The Washington herald., 1919-02-03

Paris, Feb. New nations-and old
ones, too-dream OF greater power
with each passing day.
Unless the Peace Conference gets
down to the business OF settling with
Germany and fixing the boundaries
for people set free. it will take more
than a peace congress TO accomplish
the task.
Poland is born of the war. Poland
was once a mighty nation. She had
been juggled by European powers till
nothing remained but a national con-
sciousness-a desire to be a nation
and a few subject provinces.
But Polish ambition is growing, and
with a government established and an
army in the field she looks to the
boundaries that once were hers.
Hungary is making vigorous protest
against Polish advances in GaliCia.
Germany objects to claims to Posen
and DanZg but hesc objections count
for little. Ukrainians and Lithuanians.
the latter once part of the Polish en-
pire. contest Polish advance on the
East: the former in Gallcia, the latter
about Wilma.
The region i'm which the Polish peo-
pie are in greatest numbers COM
prises 1000 square miles in West Rus
sia. Austrian GaliCia and Posen, West
Prussia and Silesia, but to the East,
to the north and to the west. over an
area of 10000 square miles. Polish are
mixed with non-Polish peoples. so
that it is hard to tell which are in
greater numbers.
1t is this that makes it hard to fix
the boundaries of the new Poland
Russian Poland. before the war.
had a population OF 800 O0O,o in
its 1900 square miles. of which
n per cent were Polish. while. in
the Lithuanian provinces of Kovo.
Grodro and Wilma and in White Rus
sia and the western provinces of the
Ukraine but per cent of the &c. .Oo0. .00o
were Poles.
Poles in Germany.
In Posen. Germany. 81 per cent of
the population were Poles: in West
Prussia, s. per cent; in East Prussia,
Il per cent. and in Silesia, 2S per cent.
These provinces form Prussian Po-
land, with a population of 100000. s.
per cent Polish.
Galicia and Austrian Silesia form
Austrian Poland. the former i5 per
cent Polish. the latter 81 per cent.
Their population was $4,000
In Russian Poland the Polish form
the aristocracy and the peasantry of
the country. while the middle class,
the tradesmen, are largely Jewish and
German.
In Lithuania, White Russia and a
large part of the Ukraine the upper
classes are almost entirely Polish.
Wilma, over which Polish and Lithuan-
ians are fighting. is nearly so per cent
FoliSh. and Minck, on the further lin
its of the old Polish Empire. is 25
per cent Polish.
In Prussian Poland the Poles are
distributed through all classes of So
ciety. chiefly in the country districts.
which are 20 per cent Polish. But the
city of Posen, where Germans and
Polish now clash, is more than half
Polish.
The Poles of Silesia, mostly peas
ants and miners. are just awakening
to the old race consciousness.
GaIicia's Position.
Western Galicia is the ancient
Poles are in greatest numbers in
all ranks, except business. where
the Jews are most numerous.
Eastern Galicia. where Pole and
Ukrainian now clash. was ruled
by the Poles for more than 800
years, and LemberC. tho capital city.
is now more than half Polish in pop-
ulation. while but 10 per cent arc
Ckrainian. Poles and Ckrainians
are in nearly equal numbers in
GAlicia, but in opposite ends of the
province.