The Washington herald., 1915-08-15
WARSAW HAPPY
Until THE LAST
Polish Capital Ate Candy
Munitions and slipped Tea
Under Bombardment.
WRITER TELLS THE STORY
Sloane Gordon Says City Was More
Interested in Willard Johnson
Fight Than War.
BY SLOANE GORDON.

spent April. May. and part of June
in Warsaw.
Many prominent yarsoyians had
then moved their families to Mo..ou
ana other interior cities. Tn. Ir,f,sd
states consul. fernando de Soto tan
American with Spanish name. an
i'aiah ancestry, and a Russian wife,
seriously contemplated sending his
family to Petrograd.
a giant Democlesian sword has hune
over warsaw for full year. bur tbe
lhcomprehensible Poles haven't an.
peared to be aware of it. at least no,
nerves. VA ''e''
In fact. the Havana prize dab, m.
peared TO me TO create FAR more IN
terest in the Polish capital when tbs
announcement of the Willard success
came over the wires than did the h, T.
thing in the Carpathians.
now 40 you account for the appar-
emf Indifference of the people % the
war l asked Polish merchant.
II isn't Indifference" he answered
Is satety. We have been In the
nne OF nre Tor SO long that nothing
much matters now. We have ceased "a
worry" "
The whole history of w,rs,v h..
oeeh one OF strife. II has Been a bon,
OF contention through the ages Fo,
io2 years II has been n Russian nos.
session. decidedly dissatisfied AMI
sullen Russian possession. II has heer
dreaming of the time when POLAND
might be free and the kingdom OF
"nlch Poniatowski was the last ruler
might come again into its ancien. own
purlns the century Warsaw has been
oathed and rebathed in blood. After tn.
great insurrection of 1881 Russian Mich.
olas constructed the citidel along the
Vistuia and announced TO the varsoyian.
that II was designed to rae their civ 70
The ground on the occasion Of the next
outbreak
There were other outbreaks periodical.
~. however. eliminating in the rebellion
Of 1891. but each was put down without
destroyinS the city of nearly 1000 0r
souls But thousands of Poles went to
their death on Russia's order. The racial
cohesion-Slav lined up with Slay In
common war upon the alien Teuton-
mas augmented a brotherhood that
thousand years of iron rule and re-
presslve law could never have done
aught but make impossible As for the
immense Jewish population, is that not
always loyal to the environment under
which IT lives?
Wherefore. IL may be safely said that
Warsaw. under her lanSuid surface. 10
intensely favorable to the success OF
enlisted in the Russian army. But the
way Of Warsaw under fire is what
astounds the visitor.
Manufacturing Center.
The city is a great manufacturing cen.
ter. There are iron and steel mills,
sugar refineries. harness and leather
20
plants Of immense Importance located
there lack of raw material forced
some of these to shut down as early
as last November. This caused distress
among the working classes. The devas-
tation of three-fourths Of Russian Po-
lsnd-hrst by the Germans and then by
the armies Of the Czar-resulted in tens
Of Thousands Of refugees being driven
into Warsaw
The capture of the coal mines Of Po-
land by the Germans and the lack OF
OF wood Threatened the capital with a
fuel famine in March-a calamity that
was only averted by the arrival Of the
warm weather of spring.
An epidemic of scarlet fever taxed the
health authorities to capacity. Other
outbreaks of contagious disease. includ-
ing some cholera and many cases of
typhus. added to the burden.
Wounded soldiers from the firing lines
were brought into Warsaw by the thous-
ands.
There were over 5000 destitute Cen
tiles and probably a similar number OF
destitute Jews dependent on Varsovian
charity in May.
At one time there were not less than
80. 900 wounded soldiers in the several
hundred permanent and temporary hos
pitals.
The sound of cannonading could be
heard in the streets Of Warsaw for
weeks during the nights Of the late
winter and early spring. and even as
late as May.
Day after day hostile aeroplanes cir
cled above Warsaw and dropped bombs.
people were killed on one
occa sion by the explosion.
The Warsaw of daytime was to near
the end OF Russian rule, lively. bust
ling, modern. business-like, up-to-the-
minute community that makes a visitor
from the west blink his eyes and wonder.
There are excellent stores. The florists
shops are especially attractive. Flowers
In profusion could be purchased at very
low prices The windows Of the big de-
partment stores are elaborate and are
changed daily by expert window d. esssrs.
Wersaw has a sweet tooth and there
are numerous candy stores, every one OF
which displays candy cartridges, candy
shrapnel shells, sugar bullets that look
ike the real thing. chocolate cannon, for
.ressss Of carameis, even candy figures Of
soldiers In trenches with candy aero
planes circling above and dropping choc-
plate bombs. That epitomizes the War
raw spirit.
Your varsovian loves to loll in . cafe
and sip tea and eat sweet cakes. There
are ornate cafes on every prominent
street and these are usually crowded
TO capacity by O'Clock .. m. with Q
buxsing. gossipins, typically Polish
throns.
Crowds At Race Meet.
The usual spring race meeting in May
Juns brought out Warsaw In all her
finery to strut and parade. and. Incl
dentally watch the ponies run.
The night life Of the city war has in
deed changed. The wine and vodka
parties that turned night into day have
along with the cheering cup
that was put away by royal decree. The
water wagon is a stern reality.
Moving picture shows run full blast.
they advertise war Aims and John Bun
ny. and ell ths old American favoritss.
The city wss under martial law, OF
10 challenges. except on the bridges
spanning the vistula-
wsrsaw u . womsn's town. and the
capable and energetic women Of the
Of them wealthy and
.itlsd-literally ran II. One OF their
was the establishment OF
20 soup kitchens TO feed the homeless.
In short. Warsaw has taken the war
ike city used,to sisgss. Three times