POLAND'S UNCROWNED KING.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XXXX, Issue 13138, 26 July 1913, Page 10

POLAND'S UNCROWNED KING.

WARSAW, May 19. Ignaee Paderewski, the pianist, is the uncrowned King of poland. Whenever lio appears in any town of tho ancient Polish Republic, he is greeted with that loyalty and ■entlltisiasnv^ which* "belongs- 1 to popular monarchs. There is a royal, halo about Paderewski's presence ! in his country, whether it be in the part that is under Russian, Austrian or German rule. When he goes out, crowds, wait below to cheer him as he leaves the hotel. When he enters a theatre, those who cannot get inside wait for hours outside, in tho hope of catching a glimpse of him and cheering him on his way home. When he gives a concert it is as though a- king held audience. The pianist's "rowing popularity troubles the authorities, especially in Gorman and,'. Russian Poland. They don't know what to make of it. The Russian police have an idea at the back of their heads that he will one ,fine day get himself crowned on the concert platform, between a sonata and a rhapsody. This was shown when he gave a series of concerts in Warsaw at Easter. The florists' shops were paclced with -wreaths and bouquets and baskets of flowers for the artist-king. Crowds blocked the pavements in front of the windows whore they were displayed. All the windows had streamers of amaranth and \vhite — Polish national colors. The police became alarmed. Th'ey sent a batch of gendarmes to the Philharmonic Fall, who waited the arrival of the flowers, and sheared off the offending streamers with their swords. Only one,, with yellow ribbons, escaped mutilation. Some friends managed to pick up fragments when the police were too busy shelving off new arrivals, and gave them to Madame Paderewski, who hid them in her vanity bag, and carried them off in secret triumph, .to rest with other concert trophies. Always an ardent patriot, even when poor and unknown, Paderewski now spends huge sums. on nis country. In America, he once stopped his journey from New York to Boston, and "gave a hurried recital m a private house, because a' chance fellow-passenger offered £1000 for Polish schools, I he would do it. And yet, no sums can tempt him to play before the Czar of Russia, or tho German Kaiser, because both these monarchs allow the Poles under their rule to be oppressed. In England, Paderewski's influence and high, social position have made even statesmen like Mr Asquith and Sir Edward Grey, absorbed in larger politics, and afraid of offending mighty: Russia, interest themselves in the Polish auestion. In London, thanks to Paderewski s influence, is a group of people working for Polish influence, teaching public opinion what Poland means. « - The victorious Bulgarians paved the way for their successes in. much the same manner. They had no Paderewski; but King Ferdinand went round Europe "booming" -his little country. Thanks to his efforts the world heard of Bulgaria, which was merely Turkey's slave 40 years ago. The Slav world is waking up to "great things. These millions who are in Eastern Europe have learned their strength. Paderewski and his political friends realise that they must prepare the country for a change. They -have dreamed of independent Poland since their youth,, just: as Bulgaria dreamed of having Adrianople. One dream has come :true; why should not the other, asks Paderewski,