El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1915-06-26
.LEHBERGBEF
WiRSTHRTEDWbS
like J. S. CITY.
Had Grown From a Sleepy
Town to an Important
Commercial City.
CENTER OF TWO
FIERCE BATTLES

w WASHINGTON, D. c., June 20.
w Describing Lemberg. for whose
possession the mightest trial
Of strength of the war developed a
statement just Issued by the National
Geographic society saws
'Lemberg, under Austrian overload
ship. has been a stronghold Of Polish
national consciousness Almost unham-
pared by the imperial authorities. It has
administered. as Galicia's capital, the
last remnant Of Polish Poland. When
the Galician Diet was formed in 1851,
Lemberg had fallen from her brave
position OF the days Of the Polish King
dom. The city was poverty-crushed, IN
improved. undrained and, hence, I'M
healthy, with no schools, and, generally,
upon the verge of ruin. Today, aroused
by the Constitution Of 1866 after so
years Of hopeful effort. the tide of in
vasiOn swept over beautiful intensely
modern city, full OF fine, substantial
buildings, Of lovely, well-planned parks
Of up-tO-date, richly stocked shops, OF
excellent schools and colleges. of great
monuments and expensive public works.
The destructive tide OF battle rolled
over careful work OF two generations,
in the capture and recapture Of the city.
Like American City.
Before the outbreak of the present
war, there was no city Of Lemberg's size
in Europe, upon whose streets one
might find more alert. vivaciOus life.
The city had enjoyed q typically Am
erican boom for more than a genera
tion, and its people had more of an air
of bouyant confidence than any other
Polish community. Industries were
growing; and the commission and tram
sit trade of the city was attaining the
Importance Of this trade under the old
kingdom. From a small, bitterly poor
community, Lemberg had progressed 10
the position Of wealthy metropolis Of
200, 600 inhabitants
LemberE is POIand's Hope.
The glory Of Poland's past and the
hope Of her future are Cracow and
LemberE for il was the former that
was her capital in the yesterday Of his
tory and the latter that is her capital
today and which would be her capital
tomorrow were Polish dreams TO come
true In CracOW, the great city OF PO-
and's passt the royal palace still stands.
but II is used as a barracks and not as
the home Of a king The cathedral is
now the Valhalla OF its departed I
greatness, for there sleeps the kings
and the heroes from the Jagellons 10
Kosciuszko. Not far away is the Kos
eiuszkoberg, one of the most remark |
able memorials ever reared by the hand
II mana huge mound Of earth brought !
by loyal Poles from every battlefield |
in the world consecrated with Polish |
blood
1T is in Lemberg that the only Pc |
legislative assembly IN
existence holds its sessions, for Lem l
berg is the capital OF Galicia, and the !
Poles. both because of their shrewd I
political ability and their numerical ]
weight, control the Galician legislature I
In the face OF their rivals, the Ruthen- {
ans Of East Galicia
Rutheninn Peasants Live Hard Lives. I
'As western Galicia is the stronghold 1
Il the Austrian Pole, so eastern Galicia /
s the main dwelling place Of the Ruth Z
snian. The two races never get along 1
-ery well together. The peasant popula- I
ion Of Austrian Poland exc out a hard /
existence. In many parts Of the cOun- /
~ the peasant lives in a log hut 4
covered with straw; he breakfasts,
lines, and makes his supper Of pOr-
idge. washing il down with bad 7
brandy: and in general lives a life full
II want and empty Of pleasure. The
peasants who farm for the mobiles re-
,eive no money. in payment, but only a
hare Of the crop, often as low share
Is One-twelfth, a wage Of slow starva-
ion"