The official report of the results and statistics of the first day of registration--that is, the list of citizens, both men and women, in the city of Chicago who registered--compels me, as a Pole, to urge my compatriots to act immediately. I have studied the records at the offices of the Election Commission of the City of Chicago for the registration day of Saturday October 3. They show that my countrymen, either because of worry about the lot of their compatriots across the sea or because they were sound asleep, completely forgot about doing their duty as citizens, which at the present time is so very important for us here in America.

The Poles in Chicago should be informed regarding two facts which stand out as warnings in the official registration records. The first fact is that less than one-fourth of the Poles, women as well as men, who have the right, and whose duty it is, to vote in the City of Chicago have shown an interest in the coming elections. On October 3, which was the first day of registration, less than twenty-five 2out of every one hundred people who have the right to vote registered. numbers recorded on the first day of registration, but the results in the Polish districts and in the other Slav districts were worse than in the districts inhabited by other nationalities.

The other very sad fact revealed by the official records is that despite the pleading and reminders of the Polish press, as well as those of our leaders, many of our countrymen who have come here from various districts of the beloved homeland registered as having been Austria, Germany, or Russia, instead of Poland.

It is extremely important for many reasons for Pole in Chicago to display their entire voting power at the coming election on November 3. In order for the Poles to show the strength of their vote it is necessary, according to the law in Chicago, to register again. According to the laws of Chicago and the suburb of Cicero (in which the Polish district of Hawthorne lies) it is necessary for every citizen to be registered on the new official list every two year, before the election of congressmen. Two days are always assigned for this new registration. This year 3they were October 3 and October 13. The first was Saturday of last week, the second will be next Tuesday.

Every citizen who registered on October 3, Saturday of last week, has the right to vote in the coming election. Those who did not register last Saturday can still remedy this by registering at the polls in their home district next Tuesday, October 13. Next Tuesday is the last registration day before the next election. The polls in every precinct will be open to serve the voters next Tuesday from 8 A. M. to 9 P. M.

Some voters think that because they voted in the primaries, or because they registered last year or last spring, their names are entered in the official records and they do not have to register. They are mistaken. In accordance with the law the old records were destroyed after the primaries. On Saturday of last week, October 3, the names of only those citizens who came in person to register were entered in the new records. Every citizen must register next Tuesday October 13, if he has not registered on the first registration day, October 3, regardless of how many times he may have registered before or in how many elections he may have cast his vote.

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Here in free America our votes as citizens now are our weapons. At the present time we must increase in every possible way our influence and strength in Chicago, as well as in other localities. Therefore the greater the army of countrymen taking part in the elections in Chicago and other localities, the greater will Polish influence be in official circles. The greater the number of Poles voting with the citizenry here, the stronger the influence we shall exert, whether it be in matters concerning our brethren and our nation across the sea or whether it be in matters affecting public opinion here in America. Further the more proof we offer that we are taking part in civic activities here and that we recognize the importance of participating in elections for the good of both the Country and the people, the greater the support which the cause of Polish independence and freedom will receive in the negotiations which will follow the present war and the greater will be our chance of success. The power and influence of the Poles in America depend in a great measure on the number and the active use of Polish votes, among which the votes of the Poles in Chicago occupy a very important place.

Furthermore, the settlement of all sorts of issues relating to the personal affairs 5of our countrymen residing in this country, such as their occupational opportunities and the achievement of their goals, depends on the strength and number of the Polish votes in Chicago as well as in other localities.

Dziennik Zwiazkowy, Oct. 12, 1914.

In Chicago especially, our countrymen have an important duty to perform. Recently the Poles have made an appreciable advance in entering national politics and public offices. In order to keep the posts which have been won in the past few years it is essential that every Pole, man and woman, who has the right to vote take an active part in the coming election. In order to do this one must register next Tuesday, October 13, if one's name was not entered in the official records on Saturday October 3.

Every Pole in Chicago is well aware of the fact that worthy Poles are running for office as candidates of various parties and they deserve the support of their countrymen regardless of party affiliations. Polish candidates cannot expect victory 6without the active support of the votes of the Polish men and women on election day. Without the registration of all Poles in Chicago, both men and women, according to the law, the Poles cannot at the present time show their strength and influence. If the Poles do not display a greater interest in registering next Tuesday, October 13, than they did on the first registration day, which was last Saturday, they will cause great loss not only to our Polish candidates but to all of our people in general outside of Chicago as well as here in Chicago.

In order to indicate the strength of the Polish vote, all Polish men and women who were born in Poland, when asked about their birthplace during the registration, should answer definitely that they were born in Poland. Regardless of whether a Pole was born in Poznan, Cracow, or Warsaw, when registering he should clearly state that he was born in Poland. The annexer under whose domination a Pole was born need not be named if the Pole wants to be entered in the records as coming from Poland.

I cannot understand those of my compatriots who live in purely Polish neighborhoods 7in Chicago, bear names which since the times of their ancestors have been characteristically Polish, were born in our beloved Poland, and yet request that they be registered as having been born in Austria, Germany, or Russia. The present Election Commission, as well as its predecessors, has definitely decided many times that the election judges and clerks making the entries in the records must enter the place of birth as the citizen, under oath, declares it to be. For example, if a Pole born in Poland declares that he was born in Poland, he must be entered in this way on the record. No one has the right to ask him in what part of Poland he was born; he need only answer that he was born in Poland. The Irish, whose country is ruled by England, have the same right to register as having been born in Ireland, and we must admit that it is a rare exception when an Irishman allows himself to be registered in any other way.

Every Pole should remember that if he allows himself to be entered at registration as having been born in Germany, Austria, or Russia, he unjustly increases the numbers indicating the votes of the Germans, Austrians, and Russians and at the same time decreases the numbers officially indicating the Polish voters.

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Poles born in America are entered as native American, but every person born in Poland should always definitely demand that he be entered as born in Poland, not in some other country. If an election judge or clerk should be found anywhere who through prejudice wants to enter the name of the annexer nation rather than Poland as the place of birth, it is the duty of the Pole not only to protest but to inform the Election Commission, which will take up this matter. In order to avoid mistakes or to make it less easy for those unfavorably disposed toward as to enter our countrymen as having been born in the countries of our annexers, let every Pole born in Poland simply state this fact clearly. If you came from Silesia say you came from Poland. If you came from East Prussia, Poznan, or some other place under German domination, say you came from Poland. If you were born in a village or town in any section of Poland under Austrian rule say, "I was born in Poland." Furthermore, if you were born in Poland under Russian domination, say no more than that you came from Poland. In this way the statistics of votes will indicate that there are more Polish voters than there were hitherto and few Austrian, German, and Russian votes.

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This matter is of great importance to every true Pole. I sincerely urge all whose voices can influence our compatriots who are going to register next Tuesday to make an appeal either tomorrow or Monday in regard to this most important matter. I am certain that if attention is emphatically drawn to this duty of every Polish man and woman the result will be such that it will open the eyes of both our friends and our enemies.

In closing I sincerely request that every Polish man and woman consider the importance of taking part in civic work and of voting in the coming election. To do this in Chicago it is necessary to register next Tuesday, October 13, if one's name has not been entered in the new records on Saturday October 3. I also ask that everyone please tell his friends and neighbors of the importance of being entered as having been born in Poland instead of the annexer countries. Let everyone remember that, if he should fail to do his duty in these respects, he will have on his conscience the weakening of Polish influence and the defeat of his compatriots, who deserve his support at the next election, for the good of all and for the future of the Poles.

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Respectfully,

(Signed) Anthony Czarnecki,

Secretary of the Election

Commission for the city of

Chicago and the Suburb of

Cicero