Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-10-26

the power Of the kingdom exercised
wide influence. and at times they would
recur to the practice Of electing Pole
instead Of a foreigner. The rivalry that
the elections engendered and the presence
that it seemed to invite of large escorts
for each candidate contributed to the tur-
bulent scenes that attended every elec'
ton. These unfortunate peculiarities, to-
gether with the geographical position L
have already referred to. are the circum-
stances that made possible the partition
of the ancient kingdom of Poland.
ut cannot be denied-indeed, 1t is mani
fest. and has been always-that no people
Of Europe have had stronger in their
hearts the feeling of nationality than the
Poles. In the first place. they were the
natural guardians, because Of their geo
graphical position. of the Christian civil
ization of west Europe, and that, for a
large part of the time they We're thus sit
uate. was embodied in and represented
by the Roman Catholic Church. They
were on the boundary. where the rivalry
of the Greek and Bizantine Catholicism
manifested itself against the religion of
Rome. and never for an instant did they
Weld. The result was that their nation
atty and their religion We're completely
identified, and even in the days of Luther
and the subsequent thirty-year war the
number of Poles who became independent
or left the church to join in the new
movement was Insignificant.
Valued as Citizens.
When. then. we consider the history OF
Poland and see that, in the face of this
strongest spirit of nationalism identified
with the spirit of religion. the various
partitions Of Poland took place, we must
recognize the powerful agency that their
form of government, their political struc-
ture and their geographical situation had
in working out their mournful fate as
nation and in accepting such people as
our fellow-citizens. as constituents in our
body polite. and as amalgama-ing with
all our other peoples here we must rec
ognize and rejoice in the value and
weight Of that spirit of nationalism and
undying loyalty to an idea. that are GER
tain to make the Poles strong in the sup
port of American sovereignty and loyal
to the core. in a free country in which
they can develop all their hest traits,
and enjoy the political. social, economic
and religious freedom that they so prize.
1t Is. indeed. sad commentary on the
gratitude of peoples and nations to read
the history Of John Sobieski. the greatest
or the Kings of Poland and of the Polish
kings. and note how tine fate of Europe
hung upon the contest that he, with his
comparat lively small force. carried on sue
cessfully against the hordes Of warriors
that Islam and the Grand Turk were en-
abled to throw across the Austrian and
Polish boundaries and attack Vienna and
the other cities.
THE wonderful cavalry that Sobiesk
was able to gather in Poland. led by the
Polish nobility, and the fighting qualities
of the peasant Poles, constituted an army
which was able to meet a force ten to
twelve times its strength. and overcome
1t through its dash and solidarity. on the
one hand, and through the strategic
genius Of its great leader upon the other
THE tender letters which Sobeski
wrote to his wife. describing the victory
at Vienna, CLEAN like sunlight in the his
liable details observed by a cotempo-
raneous and interested witness. they suf-
fuse the scene with the color of the chiv-
alrous and gallant love that we like to
see manifested by one engaged in such
heroic service to mankind as that which
Sobieski performed