The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1917-09-12

evacuation of the territories of the former Commonwealth of Poland, which was for so many years nay centuries, so loyal and so submissive to the Roman Catholic church.
 The attitude taken by the Holy See with regard to the sovereign rights of the Polish nation assumes an entirely unexpected aspect when we take into consideration the fact that the Polish nation, suffering un- der the German occupation from starvation and deprived of their homesteads because of the burning down of thousands of villages and towns by the Russian and. the Ger man armies, managed to- forward. often depriving their half-starving children of the last slice of bread, a very considerable amount of the Peters Pence to His Holiness, the Pope.
 It is possible that in accordance with the desire of His Holiness the same leaders who started the present war will be hailed by the coming generations as splendid pacifca- tors.'' The future generations of Po- land, however, will find other appel lations for these leaders, and for those who represented Poland as a beggar deserving pity from the mighty of this world.
 We can, however, assure His Holi- ness that with great confidence and gratitude, the Polish nation ad- dresses itself to that people the rep resentative of which assumed an en- tirely different attitude with regard to the Polish question.
 The entire world has listened to the words of President Wilson, which afford no possibility of equivocal in- depreciation and which gave courage to all oppressed national.ties..
 President Wilson said among other things:
 Every people should be left free to determine it's own policy, its own way of velepoment, unhindered, un- threatened, unafraid, the little along with the great and powerful ... . No peace can last, or ought to last which does not recognize and accept the principal that governments de- rive all their just powers from the consent of the governed, and that no right anywhere exists to hand peoples arput from sovereignty to sovereignty as if they were property 4. There should be a united independent and automous Poland"
 President Wilson explicitly stated who is to determine the future con- figuration of the world by saying as follows:
 Phrases will not accomplish the result. Effective establishments will. .. :. But they must follow a princi- pie and this principle is plain. No people must be forced under the sov- ereignty under which 1t does not wish to live. No territory must change hands except for the. purpose of secur- ling those who inhabit it; a fair chance of life and liberty. And then the free peoples of the world must draw together in some common covenant, some genuine and practical cooperation that will in effect com bine their force to secure peace and justice in the dalings of nations with anothr.'
 Out of the bloody clouds of this ter ribie slaughter. emerges the new structure of the world. The present situation requires other principles and other expedients than those in use in former days. Those who Stick to form that -outlived themselves are necessarily bound to lose and to for felt their former importance.
 The leadership of the world is pass ing to that nation whose chief execu- tive first proclaimed the right of 1ib- erty and independence for all peoples.
 A worldwide peace will come only when a guarantee of these principles of liberty is entrusted to the United States of America.
 Asking Your Grace to kindly accept the expressions of our profound es- teem, we beg to remain,
 Most respectfully, for the Polish Ma tiona1 Defense Committee,
 IA Joseph zaleski, President | Stanislaw Rayzacher, Secretary.