should appall the world with a picture of the very Golgotha of undeserved suffering. Poland of old, it is true, had suffered much from the Eastern barbarians by reason of her geographic position. She has been a threshold through which ravaging armies would pass. But undivided and having a ready army, she could defend her integrity. But divided and unprotected as she is today, constituting of the very center between inimical nations, the huge armies of the belligerent countries have marched and remarched, pitched battles and drained the country of food supplies. Thrice the country has been shorn of its crops; thrice its cattle and farm stock have been seized by the one army or the other. Poland was looked upon as hostile to Germany; she was considered as hostile to Russia. Neither would pay regard to her welfare. The population has been dying by the thousands. Hunger has so ravaged the country as to create a new malady among the starving population unknown to medical science. It stripped the country of its children. "For every hundred births in Poland there are two hundred and forty deaths. A new malady has made its appearance in the country-the terrible malady of hunger. Its symptoms preceding death are the bloating of the body and blindness." Poland, a rich and fertile country, the very picture of wealth and plenteousness before the war, suddenly assumed the appearance of a wilderness. Every inch of ground has been trampled by the foot of the armies. "The situation in Poland is appalling, where practically the entire population today is homeless, and where men, women and children are perishing by thousands for lack of shelter, clothing and food."" "I also beseech my prayers for Poland, which never attempted a war of conquest, but always fought for the liberty of people and for civilization. She is suffering more than we." Belgium suffered no better fate than Poland. But the Belgians had at least the honor to die for their country. The male population of Poland has been compelled to fight in the armies and for the interest of their oppressors. Once Poland could 'Henryk Sienkiewicz to American Red Cross, November 3rd, 1915. 2 Proclamation by Woodrow Wilson, December 20th, 1915. From a letter by His Eminence, Cardinal Mercier, to the Belgians, November 15, 1916. have called her sons to defend her against the enemy. Today, she is only allowed to look in silence as they are being forced to engage in a fratricidal strife. The partition of Poland brought a woeful plight on the people. Never has a like disaster befallen any nation. The world is eager to understand the appalling tragedy, but it is beyond understanding. Poland was drawn into the vortex of war by reason of her usurpers declaring war against each other. Poland has no interest in the war. She was not responsible for the war. Yet she was made to bear the brunt of the war. An innocent victim, Poland has been nailed to the cross of the world war. CHAPTER XV. THE ETHICAL MORAL RIGHT. "No peace can last, or ought to last, which does not recognize and accept the principle that governments derive all their just powers from the consent of the governed, and that no right anywhere exists to hand people about from sovereignty as if they were property; по па tion should seek to extend its policy over any other nation or people, but that every people should be left free to determine its own policy, its own way of development, unhindered, unthreatened, unafraid, the little along with the great and powerful.” -President Wilson to the Senate, January 22, 1917. Will the evil of the partitions be left unremedied in the near future? Will Poland be made to continue divided? Will the Polish kingdom or republic, containing Polish elements, be not reconstituted, if only to forestall the unspeakable calamities she was made to suffer today? Will historical and political reasons not arouse the world to urge the restoration of the hopeless nation, and will moral and human reasons not arouse the conscience of the world to repentance if the Poles have not been restored their freedom? It must be remembered, now more than ever, that Poland had not fallen for lack of vitality. She possessed at the time of her partitions, a vigorous vitality which has been intensified by years of oppression. Poland has remained a vital nation-proud of its history and of its ideals— proud of its literature and of the service it rendered humanity. Poland was too proud to succumb under oppression, possessed of too much vitality to become extinct, imbued with too high ideals to lose courage, too hopeful of her future rise to become despondent. All persecutions and coercive measures to destroy her have not so much as impaired her strength. Poland has all along been a classic symbol of Right oppressed by Might, the first of all rights, for nations as for individuals, the right of living. She has stood forth a martyr-nation, beaming with hopeful |