Father F. Szukalski, pastor of the Polish Church at Beaver Dam, Wis. delivered the following speech at a large Polish hall in Chicago on May 3, 1891.

"Every Pole believes it an honor to love his fatherland. Love of fatherland-that glorious phrase which thrills the heart of every Pole. It awakens all from the slumber of indifference, it revivifies every one who retains a spark of life.

"In our history, love of fatherland in written into the blood of our noblest countrymen. Our ancestors spared no sacrifice--they forsook their homes, renounced the pleasures of family life, property, friends, freedom, even life 2itself, to endure the hardships of war; they did this because in their hearts burned the holy flame of love for the fatherland.

"If every native Pole cherishes such love for the fatherland, how much more should we, the exiles, who have lost our beloved fatherland through separation. In the words of our immortal poet Adam Mickiewicz:

'Oh Lithuania, my country, like life thou art;

How dear art thou to one's heart

May be realized only by one

Who lost thee, and thy beauty.

I see and desire to sing, for I long for thee.

"No enemy has ever designed a method of persecution, no tyrant has ever invented a system of torture, no murderer of our brothers has ever conceived of an agony so profound that it could tear out the love of fatherland from 3the heart of a true Pole.

"Russian deputies separated our families, imprisoned and tortured our countrymen, exiled them to distant Siberia but could not extinguish the spark of patriotism.

"Countrymen! Love of fatherland is a sacred love which God has implanted in the hearts of men, and which no human power can destroy.

"No matter how sacred, or holy, or noble a thing may be--a corrupt individual can distort it in order to pursue his own evil designs.

"Unfortunately, this expression, love for the fatherland was so misused.

"Let us recall our history previous to May 3, 1791, since we are celebrating today the one hundredth anniversary of that historic day. We remember that those who waited impatiently to tear Poland apart, those who sought to 4betray our fatherland for revenge, those who for profit and for protection of their own interests, delivered Poland into the hands of her oppressors, did so under the guise of patriotism; all of them proclaimed their loyalty to the fatherland. Hugo Kollataj, a Polish political writer of that period, says that they fought for priority in infamy; one tried to outdo the other in the sale of the fatherland.

"Poninski, Branicki, Karr, Frederik II, Catherine III, Empress of Russia, all posed as patriots--and all of them were plotting the partition of Poland.

"Today as we commemorate the significant moment when our nation recognizing its weakness, made desperate efforts to purge itself, despite insuperable obstacles, in order to regain the road which might lead to power and national glory, we should remember the reasons for our country's dismemberment-- our fatherland, once powerful enough to decide the fate of Europe, and of 5Christianity. We should consider and analyze the pretexts employed by the enemies of our country for its destruction.

"I cannot present a complete picture of all the causes and all the means employed, because it is beyond my power and the amount of time at my disposal. I will point out only the most important facts, that we may learn our lesson from them.

Dziennik Chicagoski, May 5, 1891.

THE SPEECH OF REV. F. SZUKASKI

(continued from previous issue)

"General knowledge of ancient history, especially of one's native country, has always served as a guide to nations in times of uncertainty.

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"J. Lelewel, a Polish historian, advises all of us to study the history of our country in order to avoid the pitfalls of our ancestors, as well as to profit from the deeds of our illustrious countrymen through knowledge of their achievements.

"Let us familiarize ourselves with our history, above all with the reasons for our downfall that we may avoid a repetition. Let us know the perfidy of our traitors that we may abhor their infamy and never similarly debase ourselves. Let us acquaint ourselves with the machinations of Poland's enemies and the pretexts used to disguise their evil designs that we may not fall prey to their insidious strategy. We should know also the glorious deeds of our true patriots, who worked always for the betterment of our fatherland, and who spared no sacrifice, that we, encouraged and enlightened by their example, may equally serve our oppressed fatherland. That Poland was once a powerful country, capable of ejecting invading armies, and protecting her people, is an historic fact. That Poland in the course of time lost her power, became weak, 7and was finally enslaved by neighboring powers is also a fact written in the annals of European history.

"What caused this change? What factors contributed to the stripping of Poland's defenses and placing her in bondage?

"The causes are many and detailed. Some of them, however, are basic, out of which all others proceed quite naturally.

"Our famous orator and patriot, Father Skarga, says: 'As our bodies die of internal and external diseases, so do kingdoms fall through domestic disturbance. They too have external enemies who seek to destroy them through wars and invasion.

Poland also, had internal weaknesses and external enemies.'

"The internal weaknesses crept into the vital organism of the country and 8undermined it while hostile powers contributed to its downfall, not by conquest, but by assisting the spread of the internal disorder, not by superior force, but by preventing the cure of the destructive disease.

"What do you think was the basic domestic reason for the fall of Poland? Was it internal unrest? This factor is surely responsible for many of the misfortunes of our fatherland, but it did not undermine the very foundation of its life. Was it the oppression of the people by the nobles? This oppression weakened the country, but it could not dry up the streams from which the life of our nation flowed. Was it the egotism of the Polish magnates? This hindered our national development, but it did not deliver a mortal blow to our fatherland.

"Discord, oppression of the people and egotism of the magnates contributed to the weakening of our fatherland, but they are not the basic cause of its fall.

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"What then is the real cause? It is unnecessary to name it for every Pole knows it well.

"The downfall of our fatherland was caused primarily by the apathy towards the Holy Catholic Faith and disregard of its teachings.

"I am convinced that broadminded and unprejudiced people who know the history of our country recognize that the downfall of our nation was caused principally by the decline of the Holy Faith.

"Some individuals might say that the decline of faith in Poland is a secondary issue having little connection with its downfall. To these people, faith is always a secondary issue, a thing without special value or significance. I am afraid that they may accuse me of using this solemn moment for religious propaganda. I wish to say to them that my purpose today is to present historic facts.

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THE SPEECH OF REV. F. SZUKALSKI

(continued from previous issue)

"Let no one think that this is my personal opinion. Our silver-tongued orator and great Polish patriot, Father Skarga, who took an active part in public life, who know the weaknesses of the Polish government and realized the dangers threatening it, expressed the same opinion. He can hardly be accused of partiality or prejudice since he lived almost three hundred years ago. Here is his opinion expressed at the opening of the Fourth Polish Congress.

'This Polish Kingdom is founded on the principles of the Holy Roman Catholic Church. It has stood for six hundred years upon this foundation. Thus, it worshipped Christ and believed in His Gospel; thus it respected its spiritual advisers, was obedient to them and to the Holy Teachings; thus, it grew into a great country allying itself with many nations; thus it resisted 11its enemies, and became known to the neighboring powers. This old oak grow in this manner, became strong and no wind could uproot it, because its root is Jesus Christ and His priests. If you undermine this foundation--the old religion and priesthood--the whole structure of the country will be weakened, and downfall will follow.'

In another place Skarga says:

'If this kingdom will serve the Church of Christ, He will elevate it and deliver it from any danger, but if it abandons the Church and its service, it will perish.'

"To those who say that these convictions are obsolete, I reply: glance at the history of our nation, observe it through many centuries and notice when this nation was powerful and when it was weak, when it stood at the peak of its glory and when it was on the decline. You will see that at the time when Father Kordecki, armed with the crucifix, stood at the head of 12Christians defending the fortress of Czestochowa, Poland arose victorious just at the time when her doom seemed imminent, for powerful Christ delivered it from danger. You will see that when Jagiello led his countrymen into the Church of Christ, Polish boundary lines were expanded and the nation grew stronger. You will see that after Sobieski had led his army into the temple of God and together with his men humbled himself before the Lord and had strengthened himself with the bread of life, he attacked the Turkish forces, defeated them, saved Vienna and Christianity from a horrible fate and made Poland famous throughout the world.

"On the other hand you will see that when heresy and apostasy visited our fatherland, when heterodox men denied Christ, created new gods and idols, presented them to the nation as symbols to be worshipped and defended, when heretics began to scoff at the teachings of the Catholic Church and blaspheme against God, then began the downfall of the nation. You will be convinced 13that when these heterodox men, who formerly had betrayed God and their conscience, began to demand confidence, respect, and official positions in the Polish kingdom, discard and rebellion began; the country could not resist the invaders and its boundary lines shrank. When dissenters, after betraying God, treacherously applied for protection to Poland's enemies and opened her doors to invasion, Poland, weakened by the internal dissension, could not resist, and groaning with pain fell into bondage. The Polish nation became an object of laughter and ridicule.

"The history of our country indicates that our nation rose to greatness and power when her people served God by respecting and observing the Holy Catholic Faith, that when the people began to abuse the Holy Faith, repudiate the church, and allow heresy to grow, the happiness of the nation dwindled and the strength of our fatherland decreased--finally Poland was crushed and obliterated from the map of Europe.

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"I will speak briefly about the Polish dissenters. Those who betrayed the Holy Catholic Faith in Poland by joining the Protestant Church were called dissenters. The Poles, seeing these people abandon the vows made at the holy baptism, lost confidence in them and removed the from public office. The people had another reason for distrusting them. Morawski, whom no one can of prejudice, says the following: 'Polish dissenters must admit that they earned their dismissal from public offices by their own conduct--by allying themselves with the enemies of the country.' Whoever wishes to sympathize with the dissenters must realize that Poland was a Catholic country, and that the dissenters were newcomers to it. As such they should have contented themselves with that which the government was willing to give. What is more, it is apparent that no one ever persecuted dissenters in Poland. They held their religious services and no one tried to force them 15to adopt the Catholic faith. In other words, Polish dissenters fared better in Poland then in other Catholic countries, and incomparably better than Catholics in non-Catholic countries.

"The dissenters were not satisfied with fair treatment, they wanted power. In the pattern of King Frederick of Prussia and Catherine, Empress of Russia, they wanted to persecute Christians of Catholic faith. When their plan was frustrated they applied for help to Poland's worst enemies betraying our fatherland by furnishing Frederick and Catherine with an excuse for intervention in Poland.

"The method of electing monarchs and the policy of 'Liberum Veto' constituted another seed of dissension which contributed to Poland's downfall. Because of the system of eligibility, the death of a Polish king was a signal for all kinds of disturbances. Every magnate had his favorite candidate for the throne whom he tried to elect by fair means or foul. Consequently the country was divided into factions which fought each other. This created discord 16and disorder--brought injustice to the country and weakness.

"The question of a king's eligibility created dissension not only among the Poles but among neighboring powers. When a king died, neighboring countries sent representatives who supported their own favorite. These representatives gave more than more verbal support. They used bribery, encouraged drunkenness among the electors, affiliated with one or another faction and went so far as to call for military intervention.

"Thus regal eligibility divided the country into factions and permitted the entrance of foreign troops who persecuted the people. It gave neighboring powers too much influence; quite often a Polish king cared more for the country which supported him than for indigenous Polish interests.

"The evil caused by this system of monarchial election was continued further by the policy of 'Liberum Veto,' a privilege granted to every member of the Polish Diet. This privilege gave him the right to break up a parliamentary 17session by saying 'Liberum Veto,' I object, thereby destroying all constructive measures passed by that legislature. 'Liberum Veto' placed the entire country at the mercy of one man.

"Neighboring countries realizing that they needed only one disruptor at the Polish Parliament in order to obstruct legislation, did not hesitate to employ these means to the detriment of Poland. They used to bribe members of the Diet and thus gain influence. Such contemptible wretches were Poninski, Rzewuski and others. There was no order in Poland, and the Diet was helpless despite the aid given by the noble patriots since the paid agents of Prussia or Russia could always defeat them.

"The third internal cause of Poland's downfall was the lack of education among the nobles and the lower classes. This lack of education became a weapon in the hands of those who desired to destroy Poland. Ignorant masses were easily misled, and the voters unaware of their country's real interests sold it out to those who paid more for their votes. The nobility, whether 18they cared for their country's welfare or were merely protecting their own interests, obeyed their masters' orders. Thus Poland was divided into as many quarreling elements as there were magnates and wealthy nobles.

"These weaknesses created an unhealthy situation in Poland; however they were not as bad as conditions prevailing in other countries at that time. The support given by the majority of the people, and the heroism of the patriots more than made up for the weakness in the governmental structure.

"The nation, from sad experience, realized that foreign governments had overpowering influence in its own government; it knew also that the germs of destruction must be removed or the country would be annihilated. And so the nation began to strengthen its governmental structure. Honest patriots sought to remove the system of regal eligibility, to abolish the 'Liberum Veto,' and to educate the people.

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THE SPEECH OF REV. F. SZUKALSKI

(continued from previous issue)

"The Polish nation recognized its weaknesses, realized the dangers threatening it, and wanted to rectify the situation. It had men of great ability; Kollataj, Malachowski, Potocki. It had ardent patriots; Rejtan, Korsak and Bochuszewicz. Such a nation could have regenerated itself and would undoubtedly have done so.

"But to mankind's eternal disgrace and the damnation of all Europe, this regeneration was prevented by the three monarchs who at that time disgraced the thrones of Europe. Frederick II of Prussia, Catherine II of Russia, and Maria Theresa of Austria.

'These three constituted a Satanic trinity, opposing the Holy Trinity, a mockery of all that is sacred.

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'Frederick, whose name signifies a "friend of peace," was Satanic in his constant pursuit of war, although he had the audacity to mock Christ by calling himself the "King of Peace." Frederick tried to make the old order of knighthood an object of derision by creating an evil fraternity called the "Order of the Black Eagle." He gave this order, a Latin motte "Suum Cuique," literally, to each his own. The members of this order were Frederick's servants who robbed and plundered.

'Catherine, whose name means "purity" in Greek, was a most impure woman, although like shameless Venus, she called herself a virgin, Catherine called a legislative council apparently to make a mockery of it, since she corrupted the laws and destroyed the rights of the people.

'Thus Catharine announced that she was protecting freedom of conscience while at the same time she forced millions of people to change their religion.

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'As if to mock at humility and holiness, Maria Theresa, who bore the name of the most meek and immaculate Mother of our Savior, was a proud she-devil who carried on a war for the purpose of conquering a foreign country. She was ungodly, although she prayed and went to confession because she enslaved millions of people.

'The names of these three, Frederick, Catherine and Maria Theresa, are three blasphemies; their lives-- a series of criminal acts.'

"These three saw Poland's weakness and decided to enrich their countries by robbery. When they saw that Poland was overcoming her weakness, they sought to prevent it. When that plan failed, they contrived to partition the country into three parts, for thus it would be easier to keep her in bondage.

"What means were used to destroy Poland? Did they attack her by force? No, they could not do that for the Poles would see the danger, cease their internal strife, and unite to repel the enemy. Our enemies decided to avoid 22this. They devised a plan by which the Poles themselves would effect Poland's destruction.

"During the absence of a monarch and before the election of King Stanislaus August, there were, the usual disturbances in Poland. This was a splendid opportunity for the Russian Czarina and the Prussian King who already plotted the partition of Poland. Whoever knows anything about this intrigue must admit that such infamy cannot be duplicated in the history of the world.

"The Poles were divided into factions; hostile neighbors hired agents to encourage discord and insurrection, or at the very least to ensure the election of a candidate sympathetic to the interests of a foreign country at the expense of Poland.

"Stanislaus August, a favorite of Catherine, Empress of Russia was elected as king. As was expected, Russian influence became stronger every day.

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A conference was held at which bribed members of the Polish Diet granted Catherine the right to protect Poland. Under the threat of bayonets, the dissenters were given equal rights. Those members of the Diet who opposed these measures were seized and exiled to Russia by the Czarina.

Dziennik Chicagoski, May 11, 1891.

THE SPEECH OF REV. F. SZUKALSKI

(continued from previous issue)

"The Czarina had been looking for a pretext which would allow her to dominate Poland. She meddled in Poland during the election but that ended with the coronation of the king. She tried to promote an insurrection in Ukrainia which would justify the entrance of Russian troops into Poland, but the plan failed. Hark, whom she had sent to Ukrainia for insurrectionary purposes, 24could not accomplish anything.

"But now she had a pretext which would last until Poland was partitioned--the alleged disorders in Poland. Accordingly, the Czarina sent Repnin to Poland to establish order, or rather disorder in Poland. He had a hundred thousand Russian soldiers in Warsaw and he knew how to handle the situation. For some he had Rubles, honor and distinction--for others violence, bayonets and knouts. Those who opposed Russian rule, were dealt with in the fashion of the Cossacks; those who tried to reform the government or improve the conditions were either exiled or discredited in the eyes of the ignorant nobility. If anyone advocated the abolition of 'Liberum Veto,' he was accused by Russian hirelings of trying to establish an autocracy and eliminate the privileges of the nobility. The ignorant people believed these agents. Whoever proposed a hereditary throne for Poland was decried by Muscovites as a traitor trying to deliver a free kingdom into the hands of a tyrant, as a betrayer seeking the enslavement of free citizens, and so on.

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"But Catharine was supposed to be the personification of all that was essential for the welfare of Poland. 'On demand of the Poles' she accepted the difficult task of Poland's protectress and announced that she would not tolerate any one who opposed liberty in Poland. She defended the system of Polish monarchial eligibility which opened the way to the throne to every noble, and permitted every magnate to support his candidate. The Czarina defended the policy of "Liberum Veto,' since it gave every member of the Diet an opportunity to accept graft.

"The duped Poles believed these slanders and lies, and through insurrection helped their enemies to destroy the fatherland.

"The behavior of these enemies of Poland was a complete fraud. Proclaiming their pride at having become the "protectors" of Polish independence, they plotted its overthrow. Declaring firm patriotism, the traitors secretly bargained with the enemies of Poland to obtain a large reward for their perfidy. Frederick and Catherine who persecuted Catholics in their own 26countries, posed in Poland as the protectors of dissenters.

"When the Russian soldiers in Poland began to exceed themselves, the Poles awakened to the treachery of Catherine and Frederick. A conference was held for the purpose of adopting a plan to save Poland, but it was too late. The enemy was too powerful. The country was surrounded by enemy forces, and the nation could not unite itself for action. There was no leader, and dissension reigned throughout the country.

"Furthermore the Russians had succeeded in stirring up an insurrection in Ukrainia and Wolyn, and then attacked Poland with a great army. About a hundred thousand Poles fell at that time; the nation was horror-stricken.

"Such were the blessings brought by Frederick and Catherine to Poland. They would have destroyed Poland completely but Russia's war with Turkey intervened.

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"Thanks to the Russo-Turkish war, the Polish nation again raised its standard of fidelity to God, of liberty and equality for which it endures exile and imprisonment.

Dziennik Chicagoski, May 12, 1891.

THE SPEECH OF REV. F. SZUKALSKI

(continued from previous issue)

"Now the question arises, What did the history of our nation teach us? What did the treachery of our enemies teach us? The misfortunes caused by the system of the eligibility of kings and the policy of 'Liberum Veto' will certainly be of value some time in the future when Poland is reborn.

"Our history furnishes other valuable lessons. It reveals the fact that the decline of faith was the basic cause of Poland's downfall. Early in 28its history Poland was protected from the German invasions by the Roman Catholic Church, and from that time on our nation was closely identified with that Church. Our enemies destroyed Poland under the pretext of protecting those who had repudiated the Roman Catholic Church. The Catholic faith is so woven into the Polish nation that whoever attempts to separate nationality from faith will distort his ideas of nationality, and lose his faith.

"Our history shows that the lack of education among the people was one of the names employed by our enemies to destroy Poland. Unenlightened masses could not distinguish between a patriot and a hypocrite. Citizens should know their duty towards their country. Only when our nation returns to the Church and brings forth great men will there be a regeneration of Polish nationalism and a resurrection of Poland."