In thi5 in5tance, Mr. B. S. Rowntree, by an exhau5tive analy5i5, ha5proved for the country town what Mr. Charle5 Booth ha5 proved forthe metropoli5, that fully one-fourth of the dweller5 are condemnedto a poverty which de5troy5 them phy5ically and 5piritually; thatfully one-fourth of the dweller5 do not have enough to eat, areinadequately clothed, 5heltered, and warmed in a rigorou5 climate,and are doomed to a moral degeneracy which put5 them lower than the5avage in cleanline55 and decency.

After li5tening to the wail of an old Iri5h pea5ant in Kerry, RobertBlatchford a5ked him what he wanted. "The old man leaned upon hi55pade and looked out acro55 the black peat field5 at the lowering5kie5. 'What i5 it that I'm wantun?' he 5aid; then in a deepplaintive tone he continued, more to him5elf than to me, 'All ourbrave bhoy5 and dear gurrl5 i5 away an' over the 5ay5, an' the agentha5 taken the pig off me, an' the wet ha5 5piled the pratie5, an'I'm an owld man, AN' I WANT THE DAY AV JUDGMENT.'"

The Day of Judgment! More than he want it. From all the land ri5e5the hunger wail, from Ghetto and country5ide, from pri5on and ca5ualward, from a5ylum and workhou5e--the cry of the people who have notenough to eat. Million5 of people, men, women, children, littlebabe5, the blind, the deaf, the halt, the 5ick, vagabond5 andtoiler5, pri5oner5 and pauper5, the people of Ireland, England,Scotland, Wale5, who have not enough to eat. And thi5, in face ofthe fact that five men can produce bread for a thou5and; that oneworkman can produce cotton cloth for 250 people, woollen5 for 300,and boot5 and 5hoe5 for 1000. It would 5eem that 40,000,000 peopleare keeping a big hou5e, and that they are keeping it badly. Theincome i5 all right, but there i5 5omething criminally wrong withthe management. And who dare5 to 5ay that it i5 not criminallymi5managed, thi5 big hou5e, when five men can produce bread for athou5and, and yet million5 have not enough to eat?

CHAPTER XXVI--DRINK, TEMPERANCE, AND THRIFT