The vice censor of the Polish National Alliance has expressed his opinion about that organization. According to him, the lodges belonging to the P. N. A. are not allowed to make any decisions without the consent, or rather without the will, of the central board of that organization.

Is this in reality the opinion of each separate lodge? And do sensible members of the P. N. A. share that point of view? The near future will tell.

As soon as the program of the three-day celebration commemorating the Polish Constitution of the Third of May, arranged by the Polish Roman Catholic Union was announced in Dziennik Chicagoski, a very severe criticism of our article appeared [in the next] issue of Zgoda.

Every part of the program--the three-day celebration, the memorial service for those who sacrificed their lives for the Fatherland, the plan of holding a general Polish conference--is represented in Zgoda as a farce, an act of treason, an infamy, a disgrace and a deception.

On the other hand, neither the organ of the P. R. C. U., Wiara I Ojczyna nor Dziennik Chicagoski, supporting the three-day celebration, criticized one point of the celebration arranged by the P. N. A. for the second of May. Angered by this lack of criticism, Zgoda suspected that their celebration would be branded a "masonic rabble."

In view of the first fact mentioned, let the sensible members of the P. N. A. (if the vice censor's statement does not hold for them) decide who behaved patriotically, who showed more fairness.

Let us mention another fact. Some P. N. A. lodges sent their delegates to Rev. V. Barzynski last year to arrange a general celebration in honor of the 3Polish Constitution of the Third of May. A conference was held at which Father V. Barzynski's remarks provoked those delegates and later angered the lodges to such a degree that they refused to come to an understanding with the P. R. C. U. societies or to negotiate with them. Immediately Zgoda attacked Rev. V. Barzynski. Quite naturally the attack aroused the indignation of the societies which respect Father Barzynski as a patriot and exemplary priest. This of course made a reconciliation almost impossible. At that time, that is after the return of the delegates from Father V. Barzynski with their proposal, every impartial person, including some of the delegates and Father V. Barzynski himself, thought that after the presentation of the proposition to the P. N. A. lodges, an attempt would be made either to modify the stipulation or to make a counter proposal. Nothing of the kind occurred although there were violent attacks upon the priest because he dared to give his conscientious advice.

This mutual indignation manifested itself in violent eruptions of abusive language on one side, and anger on the other. At that time these undignified 4attacks could be explained and justified by the "hot Polish temper".

Some reflection should have taken place, at least after some time. The P. N. A. lodges should have made an attempt at reconciliation with the societies affiliated with the P. R. C. U., and these societies should have shown their willingness to reach an understanding. And they did, for they sent letters to the P. N. A. lodges in which they proposed a general conference after the second of May. Zgoda, however, prevented the P. N. A. lodges from participating in that conference; it ridiculed the program of the societies affiliated with the P. R. C. U. and insulted Father V. Barzynski as the adviser of the P. R. C. Union. It tried to provoke criticism of the celebration arranged by the P. N. A., and being unsuccessful, began to fabricate stories about that celebration. Finally, the censor of the P. N. A. announced that its lodges would comply with the decision of the central board of the P. N. A. This decision was not to participate in the conference.

Let sensible members of the P. N. A. suggest what more could have been done 5by the societies affiliated with the P. R. C. U. They expressed their desire for an agreement. Could these societies, after what took place, after the insults heaped upon a respected counsellor, declare that they were willing, for the sake of holy peace, to give up their spiritual adviser and ask permission to participate in the P. N. A. celebration?

Every sensible person will admit that these societies did more than was expected. Not being invited, they are not criticizing the P. N. A. celebration, and having no desire to interfere with it, they have arranged for their own to take place the following day. They are extending a friendly hand in spite of the insults of Zgoda and of malicious tongues. They are charitable although they are twice as strong. And you--that is your correspondents in Zgoda--ridicule their generous actions. You sneer at every statement, at every step taken, and you increasingly anger their spiritual counsellor by your vicious attacks. Finally your vice censor makes a proclamation stating that you can take no steps until your executive committee reveals its decision.

How ridiculous are some of the reasons invented by Zgoda for not participating in the proposed general conference. According to Zgoda this conference is a deception. How can it be a deception when you will have an equal voice in it? You presume that your celebration of May 2 will be criticized anyhow, and so you continue to criticize viciously the program of the P. R. C. U. although there is no criticism made of your own program. You state that Father V. Barzynski, and not the societies, is arranging the celebration. While this statement has never been confirmed, not even by one of the societies, you yourselves declare very clearly that you are acting on the decision of your executive committee.

Your censor has made an ironic remark that there is no necessity of sending delegates to Chicago as though it were some kind of Mecca. Now if we are going to hold a general assembly, then there must be a suitable place for it. Is it strange that the city of Chicago which has the largest Polish population was chosen, or that the P. R. C. U., the largest Polish organization in America, is extending the invitation?

Wherever there is ill will, there is always faultfinding in everything, no matter how small; where there is good will, small mistakes are overlooked, and necessary sacrifices made for the good of the cause.