New-York tribune., 1921-02-14
p Paderewski
Back i'm U. S.
For Long Rest
Ex-Prernier of Poland and
World Famous Pianist
Will Go to- Ranch i'm West
TO Regain His Health
Viselike Grip Is Gone
Says Piano Is Closed Chap
ter i'm His Life; viii
Give No More Concerts


q Give No More Concerts
Ignace Jan Paderewski, formerly
4 3-emIrr of Poland and world famous
4 pianist, came back to America yester.
81 day on the French liner France ir
search Of rest Five strenuous years
4 of war and reconstruction, he said. hac
= put his vitality to severe test. He is
: worn out and hopes that in the quiet
4 seciusion Of his ranch at Paso Robles
= in San Luis Obispo County, Calf, he
Z may regain his oldtime vigor and give
himself again to the service of his be-
! loved Poland.
Paderewski did not look like a worn,
out man. His outward appearance did
not denote the way he felt. Were il
not for his own assertion that he must
rest to carry on his work at home, his
friends would hardly credit the reports
from Switzerland that his health had
suffered by his untiring efforts to re-
store Poland to her place among the
unfettered nations of Europe.
has Changed Little
In appearance the Polish statesman
has changed little since he was last on
the concert stage. He is sixty-two
years old, but he looked more like q
man of ffty-fve. Little of the white
was apparent in his fluffy shock of
tawny hair. His face. which always
wore a pallor, seemed fuller yesterday
but on it were lines that come from
troublous days. He seemed, too, to
be more massive as the statesman than
he was as the 1.-THE pianist of ten years
ago. His voice had lost none Of it,
warmth and softness and his move
ments were as agile and graceful as
ever.
His iron hand, however, had lost its
viceike grip which some folk thoug t
bespoke the WEAKNESS which he said
had brought him here for rest
One of the ship news reporters who
remembered we'll the crushing hearty
squeeze of his kandshake remarked
after the Premier greeted him yester-
day that he had braced himself for q
shock that did not come. Some one
said that the mighty hand of the peace
time pilnist had become more soft and
gentle because it had forsaken the ex-
ercise of the pianoforte for the less
strenuous art of diplomatic handshak-
ing.
Paderewski looked every inch the
statesman that he is. He was in no
hurry TO leave the pier, despite the
urging of group of friends who
sought to screen him from the hun
dleds of we'll wishers that surged about
him. He had smile for every one
and responded with mastery brevity
Ito every sentiment that greeted him.
Cheered by 1000 Persons
When it came time to go away g
great shout came from beyond the
customs barrier, The Polish Premie,
feard it, and, lifting his hat, walked
slowly toward the throng of well
wishers, AS he moved through the
passageway past a thousand persons
not all of them Poles-he was cheered
until the door of his motor car hid
him from public view
While the France was steaming up
the Bay Paderewski, as is his custom
walked out on deck to greet the news
paper men who went down the Bay to
meet him. He chatted pleasantly for
a while, empha ASKING the great moral
debt which Poland owes to America
and then turned interviewer him self
asking about affairs in America.
Then one in the group about him
asked casually if he had heard of the
death of James G. Huneker, the noted
American critic and pianist, who died
on Wednesday while the France was or
the Atlantic.
What is that?" he asked. James
Huneker dead? can't believe it. Poor
Jimmy. A great man gone. He was
my very dear friend. 1t is terrible"
Concerning Poland and her future
the eX-Premier said:
81 am very happy to be here. Fully
twenty-five of the best years of my
life were spent in this country. I have
come here for rest, but the first worl
before me before I seek the quiet O.
my place in Paso Robles is to expires,
TO America the profound gratitude, tn,
/. deep-rooted appreciation Of the Polisl
s. people for the part the United State
81 has played in Polish restoration. 1
VI S the United States which has made /
possible for my country to be indepen
dent In expressing this sentime q
myself l am voicing the feeling Of tn
= entife Polish nation"
Paderewski said he had heard sine
his arrival of a report of sort o
peace between Poland and the Sovie
government of Russia, but that h
could not speak authoritat lively on tha
subject.
Piano closed Chapter
when l left Poland" he said, "ther,
were 100000 Bolshcvik troops at ou,
border, and peace at that time wa
problematical, If a peace has beer
signed, as reported to me, Poland will
treat the Bolsheviki as loyal neighbors
"lt is my impression, however, tha
this matter will need time for a propel
working out. I shall remain in New
York at the Hotel Gotham for q short
while, and before depart for the Wes
l will make public statement regard
ing Poland and the great feeling OF
affection and gratitude she holds fol-
the United States"
Asked IL he contemplated the posi-
bility of concert tour of the United
States after he had rested in Cali
fornia, the ex-Premer shook his head
"No," he replied "With me the
piano is a closed chapter of my life
I have had many splendid offers for
concerts in the United States, but /
shall not accept them. have not lost
my devotion to music, but that part of
my time will be used in composition"
Paderewski it is understood, will re-
turn to Europe in time to attend the
meeting of the League Of Nations In
September,
He was at his estate in Morges,
Switzerland, In August, 1914, when the
World War started and his home was
turned over as haven for Polish
refugees. Later he came to the United
States as q representative Of the Polish
Relief Committee, which he had organ
ICED with Sienkiewicz, Polish novelist,
and sought aid for Poland. Subse~
nue0flv with the hacking of the Polish