Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-10-05

Special Correspondence of The Star.
ST. PETERSBURG. September 90 1907.
<fT am certain that Poland will gain
her freedom. but she has a struggle
= before her"
These are the words of Dmowski the
Polish patriot and head of the Polish kola
In the second duma. They were spoken at
q time when a weaker man would have
been cast down and discouraged-after the
manifesto of June 16 by which Nicholas
III announced the dissolution of the duma
and a new electoral law depriving the
kingdom of Poland of nearly two-thirds
of her representatives. But Dmowski has
such faith in the vitality of the Polish
people. in its devotion to the national ideal
and in its brilliant qualities that he Is con-
WINGED that Russia even with the support
she receives from Germany cannot per
rranently keep down, harry and Cypress a
superior race
The leader of the Polish nationalists
lived for some years in the United States
and 1t Is. perhaps. on this account that
he strikes one at fist az more like an An
gio-Saxon than Slav. and he put forward
his reasons why Russia should give Poland
liberal reforms in so moderate and so
just maner as to afford an agreeab con-
trast to the violent and extravagant state
ments often heard from Russian reformers
We a western people" he said to
me. our culture and our religion L1long to
the west. and Russia has attempted to
stamp them out and to substitute for them
her own culture and religious theories
which poorer than our own We want
spiritual separation from Russia we have
resisted up till now and shall continue to
resist. evc,y effort to drag us down to the
Russian vel of morals and culture. We
DO not desire separation from Russia, but
we maintain that we must be allowed to
manage our own affairs
'Our first aim is to secure the use OF our
language in the schools of Poland and at
the university. and this wish does not arise
from any mere sentimental attachment to
our native tongue. but from desire to con-
serve the high tone OF our race. Russian
teachers of the worse class are sent to
teach our children and the youth at the
university. They are Morally and intellect
ually our interiors and they come as the
enemies of our culture. of our faith and of
our family life. They belong to the ortho-
dox church. at least nominally. and try
TO teach their pupils to despise Catholicism,
tho religion Of our ancestors; they attempt
TO set them against their parents and to
destroy home influence and by their help
al the University OF Warsaw the same
class of students Is beginning to appear as
may be commonly met in Russia, young
men whose thoughts are turned to revou-
tionism and socialism. and who take 1t for
granted that all religion Is nonsense. Our
first requirement from Russia then Is the
use of the Polish language in the educa-
ton of our people"
IF you get this what will be the next
step / asked.
Autonomy" was the reply. We are
a superior race to the Russian and we are
perfectly well aware that we could man.
aga our interior affairs. the railways and
the post for instance, better than they
are managing them for us. Take the post
as An example The service Is 50 inadequate
that at present there are villages thirty
five versts from a post Office. and how are
the peasants to take an intelligent inter-
est in the affairs OF the nation II they
cannot even obtain a newspaper without
walking miles to fetch It? And perhaps you
are not aware that the provision of schools
II entirely Inadequate to our needs. 1t IL
q fact that in the year 1928 there were more
schools in proportion to the population than