Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1915-03-11

Austrian Press Headquarters. = III
the first part of the month Of August
before the Austrian armies under Gen
erals Dankl and Auffenberg undertooK
their first offensive and victorious &C
ton across the frontier Of Russian
Poland, much surprise was caused Oy
the news that a division of young Pol
ish sharpshooters, many of whom had
just outgrown boyhood, had on dark
night surrounded a division OF Cos
sacks, had killed every man, had
marched as far as the city OF hlelce
and had taken possession of 1t. Many
people in Austria heard of this strong
corps of volunteers, which in the
course of the war has developed to
an important factor for the first time
when the news of that successful ex'
petition was published.
The newspapers, it is true, had
taken notice about a year before the
war. when these young volunteers had
marched past the aged emperor IN
the park of SchoenbTunn and had
shown themselves in their comely uni
forms with excellent arms in the
streets of Vienna. But it was gener-
ally assumed that they belonged to
some kind of military preparatory
school, such as exist in Switzerland,
Only very few were aware that this
corps was intended to play an i'm
portant role in the eventuality of war.
The way in which the corps was
formed was a secret, and the appear
ance of THE Polish Legion" which
has earned fame and honOrs wherever
it served the purposes of war, came
as 9 surprise to NEST people. The
history of the corps is a Teawakening
of the romance Of old times.
Founded on Hatred OF Russia.
The Polish Legion was called TO
life by a single man, whose talent for
organization was paired with viTu-
lent. burning hatred against Russia,
with the Unborn. indomitable will to
rescue his country from the Russian
yoke Joseph Won Pilsudsky-that is
his name-was a revolutionist so long
as he lived in Warsaw, one of q party
which attempted to realize the old,
never abandoned dream of a resusci-
tated free Poland.
During the revolution of 1905, the
biggest and most dangerous for Rus
STA in recent times, Pilsudsky fought
on the barbados of Warsaw in the
foremost lines of his compatriots The
attempt to burst the Russian chains
failed, like all previous efforts, be
cause the Poles were too weak to
resist unaided and alone. The result
for the leaders was a dungeon in ST
IBERIA or the gallOws. Pilsudsky and
many others escaped this fate He
managed to cross the Austrian from,
tier and settled in Gahcia, where he
found fertile field for the cultivation
of his ideals.
He decided that the Austrian Poles
who enjoy equal rights with all the
subjects of the dual monarchy, must
help him to liberate their oppressed
brothers living across the Vistula
Pilsudsky begah by addressing him
self to the very young and he sue
ceeded in waking their enthusiasm.
The Polish Nationalist and the So
cialists were the first to answer to hi:
call and their young sons and broth
ers enlisted without tarrying in The
ungschuetzen-Verein (young mems
shooting cIubsl, which he established
everywhere, Their immediate ain
was to make the young men hard.
and to teach them the use of weapons
the liberation of Russian Polant
their ultimate scope. The latter wa
never admitted officially. The Aus
trian government therefore was no
bound to interfere, not even in time
of peace.
Takes Kieioe Unbidder.
Then the war broke out. The en-
thusiastic leader assembled his force
in Cracow, and as the Polish Legion
did not form part of the army at tina
time he chose dark night an,
marched his $500 we'll armed me-
across the Russian frontier on hi
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