The Hartford herald. [volume] (Hartford, Ky.) 1875-1926, 1921-02-23
CITY OF TRAGEDY
Warsaw for Centuries Victim Of
Oppression.
People Of Polish Capital Have Borne
Persecution Bravely and Laughed
In Face Of Death.

Some picturesque anecdotes concern
ing Warsaw, at present the center of
world attention, Its progress In SCI
ence, arts and letters. is contained In
a recent bulletin Of the National Ge
ographic society.
Warsaw" says the bulletin, "is to
Poland what Paris is to France. No
other people, In all the worlds history,
has borne oppression so bravely and
gloriously as the Poles. except the
Jews. The vivacity, the gayety and
the quick wit Of warsaw's people is a
constant reminder Of Paris. All this,
too, IN a city where the most gruesome
tragedies have stalked.
"As recently as the years Of our own
Civil war the Russian army moved
down thousands Of men and women as
they knelt In the snow, singing their
national anthem. Deportations are an
old story In Warsaw, every effort ct
naturalization was followed by
slaughter. and hundreds marched the
long trail TO Siberian exile.
But Polcnd's spirit" continues the
bulletin. became q synonym for the
indomitable. The success Of the Rus
sification Of Poland has been described
as the process Of keeping 100000
Poles pinned TO Russia by bayonets.
Politically non-existent. for even Pc
lands name was expunged from all
official records. the pre-war Warsaw
Wed with world capitals in science.
particularly medicine. in manufacture
ing, 10 trade, and In literature.
Though Warsaw betrayed none OF
the grimness characteristic of Rus
sian cities. reminders Of her hycOne
glories and tragedies were to be found
even before the World war restored
her autOcracy. In the Lazienki gar
dens Is a monument 10 John Sob
ieski, who stemmed the advance Of
the Turks In Europe. a figure as pic
turesQue as Paderewski. who now sees
his land q barrier 10 Bolshevisms
westward spread. II was in lGS3 that
q Turkish force had thrown itself In
crescent formation around Vienna.
The eucampuCnt was no less threaten
ing because /, rcsembled a circus rath-
er than 4 siege, with its herds Of cam
els and luxurious tents and baths and
parrots within and fountains without.
Mighty events often hinge on s!en-
der circumstances. Soh!eski hesitated
because LeopCui, AusTri3's emperor,
first declined 10 address him as his
majesty But Soh'esSi'S hesitation Is
said 10 have vanished when he learned
that the French ambassador had writ
ten 10 Louis XIV. who rather hoped
for the worst for Austria: Don't
trouble yourself Sobieski is too fat
TO sit on horse aud fight. The 'fst
man rode his charger into the thick
of the fight. helping hew his way TO
where the Turkish grand vizier stood.
and after the battle handed one OF
that dlgnitary's stirrups TO an aid
with the command: Take II 10 the
queen and tell her that be g whom II
belonged is defeated and slain
"Other cities have lost their polit-
zeal importance, and held their heads
high because of 8 proud past. but War
saw. prosecuted as IL was. has a high
ly important economic present. In
normal times IL was the geographical
center Of Europe, the focal point for
rail shipments from Russia and Asia
10 western Europe, even though the
actual western terminus Of the Trans
Siberian railway was az Moscow, and
its location Oh the VistulG gave II a
place on Europe's inland waterways
comparable 10 that Of 81. Louis on the
Mississippi. rs output Of shoes, met
al articles and cotton makes It's prod.
uct sound like that 81 q busy New
England city, and It's long commercial
arm even reached out 70 drop half a
million dollars worth of beet sugar
into America IL those different days
before 1914.
"Warsaw takes pride In lis theaters,
that for the Polish drama and ballet
being an especially beautiful building
with TWO theaters under one root In
artistic dancing Warsaw is pre-emi-
nent; the ma7urka and the polonaise
being two Characteristic steps. Its
university has a notable book collec-
ton and many scientific specimens"