The Washington herald., 1921-03-13
MULTIPLICITY OF POLISH
PARTIES BARS POSSIBILITY
OF UNION; AIDS CONSPIRACY
Normal Political Activity Precluded by For
nation Of Many Factons, Says Writer.
By ARTHUR RUHI.

By ARTHUR RUHL.
In one of the chapters, on Poland
In his The New. Eastern Europe"
an English writer. Ralph Butler,
tells an imaginary tale Of three Po-
lish tailors, assistants who, meet
ing by chance one night on New
York's East Side. formed before the
evening was over the Young Polish
Party Of Union and Freedom and
arranged to hold a .Pan-Polish Ma
tional Congress next day.
As each one wanted to have the
Congress held. in his room and none
would yield. there were long nego-
tiations-during which each re-
mained in his own room-at the end
of which It was finally decided to
leave the dispute unsettled in prin-
ciple but to go ahead and hold an
inaugural meeting Of the conveners
of the Congress in Sasimir's room
and the Congress itself at Stanis-
laus'.
The congress was a great success.
All resolutions were passed unani-
mously and the restoration of the
ancient kingdom of Poland was pro-
claimed. but on the following day
Stanislaus and Timko each received
a note from Casimir announcing his
secession from the party and the
formation by him of the National
and International Polish Progress
sive League.
BY the following Saturday. how
ever. Casimir and Stanislaus had re-
combined in the Group of Polish
Statehood and Political Work, Stan
islaus having discovered in the
meantime that Timko's mother was
a Ruthenian and both being deter
mined that Timko should be kept in
his place.
A Faithful Analogy.
Mr.. Butler's story is an allegory,
but IL could be matched many times
over in tha history of the gallant
and idealistic but quarrelsome and
Poles. Something of
the sort will have occurred to al
most any foreigner today who ar
rives in Warsaw for the first time
and starts in to locate himself In
what seems at first the inextricable
hodge-podge of Polish parties and
"orientations."
The Poles have always been in
dividualists in their politics. 1t was
true in the days of the old kingdom.
when any noble. with his "Liberum
veto" could block any measure of
the Polish Diet, and when the more
powerful magnates had their own
retinue of followers and not infre-
quently conspired with foreign
powers against their own govern
ment.
Something of the same sort was
shown In 1s16-at any rate, so the
Central Powers thought when
Pilsudski. whose Polish Legion was
fighting with Austria at that time.
suddenly withdrew his men from
the front. 1t was revealed again
last summer when Mr.. Dmovski.
leader of the National Democrats,
withdrew to German Poland at the
moment that the Bolsheviks were
threatening Warsaw, and there
began the organization of an army
which he called a reserve and his
enemies called a traitorous con-
spiracy to overthrow the Pilsudski
government.
This tendency to differentiation
has been encouraged, of course, by
the Partitions, which not only di-
vided the Poles, but kept them from
normal political activity and COM
PEELED them to conspire, often, IL
they were to have any political life
at all. But there is something
Polish in it as we'll.
Lack Team, Work.
The Poles seem to lack that in
stinct for team work--or, IL you
prefer, that fear Of non-conformity
the free-born American ma
jority exhibits when II jumps on
the neck of anyone who differs
by hairs breadth from what the
majority considers correct; or
which. permits. for instance, Ray
mond Robins or William Allen
White. year after year in spite of
occasional means, to bend their
proud necks to the yoke of the Re-
publican party. -
the Polish Diet, or ''Seym," a recent
list OF which. as supplied by the
Polish foreign once, included the
Polish Peasants party-the most
numerous In the Diet and the party
of Prime Minister Witos-the Peo-
ple's National Union Hncluding the
National Democrats), National Peo-
pies League. Socialist party, Ma
tional Working party, Christian
Democratic Club, Club of Deliver
ance. Club of Constitutional Work.
Citizens Club. Radical Peasants
(Stepinskis group). Catholic Peo-
pies Club (Matakiewicz's group),
Jewish and German members, and
several belonging to no party.
The Peasants party, nicknamed
'fP. s. L., has IS OF the 3s5 seats.
There should be about 525 deputies,
but elections could not be held in
all the districts. for various reasons,
and in those neighborhoods where
no elections were held. the former
Polish deputies to the Austrian and
German parliaments were called to
the Seym.
Mr.. witos. as pointed out in a
preceding article. would be called a
farmer" in America. rather than a
peasant" and the "P. S. L." repre-
sents the interests and point Of view
of the small landowners. II origin
ated in Galicia and Is strongest
there. They advocate a one-chamber
Diet-a National Congress, without a
Senate, that Is to say-and rather
radical agrarian reforms.
Middle Ground Party.
The Peasants party is regarded as
a r,,iddla ,rornd nartv nf tbo go