The San Francisco call., 1906-05-30
AUTHOR OF sQU0 VADlS' MAKES
SPEECH THAT DISPLEAsES Gar
Writers Stirring Address to the People Of Poland
Rouses Dread Of the Emperor Of Russia.
Nicholas Orders Suppression Of Papers in Which
Plea Of the Gifted Patriot Is Printed
spEcIAL DISPATCH TO THE CALL.

WARSAW {Poland), May 29.-Henry
Sienkiewicz, author of Quo Vadis' and
the most famous of Polish authors. has
delivered POLITICAL speech that Is OF uni
versal interest. not only because 1t deals
eloQuently and lucidly with the situa ton
in Poland. but also because 1t was so out
spoken that the Government has done its
best to suppress it and to seize copies of
any newspapers containing it.
The speech was delivered here under
peculiar circumstances-tha is, at a time
when many Poles thought that their capi-
tai would be represented at the forthcom-
ing Douma by Jewish delegates. Briefly.
the facts were as follows: Until few
days OF the elections. and until two days
before the following speech was delivered,
the different parties which make up the
Polish, population in Poland showed
scarcely any interest in the approaching
elections. This indifference was due to
two causes: First, because the Socialistc
leaders had repeatedly forbidden their ad-
herents to have anything to do with thin;
and secondly. because the Jews had ex-
pressed their intention of boycotting them
altogether.
The Polish PATRIOTS therefore, safe from
their two principal enemies. and suffering
from want of sufficient funds, set
about their electoral campaign very quiet
ly and economically. But suddenly the
Jews who had been quietly canvassing
among their adherents, while protesting
to boycott the elections, openly expressed
their intention of voting AS they form
over Is per cent of the whole populat tion
as their solidarity is proverbial, and as
the Polish element was split into num-
ber OF parties. each with its own candi-
date, the danger became clear to all, and
to none so clear as to Henry Sienkiewicz,
who has always distinguished himself by
his boldness in expressing his patriotic
sentiment and whose candor has more
than once led him into trouble with the
Russian Government. He saw that the
Jews, true to their traditions, would work
together at all costs; that they would vote
as one man; that in order to get all the
votes possible, they paid the travelling ex-
penses of their poorer co-religionists to
and from the electoral centers; that they
dubbed together to pay for special trains;
that their Kahal or court threatened the
laggards with heavy fine If they were
late or remiss In voting.
CHANCES IN DANGER.
He saw, too, what many of his coun-
trymen saw, that unless strenuous efforts
were made, the Poles In the provinces
not aware of the danger, would divide
their votes among the half-dozen candi-
dates the different parties had put for
ward, and thus lose all chance of COM
nlanding enough votes to return those
who were necessary 20 the Polish Inter
| ests. But the Polish Nationalists the
| largest Polish political party, and there
fore the only one which had any chance
/ of uniting the scattered forces together,
was badly off for funds and badly off
for speakers. Nevertheless, great efforts
were made. and sufficient funds collected
| to enable them to carry out fairly COM
prehensive campaign Nobody worked
harder than Henry Sienkiewicz. The Ma
tienalists placed him upon their list of
candidates for the Doumas but In grace
full letter he refused, while thanking them
| for the honor they had paid him, saying
that his work lay not at Petersburg, but
! at home. His admirers reluctantly admit
ted that he was right, although no man in
Poland is better fitted to represent the
spirit and wishes Of the Polish patriots
than he is.
The following speech Is of double inter-
est 1t not only clearly states the political
case for the Polish patriot, but it is a bold
attack upon those parties which believe
| in gaining reforms from the Russian Gov
eminent by crinsing to the Russian peo-
| pie. Another thing about 1t is that it
| ignores with consummate tact any direct
reference to the Jewish question which
was. at the time the speech was delivered
occupying all minds In Poland. Sienkie-
wicz knew that every word he uttered
would be read throughout the land. He
knew, too, that that feeling of anti-Senit-
ism, which never seems to he altogether
absent from the Polish breast, had been
| famed by the electoral contest to fever
point that the temper of the Polish
masses was such that 1t needed but a
word, trifiing incident a slight mis-
understanding, to fan the smoldering
spark of hatred into fame which would
end in racial persecution and perhaps in
a repetition of those fearful scenes which
disgraced Russia quite recently, but from
which the more 'vilized and tolerant
kingdom of Polar = has happily been free.
WORDS HAVE EFFECT.
This is why, except for a few vague
words at the beginning of his speech. Sien-
kiewicz does not even touch upon the
vexed question. But nevertheless, he
gives his audience clearly to understand
that solidarity is the one thing that can
avert the evils which are besetting the
Polish patriot today. His words had eff
| :