certain: they would protest, and rightly, against actual incorporation
into the new Poland.

The 125,000 square kilometers and 12,000,000 inhabitants of Russian
Poland, lying around Warsaw, would constitute the nucleus of
reconstructed Poland.

Must we add to this the 79,000 square kilometers and 8,000,000
inhabitants of Galicia, which was Austria's share in the spoils of old
Poland? Certainly, so far as western Galicia around Cracow is concerned,
for this is a wholly Polish region, the Poles there numbering 2,500,000.

As for eastern Galicia, of which the principal city is Lemberg, (Lvov in
Polish,) the question is more delicate. Though Eastern Galicia has over
1,500,000 Poles and 600,000 Jews, most of the population is Ruthenian.
Now these Ruthenians, who are natives, subjugated in former times by the
conquering Poles, and who still own much of the big estates, are related
to the "Little Russians," the southerners of Russia, and speak a dialect
which is to Russian what Provençal is to French.

Besides, whereas the Poles are Catholics, the Ruthenians are Greek
Orthodox Christians like the Russians, but differ from the latter in
that they are connected with the Roman Church, and are thus schismatics
in the eyes of the Russian priests.

Should these Ruthenians be annexed to Russia along with the 1,500,000
Poles and 500,000 Jews, among whom they have lived for centuries, they
would scarcely look upon this as acceptable unless they were certain of
having under Russian rule at least equal political liberty and respect
for their dialect and religion as they have under Austrian rule.