Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1910-05-13
BY
Frederic ].
Hask;n

every Polish child, it is fed on the rich
fuel OF peculiar language and a par
| ticular history, and 1t blazes brighter
and higher every day in the life of
every Pole, to be quenched only by the
conquerer death. Rightly or wrongly,
every Pole looks forward to that day
when a general war shall destroy the
of opportunity when the crimes of 1772,
1893 and 1875 shall be undone and atoned
| for
Poland holds a place OF peculiar in
terest in the political, the military and
the constitutional history of Europe.
| The country is the geographical center
| of Europe, and was on the borderland
! between conflicting races as we'll as
rival governments. 1t was brilliant In
war, yet 1t often was used as the help
less pawn in the hands of some alien
master of the game of battle. Under
the leadership of the immortal John
Sobieski the Poles saved central Eu-
rope from a Turkish invasion and re-
captured Vienna from the Mussulmens,
just as they had, long before, stemmed
the Tartar tide which threatened to en-
gulf all Christian and European civiliza-
/ ton.
Their government was presided over
| by a king, and the Poles often were
| content to ask a foreigner to accept
their crown. And yet the king always
was subject to the control of the noble
| families of the country. The official
title of the government was Respubli-
cae Potomac" the Republic of Poland.
| 1t was in fact an aristocratic republic,
based in theory upon the principle that
government must derive its power from
the consent of all the people. Under the
I ''liberum veto" one member Of the Pol
| ish diet could negative any proposition.
The rights OF the minority were thus
held most sacred. ? Nevertheless the
common people were largely excluded
| from participation in the affairs of gov
eminent.
When, by reason of widespread official
corruption and the essential weakness
of the Polish throne, the stronger neigh
boring powers partitioned Poland among
themselves, there was a great effort on
| the part of the rank and file of the
Polish people to restore their govern
ment and drive off the spoliating pow
ers. OF this movement Kosciusko was
the leader.
The real Thaddeus of Warsaw was
born a Lithuanian in 174S. He was the
son of a comparatively wealthy farm
er and he was educated as a cadet of
first partition of Poland in 1772 made
him an intense republican. and in 177f
he came to Philadelphia and volunteer
ed to serve in the continental army.
General Washington accepted his aid
| and gave him a place on his staff His
knowledge of artillery and fertilization
| made him invaluable to the Americans.
He was distinguished by his bravery OF
the battles of Saratoga and Yellow
Springs and was made a Brigadier Gen
eral, and governor of West Point.
| When the wr in America ended in
| 1853 he went back to Poland where he
lived in retirement until 1892. He then
| led an ill-starred attempt to restore
the Polish kingdom to its original boun-
diaries. This attempt failed after only
two battles and Kosciusko was exiled
to France. There the revolution was
at high tide and the national assembly
received Kosciusko with high honors
and conferred upon him the title of
French citizen. He returned to Poland
| in 1894 for the final effort to stave off
| the political death of his native land.
| Fighting against terrific odds he led
| where they had but forlorn hops. Kos
ciusko himself was wounded and cap
tured and the patriotic army hopeless
! Iy defeated.
1t was of this battle that the poet
Campbell wrote the oft-quoted line
Freedom shrieked when Koscius-
fell" But it is not true that Koscius-