The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1919-03-18

wv As saas'ssr.s %a's Oh r 'a' :.
it stood before the first parti-
ton in 1913 is provided in the preiih'-
nary draft of the peace treaty, dispatches
state
The heroic and tragic history OF 70
land and it's people, is described in the
following bulletin from the National Geo
graphic society based on communieas
ton from Dr. Edwin A. Grosvenor:
.The restitution of a reunited Poland
to it's loyal common people Will De
among the worthlest achievements OF the
allies.
SITUATED between the upper milestone
| of Prussia and the neither milestone OF
Russia, and at the same time subjected
! to lateral pressure from Austro-HunSa-
! ran armies, the land of the Poles during
the world war suffered devastation when
| exceeds the imagination of those VINO
| have notaectually witnessed the3 scenes
| of rapine. pillage, conflagration ana
wanton destruction.
| Next to the Russians, of whom they
were long the rivals and foes the Poles
are numerically the most important OF
the Slavs They first appeared in Great,
or north and Little, or south, Poland
in the tenth century, where they found
other Slavic tribes in possession. The
wise policy of their kings early induced
ihe whole nation to profess Christianity
| -"Of medium size, with round heads and
healthful faces, the blond more common
than the brunei their physical appear
ance has apparently changed little. The
| working classes, who constitute nine
tenths of the nation, have always been
iaborious, frugal enduring, temperate
rather than abstemious, and intensely
| patriotic Those qualities distinguish the
thousands of Poles in the United States.
Their szlacta, or mobiles. have shown
themselves impetuous, brave to rashness,
ichivalrous, insubordnate, emotional, ar
sistic.
During the formation period Poland
was consolidated by the dynasty of the
great Lithuanian. Jagellon. the Polish
/, Wadislaus Ia succession of princes un
| surpassed in conductive ability. Union
with the I.ithuanians doubled the popula-
| lion and the natural resources. Together
they crushed the Teutonic knights al
| Tannenberg in 141o and half century
later at HE peace of Thorn pushed them
east of the Vistula. The Polish lands on
the Baltic, together with Danzig and
Marienberg were recovered. The Duchy
OF Mazovia, of which Warsaw was the
center. five centuries independent, volun-
tarily joined the Kingdom which a few
years later spanned Europe from the
Baltic to the Black sea. The Reforma-
ing a German origin, only for time
disturbed the country.
THE advantageous situation of the
Kingdom the admirable qualities of its
icommon people, and the development a.
ready attained, seemed to assure the
state.
yet disappointment meets us on every
lpage. The brilliant passages are episodes
without connection or result. Now here else
is so much valor wasted The chasm was
always widening between the mobiles and
1.-THE common people. The people paid all
1.-THE taxes. The mobiles. all equal, pos
sessed all the wealth and power, bu'
had no sense of obligation or response
Utility. Intrepid in battle, they were ready
to fight for the country only when SC
inclined.
| 81 anf
sarchic in the extreme. Succession to the
lpowerless throne was elective. native oil
foreigner alike eligible. Each election
was an orgy of turbulence apd bribery
Twice the throne was put up at auction
The hberum Veto established in 16s,
whereby the nesative vote of single
member of the Diet nullified any act o.
| all the acts of all the rest. eliminated
the anarchy and eventually broush
about the destruction of Poland.
!; yet the criminal follies of a privileged
} class in no way excuse or palliate tn
iniouity of the three partitions of Pc
land in 177S, 1898 and 1895 by Prussia
Russia and Austria. 1t must be notet
THAT the first partition was confirmed b,
the Polish Diet, in which nearly all tn
members accepted foreign brides.
1.-THE belated heroic resistance of Kos
ciuszko. of handful of mobiles and o
, !, the Infatuated common people glorifie
, the fall of the state which some histor
, iians. confused by the farce of election
lstill call the republic of Poland.
by these partitions Russia acquires
1871 COO square miles of territory Will
100000 inhabltantt Austria 4''oo sapar