Newspaper Page Text
PAGE 3 - July 1, 1971
BRUTALITY CHARGED
Irish ‘Tatie Hokers’
Get Aid From Priests
By Ernest Ostro
(NC News Service)
DUNBAR, Scotland (NC)
— Two Catholic priests have
exposed virtually medieval
conditions of brutality and
exploitation of Irish potato
pickers in Scotland -- an
impoverished band of “tatie
hokers” who often work
72-hour weeks for as little as
$5.
Father Michael Walsh of
Our Lady of the Waves
Church, Dunbar, and Father
Michael J. Cassidy of St.
Mary’s Church, Pathhead
Ford - both in the Scottish
lowlands where potatoes are a
major crop -- have compiled
several years’ experience and
investigation into a report
they are sending to Cardinal
John Heenan of Westminster
and to the Irish government
exposing the conditions.
The priests have also been
active in setting up machinery
to help the potato workers
escape from the Fields and
from the gang bosses who try
to bring them back. They
have helped a number of
“escapees” return safely to
their families in Ireland.
As news of the priests’
reports became known,
Scottish police launched an
investigation of conditions in
the fields, which contravene
easily a dozen laws. Members
of Parliament have now
expressed interest and the
Irish embassy said it has sent
someone to Scotland to
investigate.
The potato pickers are
recruited in depressed areas
of western Ireland and
brought to Scotland, where
they are divided into squads
of 10 to 25. They generally
work from 6 a.m. to 9:30
p.m. weekdays, with
somewhat shorter hours on
Saturdays and Sundays,
Father Walsh told NC News.
“They live apart, these
squads, exploited by
racketeers from their native
land,” Father Walsh said.
“These men get none of the
benefits of this welfare state
we have here. They’re
supposed to get 11 to 14
pounds ($26 to $34) a week,
but often they don’t see
mu ch of that.”
Moving from farm to farm,
the “tatie hokers” are housed
in cottages or cattle sheds
(“bothies”) on each estate.
“Some are all right, but the
bothy in the farm near
Dunbar was like a pigsty,”
according to Geoffrey Smith,
16, of Ballyragget, County
Kilkenny, who started
picking Scottish potatoes in
1970. “The roof was falling
in, there was no room to
walk, and the bath water was
cold. One time I tried to
escape but one of the Nevins’
men chased me in a van
(truck) an d brought me
back.”
The five Nevins brothers,
natives of rugged Achill
Island off County Mayo, are
cited as the most notorious of
the “Irish Mafia” who
contract with Scottish
farmers to clear the land and
hire impoverished, frequently
illiterate and semi-literate
Irish workers to do the job.
Father Walsh estimated
their profits are upwards of
$75,000 a year, while each of
their men earns less than
$2,000 annually. Other
contractors are reputed to do
as well or even better from
the pickers’ labors.
Joseph O’Brien, 22, of
Limerick - also aided by
Father Walsh -- said that in
one bothy “there were 20
bunk beds in a small space in
which there were 30 to 40
youngsters around the age,
17, including girls. When I
tried to run away they beat
me up and took my suitcase
away for a week.”
Other stories revealed this
week includes:
-Two brothers aged 12 and
13 working 72-hour weeks
for which their parents in
Ireland were sent $7.20 per
week per child.
-A baby bom hours after
its mother worked a full day
in the fields. The baby died;
the mother nearly lost her
life.
--A father refused
permission to see his two
school-age sons who were
working in the fields.
--Contractor’s agents
posing as police and forcing
escapees to return to the
squads.
Father Walsh told NC
News that such conditions are
possible in a modem,
enlightened country like
Britain because the potato
picker “is regarded here as
the lowest form of human
animal.
“There has always been
antipahty between the
lowland Scots and the Irish
Catholics. The Scotsman
regards an Irish Catholic the
way an Englishman regards a
West Indian or an American
regards a Negro or Mexican.
“He’s a race apart, looked
down upon. They’re not
interested in him here ....
“He’s nobody’s chicken.
They know he exists but they
do not wish to acknowledge
that existence. So he’s forced
to live apart. He has his being
in his squad. He doesn’t
integrate with the stream of
society around him ....
“I do think he might have
a chance to break through
this historic barrier, but he’s
not allowed to by these
racketeers. And the Scots
look down upon him as an
inferior race. So they look
the other way .. .they need
his labor. A tatie hoker can
clear a field much faster than
a native laborer, and this gives
the farmer the chance to get
the potatoes to market when
the price is best.”
Neither Father Walsh nor
Father Cassidy asserted,
however, that Scottish
farmers are implicated
directly in the abuses they
have uncovered.
Michael Nevins, one of the
five brothers named by the
priests as “racketeers,” told
NC News:
“I don’t want to be saying
nothing except these priests
would be better looking after
them down in London what
sleeps four to a bed, and
them not even married.”
Film Classifications
A — Section I — Morally Unobjectionable for General Patronage
A — Section II — Morally Unobjectionable for Adults Adolescents
A — Section III — Morally Unobjectionable for Adults
A — Section IV — Morally Unobjectionable for Adults, Reservations
B — Morally Objectionable in Part for All
C — Condemned
MURPHY’S WAR
(Paramount) Peter O’Toole,
watery of eye and loose of
tongue, mugs energetically as
Seaman Murphy, sole survivor
of a Nazi U-boat attack off
the coast of Venezuela.
Murphy’s e 5 ngleminded
mission, once he !ries off at a
convenient missionary
outpost-oil station, is to
destroy the submarine that
ruthlessly machine-gunned his
fellow crew members. Armed
alternately with salvaged
seaplane and chuffing barge,
Murphy hunts the sub down
in the network of tidal canals
and backwashes. The
resulting adventure is a
combination of THE ENEMY
BELOW and THE AFRICAN
QUEEN, with the excitement
and polish of neither.
O’Toole, however, gives a
spirited performance, and is
ably supported by Philippe
Noiret as a lethargic oil
station operator and Sian
Phillips as a hard-bitten
Quaker missionary-nurse.
Peter Yates directed, and
proves less successful at
maneuvering biplanes and
barges than he was in
BULLITT with prowling cars
against San Francisco’s scenic
backdrop. (A-III)
ONE MORE TRAIN TO
ROB (Universal) is simply
one more Grade-B Western
for hardy George Peppard
This one, given lively and
often bawdy direction by
veteran Andrew J. McLaglen,
involves Peppard as the
reluctant protector of a
Chinese gold-mining
operation in the California
hills. By hiring his gun to the
Oriental association Peppard
figures to get even with John
Vernon, who double-crossed
him years ago and now plans
to heist the Chinese gold
shipment. Here’s fast action
for undemanding audiences
who don’t mind a heady
combination of foul language
and bloody shoot-’em-up
violence. (A-III)
ESCAPE FROM THE
PLANET OF THE APES
(Fox) marks the successful
launching of a bona-fide
“Apes” movie series. The
latest adventure has
super-smart apes Roddy
McDowall and Kim Hunter
whizzing out of the future by
borrowed rocket ship and
landing in the present day
earth. They are surprised to
find the earth dominated by
humans as humans are to find
them upright and intelligent
apes. The flurry of curiosity
and novelty, however, gives
way to genuine alarm when a
Presidential Commission
charged with “de-briefing”
the pair discovers that they
come from a culture in which
apes experimented with
dumb humanoids the way
20th-century man presently
experiments with apes and
other animals “in the name of
science.” The angle, of
course, is to use this prior
knowledge of how things are
slated to turn out 2000 years
hence to the tables of destiny
- i.e.. by exterminating the
world’s apes, and McDowall
and Hunter in particular. The
moral questions opened by
the film are perhaps obvious
and simplistic, but their
presentation takes the form
of one of the summer’s most
promising mass-entertainment
movies. (A-I)
FORTUNE AND MEN’S
EYES (MGM) Based on an
off-Broadway play that
flopped until it was restaged
(by Sal Mineo) to include a
nude onstage gang rape, this
melodramatic film about the
crime of punishment seems to
suffer from the same sort of
box-office sensationalism as
its original. Granted that
homosexuality, mainly of a
brutish type, is a major
concern of those who
demand prison reform, there
is much more to the problem
than that. Director Harvey
Hart (who took over in
mid-production) ignores this
fact, however, and
single-mi ndedly concentrates
on the sex angle. The result is
a picture that fails in its
narrowness to convince the
viewer that what he is
watching is a serious plea for
understanding and reform
and not simply another
exploitation of a homosexual
theme. (B)
RECENT FILM
CLASSIFICATIONS BY
NCOMP
Death in Venice (Warner
Bros.) - A-I 11
Glory Boy (Cinerama) -- B
BRIGHTER FUTURE - The Catholic Church in Ecuador is the biggest user of a modern plow
designed to improve backward agriculture. Here teenagers, belonging to a group similar to the 4-H
Club, are taught the proper use of the plows. (NC PHOTO)
STILL ACTIVE AT 76
Fulton Sheen Celebrates
20 Years As A Bishop
By Doris Revere Peters
NEW YORK (NC) -
Bishop Fulton J. Sheen
celebrated the 20th
anniversary of his ordination
as a bishop reminiscing with a
small group of friends at a
luncheon here.
The prelate, whose keen
wit and trim appearance belie
his 76 years, mulled over the
past and parried questions
with the press.
Bishop Sheen, who now
conducts retreats for priests
throughout the country,
indicated that surveys which
test only a sampling are not
the best way to assess a
problem. On the problems of
the priesthood he said:
“I know the priests in this
country better than anyone
else -- by talking to them,
hearing their confessions and
discussing their problems
with them. There have always
been problems endemic to
the priesthood itself.”
The celibacy issue, he
indicated, is overemphasized.
“There have been other
examples of the problem of
celibacy in the history of the
Church. We always have it
when there is a general
decay.”
Bishop Sheen said he feels
that celibacy should not
necessarily be required by the
Church. But, he said, “it has
never been more necessary
than today. We need it to give
example of moral life and the
commitment to the kingdom
of God.”
In the priesthood there are
extremes at both ends, he
said. He likened them to “the
infrared and ultraviolet, but
in between are great numbers
of priests who are really
looking for spiritual
guidance.”
During the past year,
Bishop Sheen has spoken at
30 universities and feels the
public is receiving a false
impression of the youth
revolution.
“You can’t put your finger
on one cause of the youth
turmoil,” he said, “but they
might be looking for
discipline.”
He cited the Baptist
minister, Arthur Blesset who
wrote the book “Turned on
Jesus,” as a real man of God.
Blesset works on “the Strip”
in Los Angeles with drug
addicts, homosexuals and
prostitutes as part of this
program. He mns a halfway
house where young offenders
spend a month under strict
discipline which has proved
extremely effective.
Bishop Sheen, who began a
radio career in 1929 and was
a big celebrity on TV in the
50s, admitted to watching
only sports and comedians on
TV today. He said he doesn’t
watch the news because he
resents “the selectivity” of
news telecasts.
Answering an NC
reporter’s question as to how
effective he thought religious
TV programs are, he
answered: “Not as effective
as they should be.” He said a
program must start with its
audience in mind, not with
what the producer wants to
say.
During the luncheon,
hosted by the Rev. Dr. David
Poling, well known
Presbyterian formerly of
Christian Herald magazine,
Bishop Sheen was presented a
gold medal on the Roman
Catholic Church. It is one of
a series of medals depicting
the great religions of the
world designed by sculptor
Ralph J. Menconi. The bishop
had helped in the research for
the Roman Catholic medal
and shared as counsel in its
design, which shows Saints
Peter and Paul.
Bishop Sheen was ordained
a bishop in Rome on June 11,
1951. He celebrated the
anniversary on June 11 this
year quietly with “six priests
- three priests and three
bishops.”
On Aug. 15 he will go to
Ireland to preach at a
televised Mass marking the
700th anniversary of a
Carmelite church there.
A THROAT IN THE FROG? Actually, this boy is inspecting the mouth of an orange and white
spotted litter bin at the London Zoo. (NC PHOTO)
SEE CONGRESSMEN
Lobby Against
Pornography
WASHINGTON (NC) - A
Catholic priest and a
Methodist minister trod the
halls of Capitol Hill to hand
deliver a copy of their
minority report on
pornography to each
Congressman.
Jesuit Father Morton A.
Hill and Dr. Winfrey C. Link
are members of the 19-man
Congressional Commission on
Obscenity and Pornography,
whose majority report was
rejected by the Senate and
President Nixon last year.
The majority report
recommended the repeal of
existing federal, state and
local legislation which
prohibits or interfere with the
distribution of “obscene”
materials to consenting
adults.
The Senate and President
Nixon rejected the report’s
findings, charged the
commission with inadequate
research and said it had not
fulfilled the congressional
mandate to research and
recommend means of
regulating the traffic in
pornography.
William B. Lockhart,
commission chairman, said
the majority report called for
the repeal of existing
legislation because after
extensive “empirical
investigation” the
commission found no causal
relationship between
pornography and anti-social
behavior.
Lockhart, University of
Minnesota law school dean,
said he thought the president
was “unhappy because
scientific studies do not
support the assumptions
congenial to his point of
view.”
Father Hill, president of
the New York-based Morality
in Media and Dr. Link,
director of a Methodist
retirement home in
Tennessee, said the majority
report is a “shoddy piece of
scholarship that will be
quoted and nauseum by
cultural polluters.”
They said they hope to
convince Congress to accept
their minority report instead.
The Hill-Link report
recommends strong
regulation of pornography
traffic on the federal, state
and local level.
It calls for establishment of
a division of lawyers in the
U.S. Attorney General’s
office to help district
attorneys across the nation in
“prosecution against sex
exploiters.”
It also recommends that
review boards be established
in each state to bring any
materials the board considers
“obscene” to the attention of
the state attorney general’s
office for prosecution.
Father Hill and Dr. Link
suggest that citizens form
private, non-sectarian
community organizations to
take “organized but
constitutional action against
obscenity.”
Catholic News
In Review
TORONTO, Ontario (NC)
— The Church’s .present rule
of obligatory priestly celibacy
should be retained and “its
joys and advantages should
somehow be made better
known to modem man,”
according to Christians for
Renewal (CFR).
CFR, which meets
regularly here, describes itself
as a group striving “after
renewal according to the
spirit of Vatican Council II
and Pope Paul.”
CFR said that the celibate
priesthood “is the most
effective and best form of
priesthood for the work of
bringing the good news of the
Gospel to men” in a brief on
the priestly ministry the
organization sent to
Archbishop Joseph A.
Plourde of Ottawa, president
of the Canadian Catholic
Conference.
* * *
BELFAST, Northern
Ireland (NC) — Secret talks
between the Irish and British
governments on the
reunification of all Ireland
have been taking place
intermittently for several
months, according to
unimpreachable sources close
to the Irish government.
The sources said that the
talks have concentrated on a
formula to achieve
reunification between
strife-tom Northern Ireland
and the Republic of Ireland,
in the south.
No decisions have been
reached, but it is clear that
the government in London is
now determined to solve the
Irish question once and for all
by separating Ulster
(Northern Ireland) from the
United Kingdom.
* * *
VATICAN CITY (NC) -
The Vatican has delayed the
Nov. 28 cut-off date for using
the four-centuries-old Roman
Missal, or texts of the Mass,
based on the Council of
Trent’s decisions.
The new Missal texts,
which take their orientation
from the Second Vatican
Council, will be mandatory in
each country only after a
vernacular translation has
been approved by the
respective conference of
bishops.
The new English form for
the Ordinary, or unchanging
part of the Mass, as well as
the Lectionary, or book of
Old and New Testament
readings, went into effect in
the United States on Palm
Sunday, 1970.
* * *
SYDNEY, Australia (NC)
— The main concern of the
mother who gave birth to
nine children at a hospital
near here in mid-June was
that the babies would be
baptized.
A priest at St. Francis of
Assisi’s parish at nearby
Paddington said that both Mr.
and Mrs. Leonard Brodrick
“are wonderful Catholics.
The first thing she wanted
was that the babies be
baptized. Because only a
minute’s delay might cause
difficulties, it was arranged
with the hospital authorities
that a nun in training at the
hospital should baptize the
infants immediately after
birth. This was done.”
The hospital where Mrs.
Broderick gave birth is in
Paddington.
* * *
ST. COLUMBANS, Neb.
(NC) — A Columban priest
has been named secretary of
the English-speaking section
of the Vatican Secretariat for
Non-Catholics.
Father Daniel McGinn,
director of the Columban
Fathers’ Retreat House in
Derby, N.Y., will begin his
new Vatican duties in July.
The priest’s appointment was
announced here by Father
Hugh O’Rourke, director of
the Columban Fathers in
North America.
Father McGinn, 45, headed
the foreign mission society’s
house in Houston, Tex., from
1965 to 1968. Ordained in
1953, he was first sent as a
missionary to Japan, where
he also served as an auxiliary
chaplain for the U.S. Air
Force.