Bisbee daily review., 1915-10-01
RUSSIAN POLES IN
DISPAIR over LOSS
OF VAST TERRITORY
Fall Of Warsaw and Loss Of
Western Poland Has Distress
sing Effect on inhabitants;
Lose Faith in Russia.

/ STOCKHOLM. Sweden Sept 90
Whatever military strategists may de-
eide is the actual importance of The T
/ Russian loss 1f western Polani &C |
I.he fail of WARSAW, by the Poles |
themselves It s egarded as nothing |
bu the bittarcs. tragedy. Six mCE1Ls |
ago. the Russian Poles, in spite of
their losses and sufferings and the |
complete devastation of the most |
productive portions of their country |
still chung hopefully to the promise
(which Russia had held out to them at |
1.-THE beginning of the war. But with the |
gradual encroachment of the German
Ia.mies. this assurance has wavered
not so much because they doubted
Russia's good faith as because they
questioned her ability to enforce the
Grand Dukes proclamation With
1.-THE loss of the Polish capital, it may
be said that this waning hope which
alone lifted Russian Poland out Of alb
solute despair, has expired
An Associated Press correspondent
talked with representative Poles of
all classes from the aristocracy to the
lpeasantry, as they fled from Warsaw
to interior points in Russia. The up
permost feeling was one of ill-concesl-
led resentment against the Russians.
In the recent retreat from the region
around Warsaw the Russian army,
having learned a lesson from LODI.
where the resources of the city were
converted to German use, decided up
lon e policy of destroying all property
arori whose use by the Germans there
lwas the slightest question. 1t was
hardly to be expected that the Poles
homeless, pauperized, and without any
idea of where or how they were going
Ito live. would preserve a judicially
.calm view of this action by the Rus
sian army. Explanations regarding
"strategical necessity failed to i'm
press men who had just seen their
own home RACED by the Russian army
and had received printed proclama-
Itions the very phrasing of which they
considered an insult. This proclama-
ton is brusquely stated that Polish
cattle and men must Immediately
leave the regions along the front for
points in the interior"
These wretched persons said that
THE Russian soldiers in their Jealous
execution of the orders they had re-
ceived, had left nothing behind them
except a blackened and SCARED land
scape whose very soil was ruined.
Polish resentment has been increas-
ed by the reports of Germany's offer
Of peace to Russia, according to The
terms of which Russia would cede a
marrow strip of Poland in the neigh
borhood of Kalisz to Germany. In
this settlement. say the Poles, Rus
sin would lose nothing and Poland
would lose everything for this would
bring Germany one step nearer to her
plan of Germanizing the Vistula
which would mean the death of Po-
land as a nation. It seems that Pc
land is not only to be the chief suf-
feTer in the war but that she is 10
constitute the prize which Russia is
ito pay to Germany"
In view of the present geographical
. boundaries of Poland and the state of
Polish feeling, the continuance of the
session of the Russian-Polish commits
/ sion appointed by the Emperor to con
/ slider the question of Polish independ-
, ence has the qualities of tragedy and
} farce almost equally combined. The
J commission has apparently come to a
D deadlock, since the kind of independ-
ence which Poland wants and the
D kind which Russia sees fit to offer are,
e if not directly opposed, at least so re-
a moe from each other as to have
little i'm common.
81 can see little hope of an agree
Imelt between the Russian and Pol
ish members of our commission"
| said Roman Dmowsky, the Polish
chairman of the commission and form
or leader of the national democrat
party of Poland, in tatement to Tha
4 Associated Press
| ~ Rave been asked by the Russian
| Emperor to give my views regarding
| THE Polish government of the future
| and I would be insincere and 'Mpie
| pre- sentative of my country if / modi
| fed them to suit the Russian members
Of the commission. If a compromise
I is necessary, it is certainly not my
! duty at this time to suggest it. You
! may be assured on one point POLAND
! .wiu never be satisfied without a prop
| er degree Of independence"
! Asked to explain his idea of a prop
! er degree of independence Mr.. Dmow
! sky said:
! 81 mean a Polish legislature with
| both houses wholly Polish, complete
! financial independence, and the enc
| Of Russian officiadom in Poland. This
! is a concession Russia will never car,
i to make, for Poland has been a mos
u inviting garden for exploitation b!
] Russian officials
4 1T is the presence of Russian ad
Il ministrative officials which we fn'
Il particularly intolerable. Polan
knows that she can never realize he
ideals as a progressive nation whill
II she is being held back by a primitive
eastern civilization. Our civilization
~ a. a ,r,,.t,.rs, of,rflf9.ffor, ,rd 10 r,thfoc