Evening star., 1923-01-04
Poland Making Rapid Strides
To,uard Complete Recovery
Miss BidIOnOsvska
Tells of Progress
iTt Education.
Wor',e', Play In,Por-
ta7at Part in
affairs.

| 1t has been customary for the worlt
in general to look upon Poland as ar
unprogressive country because of the
constant state of oppression which that
! nation has suffered for years. Yet this
I is far from true, according to reliable
statistics quoted yesterday by Miss Ella
! Bialonowska, who, although brought ur
| in the United States, was born near
Warsaw and has been back to her ma
| tive country many times since.
Poland was the first country to real
ize the national duty to provide educa-
tional facilities for every child" said
| Miss Bialonowska, land in 1873 the
Polish diet created a national educa-
ton committee. thus establishing the
first board of education in Europe and
even in the world. OF course today.
since that dreadful war. we are having
a struggle to restore our former stand
ing in education. but we are doubly de-
termined TO advance conditions in our
educational system. We have in Po-
land. just as you have in the United
States; summer schools, night schools,
recently established correspondence
schools, and an increasing number of
schools where the practical arts and
sciences are taught
Hard TO Get Teachers.
Poland has 25. 900 elementary schools,
721 secondary schools, and 204,S04 stu
dents in 231 state schools. There are
$4,000 students enrolled this year in
Polish universities and the polytechnic
institutes of Lwow and Warsaw were
unable to meet fully the demand on
them for enrolment last fall. Although
we have compulsory education in Poland
for those under twenty-one years Of age,
the increasing interest of all young
people in sports may do away with this
training. The minister of war of Poland
has been quoted as stating that Poland
will lessen the period of military service
required according TO the development
of athletic interests
The land of Paderewski. like the
United States. is having problems all its
own in regard to training sufficient and
efficient teachers for its schools, in es-
tablishing home rule in its cities. in
planting trees in the public parks, in
child welfare work and problems of
population.
John Dombski. a leader of the
'Piast or Witos party and head of the
Polish delegation which negotiated the
Treaty of Riga with Russia in 1921. has
stated that Poland's population will ex-
ceed 100000 people in 1871" said Miss
Bialonowska. land even now Poland
ranks sixth among the European nations
in population. There are sixteen more
births than deaths among every 1000 in
Poland
Women Have Vote.
Poland is also progressive in its privi-
leges extended to women. for they have
had the vote in Poland for some time
However. Miss Bialonowska says that
there Is much feeling against women in
politics in her native country.
You know. the women and girls of
my country have never worked. except
the peasant classes, until the war de-
stroyed so much property and left many
families absolutely destitute" said Miss
Bialonowska. Then, many girls who
otherwise would have led life of lei
sure had to go into all kinds OF trades
and professions TO fill the gaps left by
the men. Now there are schools which
teach women skill in handicraft work
and we have women studying law,
medicine and other professions just as
you have in this country. The newest
concession granted to women of Poland
is the opening of the Mining Academy
Of the University of Lwow to women
during this year. Now it is possible for
women to study this course with men
and receive the degree Of mining engi-
neer. An experimental school estab
lished at Kielce gives three day courses
in home economics for women, includ-
ing lectures on sanitation, child-bea
ing and economic housekeeping. The
cost of the complete course is 500
marks and the living quarters cost 100
marks per day. The total cost of the
full course and living quarters is equiva-
lent to twenty cents in American
money.
Women Plan Farley.
THE Polish women's organizations
are uniting in big convention to be