Dziennik Chicagoski. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1890-1971, 1915-03-24

H SPRAW POLSK|CH " PRASIE AMERYKANSK|EJ.
$4,000, 900 POLES RENDERED
DESTITUTE by GREAT CONFLICT
IKE Belgium In the west Of Europa POlan

In the east In the battle ground between the
L. armies Of Russia and the Teutonie allies.
Worse than Belgium, however, Poland has
been fought over many times a. the battle lines On
the eastern front have Swaysd back and forth.
The dssOlation Of that Etrir Ot Flanders that has
been battered pieces BY the shot and ahs Of both
Eides along the User river marks the condition OF
the greater part Of Poland lying In broad sweep
west, southwest and northeast Of Warsaw.
The ruin wrought BY war IN King Albeft's eoun-
Try has affected 100000 people In Poland twice
that number have bean rendered destitute Not less
than $4,000 villages have been laid WastA burned,
or damaged in Russian Poland alone The loss in
properly has besn estimated at S5ooooO,O ,Ooo but
may reach double that sum
In 0Glic1 the conditions are reported to be equally
appalling though the nnashup has not bean 40 COM
plste becaSss the Russians have been able to main
tain their poSitisnS more permanently than they
have In the district west and northeast Of the Polish
capital
Not even the satisfaction Of fighting Sor principles
Of national sxiStencs has been the lot Of the PoleA
They have BEEN absorbed iato The armies Of Ger
many, Anatrs, and Russia, and have been sent
against one another In the trenches While the
United States has been sending aid to the amount Of
s21 100000 to Belgian, and England and France and
the neutral countries Of Europe have been contibut
ing food and supplies to King Alhsrts people Poland
has Tsesiyed compa1aHTsly little Its isolation has
been almost complete.
Early In the war there were hopes that out Of
the smash OF Smpires there would evolve 8 new
Poland PstFpgraa wsS reported AZ lsn4ing will
1n&a auf
been little heard from any source that this once
great nation might again become political entity.
In the latter part Of the eighteenth century Po-
land extended from the Balhe to the carpathisns
and the DnisSber river on the south and from
point about eighty miles east Of Berlin to west Of
the Dneipsr river in Russia It included at the
height Of It's power an the territory In the basins Of
the warta, ViTtulA. Dwina, Dneiper, and upper
Duiester rivers and had under It's sway, besides the
Poles proper and the Baltic slavs the I4thuanians,
the White Russians, and the Little Russians or
Lithuanians. .....
The accompanying maps snow the kingdom Of
Poland in the latter part Of ths eighteenth century
and the effects Of the various partitions that ex-
tended from 1772 down to 1s48 when the last Of Its
power was absorbed by Petro-rad. The bounda-
ries Of the divisions Of Poland taken by Prussia,
Russia and AuBtris, and as they are held today
except as changed by power Of invading armies,
we're fixed by the congress Of Vienna IN 1873
By far the greater portion Of the old Polish ma
ton now lies within the confines Of Atussia Galfcis
was Austria's share Posen and the western portion
of East Prussia fell to GermIuy or Prussia, and
all the remaining territory TO the car.
En@oe Tn kha
conflict, the unhappy Poles found themselves i'm
pressed into the armies Of these three great powers
and Ashtns against their racial brethren. That
meant brother was 10 fight against brother and as
the stress Of the war increased aud tho age limit
was raised to 80 years and even higher, nearly
every able bodied Pole was impressed into Serysce-
Almost the first move Of the Russians at the out
break Of hostihtes was 10 invade Galida. This
brought with It instantly al the horrors Of war.
Embracing a. it does a large share q the grain
growing district Of the Polish peoples the dsvaSta-
ton Of Galica meant suffering for not only that
province but for Russian Poland as well. The crops
had only been partially harvested BY August
The panic Of war stopped the work In the fields,
even where the peasants were not compelled to nee
before the invader. The men were called to the
colors and the crops were allowed to rot in the
fields Numerous towns were sacked.
The advance to LemberS BY the Russians was
Euift. In the panic that followed this great city
Of 100000 had scarcely 10000 left when the in
vaders took possession. Families were broken up;
none Of tn. refugees had time to take supplies or
clothes ~
Germany's first move against Russia came from