The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1914-11-25
ANNIVERSARY OF FINAL
 PARTITION OF POLAND

This is a day Of unhappy memories for the Poles, whose native land. now divided among three great p overs, is now the theatre Of aewar which, as one of it's results, may restore Pc. IsInd to something resembling it's for xner extent and power. 1t was on fke twenty fifth Of November. 1795, ffiaE stanislaus Augustua, che last King of Poland, resigned his crown at Hrodno. ana a treaty va s signed thereby Poland was divided among Elussfza Austria. and Germany This sgns the nna1 partition Of the unfor- x41nate Kingdom, which had already lost much Of it's territory by previous partitions. Tn 17T2 Russia took Edthuania. Prussia annexed Pomer- ania and the district of the Vistula- with the exception of Thorn and Dant- ig. and Austria was given Galicia and sLzodomiria- In IT 9S the disruption of Pofand was coutint1ed russia adding Dantzig ands Thorn and tho control of the Vist11la to her possessions, while Russia took s5, GOO sduare miles of territory. having a populatton of four millions.
 # was after this second partition that the gallant Eosclusko, the great modern hero Of Polands raised the standa ara OF revolt After brilliant anu s4ccessfuI campaign he was de- feafed and taken prisoner by the EEl14G4E11As anu Nt1E44S1tA1 HIS 5 spiris, the rabslhon was quickly sup preassa The weak and futiIe King Stanis1aus was forced to give up his throne. and Catherine of Russia. Jo- seph Of Austria and Fred sriek of Prussia completed tho disEn emher- n1ert sofs the once poWerftal7 lz1ngd orn. Except for the city cf EracoWs which for time maintained it's independ- ence as a republic moi g foot of ter rftory was left free from the usurp- CTS This final partition was along lines which existed up to the begin ming of the present war.
 That the map 6f Poland is destin- sd to undergo other changes as the result of this conflict. is certain but whether it will mean for the liberty loving Poles Q mere change of mas ters or the restoration Of Poland to it's original boundaries, with political autono14ay. is yet far from being de- cided The Czar has promised to re- store Poland fo the position of semi independent nation under the Russian flag in the event of the victory of Russian arms and this promise has probably had a profound effect in in- suring the loyalty of the Russian Poles
 Poland has never forgotten-can never forget It was once. a proud. free and mighty nation, and the dominant power of eastern Eu- rope. The Pole of today, although he lights under three different flags Mnd opposes his brother Pole on the field of battle. Is animated by a conn mon devotion to that ideal of nation a1fty which was first gea1ized, in the nfnth century. by the peasant Piastus. who was elevated to ducaI rank. It was not until the tenth century that the Poles, under the banner Of Bo1esaav the Brave, achieved real in dependence and threw off the German stzeraiuty In the fiffpeenth century the Poles were the greatest soldiers Of Europe, and their very name spread terror among surrounding peo- pIes In the seventeenth century, when the hordes of Islam hacked their spay'' to the gates of Vienna, and threatened to- overrun all Europe, p1acfng the Crescent where the Cross hads Dsens in every land, it was the valiant John Sobieslxi. king of Poland, who rescued the German capital and saved Chr1stendo nnfron the Mos1em yoke Russia and Prussia were then but se1ni-barbaric and fmpotent na- tio1s, and the prophet who had pre- dfcted that they would conquer mighty Poland and dominate the con- tinent would have been branded a fool