the quotation above given, referred to the Dutch fishing off the Irish coast. Long before the Dutch ruled the seas the Span- iards were wont to send at least 600 ships to Ireland every year for fishing alone, and con- tinued to do so for many a year, despite an act passed in England in 1465 to forbid strangers from fishing on the Irish shores without license. The Irish Fisheries 209 Such is, in bald outline, an indication of the former greatness of the Irish fishing industry, and of the wealth that lies in the waters that lave her shores. How England accomplished the destruction of this industry cannot be fully recited within the necessarily small compass of a chapter such as this. It was neither the Eng- lish-promoted famine of 1846-47 nor the terrible exodus of the Irish people to foreign lands in succeeding years that brought about the ruin of this industry. Mention has been made of an enactment of the English Parliament of 1465, aimed more against the prosperity of the Irish of that day, due to their direct intercourse with nations other than England, than at the en- croachments of the Spanish fishers on Irish waters. For the Spaniards paid the Irish for permission to fish off their coasts. This, and successive restrictive enactments of the British House of Parliament, brought about the decline in the Irish fisheries. Let us hear Marmion's comment on this aspect of the case : As far back as 1777 an act was passed which in itself was sufficient to annihilate the Irish sea fish- eries. It prohibited the tanning with bark of nets and lines for fishing purposes, and rendered com- 210 What Could Germany Do For Ireland? pulsory the smearing of them with tar and oil, the color and smell of which frightened away the fish and contributed to the decay of the nets, while the Eng- lish fisherman was allowed to tan his nets with oak bark, which preserved them for ten or twelve seasons. The greatest enemy to the Irish fisheries could not have devised a happier scheme than this to extinguish them. This great industry was killed of set purpose by the English, the cupidity, envy and jealousy of whose merchants have worked such havoc on all Irish efforts after commercial and industrial prosperity. This trade, like so many other Irish businesses, has passed into the hands of the English, as the following official figures will demonstrate : GREAT BRITAIN IRELAND Year Vessels Men Vessels Men 1899 1901 18,010 17,422 60,453 59,138 7,919 7,877 9,333 8,689 Let us examine the question from two more aspects. In 1901 Ireland possessed only 378 first-class boats of 15 tons and upwards. That same year Scotland possessed 3,321 and Eng- land 3,316 of similar tonnage. Furthermore, in 1902 the value of the fish landed in Ireland The Irish Fisheries 211 amounted to only $1,500,000, whilst the figures for Scotland and England, respectively, were $12,905,000 and $34,000,000. Figures eloquent of the undoing of Ireland's fisheries ! The ques- tion need not be argued further. The industry today is all but extinct. There are parts of the interior of Ireland, small as the country is, where a fresh deep-sea fish is never marketed. All the large towns and populous centers are de- pendent upon England for their fish supplies. Indeed, the catches scarcely provide fish food, all the year round, for the poor fishers and their families, who are compelled to eke out a liveli- hood by combining badly-conducted tillage with indifferent fishing. But what is more tragic from the point of view of the patriots of the country is that the Irish language is spoken as an every-day tongue only by the poor fisherfolk who inhabit the coastal districts, and their im- poverishment and passing away mean the in- evitable extinction of the spoken tongue of the Gael, which for centuries was the only tongue spoken in Ireland. The fate of the historic Irish nation under British domination is tragic in the extreme, and only the invincible arms of 212 What Could Germany Do For Ireland? Germany can undo the evil and destruction wrought in Ireland. The Irish administration to be established will be judged by the degree of prosperity which the country will reach under its tutelage and care. In the preceding chapters sources of wealth have been indicated that, if developed scientifically, cannot fail to assure prosperity and affluence to the Irish nation in the years to come. In the deep-sea and inland fisheries of Ireland lie wealth and food untold for the en- richment and sustenance of many millions. True statesmanship will avail of this ready source of wealth and food for the people, and will seek to develop and extend a world-wide trade in both fresh and cured fish. Germany and America are both large consumers of cured herrings. Both countries at the present time take some of their herring supplies from Ire- land. This is a market capable of unlimited de- velopment. The sympathy and understanding that exist between all three countries will prove a valuable asset in the propagation of trade and commerce between them. Ireland has much to gain by such alliance. Let us hope her leaders The Irish Fisheries 213 of the future wil recognize and avail themselves to the full of this fact. To develop the Irish fisheries on scientific lines will require careful and generous handling. The antiquated boats and gear will have to be replaced by up-to-date power boats with modern fishing gear and ap- pliances. Piers must be built around the coast for shelter and harborage. The existing de- ficiency in means of communication with mar- kets must be removed by the provision of facil- ities for quick despatch both by sea and land. The Irish carrying companies will have to be made to recognize that their present high freight and inadequate facilities tend to dis- courage enterprise in Ireland, and the state must see to it that it owns and operates the rail- ways for the good of the people, as in Germany. Curing stations on land and adequate apparatus for curing on board ship must be established for the catch of fish and for the requirements of the different markets. The provision of suitable and highly trained teachers for such work will also have to be attended to, as also the training of the boys and girls to make and mend the fishing nets, for which Ireland pays to Eng- 214 What Could Germany Do For Ireland? land every year close upon $200,000. The erec- tion of suitable works for cooperage and box- making must also be provided, and a market found for the millions of tons of kelp that strew the whole coastline of Ireland. An ade- quate and efficient patrol system must be in- augurated. The great essential will be capital, cheap and available for those who follow the call of the sea. The loans that, prior to the war, were granted to Irish fishers were small and inadequate, and have altogether ceased. To es- tablish the industry on paying lines capital will have to be forthcoming freely and on easy terms. The banks of the country must do their share here. The formation of companies to carry on trawling operations on a large scale must be encouraged, and Queenstown, boycotted by the English shipping companies, could give far greater and far more remunerative em- ployment to its people by the establishment of a trawling fleet in the harbor than it ever re- ceived from the emigrant traffic, for which alone the English boats continued to call at that port. Re-established on lines such as those herein in- dicated, the Irish fishing industry would speed- The Irish Fisheries 215 ily forge to the front, and in a short space of time the wealth now lost to Ireland in her coastal and inland waters would be made avail- able for the building up of the new Irish nation. CHAPTER XIV IRELAND IN OLDEN DAYS We've heard her faults a hundred times — the new ones and the old-—; In songs and sermons, rants and rhymes, enlarged a hundred-fold ; But take them all, the great and small, and this we 've got to say — Here's dear old Ireland, brave old Ireland, Ireland, boys, hurrah! Realizing the vital importance of Ireland to England's world domination, both on sea and land, English policy in regard to Ireland has been framed and directed to the end that Ire- land's very existence as a separate entity on the face of the globe would come to be forgotten in time by the peoples of other countries, and that such of the native race as continued to survive the rigors of British rule in Ireland would be raised in ignorance of the true impor- tance of Ireland to the peace and security of the world. To those of the Irish race conversant with her history it is humiliating to have to tes- tify, after wide traveling experience, to the 216 Ireland in Olden Days 217 density of the ignorance of Ireland and of her affairs displayed the world over today. Un- questionably, England has a set purpose in causing the outside world to forget the existence of Ireland. Where the name "Ireland" is known to foreigners, it is invariably understood to form an internal part or shire of England, and English-speaking Irishmen experience very considerable difficulty abroad in convincing even educated and travelled Continental folk that they are not Englishmen, nor of the same country or race as Englishmen. Time was when the outer world was fully alive to the existence of Ireland, when she filled a large space in the sun ; time was when she amply justified her po- sition as a civilized world power, radiating with the true spirit of practical Christianity. As Mrs. Alice Stopford Green, widow of the dis- tinguished English historian of that name, tells us in her historic work, "The Making of Ireland and Its Undoing," as early as 1000 A. D. Ire- land was known to France as "that very wealthy country in which there were twelve cities, with wide bishoprics, and a king, and which had its own language and Latin letters. ' ' 218 What Could Germany Do For Ireland? In 1087 William Rufus of England, planning an invasion of Ireland, spoke of her as "a land very rich in plunder, and famed for the good temperature of the air, the fruitfulness of the soil, the pleasant and commodious seats for habitation, and safe and large ports and havens lying open for traffic. ' ' So few people today of the outer world understand that the Irish race is and was distinct from the English, and so very many live in the belief that England al- ways did own Ireland, and so large a number express the opinion that the Irish are incapable of working out the destinies of their nation, that it is desirable and necessary briefly to state the true historic facts of the Irish situation for the enlightenment of democracies the world over. Sir J. T. Gilbert, Ireland's foremost archivist and archaeologist, tells us that the earliest tribes to reach Ireland, back in the twilight of history, long ere England was even known to exist, were familiar with all science necessary to preserve exis- tence and organize a new country into a human habi- tation. They cleared the forests, worked the mines, built chambers for their dead after the manner of their kindred left in Tyre and Greece, wrought arms, defensive and offensive, such as the heroes of Mara- thon used against the long-haired Persian; they Ireland in Olden Bays 219 raised altar and pillar stones, still standing amongst us, mysterious and eternal symbols of a simple, prim- itive creed; they had bards, priests, and law-givers, the old tongue of Shinar, the dress of Nineveh, and the ancient faith whose ritual was prayer and sacri- fice. Of the second people who found their way to Ireland the same authority tells us that they brought with them the Syrian arts and civilization, such as dyeing and weaving, working in gold, silver and brass, besides the written characters, the same as Cadmus afterwards gave to Greece, and which re- mained in use amongst the Irish for above a thousand years, until modified by St. Patrick into their pres- ent form to assimilate them to the Latin. Continuing, this same writer, from his re- searches, ascertained that continued intercourse with their Tyrian kindred soon filled Ireland with the refinements of a luxurious civi- lization. From various sources we learn that in those ancient times the native dress was costly and pic- turesque, and the habits and modes of living of the chiefs splendid and Oriental. The high-born and wealthy wore tunics and fine linen of immense width, girdled with gold, and with flowing sleeves after the Eastern fashion. . . . The ladies wore the silken robes and flowing veils of Persia, or rolls of linen wound round the head like the Egyptian Isis, the hair curiously plaited down the back and fastened with gold or silver bodkins, whilst the neck and arms were profusely covered with jewels. These relics of a civilization 3,000 years old may still be gazed upon by modern eyes in the splendid and unrivalled anti- 220 What Could Germany Do For Ireland? quarian collection of the Royal Irish Academy (Dub- lin). The golden circlets, the fibulae, torcques, bracelets, rings, etc., worn by the native race are not only costly in value, but often so singularly beautiful in the working out of minute artistic details that modern art is not merely unable to imitate them but even unable to comprehend how the ancient workers in metals could accomplish works of such delicate, almost microscopic, minuteness of finish. This half-Tyrian, half-Greek race occupied Ireland for centuries and traded with Tyre, and subsequently with Carthage. That Ireland had an extensive and valuable Continental trade in pre-Christian days has been demonstrated be- yond dispute. The Brehon Laws of Ireland and the Book of Eights contain so many and such detailed instructions regarding oversea trade that it is not necessary to look for other author- ities within Ireland. Historical writers of France speak of the early trade relations be- tween Ireland and that country. Tacitus, who lived in the first century of the Christian era, has left it on record that the ports of Ireland were better known to merchants and traders by reason of the abundance of commerce than those of Britain. From Juvenal's " Satires' ' we learn that Irish woolens were sold in the mar- Ireland in Olden Bays 221 kets of Rome at that early period. King Al- fred of the Saxons, who came to Ireland to study in the year 635, has left it on record that he found in Ireland "much food, raiment, gold, silver, honey, wheat, health, prosperity, traffic and cities." Before Norse or English invaded Ireland, commercial relationship with Tyre, Carthage, Greece, Italy, Spain, France, Bel- gium, Britain and Scotland had been established by Ireland. In far-away Arabia, too, our coun- try was known as "Irandah-al-Kaberah" (Ire- land the Great). At the time of the Anglo- Saxon invasion of Ireland, Dublin was de- scribed by an English writer as " a noble mari- time city, the metropolis of Ireland, and about the rival of London for commerce and abun- dance of its port." It was, in fact, as Mrs. Green tells us, the activity, the importance, and the riches of Ire- land that drew to it the attention of commercial Eng- land nnder the Tudor kings. For in the spacious days of their business adventures, wealth that was not in English hands seemed to practical Englishmen re- sources merely wasted and lost. Again, she tells us that Ireland, in fact, was a country of active and organized industry, with skilled manufacturers and a wide com- 222 What Could Germany Do For Ireland? merce. Its artisans had long been passing over to other lands for trade in considerable numbers. . . . The chief resort of Irish merchants was to the Con- tinent. . . . Numbers of married Irishmen set- tled in the Netherlands and in Spain and had free access and traffic there. In the Spanish war with England, Phillip ordered that the Irish traders should not be interfered with: they passed freely every- where. . . . European culture was carried back to Ireland by her merchants abroad, and Irish scholars were supported on the Continent, and Irish colleges endowed by these traders in foreign lands. . . . Evidences of an extensive trade were to be met with round the entire coast of Ireland, spreading thence over the whole of Europe. . . . Irish merchants of the towns were sailing their ships to the chief ports of Europe and amassing substantial fortunes. At home they were building houses and improving the towns in a manner that befitted their standing. . . . Inland trade prospered with the traffic of frequent markets, the interchange of gold and silver plate, and the ' ' large tributes of money f ' given to Ireland by the commerce of European nations. The people who had some schooling naturally talked Latin, the language of their Continental trade, for English would have been of little use to them in commerce, and ' ' the Irish is as wise as the Spaniard is proud, ' ' said an English observer. Truly, as Mrs. Green pithily concludes : it was indeed the wealth and not the poverty of the people of Ireland that had drawn the invaders to her pillage. Side by side and contemporaneous with this great development in the internal and external Ireland in Olden Bays 223 trade of Ireland, the national love for learning asserted itself in a manner that was at once a revelation and a source of inspiration to the rest of Europe. Schools and monasteries flour- ished throughout the land, practically all of them built and endowed by native princes and wealthy, public-spirited merchants. Scholars were hospitably welcomed throughout the land. Her great seats of learning were open free to students from abroad, and youths of England, France, Germany and Switzerland flocked to them for knowledge and culture. Lord Lyttle- ton, in his "Life of Henry 11.," states that many Irish went from thence (Ireland) to convert and teach other nations. Many Saxons out of Eng- land resorted thither for instruction, and brought from thence the use of letters to their ignorant coun- trymen. Guizot, the historian, of France, relates that of all the countries of the west, Ireland was, for a long time, that in which alone learning was supported, and throve amid the general overthrow of Europe. Mosheim, in his "Ecclesiastical History/ ' af- firms that the Irish were lovers of learning, and distinguished themselves in those times of ignorance beyond all other European nations, traveling through the most dis- 224 What Could Germany Do For Ireland? tant lands with a view to improve and communicate their knowledge, ... we see them in the most authentic records of antiquity discharging, with the highest reputation and applause, the functions of doctors in France, Germany and Italy. History teaches us that it was Ireland, through St. Cokimcille, who Christianized Scot- land, and that after his death (A. D. 597) his Irish monks from Iona carried his Christianiz- ing work over the whole of England, succeeding in their mission where Augustine and his Roman missionaries had failed in their efforts. St. Columbanus, with twelve Irish monks, crossed Gaul to the Vosges and founded monas- teries at Lnxeuil (575 A. D.) in France, in Switzerland, and at Bobbio in the Appenines. Ireland gave St. Gall to Switzerland, and St. Killian and St. Virgilius to Germany. In Ger- many today no fewer than 200 churches are dedicated to the memories of Irish missionaries. An Irishman, John Scotus Erigena, taught phil- osophy with distinction at Paris, and we know that Charlemagne confided into the care of Irish missionaries the two universities which he founded in Paris and Pavia. Twelve Irish mon- asteries were established in Germany and Ireland in Olden Days 225 Austria, and an Irish abbot presided over a seat of learning in Bulgaria. Indeed, so great be- came the fame of Ireland among Continental peoples that "strangers, moved by the love of study, set out after the manner of their ances- tors, to visit the land of the Irish, so wonder- fully celebrated for its learning." Such is but a faint picture of Ireland in those days when she was truly Irish — Ere the emerald gem of the western world Was set in the crown of a stranger. "Irish history,' ' said an English statesman of our day, "is for Ireland to forget.' ' To be true to the traditions and teachings of his school he should have asked the outside world to do likewise, but, no doubt, with his official knowledge, he considered it superfluous to do so, since the diplomacy and statecraft of Eng- land have ever worked, and with only too suc- cessful effect, to make the outer nations forget Ireland, and disremember all that European civilization owes to the culture and missionary and commercial zeal of the Irish in pre-English days. That this was England's avowed pur- pose in the days of her early empire is con- 226 What Could Germany Do For Ireland? f essed by their own historian Plowden, who has frankly avowed that we (English) have still more reason to lament the shameful and fatal policy of our ancestors (English), who from the first invasion of Henry Plantagenet down to the reign of James L, took all possible means of art and force to destroy whatever writings had by chance or care been preserved from destruction at the hands of the Danes. They (English) imagined that the perusal of such work kept alive the spirit of the natives (Irish) and kindled them to rebellion by re- minding them of the power, independence, and prowess of their ancestry. That same spirit has been handed down through the ages, and it is to this desire on the part of the English to obliterate all traces of native greatness in Ireland from the minds of the Irish that the teaching of Irish history in the schools and colleges of Ireland has been at all times discountenanced by the English in Ire- land. There was a day when Ireland was one of the European centers of medical science. That day is past; young Irish physicians and surgeons of ability seek other fields. Some of the great- est doctors in the United States were born in Ireland. One of the leading hospitals in Europe is located in Dublin. Dr. William J. Mayo, of Ireland in Olden Bays 227 Eochester, Minnesota, who is regarded as America's foremost surgeon, says: Germany has been and is today the centre of medi- cal science. The Germans are, indeed, leaders in all branches of science, and they also possess the power to maintain themselves on this height. Americans particularly have profited from the German school more than any other. The Germans have gladly let others partake of their astounding store of knowl- edge. They have educated the world. In all of the great German universities there is unfeigned admiration for the Irish friend- ships formed, and in medical science German knowledge will prove of great help in the phys- ical welfare of the Ireland that is to be. The Gaelic language is studied and honored in several German universities, and one of the most valuable lectures on ancient Ireland the writer heard from the lips of Professor Kuno Meyer of Dublin, a noted Irish language scholar. We quote Professor Meyer: English conquest and English policy have com- pletely altered the natural and historical position of Ireland with regard to the rest of the world. She has compelled the trade of Ireland to be with herself alone; she has cut her off from all direct communi- cation with the Continent, and keeps her, as it were, concealed from Europe, while so long as Ireland was free and independent, she, lying in the direct route of trade, carried on a thriving commerce with Spain, 228 What Could Germany Do For Ireland? France and Scandinavia, and was as much a part of Europe as any other country on that continent. By this intercourse, which goes back to the earliest times, it came to pass that Ireland, though never conquered by Rome, shared in the general civilization of Europe. This we can best see from Irish art, in which we can trace Roman, Greek and even Oriental influences. When, in the fifth century, Ireland had become the heiress of the classical and theological learning of the Western Empire, a period of humanism was ushered in which reached its culmination in the sixth and following centuries, the golden age of Irish civi- lization, as we may call it. The charge that is so often leveled against Irish history, that it has been, as it were, in a backwater, where only the fainter wash of the larger currents reaches, cannot apply to this period. For once, at any rate, Ireland drew upon her- self the eyes of the whole world, not, as so often in later times, by her unparalleled sufferings, but as the one haven of rest in a world overrun by barbarians, as the great seminary of Christian and classical learn- ing, the quiet habitation of sanctity and literature. Her sons, carrying Christianity and a new humanism over Great Britain and the Continent, became the teachers of other nations, the tutors of princes and the counselors of kings and emperors. For once, if but for a century or two, the Celtic spirit dominated a large part of the Western World, and Celtic ideals imparted a new life to a decadent civilization. I need not here repeat the story of the English con- quest. Throughout it was the chief object of English diplomacy to keep the people in slavish subjugation, not to grant them any rights, not to respect or safe- guard their interests, but to exploit the rich resources of the country for the benefit of England alone. The whole of Ireland was again and again declared for- feited. No attempt was ever made to build up a com- mon civilization. Laws enacted applied to the foreign Ireland in Olden Days 229 settlers alone; the natives were regarded as outside the law, as outlaws. From the time of Henry VIII. into the last century the history of Ireland is a tale of unmitigated woe. No country, no people, ever suf- fered so long and so much. Strange, indeed, are the ironies of fate. The descendants of the native land-owners, who were driven from Ireland by the invaders, saw their land given to the officers and soldiers of invading armies. The exiles have prospered in foreign lands. The ascendent class in Ireland, w T ho have lived on these stolen lands for genera- tions, are now giving up their lives in Flanders and at the Dardanelles, and in the Balkans, lest a German invasion of Ireland may restore these estates to the rightful heirs, exiled and scat- tered over the world. We are told that the mills of the gods grind slowly and they grind exceed- ing fine, or that we suffer from the crimes of our ancestors. However that may be, there is scarcely a landlord family in Ireland, con- nected w T ith the invasions of Ireland, but has lost one or more sons in this war, and usually the oldest and heir to the estate. In some fam- ilies all of the boys have been killed or wounded. They are brave men from all accounts, but suf- 230 What Could Germany Do For Ireland? fering from the very social system which they enforced on the poor people who will not go to the front to fight and die for the aristocratic army set. Among the list of Irish casualties we find such inveterate enemies of the cause of Irish freedom in Ulster, whence the writer comes, as the Duke of Abercorn, Lord Hamilton, Marquis of Londonderry, the Earls of Amesly, Ranfurly, Erne, Caledon, Kilmorey, Clanwil- liam, Lords Templeton, Clanmonis, Dunleath, Lifford, Belmore, and many others, descended from the soldiers of Cromwell and William, Prince of Orange, or Queen Elizabeth. CHAPTER XV IRELAND UNDER IRISH PARLIAMENTS During the past seven hundred years England has in no instance observed in good faith a single prom- ise or pledge made to Ireland nor to the world at large, unless through self-interest or fear. Dr. Thomas Addis Emmet. In the foregoing chapter some indication of Ireland's religious, social and commercial pre- eminence in Europe in early days was sketched to show the Celtic culture long forgotten. It is important to speak briefly of the political gov- ernment created and enjoyed by the Irish people themselves in the centuries of their ex- istence as a distinct race in Europe. A large number of persons live in the belief that Ireland always was ruled by and from England, Ire- land's self-styled "rich and generous sister.' ' Hence it is necessary to say that up to the year 1800 A. D., Ireland was ruled by laws framed and passed by Irish Parliaments, operating within the confines of Ireland. In the year 1800 the Parliaments of Ireland and England became 231 232 What Could Germany Do For Ireland? united for the first time. The story of that union is most discreditable and infamous, ac- cording to the late William E. Gladstone. Those not conversant with its sordid and tragic de- tails might, as a beginning, study the English historian Lecky's narrative of the most infa- mous chapter in the inglorious history of Brit- ish rule in Ireland. From the coming of the Normans to Ireland in 1169 down to 1800 Anglo- Irish Parliaments, chiefly in the English inter- est, were held irregularly in Ireland, but it was such legislatures and not the English House of Commons that made laws for the government of Ireland. From 1169 away back to the dawn of history in Europe, Ireland was ruled over by Parliaments centered in Ireland, and in which the whole national life of the country was fully and truly represented. Let us briefly review the first of such institu- tions. Writes the English historian Plowden: The grand epoch of political eminence in the early history of the Irish is the reign of their great and favorite monarch, Olamh Fodlah, who flourished, ac- cording to Keating, about 950 before Christ. Under him was established the great Feis at Teamair or Tara, which was, in fact, a triennial convention of the states, or a Parliament. The monarch and the Ireland Under Irish Parliaments 233 provincial and other kings, who had exclusive power in their hands, on one side, and the philosophers and Druids, together with the deputies of the people, on the other, formed the whole of this ancient legisla- ture. When the great council was convened, previous to entering on business they sat down to sumptuous entertainments for six days successively. Very minute accounts are given by the Irish annalists of the magnificence and order of these entertainments, from which we may collect the earliest traces of heraldry that occur in history and deduce that par- tiality for family distinctions which to this day forms a striking part of the Irish national character. . . . To preserve order and regularity in the great number and variety of the guests who met together on those occasions, when the banquet was ready to be served up, the shield-bearers of the princes and other mem- bers of the convention delivered in their masters' shields, which were readily distinguished by the coats of arms emblazoned upon them. These were arranged by the Grand Marshal and principal herald upon the walls upon the right sides of the table, and upon en- tering, each member took his seat under his respective shield without the slightest disturbance. The first six days were not spent in disorderly reveling or ex- cess, but were particularly devoted to the examining and settling of the historical antiquities and annals of the kingdom. They were publicly rehearsed and privately inspected by a select committee of the most learned of the members. When they had passed the approbation of the assembly they were transcribed into the authentic chronicles of the nation, which was called "The Register of the Psalm of Tara." Of such was the constitution of the first of the triennial Parliaments established in Ireland 234 What Could Germany Do For Ireland? by her native rulers, and such was the ordinance that guided the deliberations of similar Parlia- ments held in Ireland without break down to the coming of the English to Ireland. Under their grave, deliberate and wise guidance Ire- land prospered commercially and developed a civilization, one of the highest to be met with in the world of that day. At the National As- sembly of Drumceat, held near Derry in 574 A. D., the claim of the Dalriadic King of Scot- land to be independent of the King of Ireland was allowed. The last of these native Irish Parliaments was held under Roderick O'Con- nor, High King of Ireland when the Normans first landed in Ireland. Thenceforth, from the council held in Lismore by Henry II. of Eng- land in 1172, Anglo-Irish Parliaments met oc- casionally down to 1800. England's first, step towards making laws in the English Parliament for Ireland was taken in the year 1494, when, at Drogheda, she had the then Anglo-Saxon Par- liament pass Poyning's law into force, by which the heads of bills to be introduced into the Irish Parliament were first to be submitted to Eng- land for her approval. This enactment was Ireland Under Irish Parliaments^ 235 aimed at the ultimate extinction of the Anglo- Irish Parliament in Ireland. In 1689 King James II. held Parliament in Dublin, the first act of which was to declare "that the English Parliament had not, and never had, any right to legislate for Ireland, and that none save the King and Parliament of Ireland could make laws to bind Ireland." Writing of this period of Irish history, the illustrious Thomas Davis said: This Parliament exercised less severity than any of its time ; it established liberty of conscience and equal- ity of creeds ; it proscribed no man for his religion — the word Protestant does not occur in any Act ; it in- troduced many laws of great practical value in the business of society; it removed the disabilities of the natives, the scars of old fetters; it was generous to the king, yet carried its own opinions out against his where they differed ; it, finally — and what should win the remembrance and veneration of Irishmen of all time — boldly announced our national independence, in words which Molyneux shouted on to Swift, and Swift to Lucas, and Lucas to Flood, and Flood and Grattan redoubling the cry ; Dungannon Church rang, and Ireland was again a nation. Yet, something it said escaped the hearing or surpassed the vigor of the last century ; it said, ' ' Irish commerce fostered, ' ' and it was faintly heard, but it said, "An Irish navy to shield our coasts," and it said, "An Irish army to scathe the invaders," and Grattan neglected both, and our coast had no guardian, and our desecrated fields knew no avenger. 236 What Could Germany Do For Ireland? We hurry on to Grattan's Parliament, the last and most remarkable of Anglo-Irish Par- liaments held in Ireland, and the one which finally was corrupted into betraying the rights and liberties of the Irish nation into the custody of perfidious England. This Parliament did not represent the whole people of Ireland, inas- much as Catholics were excluded from its por- tals and deliberations, and then, as now, Catho- lics formed the overwhelming majority of the population of Ireland. The Parliament was in every sense the Parliament of the English gar- rison in Ireland. It was a pliable tool in the hands of the cunning English statesmen of that day. But rotten as its very nature was, still, backed up by the swords of the Irish Volun- teers, it achieved much for the good of the coun- try, and had it been let live, indications were not wanting that after the lapse of a short space of time, it would have come to recognize that the people of Ireland — the Catholics of the country — were entitled to representation in the Parliament of Ireland, and that religious be- lief should be no detriment to entry into the Parliament of the land. Ireland Under Irish Parliaments 237 The teachings of the French Revolution had found their way into Ireland. Men began to aspire to a fuller measure of freedom than was so far permitted to them by England. The war with America had reduced England's military power to such an extent that when the Irish coast was threatened with invasion from Amer- ican and French privateers, neither men, mu- nitions nor money were available for the pur- pose of defending the coasts of the country. In reply to a message from the municipal head of Belfast, the secretary to the English Lord Lieu- tenant of Ireland of that day wrote : ' * His Ex- cellency can at present send no further military aid to Belfast than a troop or two of horse or part of a company of invalids. ,, This declared incapacity of the British rulers of Ireland to repel possible invaders brought about the birth of the Irish Volunteers, who suddenly sprang into existence as a splendidly equipped, dis- ciplined and effective national army, dependent only upon the patriotism of the people. Catho- lics were not at first admitted into its ranks, though out of their patriotism they contributed, from the birth of the movement, to its financial 238 What Could Germany Do For Ireland? support. In a short time the Irish Volunteers numbered fully 100,000 armed men, officered by some of the leading nobles of the land. A spirit of practical patriotism animated them from their foundation. They aimed first at ensuring the commercial prosperity of their country, and ultimately succeeded in winning complete legislative independence for Ireland. The ef- fect of the Volunteer movement of that day on the country was electric; its effect on the Brit- ish Government was even more so. So dan- gerous for the English occupation of Ireland had the movement become that the English Par- liament passed a law "to allow Ireland free trade in wool, woolens, glass, leather, and all other forms of manufacture, to all the ports of the British colonies and plantations hitherto closed to her commerce." This measure, the offspring of fear, was hailed throughout Ire- land as a victory for the Volunteers and for their illustrious spokesman and leader, Henry Grattan. A greater humiliation was in store for England. The people of Ireland were con- vinced that the only guarantee for the perma- nence of the concessions gained was in the com- Ireland Under Irish Parliaments 239 plete independence of the Irish Parliament. On April 16, 1782, Henry Grattan moved, and the Irish Parliament passed, resolutions demand- ing the repeal of the English Act 6th of George L, which averred that acts of the English Par- liament were binding on Ireland; protesting against mutilation or suppression by the Eng- lish Privy Council of acts passed by the Irish House of Commons, and finally, proclaiming that the Kingdom of Ireland is a distinct kingdom, with a Parliament of her own, and that there is no body of men competent to make laws to bind the nation but the King, Lords and Commons of Ireland, nor any Parliament which hath any power or authority of any sort in this kingdom save only the Parliament of Ireland. The unanimity of the whole people of Ireland, the military power and preparedness of the Irish Volunteers, and the enfeebled condition of England compelled her to renounce forever any right or title to make laws to bind the people of Ireland. This Act of Eenunciation of 1782 still remains unrevoked on the statute book of the English House of Commons. How the freedom thus won for Ireland became subsequently un- 240 What Could Germany Do For Ireland? done; how the Irish Parliament became in a few short years merged into that of England, is a tale of baseness and blackguardism, than which, in the words of Gladstone, there was no "blacker or fonler transaction in the history of mankind.' ' There merely remain to be told briefly some of the blessings which came to Ire- land as a result of the domestic legislation of Grattan's Parliament. Let Miss Murray, in her historic book, "The Commercial Relations of Ireland and England, ' ' speak on our behalf : The industrial aspect of Ireland rapidly changed. Ruined factories sprang into life and new ones were built. The old corn mills which had ceased working so long were everywhere busy. The populations of the towns began to increase. The standard of living among the artisan class rose, and even the condition of the peasantry changed slightly for the better. Dublin, instead of being sunk in decay, assumed the appearance of a thriving town. In fact, the inde- pendent Irish legislature set itself to promote the material prosperity of the country in every possible way, and there is no doubt its efforts had much to say to the really surprising commercial progress which was made from 1780 until the years immediately pre- ceding the Union. The Irish fisheries became the envy and admiration of Great Britain, and agriculture in- creased rapidly. Various manufactures in Ireland began to thrive; the manufacture of hats, boots and shoes, of candles and soap, of blankets and carpets, of woolens, of printed cottons and fustians, of cabinets and of glass, all sprang into importance, while linen Ireland Under Irish Parliaments 241 manufacture, which had decayed during the American war, quickly revived, and in ten years the exports of various kinds doubled. Such was the condition of Ireland under the blessings of a resident and independent legis- lature. The world would do well to realize that civilization as a whole stands to benefit immeas- urably by the successful and speedy termina- tion of Ireland's age-long fight against English government in Ireland. That is the one lesson that Ireland's checkered past teaches to those who approach the study of the subject with an open and unprejudiced mind. The peace of Europe and the freedom of the seas are guar- anteed by a free and prosperous Ireland. CHAPTER XVI THE WORLD'S EECOED BKOKEN IN FINANCE The achievements of Germany at home are fully as great as her triumphs on the battle- fields of Europe. The stress of war has brought out the finest qualities of the world's superior human organization. In England the business world seems to be divided into two classes — one section self-sacrificing and patriotic, the other working overtime to make money out of the war, shirking duty and disgracing their country before the world. In Russia we expect, at all times, corrupt officialdom, which does not prevail in England, but the spirit of greed has long corroded the business men of England, and not even the perils of failure and invasion can make them turn in for universal patriotic ser- vice and emulate or imitate the Germanic spirit of solidarity. Although Germany has been cut off from trading with the world by British control of the seas, at the end of the first year of the war her business condition amazed all men by the show- 242 The World's Record Broken in Finance 243 ing of national stability and the strength and success of her manufacturing establishments operating under the severest economic pressure. The United States Consular and Trade Re- port for September 17, 1915, gives the earnings of the 3,788 German stock corporations for the past year. The combined capital of these com- panies is some three billions of dollars. At the end of the year the working capital had been increased a hundred millions of dollars. The average net earnings were eleven per cent., as against thirteen per cent, for the preceding year. The average dividend declared was six per cent. , as against eight per cent, for the year previous. Does any American think he could find our 3,788 leading corporations, with our country at peace, earning eleven per cent. ? The much exploited Anglo-French loan of $500,000,000 negotiated by American bankers will scarcely pay the war expenses for ten days of England and France, as the war is now cost- ing England alone $25,000,000 per day. England, to the wonder of the neutral world, is also taking second place to Germany in war financing. Unable to liquidate its bills, after a 244 What Could Germany Do For Ireland? year of disaster, England is passing the plate around in America, and her commissioners are undergoing considerable humiliation. They were sadly misled as to the state of public opin- ion in America. The Anglo-American section of the press heralded their coming as an assured success the moment they arrived. They were sure to have a billion, or even two billions, of dollars at a low rate of interest, all the notes backed jointly by England, France and Russia. Hands across the sea meant something more than Yankee munitions of war at big profits to Americans and the constant draining of the British exchequer. Of course, the generous American capitalists, always mindful of the fate of Belgium and the protection of British arms for small nations, might consider that England was the saviour of weak nations and forget that the British Em- pire was a confederacy of small nations. Alas ! the commission knew not Wall Street, where the only nerve is the pocket nerve. There was no popular interest in the loan, and the public would have none of it. The banks of the West dare not touch it because of the feeling over the The World's Record Broken in Finance 245 proposition displayed by their depositors. The Irish depositors organized successful meetings at various points, and there was not one Irish- American found who publicly endorsed the loan. The largest single American manufacturer, Henry Ford, of Detroit, pronounced the trans- action to be the most disgraceful financial inci- dent in our history. Many of our leading Amer- ican citizens came forward and denounced the loan as an unneutral and immoral act in word and deed. Russia was dropped from the participation — a severe blow to the original plan — because her weight is crushing England. Outside of the Morgan interests, the Wall Street financial leaders, with few exceptions, are Jews. The railway magnate, James J. Hill, of St. Paul, born under the British flag, endeavored to line up Jacob Schiff for the plan. Mr. Hill was com- pelled to retreat for home in short order. The Jews are the most successful financiers in every city in the world, but they never forget or for- give the persecution of their race or religion. Money to Russia from the Jews would be re- garded by them as blood money, and the power 246 What Could Germany Do For Ireland? of British gold could not pass the race and re- ligious barrier. Outside of the bankers inter- ested in munition plants and subsidiary con- cerns, there was no real American sympathy for the loan, and with the aid of German, Jew- ish and Irish depositors the amount and terms of the loan were so changed from the first as to be considered practically a failure, as most of the money was supplied by munition directors. While this negotiation was under way and England was still begging for less onerous terms from her United States investors, the As- sociated Press announced to an expectant finan- cial world the result of the third subscription in Germany, which broke the world's record of all financial operations. The sum total of the third loan is Twelve Billion Makks Thkee Thousand Million Dollaes This sum fairly staggers the imagination. With poor old Ireland staggering now under the burdens of only $100,000,000 of the war debt, what satanic leadership is it that asks her un- trained peasants to stand up against three thou- The World's Record Broken in Finance 247 sand million dollars and the 42 centimeter guns that the Germans know so well how to make and use from this colossal sum total of funds? When England declared war on Germany she sounded the financial doom of the British Empire. The writer was ridiculed in London last fall for stating that Germany would finance the war within her borders and that England would be driven to ask for outside aid ; that the German people, in the mass, were more prosperous, thrifty, capable and healthy than the English people crowded in cities. One of the managers of the Bank of Ireland in Dublin (an English concern) told us that Germany could not raise more than $3,000,000,- 000 at the utmost, and would be starved out in a year. The German war loans total $6,250,- 000,000. The talk of starving Germany is ended, while the misery and living of the fam- ilies in the single-room, foul tenements of Dub- lin beggar description. The British system of " muddling through" makes a coalition cabinet of discordant poli- ticians a composite picture of the people, lack- ing in training and special knowledge. 248 What Could Germany Do For Ireland? Mr. Lloyd George has many of the political qualities found in our own William J. Bryan. The best friends of the Commoner would not suggest him for Secretary of the Treasury. Lloyd George had to give way to McKenna, an- other politician without expert financial experi- ence. Churchill, a politician without naval training, injuring the prestige of his country by naval breaks resulting in sea disasters, is forced out by clamor and replaced by Balfour, a Tory politician. Lloyd George is now in charge of munition factories instead of some great business expert in that line. Contrast the great experts in each special line that make up the German cabinet and the German staff. A von Tirpitz, a veritable child of the seas, is at the head of the German Ad- miralty. His work, wonderful inventions and their consequences are seen every day and night. The Secretary of the German Treasury is no clever politician chosen to placate a faction in the post where the army and navy would be of little avail should he fail. The head of the Ger- man Imperial Treasury is a trained banker, The World's Record Broken in Finance 249 perhaps the foremost in Europe, director of the Deutsche Bank, which has no counterpart in Europe. In one of my works, "The King, the Kaiser, and Irish Freedom," I often quoted him as an authority on the material progress of his country, and his statement as to the greatest financial operation in the world's history is worth studying on the part of every student of history. Dr. Helfferich said: The present loan enables the Government to liqui- date Treasury bills taken over by the Reichsbank and other banks, provides Germany with money for the winter campaign and renders unnecessary the rais- ing of another loan before March. England hitherto has raised $1,062,500,000 and Germany $6,250,000,000 in long-term loans, whereas England's war expenditures up to the present time are hardly less than Germany's, and soon will ex- ceed Germany's. For England is now spending nearly $25,000,000 daily against Germany's not much above $15,000,000. That means that Germany is spending 25 cents per capita daily, and England 55 cents. I doubt, therefore, whether England's finan- ciers possess confidence that their resources will out- last ours. Everything said abroad about Germany putting on pressure and using force to secure subscriptions to the loan is a pure invention. We appealed solely to the financial power and patriotism of our fellow-citi- zens. Our success must open the world's eyes to a recognition of how strong is Germany's financial power and how strong her will. I am confident that the success of this loan, which 250 What Could Germany Do For Ireland? proves that we are standing firmly upon our own feet, will contribute toward the good relations be- tween Germany and the United States, notwithstand- ing the Morgan-Holden incident. Independence is the first word in American history, as well as the first word of true friendship. America cannot class us among her poor relations. ABLE TO FIGHT INDEFINITELY Dr. Helfferich asserted that Germany was able financially to continue the war indefinitely. Her people, he said, were earning higher wages and saving more money than in peace times. The country was supplying its own needs and buying little abroad, and making no debts to foreign countries. In conclusion, the Secretary said that a shortage in supplies of some raw materials, like cotton and wool, might cause inconvenience, but the people were learning to economize. Old woolen clothing was being reworked into shoddy and coats could be worn shorter. Substitutes for some materials were being found, he added. $3,007,500,000 subscribed It is officially announced that subscriptions to the third German war loan have reached a total The World's Record Broken in Finance 251 of $3,007,500,000, the Overseas News Agency says. The news agency states : These figures, showing the immense success of the loan, will be still further increased, as returns from some parts of the nation are still to be received. The Overseas News Agency added that Rob- ert J. Thompson, for many years American consul at Hanover, and now living at The Hague, had subscribed $125,000 to the loan. Dresden and vicinity subscribed 255,000,000 marks ($63,750,000), as compared with 211,000,- 000 marks for the March loan. Cassel sub- scribed 100,000,000 marks, as compared with 77,000,000 in March; the Duesseldorf branch of the Reichsbank, 468,000,000, as agaiust 280,000,- 000; the Dortmund branch, with four adjacent offices, 77,000,000, as against 32,000,000; the Berlin Municipal Savings Bank, 48,000,000, as against 36,000,000. To illustrate the heavy participation of small subscribers, it is stated that nearly 45,000 de- positors of the Berlin Savings Bank subscribed to the loan, as compared with 35,000 in March. In her treatment of Ireland the predominat- ing partner in the British Empire has never ap- 252 What Could Germany Do For Ireland? plied any of the business principles that have made each German state so powerful and pros- perous and willing to furnish the last man for the preservation of the confederacy of states. There are no pro-German-English sympathizers in Germany, secret or otherwise, and few rene- gade Germans anywhere. How different the feeling in many parts of Ireland and in all parts of America where men and women of Celtic blood abound ! The unparalleled success of the German loan was cheered at many gatherings of the so-called " hyphenated' ' pro-German Irish- Americans. Lloyd George said the last $500,- 000,000 and the workshops of England would win the war. Germany has shown that she pos- sesses both the skill and the money to maintain successful warfare and to subsist, in part, on the lands of enemies. Young Ireland can well afford to ponder on the causes which have made the German state so prolific and created stand- ards of life and patriotism so high that the best friends of England know she never can attain that pinnacle. The German philosophy which has made possible these achievements in her business world is founded on the following The World's Record Broken in Finance 253 principles, as expressed by the head of the Ger- man Treasury, Dr. Karl Helfferich : The power that creates and increases the wealth of a people is labor — from the purely manual labor of the wage-earner to the purely intellectual labor of the scholar. The vehicle of labor is man, or — as regards the whole state — the population. The result of labor is the production of goods. The productivity of labor is intensified by perfect- ing technical equipment and organization. For the people as a whole the increased efficiency of labor finds expression in the statistics of produc- tion, trade, and transportation. The final purpose of economic labor is consumption. The surplus of goods produced over and above the necessary expense of production constitutes the in- come of the people. The surplus of the income of the people over their consumption constitutes the increment of the public well-being. The ideal economic development is that a growing population be able to increase the net efficiency of its labor, and thereby its ' ' income, ' ' to such a degree that, at the same time, a higher standard of life — in other words, a more plentiful satisfaction of material and intellectual wants — and an enhancement of the public wealth be attained. The extent of the German war achievements in Europe is not to be measured by the hun- dreds of thousands of miles of enemies' terri- tory. More important is the value and charac- ter of the captured zones. In Russia the Ger- 254 What Could Germany Do For Ireland? mans have taken over sixty per cent, of the iron, steel and metal districts of the country and thirty per cent, of the oil. In France they hold eighty-five per cent, of the iron and steel supply and sixty per cent, of the coal output, or 10,- 000,000 tons of coal per annum. They control a good part of the machinery sectors of France. The Balkan drive gives them control of new- iron and steel territory, and copper, and in the Black Sea district are valuable iron works. Be- fore the war the German steel output was 550,- 000 tons per month; at present it has reached 1,200,000 tons per month. Military experts at Washington agree that such strategy increases German chances of success. CHAPTER XVII NEW LIGHT ON THE CAUSES OF THE WAR Sie haben mir das Schwert in die Hand gedriickt: ich kann nicht anders (They have forced the sword into my hand: I cannot do otherwise). — Emperor William of Germany. The writer was amazed last fall on returning from Europe to find that Great Britain had been successful in moulding public opinion to the firm belief that England went to war over Belgium to save a small nation. The position of Germany was misrepresented in every quarter. The cutting of the cables early in the war by England prevented Ameri- cans from hearing the other side, and when the belated defence of Germany came to hand, pub- lic opinion was rigidly set, and even for a time many Germans believed that England sought only the rescue of Belgium, and was controlled by altruistic motives. The events of the past year and the soberness of time have raised the curtain somewhat, and there are millions of doubters and scoffers of 255 256 What Could Germany Do For Ireland? England on the subject of Belgium throughout the United States in the fall of 1915, especially as British troops have invaded Greece, despite treaties and international law. The American people still have the deepest sympathy for the sufferings of the people of Belgium, and they are certain to continue their wonderful charities which have gone forth to Belgium from the goodness of their hearts. But the opinion that England went to war over Belgium no longer is general in the United States. An increasing number of observers have succeeded in carrying the conviction, as thought works itself clear, that the real cause for England declaring war on Germany was caused by jealousy and envies arising from the industrial and commercial triumphs of Ger- many in all parts of the world. John Bull always makes it a point to be ringed round with alliances and then fight the next strongest man. The history of the past 250 years shows that England invariably has fought to destroy her next nearest competitor in trade. When Christopher Columbus landed on the island of San Salvador in October, 1492, Spain New Light on the Causes of the War 257 was then, and remained for nearly two cen- turies, the dominant maritime figure of the globe. England went to war with Spain, and when Drake sent the Spanish Armada to the bottom of the sea England took the place of Spain and has held the control of the sea up to the present. When Holland and Denmark threatened English rule of the seas with their enterprising competition, England destroyed the commerce of both countries. The defeat of France at the hands of England on several oc- casions when France had become the second strongest nation on the water is well known in history. When France lost her vast colonies in America and the West Indies as a result of Eng- lish naval victories, the star of France set once and for all as a great maritime power, which was the chief reason why France supported the American Revolution. When, after twenty years of successful com- mercial rivalry with England on the high seas, the young American merchant marine was threatening English commerce, with her fast clippers penetrating all the harbors of the world, England sought a quarrel with the 258 What Could Germany Do For Ireland® United States, which resulted in the war of 1812 and the defeat of Great Britain. London has realized for many years that the growing alliance between Eussia and France meant war with Germany. With enemies on the other side of most of her borders, Germany must find herself always prepared. As far back as February 17, 1887, the London Daily Stand- ard said : Eussia can afford to wait. So can France. Ger- many cannot. Germany must see to its own safety, and Prince Bismarck cannot reasonably be expected to pass his declining days impotently watching the silent conspiracy for the silent growth of the power of France and the power of Russia against the Father- land. We are not obliged at this late hour to take the opinion of American writers as to the causes of the war. There is no more courageous or patriotic man in England than J. R. MacDonald, Member of Parliament. In criticizing Sir Ed- ward Grey for plunging England into a war that is neither just nor necessary, Mr. MacDon- ald said : During the negotiations Germany tried to meet our wishes on certain points so as to secure our neutrality. Sometimes her proposals were brusque, but no at- New Light on the Causes of the War 259 tempt was made by us to negotiate diplomatically to improve them. They were all summarily rejected by Sir Edward Grey. Finally, so anxious was Germany to confine the limits of the war, the German Ambassa- dor asked Sir Edward Grey to propose his own con- ditions of neutrality, and Sir Edward Grey declined to discuss the matter. This fact was suppressed by Sir Edward Grey and Mr. Asquith in their speeches in Parliament. When Sir Edward Grey failed to se- cure peace between Germany and Russia, he worked deliberately to involve us in the war, using Belgium as his chief excuse. That is the gist of the White Paper. It proves quite conclusively that those who were in favor of neutrality before the second of August ought to have remained in favor of it after the White Paper was published. That Sir Edward Grey should have striven for European peace and then, when he failed, that he should have striven with equal determination to embroil Great Britain, seems contradictory. But it is not, and the explanation of why it is not is the justification of those of us who for the last eight years have regarded Sir Edward Grey as a menace to the peace of Europe and his policy as a misfortune to our country. What is the explana- tion? Mr. MacDonald said that England had been so helplessly committed to fight for France and Eussia that Sir Edward Grey had to refuse point-blank every overture made by Germany to keep England out of the conflict. He scoffed at the German guarantee to Belgium on the ground that it only secured the " integrity' ' of the country but not its independence; when the ac- tual documents appeared it was found that its inde- 260 What Could Germany Do For Ireland? pendence was secured as well. And that is not the worst. The White Paper contains several offers which were made to us by Germany aimed at securing our neutrality. None were quite satisfactory in their form and Sir Edward Grey left the impression that these unsatisfactory proposals were all that Germany made. Later on, the Prime Minister did the same. Both withheld the full truth from us. Sir Edward Grey declined to consider neutrality on any condi- tions and refrained from reporting this conversation to the House. Why ? It was the most important pro- posal that Germany made. Had this been told by Sir Edward Grey, his speech could not have worked up a war sentiment. The hard, immovable fact is that Sir Edward Grey had so pledged the country f s honor without the country's knowledge to fight for France or Russia, that he was not in a position even to dis- cuss neutrality. That was the state of affairs on July 20 and did not arise from anything Germany did or did not do after that date. Now, the apparent contradiction that the man who had worked for European peace was at the same time the leader of the war party in the Cabinet can be explained. Sir Edward Grey strove to undo the re- sult of his policy and keep Europe at peace, but, when he failed, he found himself committed to drag- ging his country into war. The justifications offered are nothing but the ex- cuses which ministers can always produce for mis- takes. Let me take the case of Belgium. It has been known for years that, in the event of a war between Russia and France on the one hand and Germany on the other, the only possible military tactics for Ger- many to pursue were to attack France hot-foot through Belgium, and then return to meet the Rus- sians. New Light on the Causes of the War 261 Of course, Mr. MacDonald, as a loyal citizen of England, has said nothing which could in- jure his country, since his fellow countrymen have been forced to die in the trenches, but he is not the only prominent Englishman who knows that Belgium served only as a pretext for England to enter the war against Germany. England had come to an understanding with France as far back as 1906 to take the side of France in the event of war with Germany. The preparations of the British and French army officers and naval authorities have been under- takings in common for the past nine years. The whole might of the empire was to be exercised to the limit as soon as Germany was at grips with the Franco-Eussian alliance. England had favored Japan in her war with Russia through the Japanese war loan, and she has been forced, rather doubtfully, to support the determina- tion of Japan to oust Germany from China at the first opportunity ; thus England was able to draw Japan into the alliance against Germany. As soon as the star of Germany rose to shine with a peculiar brilliance on the commercial horizon, English diplomacy proceeded to make 262 What Could Germany Bo For Ireland? ties everywhere, including money and news- paper arrangements in the United States. In the administration of President Eoosevelt, when the late John Hay was Secretary of State, British diplomacy, aided by the leading American newspapers, almost succeeded in passing a treaty with the United States which, like the arrangement of England with France, would practically have made the United States an avowed ally of Great Britain, and this coun- try would have been expected, by the terms of that treaty, to have taken the side of England in her present war with Germany. In the me- moirs of Secretary of State John Hay, pub- lished in Harper's Monthly, August, 1915, Mr. Hay gives the credit to the Irish- American so- cieties for the defeat of this infamous treaty in the United States Senate. All the evidence of British diplomacy throughout the world for the past decade tends to support the conviction that she was getting ready for war with Germany. While the sol- diers of the regular English army have been maintained in times of peace at not more than 300,000 in number, which, on the face of it, ap- New Light on the Causes of the War 263 pears like a state of unpreparedness, we must always remember that England depends on her navy to sweep the seas and upon her allies to furnish the maximum of fighting men on the Continent. In none of the wars on the Con- tinent has England sent large armies until now. She has always relied on the strength of her invincible navy, her vast riches, colonies and diplomacy. The combined annual naval and military appropriations of England have fully equaled the German budget. Whenever Ger- many would proceed to build one battleship or other vessel of war, England would proceed to build two. It is not generally known today that England has three times as many submarines as Germany. The writer has talked with British army and naval officers at various times within, the last dozen years, and has even heard them say that war with Germany was inevitable. At the time of the Boer War the English diplomats were counting on a struggle with Germany. If Germany wanted war with England, she could easily have taken advantage of her necessities in the Boer War before her alliance with France was completed and when England was suffering 264 What Could Germany Do For Ireland? at the hands of the Boers. If Germany had seized this opportunity, she would have de- feated England and saved the Boer Republic. Her failure to save the Boers, who were people of her blood, is chiefly responsible for the pres- ent failure of the De Wet uprising in South Africa. If Germany had gone to the rescue of the Boers, she would today have been able to save her colonies in Africa, which have been lost to her, temporarily at least. England has given to the Boers a fair measure of home rule, which, combined with the declaration of Botha that Germany might have saved the Boer Eepublic in 1900, has done much to keep the Boers from joining the revolution. When the writer was in Dublin in the year 1900, returning army officers were counting on increasing the number of troops to keep Ireland in order, as many of the people of Ireland were active sympathizers and supporters of the Boers. Germany, as an ally of Austria-Hungary, could not in good faith desert the Dual Empire and turn the plains of Hungary over to the Rus- sian hosts. The heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne had been foully murdered by the Ser- New Light on the Causes of the War 265 vians, who had butchered their own king and queen in bed. Germany said the Servian issue should be localized. Sir Edward Grey knew full well that Germany could never consent to his invitation to have a conference on the issue between Austria-Hungary and Servia, a plan which had been rejected by Russia. And Sir Edward Grey had already informed the German ambassador that England would take the side of France if France entered the war, under the entente cordial, knowing full well that France must align herself with Russia if war was de- clared on the great empire north of Germany. In fact, Russia began the mobilization of her army on July 24, 1914. On that very day, more than a week before England declared war, the English fleet was concentrated and ready for action, and French mobilization was also started on July 24th. Germany was the last to mobi- lize, so that there is absolutely no question but that England would have gone to war with Ger- many regardless of Belgian neutrality. She has always been lucky in a hypocritical plea for war in the name of "morals and justice." In this way she has gobbled up most of the lands 266 What Could Germany Do For Ireland? which have given her wealth and strength in this war. The Eoman colonies were unable to save Eome when the end of her destiny had come, and history may be repeated in the pres- ent desperate case of England. France would never have gone to war if she was not assured in advance of the support of England. Sir Ed- ward Grey said that England would have im- periled her honor and reputation if she failed her ally, France, later, in the game of slaughter that prevailed on August 3, 1914. England pleaded the excuse of Belgian neutrality for en- tering the fray. There is no doubt but that Germany was convinced that France had pre- viously agreed with Belgium to concentrate French troops in the vicinity of the fortress of Namur. Germany offered Belgium safety, in- dependence and indemnity, but Belgium was practically threatened with destruction by Eng- land, in a message from Sir Edward Grey, if she yielded to Germany. Her ties, blood and language were French — she was to be destroyed either way. When war was about to be declared, George Bernard Shaw, the foremost man of letters in New Light on the Causes of the War 267 England, said the Belgium excuse was a fraud and a sham. The London Times said (weekly issue of March 12, 1915) : Herr von Bethmann-Hollweg is quite right. Even had Germany not invaded Belgium, honor and inter- est would have united us with France. For an im- pervious reason of self-interest we keep our word when we have given it, but we do not give it without solid practical reasons, and we do not set up to be international Don Quixotes, ready at all times to re- dress wrongs which do us no hurt. We joined the Triple Entente because we realized that the time of splendid isolation was no more. Writes Sir Henry Lucy in the New York Evening Sun, in August, 1915 : Writing to me during the first week of the war, Lord Fisher spoke enthusiastically of Winston Churchill's work at the Admiralty. ''I am," he wrote, "in close touch with Winston. He has been splendid for three things — first, the appointment to the command of the fleet of Jellicoe, a comparatively young admiral; second, mobilizing before war was declared; third, buying the two Turkish dreadnoughts approaching completion in a British dockyard.' ' The appointment of Admiral Jellicoe has been jus- tified by the action of the navy during the past seven months. Mobilization of the fleet before the war upon, the innocent pretext of an expected visit from the King was clever strategy that found the grand fleet op- portunely in the North Sea when, a few days later, war was declared, with the result of bottling up the German fleet in the helpless condition in which it remains to this day. 268 What Could Germany Do For Ireland? The consequence of the prompt assertion of right to commandeer the two first-class battleships, delivery of which Turkey was eagerly expecting, appears, on reflection upon the mischief they might have done since Turkey joined hands with Germany and Aus- tria, and more especially in the present situation at the Dardanelles. American students of history are not carried away by the popular feeling in the United States that England went to war to save the little state of Belgium. Nowhere in world his- tory has England furnished any precedent for such sacrifice. The British Empire is com- posed of crushed small nations whose liberties were originally destroyed by England in her consuming struggle for world power. The people of this country do not readily forget the fact that our own freedom and independence was won from England, and that we owe less to her for our own strength than any country in Europe. History teaches us that England al- ways finds a moral excuse for fighting the next strongest country and the nearest competitor to her on the high seas. The Spaniards were courageous and enter- prising, and they were the world's greatest New Light on the Causes of the War 269 navigators, but they had become enervated with wealth and ease towards the end of the six- teenth century; and when Drake defeated the Spanish Armada, in the reign of Queen Eliza- beth, and pillaged Spain of her small state, then England began to dominate the high seas. Then came the sturdy and patient mariners of Holland, who developed a great commerce in the East Indies. Their merchant marine con- trolled the commerce which England coveted, and England did not hesitate to destroy this small nation. In 1812 the famous American clipper ships excited the envy of England and she attempted to drive our flag from the high seas, until An- drew Jackson, the son of an Irish linen weaver from Carrick Fergus, drove the last British sol- dier out of the country. England always fights the next strongest country, and will prove unfriendly to the United States just as certainly as we succeed in devel- oping a powerful merchant marine. England would never have declared war on Germany if the latter country had not threatened the com- merce of England in all parts of the world. 270 What Could Germany Do For Ireland? The Irish people are generous and hospitable, often too soft-hearted. They have their weak- nesses and defects of character, which are ad- mitted by a number of their own writers. They are most good-hearted and kind to sufferers, though they be strangers. A common saying among Americans is: "When I am sick, I want to have Irish neighbors.' ' They know the bit- terness of poverty, and the real good ones would share their last crust with the stranger. Hos- pitality and kindness are two of their finest qualities, and proverbial. It is natural for these kind-hearted people to feel for the sufferings of others and to forget their own wrongs and hardships. This national characteristic is fit- tingly shown in the lines of the poet 'Reilly : What Is Good? What is real good ? I ask, in musing mood. "Order/' said the law court, 1 ' Knowledge, ' ' said the school, "Truth," said the wise man, ' ' Pleasure, ' ' said the fool, "Love," said the maiden, "Beauty," said the page, "Freedom," said the dreamer, "Home," said the sage, ' ' Fame, ' ' said the soldier, 1 ' Equity, ' ' said the sire — New Light on the Causes of the War 271 And speak my heart sadly, The answer is not here. Then within my bosom Softly this I heard: Each heart holds the secret, "Kindness" is the word. Hence it is that very many persons in Ire- land are so absorbed in sorrowing over the fate of Belgium and so saddened and depressed by the daily accounts of "Belgian atrocities by Germans," that they will not be reminded of the pages of 700 years of their country's his- tory. There is no Irish news service. All of the news printed in Ireland about the war is press censored and sent over from London. As an instance, the newspapers of Ireland have not yet printed the news of the sinking of the super-dreadnought battleship ' ' Audacious, ' ' al- though a year old. The vessel being sunk off Lough Swilly, Donegal, was known to many na- tives and naturally was of great local news in- terest. The only news they are permitted to read is of a character intended to excite their hearts against the Germans. These are lying tales of atrocities, alleged heinous attacks on priests, nuns, churches and hospitals. Early in 272 What Could Germany Do For Ireland? the war the United States was fed on the same stuff, but the enterprise of the leading American news services sent their trained journalists to Belgium, who, together with such well-known writers as John T. McCutcheon, James O'Don- nell Bennett, Irvin S. Cobb, and just recently returned Professor George B. McClellan, of Princeton University, former Mayor of New New York City, have repudiated, in the interest of truth and justice, most of the cruel stories which continue to fill the Irish newspapers. The good-hearted peasantry have not only been taken in by the "atrocity game," but they are wholly unaware of the fact that Germany was justified in invading Belgium for the following reasons : No. I. — Documents have been discovered in the Foreign Affairs offices marked confidential, in the handwriting of their counsel, which show that Eng- land would have dispatched troops to Belgium at once, without being asked for English assistance. No. II. — England agreed with Belgium in 1912 to dispatch 160,000 troops as an ally of Belgium. No. III.— In August, 1913, Field-Marshal Roberts said : ' ' Our forces are ready to embark instantly for Flanders to maintain the balance of power in Europe.' ' No. IV. — Proof has been submitted showing that New Light on the Causes of the War 273 Belgium, before the war, was a member of the coali- tion against Germany. No. V. — The plans for the French mobilization pre- pared before the war include this sentence: "The First Army unites with the English and Belgian armies and, after passing through Belgium, occupies Cologne and Coblenz, and opposes the German forces advancing from Northern Germany." No. VI. — Germany was compelled to strike through Belgium or allow her enemy to assail her on the wholly unprotected Belgian frontier, risking the loss of Ger- many's most important coal and iron industries. No. VII. — After careful consideration by a num- ber of eminent American professors and other author- ities on international law, the opinion is gaining ground in this country that, Germany having merely asked for passage through Belgium, assuring her integrity and independence, there was no violation of neutrality, and that the course of Belgium, in view of the publication of later documents, proves that Bel- gium entered the war as an ally of France and Eng- land. The small army which England sent to the re- lief of Belgium discredits her as the so-called champion of small nations. The great army promised Belgium if she resisted the invasion never arrived, while the brave Walloons per- ished. The Antwerp fiasco is exposed to the world as desertion of the little country forced into the war by England and destroyed. CHAPTER XVm HOPES AND FEAKS Despotism is out of date. We can govern India; we cannot govern Ireland. Be it so. Then let Ireland be free. She is miserable because she is unruled. We might rule her, but we will not, lest our arrangements at home might be in- terfered with. We cannot keep a people chained to us to be perennially wretched because it is inconvenient for us to keep order among them. In an independent Ireland the ablest and strongest would come to the front, and the baser elements be crushed. The state of things which would ensue might not be satisfactory to us, but at least there would be no longer the inver- sion of the natural order which is maintained by the English connection and the compelled slavery of edu- cation and intelligence to the numerical majority. This, too, is called impossible — yet, if we will neither rule Ireland nor allow the Irish to rule themselves, nature and fact may tell us that, whether we will or no, an experiment that has lasted for seven hundred years shall be tried no longer. — James A. Froude: History of the English in Ireland, vol. iii., pp. 584, 585. We have been told since childhood that the sole hope of Irish liberty depended on the perils of the British Empire when engaged in a great Continental war. The emergencies of England would create the Irish opportunity. Outnum- 274 Hopes and Fears 275 bered ten to one, the Celt must succumb to the Saxon until the latter was drawn into battles with the great powers. That day has come at last. The histories of Ireland should be taken from our homes and destroyed if this plain phe- nomenon fails of recognition on the part of a dying race. All of the patriotic effort of cen- turies is lost if the remnants of a people fail in this crisis to grasp the last opportunity for free- dom that will ever be afforded them. The Irish race as a distinct race passes off the face of the earth as certainly as Erin is turned into a West British province. At the present time Ireland is more than one-fourth English in numbers and largely English in business and society. With England gaining year by year so enormously in population and wealth, and Ireland sinking and receding, the day is not far distant when the Irish national character will have disappeared and our children, after a few decades, will read the legends and traditions of a dead race with about as much curiosity and sympathetic in- terest as we read today of the lost American Indian tribes. Economic and political decay will hasten the end of pure Irish art, manners, 276 What Could Germany Do For Ireland? customs and literature. Her birth rate is alarm- ingly low ; the most robust and ambitious young, virile men and women have left her shores, never to return, leaving the weak and poorest of the stock as the majority of the remnants of a decaying race to face a rapidly changing com- plex economic system, before which crushing forces few survive in the fierce competition of the wealth and power of her neighbor. Ireland cannot stand alone. To live and prosper and occupy a real place in the world's affairs, she must become an integral part of an alliance composed of strong nations. Michael Davitt is the father of the land act, the laws which have at last given the natives of Ireland an opportunity to buy and own the land of their country. In his work, "The Fall of Feudalism,' f Mr. Davitt writes: Why should we be denied, as a people, the freedom which has made the small nations of Europe peace- ful, prosperous, and progressive? We have com- mitted no crime against mankind or civilization which should deprive us of these blessings. Small nations have been the truest pioneers of progress, and the best promoters of the arts and sciences, in the evolu- tion of society, from the Middle Ages to the present day. It is a common mistake to refer to Germany as an empire in the sense in which either Russia or Great Hopes and Fears 277 Britain is an empire. It is nothing of the kind. It is a confederation of small states for defensive pur- poses, each state being as free and independent in all matters of national life and administration as if the German Empire had no existence. Bavaria, Saxony, Wurtemberg, Baden, are nations with their own legis- latures like that of Prussia. This is why they are steadily developing in wealth and keeping in line with the general advance of other countries enjoying the rights and blessing of national freedom. There is not one of the belligerent nations, great or small, but claims to be defending na- tional ideals and aspirations. The principles of Irish nationality are the arches on which pri- marily rest all Irish social effort. This faith is the corner-stone of the Ancient Order of Hi- bernians ' structural organization in America, which body (200,000 members) condemns the advocates of recruiting in Ireland. This may be said to be the same view taken by practically all of the important and successful patriotic and benevolent Irish organizations in the United States. The writer received upward of 1,200 letters of endorsement from the clergy on his book, "The King, the Kaiser, and Irish Free- dom, ' ' and they must have spoken the views of most of their parishioners. Michael Davitt was a leader of Ireland who 278 What Could Germany Do For Ireland? spurned public office and social influence be- cause he saw they were rocks on which many parliamentarians had been dashed. He did not go so far as Dean Swift, who said, ' ' Burn every- thing English except her coal," but to the end he realized there could be nothing in common between the two nations so far as national aspi- rations were concerned. Davitt had seen much of England, Ireland and the United States. In 1846 he saw his father and mother evicted from their home by British soldiers and left on the roadside to starve. He saw them begging for bread on the streets of English cities. As a child he lost his right arm in an English fac- tory. In the year 1870 he was sentenced to fifteen years at hard labor in prison, released in 1877, settled in Brooklyn, New York, and there planned the land movement, which brought into being the great Land League, which raised several millions of dollars in the United States and went a long way towards the destruction of feudalism in the Green Isle, and once again revived and saved the spirit of Irish nationality. My own views have not changed after thirty Hopes and Fears 279 years' study of the relations of the two peoples. They were expressed in an address made by the present writer at Chicago on August 15, 1891, a day of celebration which represented the two dominant and indestructible features of the Celtic character — religion and patriotism. I said to the meeting : A separate Irish party could not have survived without the practical aid of the devoted men and women on this side. We yield to the party on tactics but never on principle. If they betray the cause of Emmet, of Tone, of Mitchel, we shall live to destroy them. If England is threatened by the fate that has overtaken all world powers, there must be left Celts who will save their own land from the common fate of such empires. Irish freedom and liberty hold a deeper meaning for us than mere pride in a senti- ment. No individual benefit will come to any Ameri- can from the success of the cause of the old land. Some of our most talented men and women have be- come impoverished working their lives out in this cause, hoping to see the light of the beacon fires of freedom burning on the shores of the Emerald Isle. And now, men of Chicago, a word on the present Irish question. Five years ago, in this great city, in this same Ogden's Grove, a multitude of Irish-Ameri- cans, numbering fully 30,000, listened to words of hope from the lips of a true patriot — Michael Davitt. Have those bright promises and hopeful prognostica- tions been fulfilled? Are the Irish people an inch nearer the goal of freedom? I point to the present condition of Ireland for my answer. The depopula- tion of her towns and cities has continued. The Home Rule proposition means a local, parochial government 280 What Could Germany Do For Ireland? only, with no commercial advantages to the country. For the sake of ameliorating the wretched conditions we favor accepting any measure which offers relief. But as Irish Nationalists we repudiate and reject any such measure if offered as a final settlement of the immense debt of justice due the Irish nation from Great Britain. Ireland will never stand among the nations of the earth until she makes her own laws, in her own Parliament, in her own country, free from English interference. This is the cardinal doctrine of Irish Nationalism. Then let us close up the ranks, one for all, all for one. Let us be true to the memory of Robert Em- met and the cause of freedom. And never forget the cause of Irish liberty, which ever reverberates in our ears from the clanging of the chains in the prison dungeon to the dying benediction of "God Save Ire- land" on the scaffold at Manchester. Some allowance is made for the fervent boy- ish diction nearly a quarter of a century old, but since that year the writer has travelled widely, studied the question of an Irish nation from many viewpoints, national and interna- tional, and is firm in the faith that Ireland can never hope to be saved except through being separated from England. The Home Rule bill is a mockery of independence in the face of the possibility that the highest national aspirations might be realized if the people were led by pa- triots of the old American Revolutionary type. Ropes and Fears 281 The most brilliant galaxy of young men and women of Ireland were the revolutionists of 1848. They were republicans like the Giron- dists, and imbued with the spirit and prin- ciples of the American they loved the most — George Washington. They were men of action, courageous to the last degree in the shadow of the scaffold, dying in dark dungeons or starv- ing on the hillsides for the eternal cause of free- dom. They were sent to convict settlements at the far ends of the earth, but in other lands these children of genius rose to eminence. Their revolt and rebellion were short-lived, but their labors and inspiration have not been in vain. Washington led a successful revolution finally against England and he lives for all time in the hearts of his countrymen. Failure would have meant his death at the hands of the hang- man, the fate of Robert Emmet. John Mitchel was born in County Derry, Ulster, November, 1815, and died in Cork in 1875, sending his last message to loyal old Tip- perary, which county elected him to Parliament in his closing days. He was the son of a Protes- 282 What Could Germany Do For Ireland? tant clergyman, educated at Trinity College, Dublin, and when his friend Thomas Davis died he became editor of the Dublin Nation. It was Davis who wrote: What matter that at different shrines We pray unto one God? What matter that at different times Our fathers won this sod? In fortune and in name we're bound By stronger links than steel ; And neither can be safe or sound But in the other 's weal. And oh, it were a gallant deed To show before mankind How every race and every creed Might be by love combined ! John Mitchel held that England would never grant freedom to Ireland except through fear and compulsion. Events have proven the soundness of his opinions. His name is, next to Emmet, engraven on true hearts. When sen- tenced to 14 years' transportation across the seas to convict colonies, he made answers to his judges which live to start the watchfires of liberty blazing. We think of his invocation to his countrymen as he was removed to the Hopes and Fears 283 steamer, manacled with heavy chains fastened to his arms and his limbs : The game is afoot at last. The liberty of Ireland may come sooner or later, by peaceful negotiation or bloody conflict, but it is sure. Emmet, Tone, Mitchel, Martin, Meagher, Eossa, all true patriots, were in a minority in their own country, and yet they left the only enduring monuments. We forget that Patrick Henry and Thomas Jefferson were leaders of a minority who effected successful revolution and established the republic. Woodrow Wil- son, writing of the early works of his prede- cessors in the White House, says: It is the familiar story of revolution ; the active and efficient concert of a comparatively small number at a moment of doubt and crisis. Those who study the great conflagration which convulses the world must perceive that the awful struggle is for the power and survival of races. Where lies the interest of the Irish race when at the end either England or Ger- many shall dominate three-fourths of the earth ? There are 60,000 British troops under arms in Ireland. There is, on the average, a standing 284 What Could Germany Do For Ireland? army of some 30,000 guarding the island in times of peace. Mr. John Redmond, leader of the Irish party in the House of Commons, made a great hit in that body and in England when he declared that this standing army could safely leave Ireland and fight for the empire in Flan- ders, and thus help to save Belgium, and urged the government to arm the Irish Volunteers, who would defend the shores of Erin and perish to the last man rather than let the dreaded Ger- man invaders land on their soil. The writer was in Dublin at the time and asked one of the officers of the Irish Volunteers why they were so enthusiastic over the plan, and he whispered : "Sure, it means guns for us to fight Carson's men in the North, who have guns, and we know the Germans won't invade Ireland; and it sends the regular soldiers all away to fill the trenches while we stay home and 'save and defend' Ire- land." Needless to say, the government re- fused to heed Mr. Redmond's appeal, and the regular army remains on the island to nip in- surrection and rebellion in the bud, aided by 18,000 armed government constabulary and 5,000 retired police. Rebellion without arms Hopes and Fears 285 would be abortive, and risings would prove in- effective and disastrous to well-meaning but unfortunate patriots, who would be quickly shot down. As England controls the customs and all ports on the island, the difficulty of obtaining suf- ficient arms to effect rebellions is well nigh in- superable. A few modern rifles and machine guns would destroy an army of badly armed men. All of the numerous revolutions in Ire- land have failed for want of preparedness. Traitors and informers have invariably be- trayed the leaders. Lord Edward Fitzgerald, leader in 1798, was betrayed and killed before the uprising of that year. The two famous brothers, Henry and John Sheares, were be- trayed and hanged ; they, too, were arrested be- fore the uprising. On the hills of Tara in 1798 a body of insurgents, 4,000 strong, mostly un- armed, were destroyed. In the sections of the country where the rebels were armed and trained, the revolution made progress and the men of Wexford held the gap until their am- munition was exhausted. Of course, the leaders were hanged; they included Father John 286 What Could Germany Do For Ireland? Murphy, Bagenal Harvey, and Matthew Keogh. The troops then proceeded to kill all of the men and women they could find in the section of the country traversed by rebels. There was lack of strategy and concert of action. The move- ment in the North was delayed awaiting orders. The County Antrim rebels, under Henry Joy McCracken, won the town of Antrim after an attack, but the military were reinforced and McCracken was taken and hanged on the same day. In County Down the rebels captured Saintfield under Munro, but later they were de- feated at the battle of Ballynahinch and Munro was hanged at his own door. After the rebel- lion had been crushed the French sent over a force of about a thousand men, and later 4,000, including the great patriot, Theobald Wolfe Tone. They arrived in their ships off Donegal, where they were attacked and defeated by a superior British squadron. Tone was sentenced to be hanged but begged to be shot, which peti- tion being denied him, he cut his throat with a pen-knife. Four years later, Eobert Emmet, relying on aid from Napoleon, led a revolution of a few hundred men, poorly armed, and he Hopes and Fears 287 was hanged, and his name is sacred in history. The revolutions of 1848 and 1865 have been described elsewhere. In every case there was woeful lack of arms and organization. Ireland is under martial law; the people live under an arbitrary statute known as the Defence of the Realm Act, and a citizen has only to criticize the government methods- to find himself im- prisoned or run out of the country. Free speech and a free press do not exist in the land. CHAPTER XIX HOME RULE UNDER THE SPOT-LIGHTS The Home Rule bill provides for a purely local Parliament, and a careful reading of the meas- ure proves the country will not be able to de- velop its resources under its terms. American newspaper editors who have never seen a copy of the bill argue as though the act was as broad and liberal as the laws of Canada or Australia, which create tariffs, establish shipping, and are self-governing, aside from connection with the Crown and the- Privy Council solely on court ap- peals. The bill is certain to be amended with the best part of Ulster left out. The troops re- cruited from the Orange section of Ulster will resist the execution of the act. They will have very great popular support in England on the ground that they have shown great loyalty and must not be governed by the other section of the country after the war. There are new finan- cial amendments that are absolutely necessary to make the act workable, occasioned by the Home Rule Under the Spot-Lights 289 changing of taxation and revenues during the war. The government which granted the meas- ure after the outbreak of war (part of a recruit- ing program) has broken down, and is not likely to be returned at the next election. The most likely compromise measure is one which will leave out the chief industrial boroughs of Ulster, and such a measure would do little good, and some harm, as the poorer sections of Ire- land would bear the whole burden of the new government. The text of the Home Rule Act follows : Sept. 18, 1914 An Act to amend the provision for the government of Ireland. Be it enacted by the King's most excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords spiritual and temporal and Commons in this present Parliament assembled and by the authority of the same, as follows : LEGISLATIVE AUTHORITY 1. On and after the appointed day there shall be in Ireland an Irish Parliament, consisting of His Majesty the King and two houses, namely, the Irish Senate and the Irish House of Commons. 2. Notwithstanding the establishment of the Irish Parliament or anything contained in this Act, the supreme power and authority of the Parliament of the United Kingdom shall remain unaffected and un- 290 What Could Germany Do For Ireland? diminished o 'er all persons, matters and things within His Majesty's dominions. The Irish Parliament shall not have power to make laws in respect of the following matters, in particu- lar, or any of them, namely : 1. The Crown, or the succession to the Crown, or a Kegency or the Lord Lieutenant, except as respects the exercise of his executive power in relation to Irish services as defined for the purposes of this Act. Or (2) The making of peace or war or matters arising from a state of war or the regulation of the conduct of any portion of His Majesty's subjects during the existence of hostilities between foreign states with which His Majesty is at peace in relation to those hostilities; or (3) the navy, the army, the territorial force or any other naval or military force or the de- fence of the realm, or any other naval or military matter; or (4) treaties of any relations with foreign states or relations with other parts of His Majesty's Dominions, or offences connected with any such treaties, or relations, or procedure connected with the extradition of criminals under any treaty, or the re- turn of fugitive offenders from or to any part of His Majesty's Dominions; or (5) dignities or titles of honor; or (6) treason, felony, alienage naturalization, or aliens as such; or (7) trade with any place out of Ireland (except so far as trade may be affected by the exercise of the powers of taxation given to the Irish Parliament, or by the regulation of importation for the sole purpose of preventing contagious disease), quarantine or navigation, including merchant ship- ping (except as respects inland waters and local health or harbor regulations) ; or (8) lighthouses, buoys or beacons (except so far as they can consis- tently with any general Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom be constructed or maintained by a local harbor authority) ; or (9) coinage, legal tender, or any change in the standard of weights and meas- Home Rule Under the Spot-Lights 291 ures; or (10) trade-marks, designs, merchandise marks, copyright or patent rights; or (11) any of the following matters (in this Act referred to as reserved matters), namely: (a) the general subject matter of the Acts relating to land purchase in Ireland; the Old Age Pension Acts, 1908 and 1911; the National Insurance Act, 1911 ; and the Labor Exchanges Act, 1909; (b) the collection of taxes; (c) the Royal Irish Constabulary, and the management and control of that force; (d) Post Office Savings Banks, Trustee Savings Banks, and friendly societies; and (e) public loans made in Ireland before the passing of this Act, provided that the limitation on the powers of the Irish Parliament under this section shall cease as respects any such reserved matter if the corresponding re- served service is transferred to the Irish Government under the provisions of this Act. Any law made in contravention of the limitations imposed by this sec- tion shall so far as it contravenes those limitations be void. EXECUTIVE AUTHORITY Clause 4. — (1) The Executive power in Ireland shall continue vested in His Majesty the King, and nothing in this Act shall affect the exercise of that power, except as respects Irish services as defined for the purposes of this Act. (2) As respects those Irish services the Lord Lieutenant or other chief executive officer or officers for the time being appointed in his place on behalf of His Majesty, shall exercise any prerogative or other executive power of His Majesty, the exercise of which may be delegated to him by His Majesty. (3) The power so delegated shall be ex- ercised through such Irish departments as may be es- tablished by Irish Act or subject thereto by the Lord Lieutenant, and the Lord Lieutenant may appoint of- ficers to administer those departments, and those of- 292 What Could Germany Do For Ireland? ficers shall hold office during the pleasure of the Lord Lieutenant. (4) The persons who are for the time being heads of such Irish departments as may be de- termined by Irish Act or in the absence of any such determination by the Lord Lieutenant and such other persons (if any) as the Lord Lieutenant may appoint, shall be the Irish Ministers. IRISH PARLIAMENT 1. There shall be a session of the Irish Parliament once at least in every year. 2. The Lord Lieutenant shall in His Majesty's name summon and prorogue and dissolve the Irish Parliament. 7. The Lord Lieutenant shall give or withhold the consent of His Majesty to bills passed by the two Houses of the Irish Parliament, subject to the follow- ing limitations, namely: (1) He shall comply with any instructions given by His Majesty the King in respect of any such bill; and (2) he shall, if so di- rected by the King, postpone giving the assent of His Majesty to any such bill presented to him for assent for such period as His Majesty may direct. The merest tyro in reading legislative acts will see the pitfalls, handicaps and manacles in- cluded in the foregoing measure. The arms of the people are fettered. There can be no hope of new industries under an act which prohibits the government from exercising any control over every essential element that might tend to revive industry and create or distribute wealth. Home Rule Under the Spot-Lights 293 Here follow some of the restrictions in the Home Eule Act, in addition, which plainly pre- vent the freedom of Ireland in essentials : The Irish Parliament or people cannot nomi- nate or elect the Lord Lieutenant who is the Governor of Ireland under the act. No provision can be made by the Irish Gov- ernment for the defense of the country. If England was at war with the United States, Ireland, under this act, would also be at war with the United States, although the Irish Parliament and people would certainly have no difference with the land which has given them shelter, prosperity and honors. The Irish Government cannot raise an army. Under the act, the Irish Volunteers, therefore, must disband. Ireland would be prohibited from making trade and commercial treaties with the United States and other countries. As in the days of the Navigation Acts, which enabled England to destroy Irish shipping, the Home Rule Bill again clinches the strangle hold on a possible Irish merchant marine by prevent- ing the Irish Government from "granting of 294 What Could Germany Do For Ireland? bounties on the export of goods, quarantine, or navigation, including merchant shipping.' ' Canada, Australia, South Africa, New Zea- land, and other British colonies have their own postage and revenue stamps and mint their own coins; all this is expressly prohibited by the Home Rule Act. When the doors of the Irish Parliament are thrown open for the first time, the then Irish Government will have no power over: (a) Land Purchase in Ireland, the Old Age Pen- sions, the National Insurance Act, and the Labor Ex- changes Acts. These remain under the control of the British Parliament. (b) The Irish Government cannot collect the taxes levied on the people of Ireland. England, under Clause 2 of Section 14, will appoint and control the tax collectors, and keep the accounts and the cash, graciously handing back just sufficient to pay for Irish services. The English Treasury now charges Ireland with contributing less than is expended in the country. Under the new system, the charge can be maintained and possibly proved, as England is to do the bookkeeping. Anyway, England will have the cash, and he who holds the purse is finally supreme in all matters. He who pays controls — except in Ire- land. (3) The Irish Government will not control the po- lice force in Ireland, though the Irish people pay for their upkeep. This force has always been part of England's armed garrison in Ireland. England will Home Rule Under the Spot-Lights 295 continue to control this force for six years after the initiation of the Irish Parliament, so as to ensure that the behavior of the Irish people, aye, and of Irish leg- islators, is all that she could desire. The mandarins of the Irish Constabulary will still continue to ter- rorize the unarmed people of Ireland. (d) The Irish Government will have no authority or control over the Post Office Savings Banks, Trustee Savings Banks, and Friendly Societies in Ireland. And for a very good reason. England wants the use of Irish monies for the development of her own re- sources. Close upon $80,000,000, being deposits in Post Office and Trustee Savings Banks in Ireland, the savings of her people, are transferred to England for investment in Government securities. This grave eco- nomic injury to Ireland will have to continue, even though a "Home Kule" Parliament sits in Dublin, for it is laid down in the Act that such institutions cannot come under the control of the Irish Parlia- ment until the Irish Parliament, both Houses, passes a resolution to that effect, nor even then until a period of ten years has elapsed from the appointed day. What these government securities, in which these $80,000,000 Irish savings have been wrongfully invested, may be now worth is conjectural in the ex- treme. But Ireland cannot have the use of her own money for many years after the Irish Parliament has come into being. (e) The Irish Parliament cannot interfere with public loans made in Ireland before the passing of the Act. And to the foot of these twelve clauses of Section 2 of the act the following is appended : "Any law made in contravention of the limita- 296 What Could Germany Do For Ireland? tions imposed by this section shall, so far as it contravenes those limitations, be void." Section 4 lays it down that it is the Lord Lieu- tenant, and not the Irish Government, who will appoint officers to administer Irish Depart- ments established by the act, and those officers shall hold office during the pleasure of the Lord Lieutenant, and not during the pleasure of the Irish Parliament. Furthermore, it is such of- ficers who will form the Irish Ministry and "be an Executive Committee of the Privy Council of Ireland, to aid and advise the Lord Lieu- tenant in the exercise of his executive power in relation to Irish services." Also, the Lord Lieutenant can appoint other persons as Irish Ministers, though they may not be heads of Irish Departments. Whilst clause (a) of this section lays it down that only members of the Privy Council of Ireland can become Irish Min- isters, or heads of Irish Departments under the Irish Parliament, even Mr. John Redmond and his colleagues are not, at present, eligible to hold office as Irish Ministers, since they have not the magic letters "P. C." after their names. That is the least honor, no doubt, which the Home Rule Under the Spot-Lights 297 Castle will bestow upon Mr. Redmond for his faithful services on behalf of the permanence of British rule in Ireland. But, under this pro- vision, the Castle will be in a position to extract full allegiance to the British Crown and Consti- tution from such Irish miscalled nationalists whom John Redmond may subserviently ask the Lord Lieutenant to appoint as heads of Irish Departments. Section 8 expressly states that the first Irish Senate of forty members shall be nominated by the Lord Lieutenant, subject to any instructions given by His Majesty in respect to the nomina- tion. Here it is secured that the upper house of the new Irish Parliament shall at the outset consist of creatures of Castle Rule in Ireland. No doubt, England's faithful garrison in Ire- land will be rewarded with a majority of the seats in this chamber. Anyway, those so nomi- nated will feel constrained to act solely in Eng- land's interest during their period of office. The "Home Rule" Parliament must be piloted through its earlier years by the tried and true upholders of British domination in Ireland. The Irish people cannot be trusted, even under 298 What Could Germany Do For Ireland? a ' * Home Eule ' ' Parliament, to remain loyal to English institutions in Ireland. Section 10, clause (2) declares that except in pursuance of a recommendation from the Lord Lieutenant, the Irish House of Commons shall not adopt or pass any vote, resolution, address or bill for the appropriation, for any purpose, of any part of the public revenue of Ireland or of any tax. Here is "Poyning's Law" re- peated, except in so far as the Lord Lieutenant is substituted for the English Privy Council. The last Irish Parliament (1782-1800) had com- plete control of Irish taxation, revenue and trade. This "Home Eule" Parliament yet-to- be cannot initiate measures for the betterment of Irish conditions unless the Lord Lieutenant directs and approves. Section 15 debars the Irish Parliament from imposing or charging a customs duty, whether an import or an export duty, or varying, except by way of addition, any customs duty levied as an Imperial tax, or any excise duty so levied where there is a corresponding customs duty. That is to say, so long as free trade suits Eng- lish conditions, so long must Ireland remain Home Ride Under the Spot-Lights 299 under the same fiscal laws, whether free trade, as such, suits Irish conditions or otherwise. Furthermore, should the English Parliament change from free trade to a protective or tariffs for-revenue country, Ireland must follow suit, whether such a change may or may not suit Irish economic needs and requirements. Fur- thermore, this section makes it very clear that at no time can the Irish Parliament protect Irish industries from the unfair competition in Ireland of Manchester products, and English manufactures generally. Ireland and Irish trade and commerce do not count under an Irish Parliament. At least, so says England, and John Redmond has, to his eternal shame, ac- quiesced in this betrayal of Irish industries. But, of course, if the Irish Parliament chooses to tax Irish industries out of existence, the act leaves the way clear for the Irish Government so to do. Section 22 creates a Joint Exchequer Board, consisting of two members appointed by the British Treasury and two members appointed by the Irish Treasury, and a chairman ap- pointed by His Majesty. The appointment of 300 What Could Germany Do For Ireland? the chairman by the English Government gives England a majority on the Joint Exchequer Board. Thus England protects her own inter- ests for all time. Mr. Eedmond and his fol- lowers allowed this clause to be inserted in the act without challenge or protest. It gives Eng- land the whip hand every time, as ' ' the decision of the Board on any matter which is to be de- termined by them shall be final and conclusive. ' ' And the smooth working of the whole Irish Par- liament depends altogether upon the finances available for Irish services. Points of dispute will assuredly arise from time to time, but ma- jority rule will prevail, and Ireland's two rep- resentatives will be powerless against Eng- land's three. Sections 28 and 29 recognize the right of an individual to contest a decision of the Irish Su- preme Court by carrying the same to His Majesty the King in Council, that is, to the Privy Council of England, and where an indi- vidual may claim that an act of the Irish Par- liament, or any provision thereof, or any Irish bill or provision thereof, is beyond the powers of the Irish Parliament, or whether any service Home Rule Under the Spot-Lights 301 is an Irish service within the meaning of the act or not, same may be represented to the Eng- lish Privy Council for determination. Thus England ingeniously sets a pitfall for the se- curity of the new Irish Parliament. England's word will be final in all matters, notwithstand- ing the existence of the Home Rule Parliament in Dublin. Thus any crank in the country can call in question every act of the new Irish Par- liament, and by appealing to Mother England, embitter feeling in Ireland and spread a dis- trust and disregard of the legality of Irish acts throughout the whole country. Thus it may, under this cleverly worded section, be shown that the Irish are incapable of ruling them- selves, as has been so freely stated by their en- emies. But, as if all these restrictions, reservations, etc., were not sufficiently clear indications of England's determination to have the Irish Par- liament subordinate to the Parliament at Lon- don, clause (2) of the very first section of the act declares that "notwithstanding the estab- lishment of the Irish Parliament or anything contained in the Government of Ireland Act, 302 What Could Germany Do For Ireland? 1914, the supreme power and authority of the Parliament of the United Kingdom shall remain unaffected and undiminished over all persons, matters, and things in Ireland and every part thereof.' ' Furthermore, clause (1) of section 4 stipulates that "the executive power in Ire- land shall continue vested in His Majesty the King, and nothing in this act shall affect the exercise of that power except as respects Irish services as defined for the purposes of the act." Again, as if emphasizing the unimportance of the Irish legislature, section 7 of the act em- powers the Lord Lieutenant to give or withhold the assent of His Majesty to bills passed by the two houses of the Irish Parliament, subject to the following limitations, namely: (a) He shall comply with any instructions given by His Majesty in respect of any such Bill ; and (b) He shall, if so directed by His Majesty, post- pone giving the assent of His Majesty to any such Bill presented to him for assent for such period as His Majesty may direct. Verily, if His Britannic Majesty (which, of course, means His Majesty's English advisers or government) chooses to hang up indefinitely any bill of the Irish Parliament, there is no au- Home Ride Under the Spot-Lights 303 thority in the Home Rule Act to turn the Irish bill into an Irish act. Yet, fearing that the Irish Parliament might invent a means to es- cape the legal labyrinth of restrictions con- tained in the act, section 41 expressly lays it down that ' ' the Irish Parliament shall not have power to repeal or alter any provision of this act (except as is specially provided by this act), or of any act passed by the Parliament of the United Kingdom after the passing of this act, and extending to Ireland, although that pro- vision deals with a matter with respect to which the Irish Parliament have powers to make laws. ' ' And lest, by any chance, this happy lan- guage might be, by any possibility, vague or open to a construction other than that intended, clause (2) of the same section adds that " where any act of the Irish Parliament deals with any matter with respect to which the Irish Parlia- ment have power to make laws which is dealt with by any act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom passed after the passing of this act and extending to Ireland, the act of the Irish Parliament shall be read subject to the act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, and so 304 What Could Germany Do For Ireland? far as it is repugnant to that act, but no fur- ther, shall be void." These two clauses of sec- tion 41, to which very little attention has been paid by the parliamentarians in Ireland, undo the whole "Government of Ireland Act, 1914, ' ' since this section clearly stipulates that the London Parliament can continue making laws to govern the people of Ireland, without any regard to or respect for the existence of the Parliament at Dublin, or the laws framed by the Irish Parliament. Thus England honors her own "scrap of paper" by making provision in the Home Eule Act to the effect that laws framed and passed in England can be enforced by statute in Ireland. This is but a cursory glance at this precious "Home Rule Act," now on the statute book of Westminster, which weak and false leaders have accepted as " a final settlement, ' ' and for which they ask their coun- trymen to sacrifice their lives and the future of their nation in the trenches of Europe and Asia. The one thankful feature of the ugly situation is that Irishmen have begun to realize the sham and farce of the whole proceedings, and that the financial condition of England is Home Rule Under the Spot-Lights 305 such that this wretched measure of "Home Bule" cannot be put into operation after the war. CONCLUSION "No, I do not despair of my country. I see her in lethargy, but not in the throes of death. She is not dead, but only sleeping."- — Henry Grattan. [We must not become discouraged over the ap- parent abject, supine and helpless condition of the people of Ireland. The heart of the people is sound and beats true. They have no sources of information beyond the medium of the official censored press bureau ; the island, from end to end, lives under the Defence of the Realm Act, which, for all practical purposes, is martial law. They read no printed word or hear no spoken word save the false notes which aim to convince the Irish race that the Germans are like the ruthless Huns and barbarians, who will not hes- itate to kill their women and children. The leaders who have betrayed the land for offices, honors, munition orders, war billets, social, legal or business advancement have one false but effective cry, for they never tire of ringing the changes on the appeal to the poor people to 306 Conclusion 307 go off to the Dardanelles, to Flanders, to the Balkans, to suffer and die in order that Catholic Ireland shall be revenged on Germany for the destruction of Catholic Belgium. That such a red herring could be successfully dragged across the trail of Irish Nationality is a sad commentary on the low spirit, benumbed senses and lack of reasoning powers of sections of the race, only the inevitable result of several cen- turies of suffering and oppression. What earthly practical interest have the Irish in saving Belgium or Serbia when they cannot save themselves and put Ireland on the map of small nations? Are they still so blind as not to recognize the death of both Belgium and Serbia, whatever the outcome of the war? The sur- render of Antwerp exposed the hand of Eng- land, which had only sent a few thousand men to the relief of Belgium, basely deserting the brave little army, by failure of a supporting army, in her hour of agony, after forcing her by threats to resist Germany. The world sees the Serbian armies destroyed and this small na- tion ruined despite the British promises of as- sistance, which were not fulfilled. We see 308 What Could Germany Do For Ireland? Greece invaded and her cities threatened with bombardment because she insists on being neu- tral. The remnants of the Celtic race should be as much concerned over the fate of Greece at the hands of England, and of Persia under Bus- sia, as to worry over the state of Belgium or Serbia. The Irish people should think more of their own possibly wretched fate after the war. The British Empire is simply made up of a confederation of states and territories con- quered by England and the strangest delusion is the absurd fetish that she is the saviour of small nations. The immediate fate of Belgium, Serbia, Macedonia and Persia at this hour ought to force the blinders off Irish eyes. The author has shown there can be no hope for an industrial Ireland under the domination of England. The defeat and the consequent ex- haustion of the British Empire may be followed by its disintegration. Such result is not impos- sible in the light of history, wherein is found the roll of world powers extinguished by internal diseases and external foes. The war between England and France enabled America to dis- cover a George Washington to liberate the col- Conclusion 309 onists from the thralldom of English rule. The eternal sentinels of liberty guarded the peaks of little Switzerland while her children took ad- vantage of the warring nations surrounding her to bring freedom to her valleys and mountains. Will the decimated race, threatened with its utter extinction, produce a chieftain in Ireland who will lead the clans to the heights of liberty and save the submerging of the people in this unholy and unjust war designed to destroy the youth of a land fated not to receive any national benefit even in victory, and the only certainty — Death? SEVENTH EDITION The most widely circulated war book of the year The King, The Kaiser^Irish Freedom By JAMES K. McGUIRE 320 Pages. Cloth Bound. One Dollar, Postpaid The work is prohibited from circulation in Ireland and Canada. All Americans should read it. Los Angeles Examiner — The book is a strong presentation and well worth study. Over here we hear little of this because Ireland is under martial law, the press is rigidly censored and any expression of opinion unpleasant to the government is followed by immediate arrest. New York Staats-Zeitung — The German-American citizens owe much to the brilliant genius of Mr. McGuire in his great work, which will live long after the war. New Haven Union — Written in a wonderfully fascinating style and, by far, the most powerful and pleasing and often stirring appeal for Germany and an Irish Republic. Ireland, Dublin — A few copies reached Donegal, Mayo and Galway. They were at once seized and destroyed and the distributers arrested. Cologne German Gazette — This striking story is being printed in Germany and will have enormous circulation. Independent, Butte, Montana — By far, this is the most popular and powerful plea for justice to Germany that has appeared in book form. San Francisco Chronicle — The writer shows that England has no intention of giving Ireland Home Rule, and that in the future, as in the past, she will corrupt the leaders of the Irish cause. The book has a number of historical ^acts, but the writer appears to be suffering from excessive hatred of England. Western Watchman, St. Louis, Mo. — "The King, the Kaiser and Irish Free- dom" is attracting more attention. The majority of thinking Irishmen are read- ing with newer and more enthusiastic hopes. The Irish World, New York — This book is most opportune and right up to the minute. It should be in the hands of every man who desires to know the real condition of affairs in Europe. The author is a realist of the first water and speaks to a great extent from experience; an extensive traveler of many accomplishments. The work is readable as a novel, and the interest never flags from start to finish. Pittsburgh Leader — This work has attracted tremendous interest throughout the State of Pennsylvania, and is a work replete with interest. Pittsburgh Dispatch — The Germanest German document that has appeared since the war began is written by a man without German blood in his veins. Hartford Courant — He adroitly and with much truth credits England with much subtler diplomacy than her enemies. He makes a point when he quotes approval of the fine practice of American guns, when in '48 the tower was hit of the Vera Cruz Cathedral, and the condemnations which were showered on German artillerists for destruction at Rheims. Louisville Courier- Journal — The author made a serious mistake in confining the work to one volume. He shows his familiarity with both subjects and handles them in an able manner. Many interesting events are related in different parts of the volume. Date Due JUN -2 66 ! 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