New-York tribune., 1919-06-20
Poland;s Becoming
Her Peasant Hero

By Elias Tobenkin

now come back to Poland. Next we shall
take the majorata, then the church lands.
ana nnally we shall come to private prop
ertN and we shall buy the land from the
big owners and distribute 1t among land
less or those having too little land. We
shall appoint commission to determine
how much land each applicant should get.
Land will be given to the Individual In ac-
cordance with his needs, and when once
sold to a peasant it will be his private
property. The principle in operation in
the distribution Of land will be to give the
peasant enough land so as to enable him to
live off it."
No Theories
l asked Deputy Witos what theories he, as
the spokesman Of his (the peasantl party,
was following in his scheme for land dis
tribution, whose was the word" that was
to precede his deed?
He was helpless for moment, and the
editor of agricultural journal whom
Witos had invited to be present at the in
tervlew explained to him my question and
elaborated it. They held a rapid fire dis
cusslon for about half q minute in Galician
Polish-Witos comes from Galicia-which
l only half got, and finally he answered:
I'VE have no theories-what is the use
Of theories? We are practical people. We
want the land and we will take it. In addi-
tion to the land the peasant also needs
railroads, We shall see that the railroads
are properly nationalized. We have also
salt mountains, and we want them nation
allied"
On the labor question Witos said: eve
take the stand that it be settled in the same
manner as it is settled in the rest of Eu-
rope. We are for the eight-hour day"
Wltos being in a position to swing the
strength Of his party to the right or to ths
left is, of course, wooed by both Sides /
asked him which side his party was most
likely to make common cause with in
crisis-the left or the right. The reply
came slow and cautious.
Government Rests on HIM
eve disapprove many Of the socialization
schemes Of the Socialist party" he said
"but the Conservatives are our enemies"
When Witos takes the floor there is an
immediate silence in the house. He is the
one man in the Polish Diet whose speeches
are practically free from interruptions. He
speaks briefly and is listened to most ear
nestly. The Socialists are not sure but what
he is one of them-will be one of them in
a crisis. The Conservatives literally feed
out of Wtos's hand. Should he try to turn
his party against them the government now
in power falls instantly.
Of different stripe is the influence and
bigness of the priest Deputy from Lomsa,
Father Kasimierz Lutoslawski. Father
Lutoslawski is a brother of the famous
Sorbonne professor and philosopher, Vim
cent Lutoslawski, the author of "Origin
and Growth of Plato's Logic" Father Lu-
toslawski is one of a score or more Polish
priests who are members of the Diet. He
belongs to the National Democrats, the
party of Paderewski, and in that party he
is the leader of the ultra-Conservative wing.
Father Lutoslawski is a doctor of medi-
cine and doctor of divinity. He speaks
almost aawless English. He knows Europe
and he knows the social movements of Eu-
rope to q degree. He is of medium height,
extremely spare in body, agile and excita-
BILE. His sunken cheeks have red spots in
them of the kind one sometimes sees in
consumptives.
Father Lutoslawski is the heavy artillery
of the National Democrats. When that
party wants to repel an invasion Or to make
an onslaught the parties of the Left
Father Lutoslawski takes the floor. Some