The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1922-05-25
Is YEARS SAVINGS
ROBBED BY SOLDIERS
Miss Magdalene Polatchek, Cousin of Michael
POIatchek, KenOshan, Has Grievous
Experience in Hungary.
STORY OF HARDSHIPS AND CRUELTIES
Visited Parents Death Bed and Loses Niece and $1,000
Trying to Return to Her Home in America
Starved Eight Months.

A tale of gruesome hardsh1ps, star
vation, suffering indignities, heaping
:ruelties-all the epithets of fateful
injustice to defenseless woman are
found in the story of Miss Magdalene
Polatchek, of Chicago, now visiting
ler cousin Michael Polatchek, TAB Free
mont avenue. 1t is the story of her
lying trip to Czecho-Slovakia to see
ler dying father and mother before
hey left for the Great Beyond.
Magdalene Polatchek, comely
7oung lady of about thirty-fve sum
mers, has all the aspects and charac-
seristics of woman past sixty as
result of her experiences in Hungary.
Her hair, formerly brilliant auburn,
has now turned gray; her features
The outstanding charms of a beautiful
Czecho-S lovakia maiden-have almost
disappeared, and in their place they
have left nothing but the hard lines
of constant suffering.
Seventeen years ago Miss Polatchek
took a position as a domestic in the
home of Senator Francis E. Warren, at
Cheyenne, Wyoming. Little did she
realize that fifteen years later her for
mer employer was to mean so much to
her in her fight for her freedom.
Worked to Reach Goal.
For fifteen long years Miss Polat-
chek worked in the home, steadily put
ting aside a certain amount at inter
walls which she hoped some day would
take her back home to her parents in
Czecho-Slovakia. Came the war. Let
tiers from home became fewer in num-
Der and less optimistic in tone The
father and mother gave way before the
low standard of living in the little OPP
pressed nation, and when the war was
finally terminated they felt that the
end had come. A letter was sent to
the daughter in America to come to
the old home at Liditz.
Fearful for the worst, Miss Polat-
chek gave up her work and with $1,000
her fifteen years savings-she left
for Philadelphia and Europe. On De-
cember 2, 1919, she arrived in Copen-
hagen from which place she went i'm
mediately to her home country. She
arrived at Liditz just two weeks be-
fore the death of her father. Two
months later the mother followed. and
the bereaved daughter turned her way
back to America.
Forced Niece to Remain.
The only other relative in the old
country was a niece living in an or
phans home in Budapest. She hurried
there and made known her desire to
bring the little girl to America with
her, She discovered that the orphan
age had resorted to the use of saw
dust mixed with the dried vegetables
served as the only meal of the day;
that no child wore more than one piece
Of clothing, and no shoes; that babies
were fed cocaine to keep them quiet,
and many other evidences of bad care.
Her efforts to get release of the
child from the "prison" were unavail-
ing-the iron-bound rule of the home
being that no child could be removed
after having lived there five years!
From Budapest the young woman
went to Vienna-not, however, after
considerable difficulties in getting
passports, etc Her greatest msfor-
tunes overlook her as she left the rail
road station in Vienna for France.
Had Queer Regulations.
A few miles out of Vienna, in the
little Experimentation of Bruk, all
the passengers of the train were taken
to a little three-room building on
which were emblazoned the coat of
arms of the Hungarian government.