Evening star., 1938-04-10
Economic Plight of the
Mother of Sorrow
BY FREDERIC J. HASKIN.

the foundation of the United States.
There have been erected at the National
Capital statues TO Count Pulaski, who
played An important part In the var Of
the American Revolution. and to Koscius-
zko, the Polish patriot. Gen. Krzyzanow-
ski is represented by a memorial at Ar
lington National Cemetery Some half
dozen towns in this country bear the
name of Pulaski
Also, Americans being incurable senti-
mentalists the somewhat tragic history
of Poland has always attracted the peo-
pie of this Nation. Because Americans
have had similar struggle for their lib
erty, the unsuccessful struggles on the
part OF the Polish people have invited a
particular sympathy. There have been
many hundreds of thousands of Polish
immigrants here who have formed Pol
ish-American societies The artistic his
tory of Poland is fairly well known to
many Americans especially in the fields
OF music and literature
Finally, 1t was Woodrow Wilson, who.
In large part, was responsible for the
creation of the present Republic of Po-
land. 1t is wholly possible that had it
not been for the firm position he took at
the Versailles Peace Conference there
would be no independent Poland today.
That the Polish people entertain this
idea is suggested by the circumstance
that not long ago monument to Presi-
dent Wilson was erected at Warsaw, and
the widow of the war President was in
Vited to be present at the unveiling cere-
monies as the guest of the republic. She
went and was received with every mark
of honor.
With such ties existing. it seems natu-
raj that Americans should be concerned
with what is going on in Poland today.
All is not well in that storied country.
Malthus. the English economist and
reformer laid down the dictum that pres
sure OF growing population on food sup
plies would bring about the most serious
social consequences in Great Britain
Never, he said, could food production
keep pace with the increase in popula-
ton. That theory has proved to be wrong
in the United Kingdom and almost
everywhere save, perhaps, in parts Of the
Orient. Nautilus wrote before the indus
trial revolution, or near its beginning
and did not realize what a difference
farm machinery and labor saving devices
would make in the volume of food pro-
duction.
Today and since the World War one OF.
the great world problems has been over
production Of foodstuffs This has been
50 especially true in the United States
that policy Of destruction was adopted
by the New Deal administration.
In contrast Poland presents picture
closely akin to that which Nautilus
painted. There, increase in population
is pressing hard upon the means of sub
sistence for a number of reasons, some
political and some natural.
For the last decade or so the popula-
tion has been increasing with great ra-
pidity. The number OF people has grown
from about 100000 to 100000, and
1T has been estimated that there are
100000 more people in Poland than the
country can find subsistence for.
Before the World War the Poles who
dwelt partly under the Russian, partly
under the German. and partly under the
Austrian flags. were in better case mate
rally, although they always chafed at
their lack of independence. What once
was kingdom which extended from
the Baltic and the Rhine to the Black
Sea had been partitioned as the result
OF war after war until the once great
state disappeared. There was steady
emigration, reaching, for long period,
figure averaging 10000 a year. Some
moved westward into other parts of Ger
many and the Austro- Hungarian empire
and, as many as could manage to do SO
came to America.
Now that has stopped. and, especially
during the worst years of the depression,
there was an inward movement greater
than the emigration. Many who had
departed and were out of employment
thought that if they were to starve they
would rather starve in the homelands.
Since the period of European dictator
ships it is not easy to leave any country
nor to enter any country. Germany:
Austria, Hungary and Italy did not want
any Poles and the United States had its
stiff immigration quota. Moreover, things
grew so bad that very few had none
to leave. Their currency had depreci-
ated and wages had been cut from IS to
so per cent.
Poland traditionally has been an aeri-
in the hands of great landlords. Indeed
the peasants have continued to live unde.
remnants of feudalism in spite of the new
independence. Most Poles know nothing
but farming. To illustrate, France. which
is an agricultural country has A persons
to each square mile of its farm Lands
while Poland has 49, French farms are
not large. but those relatively few which
are owned or leased by peasants are tin
patches from which it is almost irnpo-
sible to wrest living.
*
Distress has been and remains acul,
Even when peasant raises a good crC
on his little patch his landlord como
along and takes half for his share and i
followed by the tax collector who takes 4
substantial fraction of the rest.
Government efforts have been made t.
increase industrialism. Poland has Ion
had city industries, chiefly textile mills
Ten years ago 100000 people were en-
ployed in these mills while now 8,0O0,OO
are so employed. But their wages for
week would scarcely equal a days wage
in an American sweat-shop. and. anyway
Poles do not like factory work They are
lovers of the land; they want to till the
soil and bring forth its yield. !,
A good deal of anti-Semitism has o.
veloped in Poland because so many Of
the impoverished farmers as well as fac.
tory workers are heavily indebted to Jews
This is an old, old story in Poland where :,