The Washington herald., 1915-03-14

tion are struggling for the empire Of the
world.
""These countries are Belgium and Po-
land. The splendid help many people
have given to Belgium honors humanity.
We are not jealous of the sympathy
shown that little nation. We know that
we should have similar sympathy II the
world only knew the misery our unhappy
people have undergone and are under
going.
what is the position Of Poland? She
has nothing to do with the war. Con-
quered and partitioned, she is not one of
the belligerents. Yet a million and
half of her sons are fighting fratricidal
battles in the armies Of three different
warning states of Europe. Our country
has been made the cockpit of Europe and
devastated from end to end.
"Three-quarters of million Of our
children are fighting in the Russian army
and another three-quarters Of million
are bearing arms of Austria.
"In the kingdom of Poland alone
there are 5000 villages burned or dam
aged; thousand churches and chapels
destroyed. The homeless villagers have
sought shelter in the forests, where 1t is
no exaggeration to say that women and
children are dying from cold and hunger
by thousands daily. The children raise
their feshless arms and cry to their
mothers for bread, but the Polish mother
has nothing to give them but tears.
Poland comprises 1850 square
kilometers One hundred thousand Of
these have been devastated by the bat
Ting armies. More than million horses
and two million head of horned cattle
have been seized by the invaders, and in
the whole of the 100000 square kilo-
~ fln of he
not a grain of corn, not scrap of meat,
nor a drop of milk remain for the civil
population. The material losses up to
the present are estimated at 100000
900 rubles $500, ,OOO). No fewer
than 100000 workmen have lost their
means of livelihood.
THE state of things in Galicia is just
as dreadful for the civil population
innocent victims of the war. OF $4,000
square kilometers, all except 5000 square
kilometers around Cracow are in pos
session of the Russians. They COM
Wandered 100000 horses and about
zoo, 900 head of horned cattle and seized
all the grain, part of the salt fields, and
the oil wells. The once rich province is
desert. Over a million inhabitants have
sought refuge in other parts of Austria.
They are in sheer restitution, wandering
over the country, with nothing but the
clothes they were wearing
Russia is outstanding the country as
fast as it is occupied. In the railway
administration alone the Russians have
replaced 10000 Poles by Russians. and
as for years the Poles have enjoyed a
sort of home rule under the Austrians in
Galicia, their sympathies for the allies
are being put to very severe test by
this action. l mention this remark be-
cause it is only right that the situation in
Poland be explained impartially.
Il do not wish to make any compar-
ison with the sufferings of Belgium:
they have been too fearful for words, but
our needs touch 100000 ruined peo-
pie in a country seven times the size of
Belgium, devastated by repeated passages
of armies during the six months from the
early days of August
. Committees have been established in
America which have done much to re-
lieve the sufferings of these people. Nine.
Marcella Sembrich, famous Polish opera
singer, is at the head of the American
organization. To help her in the work
and to give Americans authentic descrip-
tions of the state of the country and its
people there arrived il New York the
other day two prominent Poles from the
devastated districts.
They are DR.. Felix Mlynarski. Phi D., and
Arthur HausDer. both Of Lemberg. Both
are distinguished men in their own land
and have international regulations They
hope to take back with them promises Of
organized relief for their suffering coun-
trymen.